	Introduction

Established in 2010, "Feed the Future" (FTF) is a major Obama Administration foreign assistance initiative designed to alleviate global poverty and improve health and food security. FTF is a new federal investment paradigm targeting sustainable reductions in international hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity. FTF seeks to foster transparency and accountability and track and assess program implementation progress through the use of publicly released metrics to justify U.S. investments in each recipient country and each development program, indicators to monitor and evaluate progress, and annual reports to Congress. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) selects the main FTF recipient countries—known as "focus countries" under the initiative—based on country ownership potential, need, and opportunity for reducing food insecurity. Key FTF operating principles include 
recipient-country ownership of and commitment of resources to country-specific investment plans; reliance on measurable indicators to assess initial needs; monitor progress toward targets; and evaluate whether corrections, adjustments, or wholesale changes are needed mid-course; use of a whole-of-government implementation strategy that cuts across existing U.S. international development programs to facilitate coordination and potentially prevent duplication and gaps; and an emphasis on coordinating and partnering with recipient-country organizations and private sector entities, as well as with other donors and international organizations. Congress is presently evaluating the overall merits of FTF and whether to permanently authorize the initiative. Background

The Administration established FTF to support implementation of President Obama's 2009 pledge to reduce global hunger—a multi-year U.S. food security commitment made at the G8 Summit in 2009—and his 2010 Policy Directive on Global Development. In July 2009, at the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy, President Obama pledged to provide at least $3.5 billion over three years (FY2010 to FY2012) to global food security programs as part of the Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security (hereinafter the Global Partnership), a component of the L'Aquila Food Security Initiative, which was intended to promote global agricultural development, improved nutrition, and food security ( Table 1 ). The FTF initiative also includes "aligned" agricultural programs in additional countries. FTF also funds cooperative agricultural development programs with "strategic partner countries," which include Brazil, India, and South Africa. Focus Country Selection

A U.S. governmental interagency process, led by USAID, selects focus countries based on assessments that measure suitability using the following set of five criteria:
1. Based on these criteria, FTF has prioritized investment in 19 focus countries ( Table 2 ). Other USG agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, may also contribute to the broader research objectives and goals of FTF. Since 2010, Congress has allocated nearly $1 billion annually to food security and agricultural development activities under SFOPS appropriations. As a result, it can be difficult to determine FTF funding patterns based on appropriations acts. Under the whole-of-government approach, FTF's operational strategy applies to other federal programs that invest in international agricultural development, even those that derive funding outside of FTF funding in the SFOPS appropriation. USAID publishes FTF progress reports as part of its effort to establish a transparent set of overarching guidelines for justifying and implementing U.S. non-emergency food aid and agricultural development activities. Linkages with Food for Peace Food Aid

Under the FTF whole-of-government approach, Food for Peace (FFP) development food aid programs are considered to be part of the FTF initiative, at least to the extent that they are coordinated with FTF goals and monitoring and evaluation strategies. For example, FFP Title II and McGovern-Dole (Food for Education) funding derives from annual agricultural appropriations.
The Obama Administration's Feed the Future (FTF) Initiative is a U.S. international development program launched in 2010 that invests in food security and agricultural development activities in a select group of developing countries in an effort to reduce hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and food insecurity. The bulk of FTF funding supports 19 "focus countries" selected based on country ownership potential, needs, and opportunities to achieve success. FTF supports additional countries under aligned and regional programs and through assistance to three "strategic partners"—Brazil, India, and South Africa—to increase regionally based sustainable development capacities.
The FTF initiative originated largely as the U.S. component of the international response to the heightened food insecurity resulting from the global food price crisis of 2007-2008. In July 2009, at the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy, President Obama pledged to provide at least $3.5 billion over three years to a global agriculture and food security initiative referred to as the Global Partnership. In total, the international donor community pledged $22 billion to promote global agricultural development, improved nutrition, and food security. Since its origin, FTF has expanded into a whole-of-government effort. In addition to the Global Partnership, FTF also supports implementation of President Obama's 2010 Policy Directive on Global Development and coordination of previously existing U.S. agricultural development policies.
Key features of FTF include
a published set of metrics to justify U.S. investments in each recipient country and each development program; emphasis on coordination and partnering with recipient-country organizations, private sector entities, and international organizations to implement FTF activities; reliance on a set of common goals and measurable indicators to monitor and evaluate progress; and annual reports to Congress.
Furthermore, the FTF strategy is being extended, under a whole-of-government framework, to all U.S. international agricultural development programs, including the Food for Peace Title II non-emergency (i.e., development) food aid, the Food for Progress program, and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program.
From FY2010 through FY2014, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested $4.7 billion in direct food security and agricultural development activities under FTF. Other federal agencies active in implementing FTF have invested as much as $6.6 billion in development activities under the initiative. Over these five years, USAID has reported some initial success in reducing the prevalence of poverty and chronic malnutrition in several of the focus countries; however, results to date are available for only a select group of focus countries.
Because FTF is a presidential initiative, its institutional longevity beyond the current Obama Administration is uncertain. Congress is presently evaluating the overall merits of FTF and whether to permanently authorize it in statute. Several issues related to FTF are of potential interest to Congress. The FTF whole-of-government approach, which involves the coordination of activities across different government agencies in 19 focus countries, can be difficult to implement and monitor if interagency roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined. Authorities and appropriations underpinning FTF may also be incongruent with those governing long-standing separate programs, such as Food for Peace. In addition, some civil society actors have expressed concerns that FTF's goal of country-led planning could privilege government-led planning and marginalize citizen and civil society-focused development efforts.