U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday called for urgent action to improve long-term food security in Africa and around the world, while adapting agricultural practices and technology to the changing climate.
Yellen spoke after hearing from a woman beekeeper and other farmers whose work was supported by a U.S.-backed project in a rural Zambian village. Part of the broader Green Climate Fund, the project helps small-scale farmers in 155 villages in Zambia produce more food and manage the impacts of climate change.
Member Faustina Piri welcomed the U.S. official's visit to the remote area as a big achievement, noting that the savings club was making "a big difference" in improving the lives of all those involved., the first of a series of visits planned this year by President Joe Biden and key members of his Cabinet as part of a concerted push to expand ties with African nations.
Washington will continue to support short-term efforts to increase access to food, after committing $2 billion in emergency aid to Africa last year, Yellen said, but the long-term goal was to make the need for humanitarian aid "exceptional and rare." A new Group of Seven infrastructure initiative could deliver hundreds of billions of dollars of investment to build the needed infrastructure, transport and logistics systems.
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