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USW announces food aid research projectU.S. Wheat Associates, the U.S. wheat industry's export market development organization, has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service to study the potential impact that cash donations for local and regional food purchases may have on the effectiveness and efficiency of U.S. food aid programs. The study will begin in fall 2008 and will focus on Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi and Rwanda, which are traditional food aid recipient countries and in some cases already participate in cash programs for local and regional purchase. Research results are expected to be available in 2009. "We are commissioning this study to help every organization that cares about food aid begin making more informed decisions about the merits of cash versus in-kind food donations," said Rebecca Bratter, director of policy for USW, which is headquartered in Arlington, Va. "On one hand, some believe cash for local and regional purchase provides more food to more people at less cost. On the other hand, some believe in-kind programs help sustain donations and encourage broader support for food aid. This study will provide the first assessment of what might happen with U.S. food aid programs in a shift away from in-kind donation to cash." U.S. food aid policy allows in-kind food donations to the poorest people on Earth and in 2007 the U.S. provided half the world's total food aid, estimated to be worth more than $2.1 billion. U.S. milling wheat is a major part of these donations. In response to global pressure and increasing scrutiny on U.S. food aid program effectiveness, the 2008 farm bill allocates $60 million for a four-year cash donation pilot program. Congress also approved a budget supplemental request this year allocating up to $50 million for the U.S. Agency for International Development to use for local and regional food aid purchases in response to rising global food prices. "The U.S. wheat industry supports using all options that help get food to the world's poorest people," Bratter said. "But we are concerned that dramatically shifting away from in-kind donation has potential stumbling blocks that are not getting serious consideration. For example, when the European Union moved to cash-only food aid in 1996, their donations fell drastically to just one million metric tons of cereal food aid in 2002 from a two to five million ton peak between 1970 and 1996. Partly as a result, in-kind U.S. wheat and rice donations now make up more than half the food aid donated around the world. A similar decline here could have dire implications." Bratter noted additional concerns related to local food safety, infrastructure problems, market distortion and corruption. "The purpose of food aid is to help alleviate hunger, help needy populations achieve food security and, in emergency situations, to prevent widespread famine and mortality," Bratter added. "We want to study the potential impact of cash donation for local and regional purchase, before a wholesale change is made in U.S. policy, to see if it is, in fact, a more effective way to provide more food to more hungry people." U.S. Wheat Associates is the industry's market development organization working in 90 countries on behalf of America's wheat producers. The activities of U.S. Wheat Associates are made possible by producer checkoff dollars managed by 18 state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org or contact your state wheat commission. 11/10/08 Date: 10/31/08
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