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USDA’s Aid Programs Will Feed Nearly 10 Million
15 MINUTE READ
April 4, 2012

Washington

Children with bowls of food
Children in Nairobi, Kenya, prepare to eat a meal donated by a school feeding program.

International food assistance in fiscal year 2012 will benefit more than 9.7 million people worldwide under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition programs, USDA says.

“These two international food-assistance programs are important tools in the U.S. effort to support global food security and sustainable agriculture production through President Obama’s Feed the Future Initiative,” said Michael Scuse, acting under secretary of agriculture for farm and foreign agricultural services. “With the world’s population expected to top 9.3 billion by 2050, these programs lay the foundation on which food-insecure nations can meet the needs of their citizens and build more vibrant economies.”

Under the programs, USDA purchases U.S. commodities such as soybeans and rice and donates them to government agencies and private voluntary organizations in targeted countries. Food for Progress recipients in developing countries and emerging democracies sell the commodities and use the funds to introduce and expand free enterprise in the agricultural sector. For example, a past Food for Progress program in Bangladesh trained farmers to develop prawn nurseries, which generated more than $1 million in farmer income over two years. The McGovern-Dole program focuses on low-income, food-deficit countries that are committed to universal education. Participants either use or sell the donated U.S. commodities to support education, child development and food security. For example, in Mali, more than 45,000 children and adults in 120 schools have been fed by Catholic Relief Services with help from the program.

The commodities USDA is donating include U.S.-produced corn-soy blend, cornmeal, dehydrated potato flakes, dried beans, lentils, rice, sorghum, soy oil, soybeans, soybean meal, vegetable oil and wheat.

The Food for Progress and McGovern-Dole programs contribute to the goals of President Obama’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future, according to USDA. Feed the Future is part of a multilateral effort launched at the L’Aquila World Summit on Food Security in 2009 to accelerate progress toward the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015.

More information on USDA’s food aid programs can be found at the agency’s website. More information on Feed the Future can be found at the program’s website.

Food for Progress: Fiscal Year 2012 Allocations

Country Participant Potential Beneficiaries Estimated Value*
El Salvador FINCA International 270,000 $11,000,000
Guatemala Counterpart International 70,000 $7,500,000
Honduras TechnoServe 550,000 $12,000,000
Mali Aga Khan Foundation 710,000 $24,000,000
Mongolia Mercy Corps 140,000 $6,800,000
Mozambique Land O’Lakes 970,000 $22,000,000
Nicaragua TechnoServe 270,000 $9,500,000
Nicaragua Catholic Relief Services 1,490,000 $20,300,000
Senegal International Relief and Development 1,560,000 $14,800,000
Senegal Shelter for Life 20,000 $14,800,000
Tanzania Catholic Relief Services 900,000 $15,300,000
TOTAL 6,950,000 $158,000,000

* includes shipping and freight costs

McGovern-Dole Program: Fiscal Year 2012 Allocations

Country Participant Potential Beneficiaries Estimated Value*
Afghanistan World Vision 80,000 $16,600,000
Cambodia International Relief and Development 30,000 $6,900,000
Cameroon Counterpart International 120,000 $16,400,000
Ethiopia World Food Program 240,000 $26,500,000
Haiti World Food Program 300,000 $8,000,000
Honduras Catholic Relief Services 50,000 $16,000,000
Kenya World Food Program 700,000 $9,700,000
Kyrgyzstan Mercy Corps 70,000 $10,900,000
Laos Catholic Relief Services 30,000 $12,000,000
Liberia World Food Program 340,000 $6,400,000
Malawi World Food Program 340,000 $8,300,000
Nepal World Food Program 210,000 $6,000,000
Mozambique Planet Aid 70,000 $20,000,000
Mozambique World Vision 110,000 $20,000,000
Senegal Counterpart International 30,000 $11,200,000
Sierra Leone Catholic Relief Services 30,000 $10,800,000
TOTAL 2,750,000 $205,700,000

* includes shipping and freight costs