Emergency Food Security Program - FY 2017

Speeches Shim

EMERGENCY FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2017 REPORT TO CONGRESS

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) submits pursuant to a statutory requirement under the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-195), which amended Section 492(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292a(e)). The report describes how USAID used FY 2017 International Disaster Assistance funding, through the Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP), to address food insecurity around the world. Activities included the use of market-based approaches, such as local and regional procurement (LRP), cash transfers for food, and food vouchers.

PURPOSE AND PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The U.S. Government is the world’s largest donor of international food assistance. USAID delivers most of this assistance through its Office of Food for Peace (FFP). FFP uses a variety of approaches to deliver food assistance and reduce hunger and malnutrition – especially in emergencies, when swift action is required to ensure people have access to sufficient, nutritious food.

USAID delivers two main types, or modalities, of food assistance: 1) food shipped from the United States, as authorized in Title II of the Food for Peace Act; and, 2) market-based food assistance, with complementary services. The Agency began using market-based food assistance in FY 2010, and the Global Food Security Act (GFSA) of 2016 (Section 7 of P.L.114-195) formally authorized these modalities.2 The GFSA states the purpose of EFSP is, “to mitigate the effects of manmade and natural disasters by utilizing innovative new approaches to delivering aid that support affected persons and the communities hosting them, build resilience and early recovery, and reduce opportunities for waste, fraud, and abuse.”

USAID uses market-based assistance when appropriate conditions are present and based on four criteria: market appropriateness, feasibility, project objectives and cost.3 LRP has additional restrictions on the source and origin of commodities to ensure USAID activities reinforce, and do not undermine, developing markets to the greatest extent possible.

Date 
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - 3:45pm