From Aid to Trade: How to Put America First

For decades, America’s approach to development overseas has been stuck in the past — too slow, too bureaucratic, and too focused on short-term projects. The result? Billions of tax dollars spent, but far too little progress in lifting farmers out of poverty or ending aid dependency.

It’s time for a new model — one that puts markets, not handouts, at the center of U.S. investment.

Agriculture is one of the most powerful engines of economic growth — it’s roughly three times more effective at reducing poverty than investment in other sectors. And when farmers in developing countries succeed, the benefits flow both ways: they feed their families and communities, and they also buy goods, technology and services from American farmers, businesses and research institutions. In short, more resili