Serious concerns over the availability of food stocks to respond to emergencies

1 November 2007 - 856 million people on the planet suffer from malnutrition or from chronic food insecurity. The recent increase in the prices of basic agricultural products has serious long term implications for not only the availability of food in many countries in crisis, but also the availability of sufficient food aid stocks to respond to humanitarian emergencies and food insecurity. Action Against Hunger (ACF) is calling for minimal stocks to be permanently available to provide aid to the most vulnerable populations.

A combination of factors leading to a decline in food aid stocks

The new eating habits of emerging economies such as China and India, climate change and the expansion of biofuels are all contributing factors behind the great rise in the global prices of basic agricultural products (wheat, maize, rice etc). Some countries in which chronic food instability is already a reality are suffering on account of these factors and are facing a drop in the amount of food available for the most vulnerable populations. The quantity of food available at the global level is at the lowest that it has been observed for decades.

Furthermore, the responses of humanitarian organisations to combat hunger may also be jeopardized. If the feared short term global decline in food aid stocks occurs, the ability of NGO's such as Action Against Hunger to respond to humanitarian emergencies is simultaneously rendered uncertain.

Maintaining a food aid stock that is constantly available at the international or local level

The infrastructure currently in place for the provision of food aid is governed by the international convention of London and its 23 signatory countries, including the USA, 15 European Union member states, Japan, Canada, Argentina etc. The convention obliges these countries to make a quantity of food available on an annual basis, calculated in tonnes, or else an equivalent financial sum to be allocated to food aid. This latter budgetary allowance, unlike donations in kind, allows NGO's like Action Against Hunger to favour purchases within the local or regional community. This framework should therefore guarantee food aid for countries or regions where food is not available in sufficient quantities. Yet the system is flawed, since reports on the provision – or not – of these supplies and, therefore, on the donor countries’ respect for their commitments, are not made public. Even more importantly, none of this food aid, including the monetary aid, is calculated according to demand, and there is no mechanism of reinforcement to react to cases of serious need. Finally, in reality there is no legal obligation compelling the signatory countries to respect their commitments.

If supplies have been relatively available to respond to emergencies in the past, Action Against Hunger fears that the present agricultural market conditions will put an end to this situation, threatening vital assistance to many populations. Action Against Hunger therefore calls on the donor countries to commit themselves to maintain food aid stocks or the equivalent financial sums, regardless of the evolution in prices of basic agricultural products.

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