Testimony on food aid

Before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
March 15, 2007

Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee, today. My name is Walter Middleton. I am World Vision’s Vice-President for the Food Resources Management Group based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to helping children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

My testimony today is on behalf of World Vision and the other members of the Alliance for Food Aid, which is comprised of fourteen private voluntary organizations that conduct food aid programs overseas. Adventist Development & Relief Agency International, ACDI/VOCA, Africare, American Red Cross, Counterpart International, Food for the Hungry International, Joint Aid Management, International Relief & Development, Land O'Lakes, OIC International, Partners for Development, Project Concern, United Methodist Committee on Relief & Development and World Vision.

It is also a privilege as well to be here with Jim Morris. World Vision is one of the major partners with the World Food Program and is pleased to have endorsed the WFP/UNICEF End Child Hunger Initiative.

Mr. Chairman, we thank you and the Subcommittee for your unrelenting support for food aid over the years.

Personal Note on School Feeding Programs and Title II:

On a personal note, I have a long history with food aid. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I attended primary school in a small railway town in Rajasthan, India. One day, our principal announced that we would receive a daily snack donated by America.


Even though the railway employed my father, we were poor. Most days I went to school on only a slice of bread and a cup of tea. The milk and porridge provided by the United States was a great blessing that I will never forget. The school feeding programs in India lasted 20 years or more, after which many were taken over by local governments or associations.

PL 480 Title II – The Core US Food Aid Program:

Private voluntary organizations implement emergency and developmental PL 480 Title II programs through agreements with USAID. We implement Food for Progress agricultural development programs and McGovern-Dole Food for Education programs through agreements with USDA.

In my written remarks, I review several issues that are important considerations as you prepare the FY 2008 food aid appropriations. I would like to call your attention to three, in particular.

• First, we ask the Committee to provide at least $1.6 billion for the PL 480 Title II program. If you look at the history of appropriations in recent years, this is the average appropriations for Title II after supplemental appropriations are passed. Providing the funding at the beginning of the fiscal year, rather than piecemeal, will allow better program planning and the orderly procurement and delivery of commodities.
• Second, of sums appropriated for Title II, we ask that $600 million be made available for non-emergency developmental programs.
• And, third, we ask the Committee to provide at least $100 million for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which provides an incentive for poor and hungry families to send their children to school.

I would like to explain why we seek $600 million for Title II non-emergency programs.

Making a lasting impact on food security is a difficult task. Areas where poverty and hunger are endemic are often buffeted by multiple setbacks, such as droughts, floods, disease and war. Therefore, programs need to be tailored to local needs and given enough time, often five or more years, to have a lasting impact.

Title II allows PVOs to develop multi-year programs to improve food security, working in cooperation with local communities. These are called “non-emergency programs” and they give us the greatest chance to have a lasting impact.

The law sets a minimum tonnage for Title II “non-emergency” programs. However, due to the loss of Section 416 surplus commodities and budget pressures, in recent years most Title II resources have been shifted to emergency needs, displacing longer-term, developmental programs. Non-emergency programs are being phased out in 17 countries and cutback in others. And, the amount provided has been frozen at $350 million.

We believe this is counterproductive, as developmental food aid helps improve people’s resilience to droughts and economic downturns. Giving people the means to improve their lives also provides hope for a better future and helps stabilize vulnerable areas.

World Vision Non-Emergency PL 480 Title II Program in Kenya:

Let me give you an example. A World Vision Title II program in Kenya targeted 1528 pastoralist families in the Turkana region, an arid environment that is plagued by recurring droughts. Before our program, these families were dependent on emergency food aid nearly every year.

Over a period of 6 years, we used a combination of monetization and distribution. The funds generated from commodity sales supported food for work projects that improved irrigation infrastructure, cultivation techniques and land management. As a result, income increased from a baseline of $235 per year to $800 per year, families could afford to send their children to school, and the communities no longer depended on relief. In fact, the program was turned over to the participants and they have spread their knowledge to 475 other farmer families.

We were hoping to replicate this successful model in other areas of Kenya where pastoralists are still dependent on emergency rations nearly every year. However, USAID is phasing out non-emergency projects in Kenya as part of a larger effort to limit the scope of developmental food aid programs. Meanwhile, Kenya remains a recipient of emergency food aid.

Report language in previous appropriations bills called on the Administration to meet the minimum tonnage for Title II non-emergency programs. While we believe this might have stopped the decline in non-emergency programs, it has not increased the availability of resources. Thus, we ask that of the sums available for Title II, $600 million be made available for non-emergency programs.

Conclusion:

I am one of the fortunate ones, who received help through a U.S. food aid program, completed my education and advanced in my career first at CARE and now at World Vision. The continuation and expansion of food aid programs will provide the opportunity for a healthy, productive life to others.

Hunger is a solvable problem. It has been my passion and career focus.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for your support of these life-giving programs. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.