Food Aid Policy
Given the importance of
food aid activities at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, we are interested in food aid policy. We can both learn from and contribute to the development of these policies in Canada and internationally.
What are we trying to do?
Food aid, which was based on disposing of agricultural surpluses, while feeding people, damaged the local markets for local food producers. We are working to ensure that food aid is carried out in ways that strengthen long term food security and improve the serious problems of micronutrient deficiency, especially among the very young. To see these changes globally, we are working on changing the global food aid rules, particularly the Food Aid Convention.
What have we accomplished?
The early focus of our work was a change which would allow Canadian funded food aid to be purchased in developing countries as close as possible to the need. With the support of Canadian farm groups and our supporters this effort was successful and resulted in the complete ‘untying’ of Canadian food aid in April 2008. Canadian food aid is now largely purchased in developing countries, ensuring that the food we provide is more suited to the local diet and that nearby smallholder farmers benefit from the increased demand.
What are we still working on?
Since 2008 our food aid policy work has focused on the reform of the Food Aid Convention. This convention is an international agreement among 23 donor countries to provide a ‘floor level’ of food aid each year to respond to acute food crises – currently sufficient to feed 40 million people for a year.
The Food Aid Convention was first created in 1967 and was last renegotiated in 1999. After 11 years, it is now out of date and doesn’t recognize many new forms of food assistance that have proven very effective. There are also other changes needed to make the Convention more
effective. In June 2010 the member countries decided to begin working on a new Convention, a process that will take between 12-18 months. Canada is a member of the Convention and is chairing these negotiations.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is collaborating with many of the major US and European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to put forward common proposals for the reform of this important international treaty. Within Canada, the Foodgrains Bank is working with Canadian NGOs to advise the Canadian negotiators, who are strong supporters for the reform of the Convention.
Food Aid Convention Negotiations Open
The members of the Food Aid Convention, chaired by Canada, started negotiations to make a new treaty on February 28 2011 in London. The first stage of the negotiations will focus on how many different kinds of activities to call ‘food assistance’ and the nature of the commitments. There is widespread agreement to include food vouchers and cash transfers to buy food but some disagreement about agricultural inputs to help farmers get back into food production. The most contentious issue will be the nature and level of the commitments made by each country. In the past Canada promised 420,000 tonnes of food each year but there are indications that Canada will opt for a cash commitment of unknown amount instead. The current commitment, based on average prices over the past five years, is worth about $250 million per year.
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