USDA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the release of $1 billion in previously allocated food aid. This funding will be used to purchase U.S.-grown commodities to provide emergency food aid to 18 countries, as previously identified by the two agencies. USDA will utilize Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) authority to finance the effort. An initial tranche of approximately $950 million will support the purchase, shipment and distribution of various U.S. agricultural products, including wheat, rice, sorghum, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, vegetable oil, cornmeal, navy beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. USAID will determine the most suitable deployment of these commodities to avoid disrupting local markets.
A separate pilot project of up to $50 million will be established to utilize U.S. commodities not traditionally included in international food assistance programs, with USAID collaborating with humanitarian organizations to develop this initiative. The supplies under the larger aid effort will be sent to Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen. Read more news and market reports from Pro Farmer.
