In 2009, a coalition of U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, including Bread for the World, produced a five-year plan called the Roadmap to End Hunger designed to improve U.S. food aid and agricultural development programs.
The plan calls for no further increases in U.S. commodity-based food aid, while cash-based food aid rises steadily until reaching parity with the commodity-based. “While commodities are an appropriate response in some emergency settings,” the Roadmap states, “U.S. programs should aim for increased flexibility through greater reliance on cash-based emergency assistance that can be easily adapted to suit immediate needs and market conditions. Where market conditions permit, regional and local purchase or voucher programs may allow for more rapid provision of food while also stimulating local markets. Where market conditions are not appropriate for local purchase programs, cash-based assistance can be combined with U.S. commodities, as appropriate, to enhance the effectiveness of the intervention. Cash should also support the logistical requirements of the humanitarian response.”
The Roadmap also calls for investments in long-term, agricultural development that would “reach parity with emergency [food aid] funding, reflecting the expectation that more resilient agricultural systems will be less prone to shocks that require emergency response.”
In the next two years, the U.S. Farm Bill comes up for renewal, providing an opportunity to reform food aid policies. Like Feed the Future, the Farm Bill contributes to U.S. efforts to reduce hunger and poverty around the world.
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