Is the U.S. Using Money Wisely?
Nellie Bristol
While millions of struggling people worldwide benefit each year from U.S. donated food, critics of the system advocate for a more efficient, development-oriented food assistance program.
The food price crisis is spurring food aid policy reforms at institutions as varied as the World Bank and the Gates Foundation. But the largest food donor, the United States, which provides more than half of food aid globally, is largely maintaining what many feel is an antiquated and inadequate food delivery system. With the best chance for reform, the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill, already behind them and the crisis not likely to abate, food aid advocates are wondering what it will take to force U.S. policy to be more responsive to the hungry and vulnerable.
Devised 50 years ago largely to offload farm surpluses and promote trade, U.S. food aid is delivered almost entirely in the form of grain and other commodities and transported mainly on more expensive U.S. ships. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) calculates that even in emergency situations, the shipments take four to six months to arrive in needy areas. Sometimes they arrive after the harvest has come in and the crisis has abated, which leaves shipments to flood the now functioning local market. Those pushing for reform are asking the U.S. to provide more cash for local and regional food purchases both to make aid quicker and to bolster local markets. They also are advocating for more resources to support long neglected developing world agriculture sectors.
“This is really all about a flexible approach,” said Phillip Thomas, GAO assistant director for international affairs and trade. “If you’re really about feeding hungry people in an emergency situation or in a development situation, you want to have all the tools.”
