Sec. 201 Agriculture, rural development, and nutrition
“(D) to improve nutrition of vulnerable populations, such as children under the age of 5, women of reproductive age, pregnant or lactating women, including through programs of nutrition and health improvement for mothers and children, including but not limited to breastfeeding and all other optimal infant and young child feeding, as well as food-based approaches such as diet diversification, home gardening and nutritional education linked to agricultural extension;
“(E) to expand the economic participation of women, people living in extreme poverty and those who lack access to agriculturally productive land, including but not limited to through development of rural infrastructure, disaster risk reduction, health and nutrition programs, access to local and international markets, and by integration of those living in extreme poverty into the economy;
“(F) to improve smallholder farmers’ agricultural productivity, income, education, capacity, and ability to manage risk including but not limited to through the expansion and improvement of agricultural and food enterprises, access to seed, fertilizer, and extension agents, farmer to farmer exchanges, cooperatives and associations focused on increasing the productivity and incomes of these farmers through the transfer of skills and knowledge; and through the enhancement of access to information, resources, tools, equipment, seeds, technology, and planning and decisionmaking processes;
“(G) to support natural resource management, conservation management, sustainable water management and other sustainable agricultural techniques to build resilience to shocks and stresses, adapt to changes in weather patterns, and respond to projected changes in water shortages while protecting natural resources;
“(H) to promote global standards of transparency for international land deals, strengthen programs to provide land tenure to international smallholder farmers, and actively support the principle of free, prior and informed consent in relation to land rights and access; and
“(I) to use the best available metrics, measurements, and data analysis tools to monitor, measure and evaluate effectiveness of such aid, with reduction in stunting, decrease in poverty, and increase in smallholder farmers’ agricultural production being key components of evaluating effectiveness.”
“(h) Priority and other requirements—In providing assistance under this section, the President shall meet the following priority and other requirements:
“(1) Assistance under this section shall be used primarily for activities that are specifically designed to meet the purposes described in subsection (a)(1), including such activities as—
“(A) expansion and improvement of agricultural and food enterprises, cooperatives and associations that can increase the productivity and incomes of the poor in part through the transfer of skills and knowledge;
“(B) linking farmers, entrepreneurs, enterprises and institutions in poor areas with regional and national businesses, institutions and systems;
“(C) providing access to markets, inputs, financing, extension services, and appropriate technologies for the rural poor;
“(D) expansion of rural infrastructure and utilities such as farm-to-market roads, water management systems, land improvement, storage facilities, and energy, specifically renewable energy whenever practicable;
“(E) establishment of more equitable and more secure land tenure and resource rights arrangements; and
“(F) creation and strengthening of systems to provide other services and supplies needed by farmers, such as extension, research, training, financing, fertilizer, water, forestry, soil conservation, and improved seed, in ways which assure gender equitable access to such services and supplies by small farmers.
“(2) In circumstances in which development of major infrastructure is necessary to achieve the purposes of subsection (a), assistance for those purposes may only be provided under this section in association with significant contributions from other countries working together in a multilateral framework. Infrastructure projects so assisted should be environmentally sensitive and complemented by other measures to ensure that the benefits of the infrastructure projects reach the poor.
“(3) Where appropriate to meet the purposes of subsection (a), assistance shall be provided under this section to maintain, enhance and value ecosystem goods and services in developing countries. Such assistance shall include the protection of watersheds and soil, sustainable agricultural, forest, fisheries, and agro-forest management, and the provision of alternative household fuels that reduce demand for and emissions from the combustion of local forest resources.”