Africa: Food aid - from reactiveness to sustainability?

The most immediate form of assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people is food aid. Yet, while this may be an effective short-term measure, questions are being raised about long-term sustainability, and about the role of donor countries in promoting local food security. This week the Eldis (a development, policy, practice and research website) Aid and Debt Resource Guide features papers that consider various aspects of the debate over food aid. A paper from the OECD considers the phenomenon of tying food aid, restricting its sources to a few donor countries. A paper from the All Parliamentary Group for Debt, Aid and Trade argues for the need to build agricultural capacity in Africa, so that responses to food insecurity cease to be reactive.