Title II Food Aid and Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards a Principled Argument for When, and When Not, to Monetize
March 31, 2003 - David Tschirley and Julie Howard
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EmailIDWP 81. David Tschirley and Julie Howard. 2003. 30 pp.Title II Food Aid and Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards a Principled Argument for When, and When Not, to Monetize
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The rapid increase in monetization of Title II food aid commodities since the practice was
introduced in 1986 has lead to vigorous debate over the proper role of this tool in United States
Agency for International Development’s (USAID) portfolio. This paper attempts to develop a
set of principles and approaches to food aid, and specifically to monetization, that balance
pragmatic short-run considerations against the need to pursue better long-term solutions.
The paper summarizes trends in U.S. foreign assistance, and reviews historical and recent
critiques of food aid. It examines the resource additionality of U.S. food aid and its implications
for food aid practice, then lays out the case for monetization, distinguishing between when
monetization is a first best option, when it is a second best option, and when it should not be
used. The paper closes by examining two key monetization issues: the role of monetization
under emergencies, and the implications of increased use of value-added commodities in Title II.
