Food aid should be managed so that it supports local agricultural production. This may require special efforts to utilize local markets for the distribution of food and careful timing of deliveries. Otherwise, the introduction of food aid can disrupt local agricultural markets, depressing prices and discouraging local farm production. Commodity selection is also important. Food aid may prove counterproductive if the commodity is unacceptable to local preferences and, in extreme cases, can also distort local consumption patterns, with long-term consequences for local agricultural markets.
Food aid can also be expensive to deliver and manage.
Shipping costs, including U.S. cargo preference and any necessary inland transportation, add to the costs of delivering U.S. commodities. Proper monitoring of the commodities themselves to guard against waste and diversion is essential and can be costly. Monetization of food aid requires managing the conversion of food into local currency and then acceptable oversight of the disposition of the local currency. All these costs must be carefully weighed against the benefits in considering alternative approaches to accomplishing assistance objectives. Even with narrowly stated objectives, such as nutritional improvement in poor children, sustainable development is so complex a process that complementary interventions are necessary.