The USAID Food AID and Food Security Policy Paper was approved by Deputy Administrator Carol Lancaster on February 27, 1995. This policy paper, which is attached to this Notice, will guide program development and resources allocation for all USAID administered food aid activities.

Poverty and poor distribution of food leave a significant portion of the world's population hungry and malnourished. To meet this challenge, USAID is focusing its resources on sustainable development. Our goals are to invest in people, expand access and opportunity and promote favorable policies and institutional environments which attack the primary cause of hunger -- poverty.

Food assistance plays an important and special role in this effort. How food aid will be used by USAID to accomplish our strategies for sustainable development is the subject of this policy paper. It provides an overview of the changing nature of global food security and the recent changes in both domestic and international conditions affecting food aid. The paper's principal policy consequences and management implications are:

- For Title III Programs

• Priority in allocating food aid will be given to countries most in need of food. Under current world conditions, those countries are primarily in Africa.
• Priority will be given to programs with direct linkages to increased agricultural production and consumption.

- For Title II Programs

• Priority will be given to programs in those countries that need food most and where food insecurity is greatest. Title II programs will focus on improving household nutrition, especially in children and mothers, and on alleviating the causes of hunger, especially by increasing agricultural productivity.

- For all Programs

• USAID will allocate resources and manage programs to increase the impact U.S. food aid has in reducing
• Food aid will be integrated to a greater extent with other assistance resources (particularly USAID resources). Proceeds from the monetization of food can be used to complement direct feeding programs and to support development programs, particularly those which enhance agricultural productivity and/or improve household nutrition.
• Greater attention and resources will be allocated to strengthening the program development and management capacity of USAID's food aid partners: the Private Voluntary Organizations, local non-governmental organizations and the World Food Program. USAID field missions will strengthen collaboration and dialogue with these partners in working to achieve mutually agreed objectives.
• USAID will seek to identify greater budgetary flexibility to respond to emergencies. Since overall food aid appropriations are likely to be reduced, this flexibility will need to come from such measures as expanding the types of commodities in existing reserve systems and improved multilateral coordination.
• Greater priority will be given to the relief to development continuum. Food insecure countries must be prepared to cope with recurring drought and with political conflict. Equally important, relief programs must ensure families are able to return as quickly as possible to productive lives.

The Agency will be flexible in applying this guidance. The ultimate objective is improvement in the food security of poor and hungry people. By focusing our activities according to the guidance contained in this paper the impact of our P.L. 480 resources will increase.

USAID is committed to reviewing food security issues on an ongoing basis. The Agency will continue to work closely with the PVOs and through international and related fora on food security issues. USAID will focus on the opportunity to introduce innovative new programs to reduce hunger and support sustainable development, especially in the Horn of Africa.

This paper was prepared in consultation with the Private Voluntary Organizations that manage much of the U.S. food aid program and with USAID field missions.

POINTS OF CONTACT

For additional information regarding the USAID Policy on Food Aid and Food Security or the attachments to this Notice please contact: Vincent Cusumano, (phone: (202) 736-4863); Len Rogers, (phone: (703) 351-0102; H. Bob Kramer, (703) 351-0106.

U.S.A.I.D. Policy Paper

FOOD AID AND FOOD SECURITY POLICY PAPER

Bureau for Program and Policy Coordination
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20523
February 27, 1995

TRANSMITTAL MEMORANDUM

It is with great pleasure and interest that I transmit to you USAID's "Food Aid and Food Security Policy Paper." It is my expectation that this will guide program development and resource allocation for all USAID-administered food aid activities.

The ability of the world to feed itself has improved dramatically over the last three decades. On a global basis, there is enough food to provide adequate calorie and protein levels for today's population. This apparent adequacy of the global food supply, however, is misleading. Poverty and poor distribution of food leave a significant portion of the world's population hungry and malnourished. To meet this challenge, USAID is focusing its resources on sustainable development. Our goals are to invest in people, expand access and opportunity and promote favorable policies and institutional environments which attack the primary cause of hunger -- poverty.

Food assistance plays an important and special role in this effort. How food aid will be used by USAID to accomplish our strategies for sustainable development is the subject of this policy paper. It provides an overview of the changing nature of global food security and the recent changes in both domestic and international conditions affecting food aid. The paper's principal policy consequences and management implications are:

- For Title III Programs

• Greater priority in allocating food aid will be given to countries most in need of food. Under current world conditions, those countries are primarily in Africa.
• Highest priority will be given to programs with direct linkages to increased agricultural production and consumption.

- For Title II Programs

• Priority will be given to programs in those countries that need food most and where food insecurity is greatest. Title II programs will focus on improving household nutrition, especially in children and mothers, and on alleviating the causes of hunger, especially by increasing agricultural productivity.

- For all Programs

• USAID will allocate resources and manage programs to increase the impact U.S. food aid has in reducing hunger.
• Food aid will be integrated to a greater extent with other assistance resources (particularly USAID resources). Proceeds from the monetization of food can be used to complement direct feeding programs and to support development programs, particularly those which enhance agricultural productivity and/or improve household nutrition.
• Greater attention and resources will be allocated to strengthening the program development and management capacity of USAID's food aid partners: the Private Voluntary Organizations, local non-governmental organizations and the World Food Program. USAID field missions will strengthen collaboration and dialogue with these partners in working to achieve mutually agreed objectives.
• USAID will seek to identify greater budgetary flexibility to respond to emergencies. Since overall food aid appropriations are likely to be reduced, this flexibility will need to come from such measures as expanding the types of commodities in existing reserve systems and improved multilateral coordination.
• Greater priority will be given to the relief to development continuum. Food insecure countries must be prepared to cope with recurring drought and with political conflict. Equally important, relief programs must ensure families are able to return as quickly as possible to productive lives.

The Agency will be flexible in applying this guidance. Our ultimate objective is improvement in the food security of poor and hungry people. We believe by focusing our activities according to the guidance contained in this paper we will increase the impact of our P.L. 480 resources.

USAID is committed to reviewing food security issues on an ongoing basis. We will continue to work closely with the PVOs and through international and related fora on food security issues. We will focus on the opportunity to introduce innovative new programs to reduce hunger and support sustainable development, especially in the Horn of Africa.

This paper was prepared in consultation with the Private Voluntary Organizations that manage much of the U.S. food aid program and with USAID field missions. I appreciate the many constructive suggestions which came from the PVOs and from USAID field missions and the collaborative spirit which surrounded this effort.

J. Brian Atwood
Administrator, USAID