International Food Assistance: A U.S. Governmentwide Strategy Could Accelerate Progress toward Global Food Security
Published: 2009-10-29T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The number of undernourished people worldwide now exceeds 1 billion, according to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of food insecurity, with 1 out of every 3 people undernourished. Global targets were set at the 1996 World Food Summit and reaffirmed in 2000 with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) when the United States and more than 180 nations pledged to halve the number and proportion of undernourished people by 2015. In a May 2008 report, GAO recommended that the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Secretaries of Agriculture, State, and the Treasury, (1) develop an integrated governmentwide U.S. strategy that defines actions with specific time frames and resource commitments, enhances collaboration, and improves measures to monitor progress and (2) report annually to Congress on the implementation of the first recommendation. USAID concurred with the first recommendation but expressed concerns about the vehicle of the annual reporting. The Departments of Agriculture, State, and Treasury generally concurred with the findings. In this testimony, based on prior reports and ongoing work, GAO discusses (1) host government and donor efforts to halve hunger, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, by 2015, and (2) the status of U.S. agencies' implementation of GAO's 2008 recommendations.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Efforts of host governments and donors, including the United States, to achieve the goal of halving hunger in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 have been insufficient due to a variety of reasons. First, host governments' agricultural spending levels remain low--the most current data available show that, as of 2007, only 8 of 38 countries had fulfilled a 2003 pledge to direct 10 percent of government spending to agriculture. Second, donor aid for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa was generally declining as a share of overall official development assistance (ODA) until 2005. Third, U.S. efforts to reduce hunger in sub-Saharan Africa were constrained in funding and limited in scope. These efforts were primarily focused on emergency food aid and did not fully integrate U.S. and other donors' assistance to the region. To reverse the declining trend in ODA funding for agriculture, in July 2009, the Group of 8 (G8) agreed to a $20 billion, 3-year commitment. The U.S. share of this commitment, or $3.35 billion in fiscal year 2010, represents more than double the fiscal year 2009 budget request for agriculture and related programming. Consistent with GAO's first recommendation, U.S. agencies are in the process of developing a governmentwide strategy to achieve global food security. In September 2009, State issued a consultation document that delineates a proposed comprehensive approach to food security. Although the document outlines broad objectives and principles, it is still a work in progress and should not be considered the integrated governmentwide strategy that GAO recommended. It does not define the actions, time frames, and resource commitments each agency will undertake to achieve food security, including improved collaboration with host governments and other donors and measures to monitor and evaluate progress in implementing the strategy. Regarding GAO's second recommendation, USAID officials plan to update Congress on progress toward the implementation of such a strategy as part of the agency's Initiative to End Hunger in Africa 2008 report, which is forthcoming in 2009.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I am pleased to be here to discuss the extent to which host governments  and donors, including the United States, are working to improve global  food security. This problem is especially severe in sub-Saharan Africa, the  region where food insecurity is most prevalent with 1 out of every 3 people  considered undernourished. The number of undernourished people  worldwide has been growing and now exceeds 1 billion, according to the  estimates of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization  (FAO). As the largest international donor, contributing over half of all food  aid supplies to alleviate hunger and support development, the United  States plays an important role in responding to emergencies and ensuring  global food security. Global targets were set at the 1996 World Food  Summit and reaffirmed in 2000 with the Millennium Development Goals  (MDG), when the United States and more than 180 world leaders pledged  to halve the total number and proportion of undernourished people  reported worldwide from the 1990 level by 2015.
In recent years, GAO has issued a number of reports on international food  assistance that made recommendations to improve U.S. food aid and  global food security. My statement today is based on our May 2008 report  and other recent and ongoing work.  I will focus on two topics. First, I  will discuss host government and donor efforts to halve hunger, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, by 2015. Second, I will discuss the status of U.S .  agencies’ implementation of GAO’s 2008 recommendations to enhance  efforts to address global food insecurity and accelerate progress toward  halving world hunger by 2015, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
To address these objectives in our reports, we reviewed economic  literature on the factors that influence food security, and we convened an  expert roundtable to further delineate factors that have contributed to  persistent food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and efforts to address  these factors. For our prior reports and our ongoing review of U.S. efforts  to address food insecurity, we reviewed relevant reports by GAO and  other agencies and organizations and met with numerous U.S. agency  officials in Washington, D.C. and overseas. We also conducted fieldwork in  a number of food-insecure countries and convened structured panels of  nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and donors in four countries in  sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted these performance audits in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those  standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient,  appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence  obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions  based on our audit objectives.
