PennEnergy is reporting on their website that the Chevron Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Cooperative League of the United States of America (CLUSA) that has the company providing Angola with $6 million in agriculture redevelopment assistance. The MOU was signed in Angola on August 9, 2009.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently on a diplomatic trip to the continent, was pleased with the announcement as the US is encouraging African nations to develop more sustainable agricultural practices that will help provide food to the continent and hopefully prevent future famines. The US will continue to provide food aid to countries in need, but the Obama administration would like to see more countries take on a preventative approach to combating hunger.
Clinton is quoted in the story as stating, ‘“The partnership between USAID, Chevron and CLUSA represents a new approach to development assistance on the part of the Obama administration. While we will continue to provide emergency food aid to address immediate crises, we are focused on helping countries build mechanisms that sustain progress in agriculture over the long term[.]”’
The money provided by Chevron will be used to help Angola diversify its agricultural economy by providing assistance to small and medium-scale commercial farming operations, and “by promoting ‘agricultural development that is environmentally friendly, socially just, and economically sustainable.’”
The announcement comes two days after an “affiliate” of Chevron, discovered oil and gas of in the ocean adjacent to Angola’s Cabinda coastline. Angola is Africa’s third largest producer of oil according to the United State Energy Information Administration. To read the PennEnergy story click here.
Posted: 08/11/09
