アフリカと食糧援助
現代アフリカの政治と国際関係
1988 年 1988 巻 88 号 p. 172-187,L15
詳細
1988 年 1988 巻 88 号 p. 172-187,L15
Food aid is gererally the transfer from donor countries to recipient countries of food commodities on a grant basis or on highly concessional terms. Commodities shipped as food aid are divided into two main categories; cereals including wheat, rice and coarse grains, and non-cereals including dried skim milk, dairy products, vegetable oil and butter oil. Food aid represents a significant part of the total external assistance to developing countries, especially to African countries. FAO and WFP have been continuously monitoring food aid flows and development.
Toward the end of 1983, as the drought-induced crisis in Africa intensified, secretary-General of the UN initiated a campaign to alert the international community of the iminent perils confronting the African continent, The various organizations of the UN system strengthened their emergency relief operations. The office of Emergency Operations in Africa (OEOA) was established to mobilize and co-ordinate international assistance to Africa in January 1985. The UN considered the critical social economic situation in Africa and coped with emergencies including food aid. Since 1986 food aid was overdelivered.
Food aid has aroused criticism. Food aid is critized, firstly because it creates a budgetary dependence on food aid by generating local currency resources through open market sale, secondly it reduces incentives to agricultural producers. because of lower prices of aided food, thirdly it makes a custom of consumption of food which is rarely produced in Africa, fourthly it breaks traditional defence mechanism against drought and famine, fifthly it creates sometimes new gaps between the starving and the survivors, sixthly it is used strategically by the US administration.
In conclusion, African countries must not depend on food aid, which often comes with many economic and political strings attached to it. African countries must now regard priority and self-reliance in food production and supply, that is, self-sufficiency in food as one of their central objectives.