In brief, Mr. Chairman, we found that, although world leaders have  committed to halving global hunger by 2015, host governments and  donors—including the United States—have made little progress, especially  in sub-Saharan Africa. First, host governments have not prioritized food  security as a development goal and, as of 2007, only 8 of 38 countries had  fulfilled a 2003 pledge to direct 10 percent of government spending to  agriculture. Second, donor aid directed toward agriculture was generally  declining until 2005. Third, U.S. efforts to reduce hunger in Africa have  been constrained in funding and limited in scope, focusing primarily on  emergency food aid, and have not addressed the underlying factors that  contributed to the recurrence and severity of food crises. To reverse the  declining trend in ODA funding for agriculture, in July 2009, the Group of 8  (G8) agreed to a $20 billion, 3-year commitment.  The U.S. share of this  commitment, or $3.35 billion, includes $1.36 billion for agriculture and  related programming in fiscal year 2010 to establish food security,  representing more than double the fiscal year 2009 budget request.
In our May 2008 report, we recommended (1) the development of an  integrated governmentwide U.S. strategy that defines each agency’s  actions with specific time frames and resource commitments, enhances  collaboration with host governments and other donors, and improves  measures to monitor progress and (2) annual reporting to Congress on the  implementation of the first recommendation.  The U.S. Agency for  International Development (USAID) concurred with the first  recommendation but expressed concerns about the vehicle of the annual  reporting.  The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA), State (State), and  Treasury generally concurred with the findings.
Consistent with our first recommendation, U.S. agencies are in the process  of developing a governmentwide strategy to achieve global food security,  with the launching of a global hunger and food security initiative. In April  2009, the new administration created the Interagency Policy Committee  (IPC). In late September 2009, State issued a consultation document that  delineates a proposed comprehensive approach to food security based on  country- and community-led planning and collaboration with U.S. partners.   According to a senior State official, the consultation document was a  product of an interagency working group. Although the document outlines  broad objectives and principles, it is still a work in progress and should  not be considered the integrated governmentwide strategy that we called  for in our 2008 recommendation. Such a strategy would define each  agency’s actions and resource commitments to achieve food security,  including improved collaboration with host governments and other donors  and measures to monitor and evaluate progress toward implementing the  strategy. Regarding our second recommendation, USAID officials stated  that they plan to update Congress on progress toward the implementation  of such a strategy as part of the agency’s 2008 Initiative to End Hunger in  Africa, which is expected to be released in 2009.
subsections: section_title: Efforts of Host Governments and Donors, including the United States, toward Halving Hunger by 2015 Have Been Insufficient, especially in Sub- Saharan Africa
paragraphs: Despite their commitment to halve global hunger by 2015, efforts of host  governments and donors, including the United States, to accelerate  progress toward that goal have been insufficient, especially in sub-Saharan  Africa. First, host governments have provided limited agricultural  spending, with only eight meeting their 2003 pledge to direct 10 percent of  government spending to agriculture. Second, multilateral and donor aid to  African agriculture generally declined from the 1980s to around 2005.  Third, U.S. efforts to reduce hunger, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have  been constrained by resource and scope limitations.
subsections: section_title: Host Governments in Sub- Saharan Africa Provide Limited Agricultural Spending
paragraphs: Although African countries pledged in 2003 to direct 10 percent of  government spending to agriculture, only 8 out of 38 governments had met  this pledge as of 2007, according to the most current available data from  the International Food Policy Research Institute. These data represent an  increase of four additional countries that met the pledge between 2005 and  2007 (see fig.1.).
The primary vehicle for addressing agricultural development in sub- Saharan Africa is the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)  and its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program  (CAADP). The African Union (AU) established NEPAD in July 2001 as a  strategic policy framework for the revitalization and development of  Africa. In 2003, AU members endorsed the implementation of CAADP, a  framework that is aimed to guide agricultural development efforts in  African countries, and agreed to allocate 10 percent of government  spending to agriculture by 2008. Subsequently, member states established  a regionally supported, country-driven CAADP roundtable process, which  defines the programs and policies that require increased investment and  support by host governments; multilateral organizations, including  international financial institutions; bilateral donors; and private  foundations. According to USAID officials, the CAADP roundtable process  is designed to increase productivity and market access for large numbers  of smallholders and promote broad-based economic growth. At the  country level, host governments are expected to lead the development of a  strategy for the agricultural sector, the coordination of donor assistance,  and the implementation of projects and programs, as appropriate. As of  October 2009, according to a senior USAID official, nine countries had  signed CAADP compacts, and five more countries were scheduled for a  CAADP roundtable process, which defines programs that are to be  financed by host governments and donors.
