The world's poorest farmers may start getting some of the attention and dollars that the U.S. government once reserved for American producers.

The spikes in global food prices in 2007 and 2008 led to charges that U.S. policies were driving up the cost of food for the world's poor by diverting crops to biofuels. But there also was a new commitment from the U.S. and other developed countries to help poor farmers increase their own food production.

The Obama administration in 2009 pledged to spend $3.5 billion on agricultural development assistance...