Food aid: Trends in Food Aid

Food aid

Food aid: History and Origins

Food aid: Types of Food Aid

Food aid: Food Aid Policy Debates

The total annualflowof food aid in the years 1981 through 2005 was around 8 10 million metric tons (see figure 1) a relatively tiny amount compared to themore than 300 million tons of commercially traded food of the same commodity groups. Since 1980, humanitarian food aid has become themost dominant form, amounting to about 60 percent of the total, whereas prior to 1980, it was in the range of 10 15 percent. Since the beginning of the 21st century, program food aid or governmentto-government food assistance has declined sharply, and by 2007 seemed likely to be phased out altogether soon. Project food aid tended to be relatively stable in volume terms in the period 1980 2005. In the post World War II years, food aid comprised as much as 15 percent of total overseas assistance in the early 21st century, by contrast, it accounted for only 2 3 percent of the total.