section_title: Multilateral and Bilateral Donor Assistance to African Agriculture Has Declined Until Recent Years
paragraphs: Until recent years, donors had reduced the priority given to agriculture. As  a result, the share of official development assistance (ODA) from both  multilateral and bilateral donors to agriculture for Africa significantly  declined, from about 15 percent in the 1980s to about 4 percent in 2006  (see fig. 2).
The decline in donor support to agriculture in Africa over this period is  due in part to competing priorities for funding and a lack of results from  unsuccessful interventions. According to the 2008 World Development  Report, many of the large-scale integrated rural development interventions  promoted heavily by the World Bank suffered from mismanagement and  weak governance and did not produce the claimed benefits.
In the 1990s, donors started to prioritize social sectors, such as health and  education, over agriculture. In recognition of the growing global food  security problem, in July 2009, the United States and assembled leaders at  the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, agreed to a $20 billion, 3-year  commitment to reverse the declining trend in ODA funding for  agriculture.
section_title: U.S. Efforts to Address Food Insecurity in Sub- Saharan Africa Were Constrained in Funding and Limited in Scope
paragraphs: U.S. assistance to address food insecurity has been constrained in funding  and limited in scope, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, the  levels of USAID funding for development in sub-Saharan Africa have not  changed significantly compared with the substantial increase in U.S.  funding for emergencies. Funding for the emergency portion of Title II of  Public Law 480—the largest U.S. food aid program—has increased  significantly in recent years, while the funding level for nonemergencies  has stagnated. In fact, the nonemergency portion accounted for 40 percent  of Title II funding in 2002, but has declined, accounting for only 15 percent  in 2008. While emergency food aid has been crucial in helping alleviate the  growing number of food crises, it does not address the underlying factors  that contributed to the recurrence and severity of these crises. Despite  repeated attempts from 2003 to 2005, the former Administrator of USAID  was unsuccessful in significantly increasing long-term agricultural  development funding in the face of increased emergency needs and other  priorities. Specifically, USAID and several other officials noted that budget  restrictions and other priorities, such as health and education, have  limited the U.S. government’s ability to fund long-term agricultural  development programs. Also, the United States, consistent with other  multilateral and bilateral donors, has steadily reduced its ODA to  agriculture for Africa since the late 1980s, from about $500 million in 1988  to less than $100 million in 2006.
Launched in 2002, the Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa  (IEHA)—which represented the U.S. strategy to help fulfill the MDG goal  of halving hunger by 2015—was constrained in funding and limited in  scope. In 2005, USAID, the primary agency that implemented IEHA,  committed to providing an estimated $200 million per year for 5 years  through the initiative, using existing funds from Title II of Public Law 480  food for development and assorted USAID Development Assistance (DA)  and other accounts. IEHA was intended to build an African-led partnership  to cut hunger and poverty by investing in efforts to promote agricultural  growth that is market-oriented and focused on small-scale farmers. IEHA  was implemented in three regional missions in sub-Saharan Africa, as well  as in eight bilateral missions: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda in East Africa;  Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia in southern Africa; and Ghana and Mali  in West Africa. However, USAID officials acknowledged that IEHA lacks  a political mandate to align the U.S. government food aid, emergency, and  development agendas to address the root causes of food insecurity.  Although it purported to be a governmentwide strategy, IEHA was limited  to only some of USAID’s agricultural development activities and did not  integrate with other agencies in terms of plans, programs, resources, and  activities to address food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. For example, at  the time of our review, because only eight USAID missions had fully  committed to IEHA, and the rest of the missions had not attributed  funding to the initiative, USAID had been unable to leverage all of the  agricultural development funding it provides to end hunger in sub-Saharan  Africa. This lack of a comprehensive strategy likely led to missed  opportunities to leverage expertise and minimize overlap and duplication.  For example, both the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and  USDA are making efforts to address agriculture and food insecurity in sub- Saharan Africa, but IEHA’s decision-making process at the time of our  review had not taken these efforts into consideration. In addition, IEHA  had not leveraged the full extent of the U.S. assistance across all agencies  to address food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. For example, one of the  United States’ top priorities for development assistance is the treatment,  prevention, and care of HIV/AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan  for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is receiving billions of dollars every  year.
