Chapter 6


1. Introduction

Having discussed the policy approaches which a government can apply to improve the food
security situation of its country, we now turn to the question to what extent national efforts in
this field can be complemented, supported and enhanced by external assistance and
international policy interventions.

Although we do not discuss here the political economy of international cooperation and
external development assistance this would go far beyond the scope of this Manual one
should be aware of the following issues of concern in this field:

* "Ownership" of policies: To what extent are decisions concerning policies involving
 external assistance internalised in the policy making process of the country concerned
 rather than being imposed (or felt to be imposed) by donors and/or external agencies?
 This refers, for example, to the design and implementation of macroeconomic and
 structural adjustment programs.

* External versus internal resource allocation: To what extent do resources provided
 through external assistance complement or replace own initiatives and domestic resource
 allocation? This addresses the issue of possible "policy disincentive effects" of external
 assistance and refers, for example, to cases where the provision of food or financial aid
 delays or prevents a government to take the necessary reform steps.

* Structure of resource flow: What is the structure of resources flow (human, financial and
 natural resources) to and from the country? Of specific relevance here are the implications
 of a (net) resource outflow on food security when, for example, substantial debt service
 payments of a country lead to a further depletion of its resources and/or crucially affect
 the balance of payments situation, inhibiting the import of food or agricultural production
 inputs.

* Overall and global issues: Which problems affecting the economy of a country and the
 welfare of its citizens are beyond the reach of individual countries' policies and cannot be
 solved by internal adjustment and/or development assistance to individual countries alone
 but need to be tackled on a regional or global level? This refers, for example, to the
 international trade relations, the international monetary system, and global environmental
 issues. Without fundamental policy changes in these fields, requiring concerted efforts
 and "structural adjustment" on a global scope, many attempts to solve the problem of food
 insecurity in an individual country remain incomplete and are likely to fail.

 In this chapter, we will concentrate on those approaches to international development co-
 operation and external assistance which, by nature or intention, are specifically geared
 towards improving food security. These comprise food aid, technical and financial
 assistance, and the linkages between international trade policies and food security. In the
 final section of this chapter, the major outcomes of the World Food Summit, held in
 November 1996, are summarised. As Appendix to Chapter 6 two case studies are presented
 as examples of the use of the conceptual framework presented in this manual for analysing
 the food situation and food aid policy issues in the two countries Ethiopia and Cape Verde.


- 224 -