When Food Aid Is No Aid

U.S. food assistance to Africa is making matters worse across the continent. Public Law 480 (PL480) provisions U.S. agricultural commodities for areas enduring drought, famine, and other economic hardship. It also serves as a reward for U.S. allies in the region.

But instead of helping, the aid often sabotages local agriculture as Africa’s farmers can’t compete with the influx of cheap American grain. Without farms and farmers, countries have little chance for food self-sufficiency and sustainable recovery from drought.

Distortions from food assistance are often dramatic. In one case, PL480 aid caused Egyptian farmers to feed their cattle bread rather than feed because the aid made purchasing subsidized bread the cheaper option.

A novel solution, pioneered by Canada, has been to split food aid into two equal parts: one part a commodity like wheat shipped from Canadian farmers, the second a cash grant earmarked for buying locally-grown food. This shunts food to the neediest, yet helps support local farmers by buying their production.

Current U.S. law demands that food aid be given almost completely in the form of American-grown food. President Bush supported a 2008 revision mandating a 25% cash component to buy local farm commodities, while reserving the remaining 75% for American farm products.

The initiative was, ironically, rejected by U.S. legislators. As former President Bill Clinton lamented “A bipartisan coalition (in Congress) defeated him; he was right and both parties that defeated him were wrong.” To makes matters worse, U.S. food aid is given to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Catholic Charities and CARE at no charge who then sell it into local markets to raise funds.

It’s shameful that American farmers are worsening food dependency in Africa while greedy NGOs are inexcusably adding to the trouble. Let’s insist that the new U.S. Congress reform food aid law to help, not hinder, development.

Also of Interest

The Pitfalls of Africa’s Aid Addiction
US Food Aid Is Wrecking Africa

~ by deadmanscurve on November 6, 2008.