Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
FOOD FOR PEACE
FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999 Actual Estimate Request P.L. 480 Title II $837,000,000 $837,000,000 $837,000,000 P.L. 480 Title III $ 29,500,000 $ 30,000,000 $ 30,000,000 U.S. support for overseas food aid was formalized in the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as P.L. 480. The basic legislation, which has been modified many times, re-asserts U.S. policy of using our agricultural productivity to enhance food security in the developing world. On a global level, more than 800 million people today are chronically undernourished and more than 180 million children are underweight. For the United States, addressing global hunger is both a humanitarian concern and a strategic goal; we give of our resources to help those in need and in crisis, as we seek to eliminate the food insecurity that fuels political instability and environmental degradation. P.L. 480 Food for Peace is a people-to-people program, from the United States to people who do not have access to sufficient food to meet the needs for a healthy and productive life.
The World Food Summit, held in Rome in November 1996, encouraged donors to sharpen the focus of their food aid to the most chronically food insecure countries and regions, provide an appropriate volume of food aid on the basis of need, establish incentives to encourage the best use of food aid, and strive to ensure that food assistance reaches those who have the most responsibility for household food security, especially women.
Title II Emergency and Private Voluntary Organizations Assistance Programs
The P.L. 480 Title II program is the U.S. Government's largest food assistance program. U.S. private voluntary organizations (PVOs) are major partners in delivering food for emergency relief and development programs. In FY 1997, Title II moved a total of 1.66 million tons, valued at $808 million and assisting a total of 43 million beneficiaries in 53 countries. FY 1997 Title II funding also included $10.9 million to the Farmer-to-Farmer program, which provides technical assistance by U.S. volunteers to developing countries and emerging democracies in the area of agriculture and agribusiness. Title II resources are used for both development and emergency activities.
Title II is a full grant program. The U.S. Government pays the cost of commodities and transportation to the recipient country. In the case of emergencies, in-country distribution costs are also covered. Moreover, to assist eligible organizations in carrying out Title II food aid programs, up to $28 million may be used annually to help establish new programs and administer programs in foreign countries.
USAID has two strategic objectives for Title II operations that are linked to agency goals:
1. Meeting the critical food needs of targeted groups. In particular, USAID aims to reduce the malnutrition rate of populations affected by emergencies to pre-emergency levels through a variety of interventions. These are implemented primarily by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), U.S. private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
In 1997, the number of countries facing food emergencies increased to 31 from 25 in 1996. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (October 1995) estimates an increase in emergency food aid needs from 4.8 million metric tons in 1996 to between 5.7-6.2 million metric tons by 2005. Related U.S. food aid instruments, such as section 416(b) surplus commodities, which were used extensively in the past to meet emergency needs, are no longer available.
In 1997, Title II emergency food aid reached approximately 20 million beneficiaries in 21 countries. The following accomplishments are illustrative:
* In Sierra Leone, an estimated 239,000 internally displaced people were assisted through a consortium including the World Food Program, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, several U.S. PVOs and other donors. Mass distribution was replaced by targeted feeding in previously inaccessible areas; guidelines were adopted for standard ration size and frequency of distribution and criteria for categorizing beneficiaries.
* In Angola, food aid helped reduce the malnutrition rate to 8.7% (end of 1996), compared with 15.2% in 1994. In 1997, through better targeting and resettlement assistance, only the most needy 400,000 received food assistance. The program, which demonstrates excellent multi-donor coordination, is administered through the WFP and a number of U.S. PVOs. WFP functions throughout Angola, while the PVOs serve specific geographic regions.
* In Rwanda and Burundi, Title II resources supported the combined efforts of the WFP and U.S. PVOs to meet the needs of an estimated 2.5 million affected persons. The beneficiaries included Rwanda and Burundian refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and other food-insecure populations throughout Africa's Great Lakes region. A joint review by the United States and the European Commission determined that feeding programs for malnourished children, pregnant and lactating mothers and others at risk were crucial to avoiding increased malnutrition.
* U.S. food aid to North Korea (through the World Food Program) led the world's response to the famine experienced in that Stalinist state. U.S. food aid allowed feeding of the most vulnerable people -- primarily children under six years of age. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention verified that the nutritional status of children improved after U.S. food arrived.
2. Increasing the effectiveness of USAID's partners in carrying out Title II development activities. This leads to measurable improvements related to food security with a primary focus on household nutrition and agricultural productivity.
In recent years, Title II requirements for project design, monitoring and evaluations have intensified. USAID, through Development Assistance-funded institutional support assistance and the 1996 P.L. 480 expanded 202(e) authority (which permits assistance to implementing organizations for administrative, internal transport, and distribution costs), has been supporting its partner organizations to ensure a high level of accountability and competence in the administration of Title II activities and reporting on results.
