UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF
THE SECRETARY
April 25, 2012
SECRETARY’S MEMORANDUM 1069-002
Continuation of
the USDA Global Food Security Council
1.
PURPOSE
The
purpose of this memorandum is to establish the roles and responsibilities of a
USDA Global Food Security Council (“Council”), a USDA Executive Director for
Global Food Security (“Executive Director”), a USDA Global Food Security
Management Team (“Management Team”), and USDA Global Food Security Operational
Teams (“Operational Teams”) to support and carry out the policy of the Council
and Secretary.
The objectives
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Strategic Plan for 2010-2015 are
to “ensure U.S. agricultural resources contribute to enhanced global food
security” and to “support sustainable agriculture production in food-insecure
nations.” In support of these objectives, the Council will oversee and manage
the implementation of the USDA Global Food Security Action Plan (“Action Plan”)
and other activities under the Feed the Future Initiative.
2.
USDA
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY COUNCIL
The Secretary of
Agriculture chairs the Council. Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS),
Research, Education, and Economics (REE), Marketing and Regulatory Programs
(MRP), and Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Mission Areas serve on the
Council, with other Mission Areas and the Office of Congressional Relations,
the Office of Communications, Departmental Management, the Office of the
General Counsel, the Office of the Chief Economist, and Office of the Chief
Financial Officer attending meetings as needed, determined by the Council. Council Members are Deputy Under
Secretary-level individuals or those with delegated authority for making
decisions.
The Council will
convene at least quarterly to review progress in implementation of the Action
Plan and Feed the Future activities, and additionally as needed to fulfill the
functions as stated in this memorandum. The Secretary, a Council Member, or the
Executive Director may request a meeting of the Council.
Council
responsibilities include:
(1)
Prioritization
and resource allocation when more than one Mission area is involved, consistent
with existing authorities;
(2)
Representation
on Feed the Future working groups and at external or interagency events, upon
recommendation by the Management Team through established departmental
processes; and
(3)
Messaging
to stakeholders;
3. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Secretary
will designate the Executive Director, who will be an advisor in the Office of
the Secretary.
The Executive
Director’s responsibilities include to:
a.
Moderate
Council meetings on behalf of the Secretary;
b.
Serve
as the first point of contact for Feed the Future within USDA;
c.
Develop
the Council agenda, with counsel from Council Members, the Management Team, and
the Secretary;
d.
Work
with the Council, designated staff, and Agencies to carry out the policy and
coordinate resource decisions of the Council and Secretary;
e.
Support
Departmental messaging, reporting, budget information, and performance
measurement processes related to the Action Plan and Feed the Future
activities;
f.
Chair
Management Team meetings;
g.
Coordinate
with the Management Team and Operational Teams on the day-to-day
Departmental-level efforts to implement the Action Plan and Feed the Future
activities;
h.
With
the Council, report results and apprise the Secretary on progress; and
i.
Represent
USDA, as appropriate, in external fora, including the
Food Security Interagency Policy Committee.
4. MANAGEMENT TEAM
Each Council Member, the Office of
Congressional Relations, and the Office of Communications will designate
individuals to serve on the USDA Global Food Security Management Team. The
Management Team will be assisted by fellows/interns, as needed. Management Team members will continue to
reside in, be accountable to, paid by, and supervised by Mission
Areas/agencies; related work will be coordinated through the Council.
The Management Team’s responsibilities include:
a.
Support
the Council through the preparation of materials to inform Council and Secretarial
decisions;
b.
Participate
in regular Management Team meetings, chaired by the Executive Director;
c.
Coordinate
Action Plan and Feed the Future activities within and among USDA agencies
through the Operational Teams, including indentifying, upon request by other
agencies or the Council, specific subject matter expertise and program managers
within agencies, identifying potential linkages between agency efforts, and
facilitating discussions on how to operationally make those linkages;
d.
Provide
oversight of Mission Area team members
on the Operational Teams;
e.
Disseminate
interagency and Council information to the Operational Teams and present
suggested actions and plans from the Operational Teams to the Council;
f.
Represent
USDA on Feed the Future interagency working groups, as appropriate, and make
recommendations to the Council on USDA representation at Feed the Future working
groups and domestic and international events;
g.
Lead
the Departmental process for the collection of lessons, best practices and
historical information to support organizational learning; and
h.
Support
implementation of the Feed the Future Results
Framework within USDA.
5. OPERATIONAL TEAMS
Action Plan and
Feed the Future activities will be implemented through cross-departmental
Operational Teams organized around the focus areas in the Action Plan. Members of the Operational Teams will be
designated by individual Mission Areas and approved by the Council.
Operational
Teams responsibilities include:
a. Develop and implement work plans,
including planning, reporting, establishing budgets and performance measures
for each Action Plan focus area, under the leadership of the Management Team;
b. Implement, manage and oversee programs,
consistent with existing authorities;
c. Coordinate with other Operational Teams
as appropriate to obtain input on all aspects of implementation; and
d. Represent USDA in interagency meetings
and external events related to Feed the Future in
respective areas of responsibility and technical expertise, as appropriate.
6. SPECIFIC
MISSION AREA AND AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES
The FFAS representative
on the Council, in consultation with the Management Team, will have
responsibility for coordination of in-country and regional markets and trade
activities, through the Foreign Agricultural Service, and will designate leads
for those respective Operational Teams.
The Research,
Education, and Economics (REE) representative on the Council, in consultation
with the Management Team, will have responsibility for coordination of research
and data/economic analysis/statistics/market information activities, and will
designate leads for those respective Operational Teams.
Individual
agencies will implement, manage and oversee programs consistent with their
existing mission, functions, authorities, and resources.
Other Deputy Under
Secretaries, as appropriate, will coordinate activities within their Mission
Area necessary to fully implement the USDA Global Food Security Action Plan.
7. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION
This memorandum is effective
immediately and will remain in effect for one year from the effective date.
/s/
Thomas
J. Vilsack
Secretary