U.S. Congressional and CSIS staff met with leaders from ASA/WISHH’s AMLIFIES Ghana project on February 26. They saw how ASA/WISHH is improving Ghana’s poultry feed production capacity and increasing efficiency in poultry value chains that will continue to grow following the conclusion of the five-year USDA-funded project. Photo credit: Timothy Adei/Team 1000 Words

The American Soybean Association (ASA) World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) hosted a U.S. Congressional staff delegation on Feb. 26 for a site visit of the AMPLIFIES Ghana poultry project, where WISHH is connecting trade and development with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding.

The bicameral, bipartisan delegation, hosted by the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), a Washington. D.C. nonprofit policy research organization, included three CSIS staff and six Congressional staff. Next month, CSIS will publish a report detailing their observations in the field looking at food security and nutrition programs.

Immediately after their trip, CSIS staff shared appreciation that ASA/WISHH’s site visit provided important insight to better understand how USDA fits into the U.S. government’s Feed the Future portfolio, which is led by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The visit also showcased the importance of U.S. university engagement, agricultural research, and the connections back to American commodity groups.

ASA/WISHH took the delegation to the University of Ghana where they met with Dr. Thomas Nortey, Ph.D., who collaborates with Kansas State University on the project. The university is opening a new animal nutrition laboratory where the project is helping increase feed quality analysis.The CSIS team leader, Kimberly Flowers, director, Global Food Security Project, wrote, “The delegation members really enjoyed [the AMPLIFIES meeting], especially talking to the local poultry farmers who benefit from your work.”