A bipartisan bill expected in the U.S. Congress on Thursday would gut a provision of the farm bill, which provides food assistance to vulnerable overseas communities, by requiring all funds for nonemergency food aid to be spent on U.S. commodities, with no money for other development activities that had been part of the program, according to a draft seen by Devex.
The provision is known as Title II of Food for Peace, a flagship U.S. foreign assistance program that provides U.S. commodities in both emergency and nonemergency settings. The new bill specifically targets nonemergency food aid, which is provided alongside development activities to bolster farming communities’ ability to withstand shocks such as natural disasters or economic downturns, allowing them to feed themselves.
But the bill would prevent NGOs from spending any money under Food for Peace on programs that support smallholder farmers around the world, requiring instead that all funds are spent on food grown by U.S. farmers.
About the author
Teresa Welshtmawelsh
Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.
