Under this program, the Department of Agriculture uses P.L. 480 funds to send U.S. farmers to work with their counterparts in other countries. The new law also expands the range of commodities in the former Food Security Wheat Reserve, now called the Food Security Commodity Reserve. The reserve, administered by the Department of Agriculture, has been used most often in assisting Africa, but in 1994 it was also used in Armenia and Georgia. Disagreements about food aid during the legislative process were reportedly few, reflecting widespread support among Democrats and Republicans. The bipartisan support for these programs is also due in part to reforms enacted over the past three decades.
Officials say they are careful to evaluate the long-term effects of any given program.
The ability to tailor food-aid programs for maximum effect will be increasingly important in an era of tight budgets and growing needs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that global food-aid needs will double over the next decade, even with reasonably optimistic assumptions about the ability of recipient countries to produce food or import it commercially. Jeanne Markunas says that complex emergencies tend to begin with a political event that leads to widespread instability, and large numbers of refugees and internally displaced citizens. This is often complicated by a natural disaster. She cites Rwanda, Liberia, and Angola as examples of countries that have had complex emergencies.