'US eyes flexibility in allocating food aid'

The Obama administration wants more flexibility in how it allocates food aid dollars to complement its new strategy to help small farmers in poor countries boost their food production, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday. Vilsack and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is leading the administration's three-year, $3.5 billion global food security initiative, did not rule out using US-grown food aid as a tool for development projects.
But they told reporters food aid funding should also be used to buy crops in or near poor countries as a way to benefit local farmers while supporting US-led development projects. "We've relied on food aid to fill our gap in support for agriculture, and most importantly, to reach the poorest people," Clinton said, noting government funding for overseas agriculture development has dwindled over the past decades.
"We're seeking to close that gap between development and human assistance by dedicating development resources to engage the poorest in the growth process and to support community development," she said. The United States will no longer rely on food aid as its primary tool to help reduce world hunger, Vilsack said, but will continue to use it where needed. "We've got to make farmers around the world more productive," Vilsack said.
The US effort is part of an agreement by the world's richest countries to focus on food security. The international commitment has now grown to more than $22 billion to be spent over three years, Clinton said. Commodity-based food aid has enjoyed strong political support in the United States from farm groups that grow the crops, shipping companies that transport them, and humanitarian aid groups that support overseas projects with the food.
The 2008 farm law authorised a $60 million test of food aid through local purchases instead of through US-grown food. Lawmakers rejected proposals to allot a larger portion of relief money to local purchase. The farm law also set minimum funding levels for development assistance under the "Food for Peace" program, rising to $450 million in fiscal 2012. Food for Peace, the major US food aid program, was allotted $1.69 billion for this fiscal year.