Is $7 Billion in Anti-Hunger Support Falling Through the Cracks?

To lower the rate of starvation and attract agribusiness investment in the undeveloped countries, Obama advanced to put $ 7 billion into the program - Feed the Future, which is led by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). However, public and politicians start doubting if the program is really helpful for the undeveloped countries. Some of them would even judge whether the money spent on the project is efficient or not. According to the Government Accountability Office’s report, the host government did not have the appropriate time to make their investment plans and USAID staffs put the focus on the wrong places where are not important to put many resources there. Also, GAO mentions that the Feed the Future’s focus countries are suffering from intellectual brain drains; if the USAID continues introducing the high-technology farming and infrastructure projects to those countries, they would struggle to sustain them without foreign support. Moreover, the inappropriate allocation of money would destroy the political system of those Feed the Future’s focus countries since it will prompt the corruption in the society. 

As what I consider, without a well investment planning, even a large amount of money or experts put into the program is only creating waste. Worst still, it exacerbates dependence of Feed the Future’s focus countries on foreign supports. To have a long-term aid rather than focusing on the present, the advocates of Feed the Future ought to have a reality check about the initiative and require its people on the ground to account for the risk, which hampers the development process. 

link : http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/09/usaid-obama-feed-future-aid