Rep. Tracey Mann: Kansas leads the US fight against world hunger — and it pays back

A new international report recently estimated that 258 million people worldwide are suffering from crisis-level hunger, with seven countries experiencing famine-like conditions.

Given all the challenges the world has faced recently — lingering problems from the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme droughts such as the one in Kansas, the ongoing turmoil between Russia and Ukraine, and the resulting spikes in food prices — it's no wonder that global hunger is rising significantly. Still, that number — more than a quarter-billion people on the brink of starvation — is almost unfathomable. Today, if "hunger" were a single country, it would be the fifth-most-populous place on the planet.

Beyond this stark picture, global hunger and malnutrition create risks for the U.S., both in terms of our national security and economic prosperity. According to a recent report commissioned by the Farm Journal Foundation, food insecurity in developing countries contributes to a range of threats, including political unrest, radical extremism, terrorist activity and mass migration. America is the leader of the free world, which comes with certain responsibilities. Addressing global hunger is both the morally right and strategically wise thing to do.

Today's international food aid helps us avoid paying conflict of war-related dollars tomorrow, and when we invest in other countries to prevent starvation and war, we often end up with strong trading partners. International food aid has an enormously strong return on investment, which makes it the fiscally responsible course of action. It's a noble thing to feed people the world over, which we do through emergency food aid programs, but we should use the commodities of American producers while we do it.

As we invest in global food security, we must also support agricultural research and development, so agricultural producers both in the U.S. and abroad have access to technologies to increase their production even when challenges arise. My home state of Kansas has a long history of supporting global food security initiatives, and today, we are leading the country when it comes to agricultural innovation. My alma mater, Kansas State University, is home to four Feed the Future Innovation Labs that are conducting groundbreaking research into areas, including new heat-tolerant wheat varieties and higher-yielding sorghum. These innovations benefit farmers in the U.S. and abroad. As Kansas struggles with another year of drought, innovative seed and water technologies will be especially critical. Kansas is the No. 1 wheat-producing state in the nation, and that crop is one of the world's most important staple foods. Much of the innovation in this market relies on public research conducted at universities.

Agricultural innovation can also help keep our food supplies safe, benefiting U.S. national security. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture officially opened its new, state-of-the-art National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, which will conduct research into serious animal disease threats. It will be an important backstop in protecting our nation's food supply.

Work like that happening in Kansas and at institutions around the country deserves more support, especially because agricultural innovation, like international food aid, provides substantial returns on investment. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agricultural research returns $20 in benefits to the economy for every public dollar spent. In spite of this, federal funding for food and agricultural research has declined in real dollars over the past two decades, while support for other forms of research has increased.

Producers know that turning a profit means innovating, adapting and increasing efficiency, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that this farm bill prioritizes innovation. In this farm bill, we need to support public agricultural research institutions, organizations that focus on innovation and public-private partnerships.

Recent global challenges have profoundly affected our food systems, driving hunger and malnutrition to unprecedented levels. Working to ease this crisis, and to mitigate those in the future, is not only in America's best interest — it's also the right thing to do. Congress needs to follow Kansas’ lead and prioritize global food security issues, especially investment in long-term solutions such as agricultural research and development. Farmers in the U.S. and abroad need access to innovations to face potential challenges that lie ahead and ensure a food-secure future for us all.

Tracey Mann represents Kansas’ 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Agriculture Committee and co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus.