This is a guest opinion column

In the last few weeks, the new presidential administration has begun enacting some sweeping changes across our government, remaking how numerous offices are structured under the new America First agenda. A number of these changes have targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has begun putting staff on leave after being ordered to freeze spending for 90 days.

Founded in the 1960s, USAID is primarily known as the U.S. government agency that provides food aid to hungry people around the globe. This is partly true – every year, the U.S. ships millions of tons of crops grown by American farmers to lower-income countries to reduce hunger and malnutrition, often due to conflict, droughts, floods, storms, or other shocks. However, America’s global development agenda does much more than this.

What many people may not know is that the U.S. also supports global agriculture development, investing in the root causes of hunger and malnutrition to help lower-income countries better feed themselves. This type of investment can actually reduce the amount of money we spend on food aid because it enables farmers to become more productive, ultimately saving taxpayer money and creating a host of benefits for U.S. citizens, including American farmers like me.

International development in agriculture can take many forms. Some programs, such as those administered by the U.S. Feed the Future initiative, focus on educating smallholder farmers on best practices in agriculture to help increase crop yields or livestock productivity. These programs also help farmers access important tools and technologies, such as improved seeds, feed, and fertilizer.

Feed the Future Innovation labs, housed at universities around the U.S., and other research organizations and partnerships also support scientists conducting agricultural research into new technologies such as higher-yielding crop varieties, treatments for pests and diseases, and more nutritious crops, which can create huge benefits for farmers both in the U.S. and lower-income countries abroad. One of those Innovation Labs, conducting impactful research into the productivity and use of peanut crops, is located at the University of Georgia.

I personally have participated in a program that brought American soybean farmers to Ghana to teach important principles in agriculture, such as how to time planting, space seeds, and plant crops in rows. These interventions might sound simple, but they make a significant impact on crop yields, meaning that farmers can better feed their families and have money left over to spend on important things like education for their children.

Halting these programs could have long-term consequences, especially as many farmers around the world approach the planting season in the next 90 days. As a farmer myself, I know that everything has to happen in a sequence. Timely planting, under the right conditions, creates a strong foundation for the entire season, but if this window is missed, it could lead to failed harvests. In many countries where the majority of people rely on agriculture, crop failures can be catastrophic, leading to hunger and malnutrition that can hurt societies for years to come.

Rising hunger and malnutrition overseas is not in the U.S. best interest, for many reasons. I personally believe that supporting others in need is the right thing to do. But global food insecurity also impacts U.S. national security, as well as our trade and economic growth.

According to a recent report from Farm Journal Foundation, global hunger and malnutrition are linked to numerous geopolitical risks, including immigration, radicalization, and terrorist threats. Spiking food costs contributed to the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, which toppled governments in Tunisia and Egypt, and terrorist groups often seek to exploit political vacuums. Groups like Boko Haram are known for recruiting among poor, disaffected youth; over the past decade, it has become one of the largest militant groups in Africa.

In addition, much of the immigration at our southern border is linked with people fleeing poverty and crime in their home countries. Research shows that lack of economic opportunity, especially in agriculture, can be a major driver of immigration.

Investments in agricultural development abroad can help address some of the underlying causes of immigration and radicalization, creating more opportunities for people in their own countries and encouraging stable, productive societies. Stopping these development programs doesn’t put America first – it actually makes us all less safe.

In addition, history has shown that when lower-income countries are more stable and prosperous, they can become strong trading partners with the U.S. The value of U.S. agricultural exports has more than tripled since the 1990s, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show, corresponding with unprecedented increases in modernization and global development, as 1 billion people emerged from extreme poverty. Much of this growth can be directly tied to U.S. support of overseas agriculture. Over decades, the U.S. has made successful agricultural development investments in countries like Vietnam, Nigeria, and Ghana, and all have all seen significant increases in farm output, food security, economic growth, and trade with the U.S. Ghana, in particular, has increased imports of U.S. agricultural products by 87 percent since 2016, USDA data show.

Rivals like China are already increasing their presence in many lower-income countries, and if the U.S. turns its pack on partners, this will only increase, threatening America’s global standing, security, and the progress we’ve made on trade.

The way U.S. foreign assistance and development projects are administered isn’t perfect, and I’m glad to see that the new administration is looking for ways to improve the system. However it is extremely important that global agricultural development programs are able to continue, and that they have enough staff to be effective, to protect food security abroad and ensure the safety, security, and prosperity of all of us here at home.

Annie Dee is a farmer from Aliceville, Alabama, and a Farmer Ambassador with Farm Journal Foundation.