The new administration has committed to improving international food  assistance by pledging U.S. leadership in developing a new global  approach to hunger, and the Secretary of State has emphasized the  importance of a comprehensive approach to sustainable systems of  agriculture in rural areas worldwide. The U.S. share of the G8 commitment  of $20 billion, or $3.35 billion, includes $1.36 billion for agriculture and  related programming in fiscal year 2010 to establish food security,  representing more than double the fiscal year 2009 budget request level.
section_title: Consistent with GAO’s Recommendations, Efforts to Develop a U.S. Governmentwide Strategy to Address Global Food Security Are in Progress
paragraphs: In our May 2008 report, we recommended that the Administrator of USAID  (1) work in collaboration with the Secretaries of State, Agriculture, and  the Treasury to develop an integrated governmentwide strategy that  defines each agency’s actions and resource commitments to achieve food  security, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, including improving  collaboration with host governments and other donors and developing  improved measures to monitor and evaluate progress toward the  implementation of this strategy and (2) report on progress toward the  implementation of the first recommendation as part of the annual U.S.  International Food Assistance Report submitted to Congress. USAID  concurred with the first recommendation but expressed concerns about  the vehicle of the annual reporting.  The Departments of Agriculture, State,  and Treasury generally concurred with the findings.
Consistent with our first recommendation, U.S. agencies have launched a  global hunger and food security initiative and, as part of that initiative, are  working to develop a governmentwide strategy to address global food  insecurity. In April 2009, the new administration created the Interagency  Policy Committee (IPC). In late September 2009, State issued a  consultation document—a work in progress—that delineates a proposed  comprehensive approach to food security based on country- and  community-led planning and collaboration with U.S. partners.  According  to a senior State official, the consultation document was a product of an  interagency working group.  Although the document outlines broad  objectives and principles, it is still a work in progress and should not be  considered the integrated governmentwide strategy that we called for in  our 2008 recommendation. A comprehensive strategy would define the  actions with specific time frames and resource commitments that each  agency undertakes to achieve food security, particularly in sub-Saharan  Africa, including improving collaboration with host governments and other  donors and developing improved measures to monitor and evaluate  progress toward implementing the strategy. In prior products, we have  identified six characteristics of an effective national strategy that may  provide additional guidance to shape policies, programs, priorities,  resource allocations, and standards to achieve the identified results.
The consultation document outlines three key objectives: (1) to increase  sustainable market-led growth across the entire food production and  market chain; (2) to reduce undernutrition; and (3) to increase the impact  of humanitarian food assistance. State has also identified five principles  for advancing global food security strategy, as follows:    comprehensively address the underlying causes of hunger and  undernutrition,  invest in country-led plans,    strengthen strategic coordination,   leverage the benefits of multilateral mechanisms to expand impacts, and    deliver on sustained and accountable commitments.
Regarding our second recommendation for annual reporting to Congress  on an integrated governmentwide food security strategy, USAID suggested  that, rather than the International Food Assistance Report (IFAR), a more  appropriate report, such as the annual progress report on IEHA (which is  not congressionally required), be used to report progress on the  implementation of our first recommendation. USAID officials stated that  they plan to update Congress on progress toward implementation of such  a strategy as part of the agency’s 2008 IEHA report, which is forthcoming  in 2009. A summary of the 2008 IEHA report, released in September 2009,  identified three food security pillars—(1) immediate humanitarian  response, 2) urgent measures to address causes of the food crisis, and (3)  related international polices and opportunities—used to respond to the  2007 and 2008 global food crisis. However, as we concluded in our 2008  report, IEHA neither comprehensively addresses the underlying causes of  food insecurity nor leverages the full extent of U.S. assistance across all  agencies to fulfill the MDG goal of halving hunger by 2015, especially in  sub-Saharan Africa.
Finally, in response to a request from Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro,  Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on  Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and  Related Agencies, we are currently conducting a review of U.S. efforts to  address global food insecurity. Report issuance is planned for February  2010. At that time, we plan to report on (1) the nature and scope of U.S.  food security programs and activities and (2) the status of U.S. agencies’  ongoing efforts to develop and implement an integrated governmentwide  strategy to address persistent food insecurity by using GAO criteria  identified in prior products.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to respond  to any questions you or other Members of the Subcommittee may have.
