EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Title XII Report to Congress summarizes the partnerships and priority activities of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with U.S. higher-education institutions under Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. The report focuses on the Agency’s important collaboration with its Title XII partners to address the global food-security challenge through investments in agricultural research, education, and extension, as well as through related programs in nutrition, the sustainable management of natural resources, policy formulation, and trade. In addition, the report describes efforts by the Title XII community to contribute to broader development challenges—efforts that reflect the evolution of these schools since their founding to address a broader disciplinary range. The report also documents efforts by institutions that heretofore have not belonged to the Title XII community and are now tackling the important problems of food security, climate resilience and energy, extreme poverty, and violent extremism.

FY 2016 was a landmark year, with passage of the Global Food Security Act of 2016 and the launch of the U.S. Government’s A Food Secure 2030: A Global Vision and Call to Action2 for public and private stakeholders to invest more catalytically to achieve a food-secure future. USAID continued to implement Congressional and Executive Branch mandates for greater emphasis on food security in development activities, coupled with increased partnership between U.S. and global universities.