Page "Food" Paragraph 74

Food aid can benefit people suffering from a shortage of food.

It can be used to improve peoples ' lives in the short term, so that a society can increase its standard of living to the point that food aid is no longer required.

Conversely, badly managed food aid can create problems by disrupting local markets, depressing crop prices, and discouraging food production.

Sometimes a cycle of food aid dependence can develop.

Its provision, or threatened withdrawal, is sometimes used as a political tool to influence the policies of the destination country, a strategy known as food politics.

Sometimes, food aid provisions will require certain types of food be purchased from certain sellers, and food aid can be misused to enhance the markets of donor countries.

International efforts to distribute food to the neediest countries are often coordinated by the World Food Programme.