InterAction members call on the administration and Congress to take immediate action to address the urgent global food security crisis.

InterAction’s more than 165 member organizations work in every developing country to provide humanitarian and development assistance and are witnessing first-hand how this global food crisis is impacting the poor, conflict-affected and vulnerable people that we serve all over the world. We know from decades of field experience that when a food crisis hits the most vulnerable people, they are forced to make the impossible choice between feeding their families for one more day and planning for their futures. To survive, poor and vulnerable people will sell off their limited assets, begin to eat their seed stock, and look for employment outside the agricultural sector. All of these short-term coping strategies are likely to lead to decreasing agricultural production in the future, further exacerbating the problems. For these reasons, InterAction members are deeply concerned by the short- and long-term impacts of this crisis and call for the US government’s leadership to address the root causes of global hunger.

We are witnessing broad and diverse impacts in countries across the globe due to skyrocketing commodity prices. For example:

• In Niger, prices of basic foodstuffs have spiked, exacerbating the West African nation's already precarious food situation. Currently about two-thirds of the population is at serious risk of going hungry and shortages are pushing the country closer to famine.
• In Burundi, the World Food Program was forced to close its “Food for Training” program, cutting off urgently needed food from a school feeding program that serves poor children.
• In Tajikistan, 61% percent of households are down to one warm meal a day and neighboring Kazakhstan has suspended wheat exports, shutting off its primary supply.
• Along the Thailand-Burma border, the price hikes threaten the welfare of thousands of refugees living in camps, who are not permitted to grow their own food and depend on aid from international donors.

In response, the UN World Food Program (WFP) announced that it will need at least an additional $755 million just to continue current emergency feeding programs this year. While emergency measures are an important and necessary step to address urgent needs, this food crisis will not be resolved by emergency food aid programs alone. The World Bank has estimated continued high food prices at least through the end of 2009, and no significant decreases through 2015. This means that effective solutions depend upon a combination of:

1) emergency food aid,
2) emergency investments in the current crop cycles to boost short-term production,
3) long-term investments to increase agricultural productivity and strengthen farm livelihoods, and
4) a significant recasting of the US approach to global hunger through a comprehensive long-term strategy to address the underlying root causes of chronic hunger.

In response to the WFP appeal, the US, which provides about half of the world’s food assistance, pledged $200 million in emergency food aid from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust fund. In addition, President Bush announced a request to Congress for an additional $770 million to address this crisis. While we appreciate the US commitment to meeting emergency needs, we remain concerned that this is woefully insufficient given the overwhelming scale and ongoing volatility of the emergency.

The Administration request aims to supplement the regular fiscal year 2009 budget – meaning that these funds would not be available until October 1, 2008. The FY09 amended request, however, does not cover the full increase in costs being incurred due to skyrocketing prices and provides only minimum investments in increasing long-term agricultural productivity.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

We urgently call upon the administration and Congress to:

– $995 million for PL 480 Title II food aid programs is needed to cover the recent commodity increases and existing humanitarian needs at current capacities, and allow flexibility to prepare for the rapidly-changing needs in the field.

– $650 million in the Development Assistance (DA) account is required to make emergency investments to ensure that poor farmers have access to fertilizer, seeds and other inputs required to increase short- and long-term agricultural productivity. Over the past several years, US funding to support agricultural development has declined steadily from a high of $589 million in 2005 to just $283 million in 2008.

– At least $300 million is necessary to address the impacts of the food crisis alone through the International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account.

– $100 million is needed to jump-start replenishment of the depleted Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. While over $469 million has been drawn down from the Trust since 2002, it has not been replenished since then. This amount would be the first step in the incremental replenishment of this critical reserve, which serves as a quick response mechanism for emergency needs such as the present crisis.

– An additional $50 million in the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account would provide critical cash support to WFP operations for refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) in order to avert food pipeline breaks to these vulnerable groups.

– Additional funding is required to ensure that the Food for Progress and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education programs operating under the Agriculture Department (USDA) can continue at current levels despite increased costs.

The global food crisis is pushing millions of people deeper into poverty and desperation, while their governments are faced with increasing civil unrest. We, the undersigned, call for the US government’s strong leadership to address this crisis immediately.

Care
Catholic Relief Services
Save The Children
World Vision
Mercy Corps
International Rescue Committee
Africare
American Jewish World Service
American Refugee Committee
Bread for the World
Christian Children's Fund
Congressional Hunger Center
Friends of the World Food Program
International Medical Corps
Church World Service
Results
United Methodist Committee on Relief
Winrock International