Agriculture is closely linked to economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa, says Jim Miller, the under secretary for farm and foreign agricultural services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In a July 29 interview with America.gov, Miller said USDA is coordinating with other federal agencies to improve U.S.-Africa trade under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and increase food security, economic growth and development throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Miller spoke in advance of the United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, better known as the AGOA Forum, which begins August 2 in Washington before moving to Kansas City, Missouri, August 4 to focus on agribusiness. The annual event has a civil society segment as well. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack is scheduled to address the forum, which this year is titled "AGOA at 10: New Strategies for a Changing World."

The economies of sub-Saharan Africa depend on agriculture, Miller said. With a significant part of the population, including many women, engaged directly or indirectly in agricultural production and processing or marketing those products, farming is a key component of development.

Miller said the USDA has many initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa that range from emergency food aid to school-based feeding programs for children. USDA works with other U.S. agencies, including the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as with national and local governments in Africa.

The private sector has an important role to play, Miller said. The United States works with African nations "to ensure that they are developing the appropriate partnerships with the private sector, both the private sector in the United States and in other countries around the world, but equally with the private sectors of their own countries."

The USDA official said it is important to increase agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa "in a way that, when coupled with trade, can provide a much better level of food security than these countries have experienced in the past."

Increasing agricultural productivity includes helping the region build the appropriate infrastructure, both physical and social, to allow new food systems to function effectively and efficiently, he said.

Miller noted that the AGOA conference will put government officials from the United States and AGOA countries together with private-sector participants who can "help us begin to realize not only changes in agricultural productivity and reductions in post-harvest loss, but improved processing and marketing opportunities through the development of effective institutions."

In Kansas City, Miller said, AGOA ministers and delegates will be touring the Kansas City Board of Trade -- which trades in wheat futures -- to show how U.S. markets function and why transparency, stability and predictability are important for producers to help them improve agriculture in their countries.

"We think this is going to be a very interesting dialogue" in Kansas City, he said, both at the Board of Trade and in separate discussions with agricultural-finance experts and agricultural-production specialists.

Everyone will be working as well to find ways to develop systems for marketing and refrigeration to reduce losses and move perishable products to market with minimal spoilage, he said.