World Food Program, USAID struggle with rising food costs
By JERRY HAGSTROM
For food aid and agricultural development advocates trying to help the Third World cope with food price spikes, waiting for Congress to cut the budget is like being in the car at the end of the movie "Thelma and Louise," the Washington representative of The U.N. World Food Program said at a Capitol Hill briefing today.
The programs are still “moving forward” but the advocates can see the cliff in the distance, said Allan Jury, the director of the WFP’s U.S. relations office in Washington.
Jury made the remark after Emmy Simmons, the chairman of the advisory council of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa and moderator of the panel briefing congressional staff, noted that recently developed programs still have “momentum” under the congressional resolution that is funding the government through April 8.
Jury, U.S. Agency for International Development food security adviser Susan Bradley, and Middle East Institute President Wendy Chamberlin told the staffers that the U.S. government, international agencies and nonprofit groups have made great progress since the 2008 food price crisis, figuring out how to address the impact of food price spikes in developing countries through agriculture development, food aid and encouragement of national safety net systems.
But when one person asked panel members how they would fight the 83 percent cut in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Feed the Future program and a 40 to 50 percent cut in food aid in H.R. 1,, no one answered the question directly.
In her presentation, Chamberlin, a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and Laos, told the staffers that food security in poor countries is a national security issue for the United States, and that they should tell their bosses “Don’t think this is a bleeding-heart issue. It has an impact on your constituents.”
Jury said the food price crisis has created an opportunity for producers in developing countries to stimulate production, and that the foreign policy challenge is to figure out how to mitigate the impact of those price spikes until more food is produced. The price spikes are particularly severe for households earning less than $2 per day, he said.
Jury said WFP is using a five-point plan similar to that advocated by the agriculture ministers from the G20 countries:
USAID believes food prices are going to get higher, Bradley said, and that development agencies have to face what it will be like to deal with poor harvests and other disasters under these circumstances. USAID is encouraging regional dialogues so that countries do not close their borders and begin to hoard and stockpile and put on export bans and taxes as they did in 2008.
Bradley agreed that the higher food prices create opportunities for Third World farmers, but also noted that higher petroleum prices make it more expensive for those farmers to buy fertilizer and seeds.
Long term, Bradley said, USAID believes countries need to address research and development, but also look at land tenure, financial systems and post-harvest losses. Referring to soil scientist Norman Borlaug’s "Green Revolution" that transformed Indian agriculture in the 1960s, Bradley said, “A Green Revolution now is going to be very different. It is not just about productivity, but transforming systems. Basically the focus is sustainable intensification.”
Jury and Bradley both emphasized that, while increased agriculture production can reduce the need for humanitarian assistance, developing countries will need to put social safety nets in place. Even though the United States has high agricultural productivity, it still needs the food stamp program to provide food to poor people, Bradley noted. Countries need to put safety nets in place so that they are there when a crisis occurs, she said, adding that humanitarian assistance arrives only after a crisis has occurred.
While it is unclear whether speculation in commodities is causing food price spikes, Bradley said, increased transparency in the markets is vital.
Both she and Jury said the food price increases are making it harder for WFP and USAID to do their jobs. Every 10 percent increase in food prices costs WFP $200 million more to provide food for victims of war and weather disasters, according to Jury, while Bradley said that Food for Peace purchasing power has been reduced 20 percent.
The briefing was sponsored by WFP, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, ONE, Save the Children and the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa. The groups released 40 letters from U.S. humanitarian, religious, farm and maritime groups to congressional leaders urging maintenance of U.S. food aid and agriculture development efforts.
For food aid and agricultural development advocates trying to help the Third World cope with food price spikes, waiting for Congress to cut the budget is like being in the car at the end of the movie "Thelma and Louise," the Washington representative of The U.N. World Food Program said at a Capitol Hill briefing today.
The programs are still “moving forward” but the advocates can see the cliff in the distance, said Allan Jury, the director of the WFP’s U.S. relations office in Washington.
Jury made the remark after Emmy Simmons, the chairman of the advisory council of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa and moderator of the panel briefing congressional staff, noted that recently developed programs still have “momentum” under the congressional resolution that is funding the government through April 8.
Jury, U.S. Agency for International Development food security adviser Susan Bradley, and Middle East Institute President Wendy Chamberlin told the staffers that the U.S. government, international agencies and nonprofit groups have made great progress since the 2008 food price crisis, figuring out how to address the impact of food price spikes in developing countries through agriculture development, food aid and encouragement of national safety net systems.
But when one person asked panel members how they would fight the 83 percent cut in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Feed the Future program and a 40 to 50 percent cut in food aid in H.R. 1,, no one answered the question directly.
In her presentation, Chamberlin, a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and Laos, told the staffers that food security in poor countries is a national security issue for the United States, and that they should tell their bosses “Don’t think this is a bleeding-heart issue. It has an impact on your constituents.”
Jury said the food price crisis has created an opportunity for producers in developing countries to stimulate production, and that the foreign policy challenge is to figure out how to mitigate the impact of those price spikes until more food is produced. The price spikes are particularly severe for households earning less than $2 per day, he said.
Jury said WFP is using a five-point plan similar to that advocated by the agriculture ministers from the G20 countries:
- Keep emergency food reserves, but on a smaller scale than in the past so as not to interfere with market development.
- Scale up social protection nets, but focus on specific problems such as the needs of mothers and small children, rather than on general food subsidies that create disincentives for farmers to increase production.
- Help small farm holders and female farmers, which increases production and also helps farmers who are poor.
- Purchase food aid in developing countries through a program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Howard Buffett Foundation, the European Union and six governments, including the United States.
- Create a multilateral mechanism on information and statistics on food production.
USAID believes food prices are going to get higher, Bradley said, and that development agencies have to face what it will be like to deal with poor harvests and other disasters under these circumstances. USAID is encouraging regional dialogues so that countries do not close their borders and begin to hoard and stockpile and put on export bans and taxes as they did in 2008.
Bradley agreed that the higher food prices create opportunities for Third World farmers, but also noted that higher petroleum prices make it more expensive for those farmers to buy fertilizer and seeds.
Long term, Bradley said, USAID believes countries need to address research and development, but also look at land tenure, financial systems and post-harvest losses. Referring to soil scientist Norman Borlaug’s "Green Revolution" that transformed Indian agriculture in the 1960s, Bradley said, “A Green Revolution now is going to be very different. It is not just about productivity, but transforming systems. Basically the focus is sustainable intensification.”
Jury and Bradley both emphasized that, while increased agriculture production can reduce the need for humanitarian assistance, developing countries will need to put social safety nets in place. Even though the United States has high agricultural productivity, it still needs the food stamp program to provide food to poor people, Bradley noted. Countries need to put safety nets in place so that they are there when a crisis occurs, she said, adding that humanitarian assistance arrives only after a crisis has occurred.
While it is unclear whether speculation in commodities is causing food price spikes, Bradley said, increased transparency in the markets is vital.
Both she and Jury said the food price increases are making it harder for WFP and USAID to do their jobs. Every 10 percent increase in food prices costs WFP $200 million more to provide food for victims of war and weather disasters, according to Jury, while Bradley said that Food for Peace purchasing power has been reduced 20 percent.
The briefing was sponsored by WFP, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, ONE, Save the Children and the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa. The groups released 40 letters from U.S. humanitarian, religious, farm and maritime groups to congressional leaders urging maintenance of U.S. food aid and agriculture development efforts.
