Dismantling of USAID: How the US lost its agricultural shield of food security

The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has become one of the most far-reaching decisions of the Trump administration, with consequences extending well beyond foreign policy and directly affecting the health, safety and economic resilience of the American people.

Former USAID administrators J. Brian Atwood, a Democrat, and Andrew S. Natsios, a Republican, note that the agency enjoyed bipartisan support for 63 years and operated on less than 1% of the federal budget, while delivering strategic benefits to U.S. agriculture, public health and global stability.

According to conservative estimates, more than 700,000 people in developing countries died in the past year following the dismantling of USAID, with children accounting for roughly two-thirds of the deaths. A study published in The Lancet warns that nearly 14 million additional deaths could occur by 2030, underscoring the global scale of the fallout.

Less visible, however, are the domestic impacts. USAID played a critical role in funding agricultural research that protected U.S. and global food systems, including the development of wheat varieties resistant to devastating rust diseases that once threatened nearly 90% of the world’s wheat cultivars.

The agency was also a major supporter of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, which helped institutionalize the Green Revolution and safeguard global grain supplies. The elimination of USAID funding has weakened this research network, despite the clear benefits it delivered to American farmers.

USAID investments extended to livestock feed as well. Research funded by the agency led to the development of Striga-resistant sorghum, protecting a crop vital to U.S. cattle producers, particularly in water-scarce regions. Today, the United States is the world’s largest sorghum producer, with annual output valued at over $1 billion.

Beyond agriculture, USAID managed disease surveillance and famine early-warning systems that served as frontline defenses against pandemics and food crises. Former officials argue that dismantling these systems increases global instability and health risks that inevitably reach U.S. shores, prompting renewed calls in Congress to rebuild U.S. international aid through a dedicated cabinet-level Department for International Aid.

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