1. Policies that subsidize Food Consumption
Text extracted from
The World Food Problem
Leathers and Foster, 2004

2. Food Subsidies Popularity of subsidies: Removal of food subsidies
Donor countries
with burdensome surpluses
Donors
directly feed famine victims
Exporters
Farmers
Food distributors
Input suppliers
Shippers
Developing countries
Military
Industry
Politicians
Removal of food subsidies
Can result in riots

3. Marketwide food subsidies
Egypt
lowered the cost of food for everyone
Bread, flour, pulses, sugar, tea, cooking oil
kept undernutrition to minimum
Inefficiency
Waste
Bread used for livestock feed
Lower industry investment
Government money used to import food
Overconsumption of wheat
Government paid higher price than consumers would have
Up to 17% of Government budget used for subsidies

4. Subsidies for the needy
Income targeting
Sri Lanka restricted rice subsidies to low income households
Half of households qualified
Self-targeting
Subsidies on food with low demand
Cassava, yams, maize, sorghum, millet
Sri Lanka market

5. Subsidies for the needy
Supplemental Feeding
Direct distribution to pregnant women, infants
Positive results
Severely malnourished benefit most
Must be combined with health care
Problems
Food shared with non-target family members
Nutritional timing important for pregnancy, preschoolers

6. Subsidies for the Needy
Ration Cards
Allow purchase of food at below market price
Food Stamps
Pay market price for food
Must buy food stamps
price varies with income
Food for Work
Often work to improve agricultural infrastructure
Food for work project, North Korea

7. Food Aid Important in famine relief Problems with giving food:
Best if purchased in country
Problems with giving food:
Shipping costs high
89% value of the food
Medical care more critical
Not self-sustaining
Food sometimes used as cash
Children don’t benefit
Depresses farm prices in country
Disincentive to agriculture
Food aid for Indonesia Earthquake victims, 2005