Publication

The paper considers food security and reviews the mechanisms of food aid - who gives what food, in what ways, to whom - looking primarily at the US but using other donor states and multilateral institutions for comparison. It then looks at sub-Saharan Africa to understand how food aid interacts with the wider context of food security and agricultural development. Further, it reviews the main criticisms of US food aid and considers the international and local market problems that poorly planned and implemented food aid programs cause. It concludes with recommendations for fundamental changes to US food aid practices and for a stronger rules-based approach to food aid in the multilateral system.