Committee on Foreign Affairs

Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health

“International Food Aid Programs: Options to Enhance Effectiveness”

May 24, 2007

Opening Statement of Chairman Donald M. Payne

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us here today for the first in a series of hearings regarding food security, with a special focus on Africa. More than a decade has passed since the World Food Summit in Rome, during which nations pledged to work together to cut the number of undernourished people in half by the year 2015.

In 1990-92, the baseline period for the World Food Summit, there were 823 million undernourished people in the developing world. According to the latest data from the Food and Agricultural Organization, or FAO, for all practical purposed that number has not unchanged. There are still 820 million people in the third world who are not getting enough food.

We need to know why so little progress has been made. I have joined Senator Russ Feingold in requesting that the Government Accountability Office do a review of U.S. efforts on global food security. I hope the report will provide some answers. I suspect that one of those answers is that the United States and other donors need to devote more resources towards long-term development programs that build food security in countries which have a significant number of malnourished people.

This may not be easy. Nearly 25% of the developing world’s undernourished people live in Africa. Poverty, poor governance and conflict pose serious challenges to agricultural development; however those are not the only obstacles Africans face.

I had a hearing last week which focused on water in Africa. Lack of water for agricultural production is a major problem in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, and will be more and more of a concern in other areas of the continent. I plan to have a hearing after the Memorial Day recess focused on climate change in Africa. I am concerned that this too will adversely affect the ability of Africans to feed themselves.

In the face of all of these potential hurdles, we must be sure that each of the tools we are using to improve food security is operating at maximum efficiency. Long term agricultural development programs are one tool that I strongly believe in. In January of this year, I joined the Chairman of this Committee in writing to the Director of Foreign Assistance to ensure that funding is not cut for Collaborative Research Support Programs.

Through CRSPs, U.S. land grant colleges lend expertise to the U.S. government and developing nations related to food production and security, and nutrition. Not only must funding for such programs not be cut, it should be increased. I will be working to boost the level of investment we are making in that area.

Food aid has traditionally been another tool to help achieve both long-term food security, and to help in cases of emergency. For better or for worse, however, during the past several years, more and more of our food assistance has been channeled towards addressing emergencies.

The amount of food aid dedicated toward building capacity in the agricultural sector of developing countries has declined from $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to $698 in fiscal year 2006.

This is one cause for concern. And there is another. According to the Government Accountability Office the average amount of food aid commodities delivered to those in need has declined by 52% due in part to increasing business and transportation costs.

Clearly the resources available for development programs are shrinking. And the amount of commodities our resources buy is diminishing.

Over half of the food aid delivered around the world comes from the United States. Given the considerable role we play, we have got to make sure that we are doing it right.

It seems to me that Congress must help the administration do two things as relates to the food aid program: One, fix the mechanisms that already exist, such as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, so that they are more effective. And two, create new mechanisms for providing food aid. The administration has proposed using some of the money available in P.L. 480 for local purchase rather than shipping commodities from the United States. We must give this proposal due consideration.

This year Congress is set to re-authorize the Farm Bill. I am told that the Foreign Affairs Committee will consider the titles related to food aid, which are under its jurisdiction, as early as June. I am confident that this discussion will help inform members ahead of that process.

I hope that our witnesses today will address the following issues:

What are the major challenges to the effectiveness and efficiency of our food aid programs and what changes need to happen to make it more effective?

Are there new tools that Congress needs to provide to the Agencies that administer food aid which will ensure that our food aid feeds more people, and commodities reach people in need faster?

How do we balance the need to address the increased need for emergency food aid without ignoring the need to make continued use of food to aid in long-term development?

I thank our witnesses for coming today, and turn to my distinguished ranking member for an opening statement.