GAO voices concern about U.S. food aid program

GAO voices concern about U.S. food aid program A congressional watchdog agency warned Senate lawmakers increased business and transportation costs have contributed to a 43 percent decline in the average food aid tonnages delivered during the past five years.
   The United States remains the world’s largest donor of food aid. Since the 2002 Farm Bill, Congress has appropriated about $2 billion per year in food aid, which delivered an average 4 million metric tons of agricultural commodities a year.
   However, the Government Accountability Office told the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry this week that transportation and assorted delivery costs represent about 65 percent of the total food aid expenditures.
   The GAO highlighted specific areas challenging the federal agencies — the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of Agriculture — in charge of food aid programs, including:
   * Funding and planning processes that increase delivery costs and lengthen time frames.
   * Transportation contracting practices that create high levels of risk for ocean carriers, resulting in increased rates.
   * Legal requirements that can result in the awarding of food aid contracts to more expensive service providers.
   * Inadequate coordination between U.S. agencies and food aid stakeholders in systematically addressing food delivery problems, such as spoilage.
   While some improvements by USAID and USDA are underway, such as pre-positioned stocks and a new transportation bid process, the GAO recommended that the heads of USAID and the Agriculture and Transportation departments work together to improve the logistics planning, transportation contracting, and monitoring of food aid programs.