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For questions about this testimony, please contact Thomas Melito at (202)  512-9601 or melitot@gao.gov. Individuals who made key contributions to  this testimony include Phillip J. Thomas (Assistant Director), Sada  Aksartova, Carol Bray, Ming Chen, Debbie Chung, Lynn Cothern, Martin  De Alteriis, Mark Dowling, Brian Egger, Etana Finkler, Kendall Helm, Joy  Labez, Ulyana Panchishin, Lisa Reijula, and Julia Ann Roberts.
section_title: Related GAO Products
paragraphs: International Food Assistance: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight.  GAO-09-977SP. Washington, D.C.: September 30, 2009.
International Food Assistance:  USAID Is Taking Actions to Improve  Monitoring and Evaluation of Nonemergency Food Aid, but Weaknesses  in Planning Could Impede Efforts. GAO-09-980.  Washington, D.C.:   September 28, 2009.
International Food Assistance: Local and Regional Procurement  Provides Opportunities to Enhance U.S. Food Aid, but Challenges May  Constrain Its Implementation. GAO-09-757T. Washington, D.C.: June 4,  2009.
International Food Assistance: Local and Regional Procurement Can  Enhance the Efficiency of U.S. Food Aid, but Challenges May Constrain  Its Implementation. GAO-09-570. Washington, D.C.: May 29, 2009.
International Food Security: Insufficient Efforts by Host Governments  and Donors Threaten Progress to Halve Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa  by 2015. GAO-08-680. Washington, D.C.: May 29, 2008.
Foreign Assistance: Various Challenges Limit the Efficiency and  Effectiveness of U.S. Food Aid. GAO-07-905T. Washington, D.C.: May 24,  2007.
Foreign Assistance: Various Challenges Impede the Efficiency and  Effectiveness of U.S. Food Aid. GAO-07-560. Washington, D.C.: April 13,  2007.
Foreign Assistance: U.S. Agencies Face Challenges to Improving the  Efficiency and Effectiveness of Food Aid. GAO-07-616T. Washington,  D.C.: March 21, 2007.
Darfur Crisis: Progress in Aid and Peace Monitoring Threatened by  Ongoing Violence and Operational Challenges. GAO-07-9. Washington,  D.C.: November 9, 2006.
Maritime Security Fleet: Many Factors Determine Impact of Potential  Limits of Food Aid Shipments. GAO-04-1065. Washington, D.C.:  September 13, 2004.
United Nations: Observations on the Oil for Food Program and Iraq’s  Food Security. GAO-04-880T. Washington, D.C.: June 16, 2004.
Foreign Assistance: Lack of Strategic Focus and Obstacles to  Agricultural Recovery Threaten Afghanistan’s Stability. GAO-03-607.  Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2003.
Foreign Assistance: Sustained Efforts Needed to Help Southern Africa  Recover from Food Crisis. GAO-03-644. Washington, D.C.: June 25, 2003.
Food Aid: Experience of U.S. Programs Suggest Opportunities for  Improvement. GAO-02-801T. Washington, D.C.: June 4, 2002.
Foreign Assistance: Global Food for Education Initiative Faces  Challenges for Successful Implementation. GAO-02-328. Washington,  D.C.: February 28, 2002.
Foreign Assistance: U.S. Food Aid Program to Russia Had Weak Internal  Controls. GAO/NSIAD/AIMD-00-329. Washington, D.C.: September 29,  2000.
Foreign Assistance: U.S. Bilateral Food Assistance to North Korea Had  Mixed Results. GAO/NSIAD-00-175. Washington, D.C.: June 15, 2000.
Foreign Assistance: Donation of U.S. Planting Seed to Russia in 1999  Had Weaknesses. GAO/NSIAD-00-91. Washington, D.C.: March 9, 2000.
Foreign Assistance: North Korea Restricts Food Aid Monitoring.  GAO/NSIAD-00-35. Washington, D.C.: October 8, 1999.
Food Security: Factors That Could Affect Progress toward Meeting World  Food Summit Goals. GAO/NSIAD-99-15. Washington, D.C.: March 22, 1999.
Food Security: Preparations for the 1996 World Food Summit.  GAO/NSIAD-97-44. Washington, D.C.: November 7, 1996.
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