In 1997, 53 PVO- and WFP-implemented development activities, valued at $403.9 million, operated in 24 countries. The following are illustrative of Title II development results:
* In Peru, Title II activities of U.S. and local NGOs play an integral and integrated role in contributing to USAID's strategic objective of increasing incomes of the poor. For example, one local NGO, Asociatión Benéficia Prisma, reported that more than 55% of families in the maternal and child health program, within six months, met graduation criteria of (a) no child suffering from acute malnutrition during the previous three months, (b) all children having complete vaccination schedules, (c) pregnant women receiving regular ante-natal care and (d) all mothers receiving family planning counseling. They also reported a 95% repayment rate for their microenterprise development loans and that agricultural production in participating villages increased by more than 1,000 metric tons. CARE's Title II programs also produced good results. Seventy five percent of targeted children suffering from acute malnutrition were rehabilitated. Eighty percent of targeted children were immunized by 12 months of age, and improved natural resource practices were adopted on over 7,000 hectares of farm land.
* In Ethiopia, CARE reported that the introduction of improved agronomic packages resulted in yields 2 to 3 times higher for participating farmers. Catholic Relief Services reported an increase of 10% to 20% in income as a direct result of their credit and savings project.
Title III Food for Development
P.L. 480 Title III is USAID's major food assistance instrument for enhancing food security in least developed countries. As a government-to-government program, it provides USAID with an opportunity to address critical policy constraints within the context of national governments' food security and overall development objectives. Since 1995, programs have been centered on: (1) allocation to countries most in need of food, which under current world conditions, are primarily in Africa; and (2) priority to programs with direct linkages to increased agricultural production and consumption. Title III programs totaled $40.4 million (including Title II transfers) in FY 1997 and assisted five least developed countries that have demonstrated a substantive need for food assistance, the capacity to use the assistance effectively, and a commitment to policies to promote food security. Title III accomplishments include the following:
* Ethiopia has used Title III wheat to capitalize an emergency grain reserve. This helps to stabilize grain markets and provides a cushion against drought and the food aid needs of vulnerable populations. Significant impacts from the program's policy reform agenda are: (1) new legislation allows for the establishment of private rural banking operations; (2) the bulk of retail fertilizer sales now are through private sector retailers or farmer cooperatives; (3) government deregulation of fertilizer retail prices, including pan-territorial pricing, is encouraging delivery to more remote areas; and (4) Ethiopia continues to increase its budget allocations to rural road rehabilitation and construction.
* Mozambique's Title III program generates local currency for the Commerce and Agriculture Ministries to improve service delivery to farmers and business people. Key policy agenda items are agricultural pricing and market liberalization, commercial law reform, and land tenure security.
* Honduras is using Title III resources to reduce the country's cereal deficit, help consolidate growth-promoting structural reforms and improve social services programs targeted to the poor. The Title III-supported policy reform agenda focuses on free trade, elimination of price controls, land titling and investments in basic food production.
* Haiti's Title III program is having an important impact on the reduction of poverty and food insecurity. The conditionalities included in the program have three primary objectives: (1) to reduce the price of food to food insecure people; (2) to increase jobs through increased public and private sector investments, particularly outside of Port-au-Prince; and (3) to decrease the high population growth rate.
In FY 1998, Title III programs are planned for Haiti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Mozambique; and in FY 1999, Title III resources are planned for Haiti and Nicaragua.
Farmer-to-Farmer Program
Title II funds are also used to support the Farmer-to-Farmer Program (FTF) which provides voluntary technical assistance to farmers, farm groups and agribusinesses to enhance the potential for substantial increases in food production, processing and marketing. The program relies on volunteers from U.S. farms, land grant universities, cooperatives, private agribusinesses, and non-profit farm organizations. Volunteers have been recruited from 49 of the 50 states. In general, they are not overseas development professionals, but rather individuals who have domestic careers, farms and agribusinesses
or are retired and want to participate in development efforts. They spend about a month in the host country on a typical assignment.
In 1991, a special initiative of the FTF Program was authorized as one of the first U.S. assistance programs for the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union, and it continues to operate in 12 of the NIS countries. In the worldwide FTF program, over 1,400 volunteer assignments have been completed since 1991 in more than 70 countries, while in the NIS program, more than 2,700 assignments have been completed since 1992.
The FTF Program has increased the development and technical capacity of six U.S. PVOs by using agricultural volunteers. The training and technical assistance that FTF implementors provide to host country organizations strengthens U.S. PVO and NGO partnerships. Many times, partnerships develop between host country organizations and U.S. organizations, some of which are formalized by written agreement. For example, the American Farm Bureau Federation, at the state level, has formed partnerships with many private farmers' organizations in the NIS. As a result, many of these local partnerships mobilize additional financial and material resources in support of sustainable agricultural development. The FTF Program is also having a positive impact on the United States by raising public awareness about foreign assistance, correcting misperceptions of life and attitudes in developing countries and helping inform U.S. businesses of the environment and opportunities overseas.
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