USCIB Contributes to Discussions on the Future of Agriculture Development

USCIB’s Natalie Bidner-Swehla speaking on an expert panel at the From Aid to Trade: A New Market-Based Framework for Global Food Security event.

Natalie Bidner-Swehla, Director, International Agriculture at USCIB, spoke on an expert panel at the From Aid to Trade: A New Market-Based Framework for Global Food Security event on February 25. The panel, hosted by Consensus for Development Reform, Farm Journal Foundation, and the Alliance to End Hunger, was presented as a congressional staff briefing on the future of US Global Agriculture Assistance. 

Representing the private sector engaging across global agricultural value chains, Bidner-Swehla emphasized that the shift from traditional aid models toward market-based systems is essential to delivering lasting results. 

Bidner-Swehla stated, “success from the private‑sector perspective means moving promising pilots into scalable, durable market systems, fewer parallel systems and more durable markets, and programs that allow companies to stay engaged long after the grant ends. When agricultural assistance is designed this way, the private sector shows up with capital, technology, and innovation — strengthening food security abroad while expanding export markets and jobs here at home,” said Bidner-Swehla. 

She highlighted three conditions necessary to unlock long-term private investment: predictable, science-based policy environments anchored in strong international cooperation and institutions such as the FAO and OECD, which promote alignment around global standards; infrastructure and logistics that allow markets to function at scale; and catalytic finance tools that crowd in private capital and support graduation from aid dependence to trade. 

Panelists also included Rob Johnson (Acceso), Monique Oxender (Keurig Dr. Pepper), and Renee Strickland (Farm Journal Foundation). The discussion was moderated by Katie Lee (Farm Journal Foundation).