Few types of developmental assistance elicit as much emotion and criticism as food aid. As recent events in Ethiopia and Sudan have shown, aid agencies are frequently under intense public pressure to undertake highly visible food relief operations. When successful, such operations can enhance the image of an aid agency and strengthen public support for development assistance in general.

However, food aid programs can also draw attention to the weaknesses and shortcomings of foreign aid and generate media “horror stories” that undermine the public confidence in the donor aid programs. Indeed, in the past four decades since food aid programs...

In order to understand clearly the evolution of Canadian food aid policy in the 1970s and 1980s, it is necessary to have some insight into the history of the program and the policy priorities that have shaped it. These priorities have emerged from the dual role that food aid has played as both an extension of Canada’s domestic agricultural policies and an instrument of foreign policy. The tensions inherent in this dual role have been a principal driving force behind the nature of Canada’s food aid program.

Any analysis of Canadian food aid must necessarily begin with a discussion of...

A significant feature of Canadian food aid policy is its multiple objectives. Since food aid represents a highly visible aspect of Canada’s relationship with the Third World, it has become an important policy instrument in this relationship. As such, it has come to serve and reflect a broad spectrum of Canadian interests in ldc’s. Because of this, the Canadian food aid program in any particular country may be designed to serve a variety of objectives simultaneously. These objectives cover three broad areas of policy concerns: domestic agricultural and commercial policy, general foreign policy, and humanitarian and development policy. Within each...

Owing to its complexity and the less than transparent way in which it is administered, Canadian food aid decision making does not readily lend itself to formalized description. As a result the decision-making process by which Canadian food aid is planned and allocated has received little attention in the existing literature. Because of the multi-purpose nature of food aid, and the fact that such allocations have a direct impact on Canada’s relations with foreign states, a number of departments share an interest and involvement in the food aid program. The following chapters are concerned with gaining an understanding of how...

A very important decision that directly affects the quality of Canada’s food aid program is the selection of food aid products to be sent to recipient countries. The nature and characteristics of these commodities and their impact on the recipient vary significantly. Selection of food aid commodities is an important reflection of the type of objectives being pursued in the aid program. Since the 1960s the composition of Canada’s food aid basket has become increasingly diversified, with at least twenty different food products included in the program at one time or another.¹ This chapter focuses on the process by which...

In this chapter I will focus on the programming and implementation of Canadian bilateral food aid: that is, the process by which the actual annual allocations of food aid funds are made to specific recipient countries. Despite the critical attention that food aid has often received, the decision-making process by which bilateral food aid is allocated has been given very little attention in the existing literature.¹ However, a more detailed analysis of the organization of the decision-making process is important to this study for two reasons. First, the structure of the decision-making process determines the capabilities that the food aid...

When a donor country decides to grant food aid to a recipient country, it faces two fundamental policy decisions. First, should the donor place conditions on the recipient to control the use of its aid funds and the domestic policies which may determine aid effectiveness? Second, if some degree of donor intervention is deemed necessary, what will the conditions be and how will they be administered? These questions are crucial because the donor’s attitude toward control and intervention shapes the relationship that exists between the two countries. The donor’s attitude also determines the type of administrative machinery and instruments that...

Its ability to produce an abundance of food supplies in an era of dwindling resources makes Canada what James Eayrs calls a “foremost nation” in an important area of contemporary international relations.³ It is not surprising that from its modest beginnings in 1951 the Canadian food aid program has grown into a large and complex part of Canada’s overseas development assistance. During the past three decades over three billion dollars worth, or fully one fifth of all Canadian foreign aid, has been offered in the form of foodstuffs. Although Canada’s relations with the Third World have become more complex as...