Food aid policy: management of EC food aid and special operations in support of food security in developing countries

The committee adopted the report by Mr Wilfried TELK�MPER (V, D) on the proposal concerning food aid policy and food aid management and specific operations in support of food security. The objective of this proposal is to provide a response to food shortages by integrating various measures within the framework of a long-term development strategy and improving the coordination of food aid measures in the European Union. The amendments adopted seek mainly to ensure that food aid is only allocated when it appears to be the sole means of improving the food security of populations who do not have the means to deal with food shortages themselves; priority should be given to the poorest sections of the population. The granting of food aid should also be conditional upon the implementation of development projects which promote sustainable food security in the long term. Similarly, the report calls for products to be mobilized in the first instance in the recipient country or in a developing country in the same geographical region. If this is impossible, aid should be mobilized in another developing country and only if none of these alternatives proves possible should products come from the Community market. This method should increase food security in the country in which the food is purchased, which is why the report also calls for care to be taken to ensure that food purchases in a developing country do not upset the market in that country or adversely affect local production or the food supply to the local populace.