Ag expert picked to lead USAID

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A physician and agriculture expert was tapped to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development, ending a 10-month search to fill the foreign policy post.

President Barack Obama announced Tuesday his nomination of Rajiv Shah, who has been an undersecretary of agriculture since June and previously worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. His nomination must be approved by the U.S. Senate.

While praising Obama's choice, development experts said Shah, if confirmed, would need greater authority to resurrect the agency, whose full-time staff decreased by about 40 percent during the last two decades.

Shah "has very impressive credentials and knows many of the sectors we work in, in development, agriculture and health," said J. Brian Atwood, who led USAID in the 1990s. He and other development experts told the Post the agency has been weakened in recent years as its budget and policy functions were melded into the State Department.

"I hope he has assurances he'll have the authorities he needs to get a very difficult job done," Atwood said.

Shah, whose family emigrated from India, has a medical degree and a master's degree in health economics. He earned his political chops advising Al Gore's presidential campaign on healthcare policy. While at the Gates Foundation, Shah was involved with international vaccine efforts. At the U.S. Agriculture Department, he led the food security initiative, a portion of a global campaign to help small farmers get more food to the hungry.