Chapter 5


Food-for-Work (FFW)

FFW projects are a special type of public work scheme where the people employed are paid
in kind of food. The rationale of FFW projects is a combination of employment creation, food
security and development objectives. However, the main impetus to launch FFW projects
often comes from the resources available to fund such schemes, namely food aid provided by
external donors (see Chapter 6 on issues of external assistance).

There has been an extensive debate about the appropriate form of payment: cash or kind.
Even in cases where public work programmes are funded by food aid deliveries from abroad,
there exists, in principle, the possibility of cash payments via monetisation of the food aid
deliveries. Monetisation means that the food aid commodities are sold on the market, and the
counterpart funds generated through the sales are used for specific purposes, for example to
finance public works programmes. Whether wages in kind or in cash are the preferable form
of payment depends on various factors, as shown in the table 5.4.


Table 5.4: Determinants of preferable type of payment in public works programmes

Conditions Preference for wages
 in cash in kind of food
Recipient country as a whole has market supply/import deficit
in food) = capacity for monetisation *
Food production/market surpluses in project area *
Food production/market deficits in project area *
Target group is food deficient *
Target group is (almost) self-sufficient in food *
Food (aid) items are part of local dietary patterns *
Food (aid) items are exotic to target group *
Tradition of wage payment in kind in the project area *
No tradition of wage payment in kind in the project area *
High transport costs into project area *
Logistical and management capacities for food distribution *
No such capacities in the project area *
Relative high food prices in project area *
Relative low food prices in project area *
Highly fluctuating food prices in project area *
In areas with weak systems of control and supervision, prone
to corruption2) *

1) for definition see Annex 1, section 2
2) as money is less bulky than food, it facilitates illegal clandestine handling.

Experiences show that participants in FFW schemes usually sell part of the food received, in
order to generate some cash income needed for other purposes (clothing, other food items,
school fees, repayment of debts, etc.). In areas with large FFW programmes, massive


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