Restrictions on government subsidies given to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) may limit the help given to survivors of the tsunami. Donations are still being put to good use and CFGB is providing victims — particularly in India — with much-needed grain, rice and lentils. "We are responding," said CFGB executive director Jim Cornelius. "We just aren't able to use all of the funds from the government."
Funds given by CFGB in aid are matched at a ratio of 4:1 by the Canadian International Development Agency. However, in order to use 90 per cent of this grant, CFGB must purchase Canadian grain with the matched funds. Only 10 per cent can be used to buy grain in developing countries. Presbyterian World Service and Development supports CFGB.
The restriction is something CFGB has been fighting for seven years, arguing that it limits the flexibility to help those in need and can actually harm those waiting for help. "The disaster only hurt the coast of India. When you go back four or five kilometres, there's good agricultural land, with good crops," said Cornelius. "Rice and lentils are readily available, but the people who need it can't afford to purchase it anymore. Their livelihood has been destroyed. And if we brought food in, we're also hurting the farmers. We want to give people the ability to rebuild their lives."
The aid currently being given to India by CFGB is almost exclusively coming from donations, since aid workers decided to purchase local grain instead of shipping from Canada. They have been able to respond fully to requests for food (including 740 metric tonnes of rice, lentils, oil, sugar and salt for 20,000 people) because of these donations; however, if the need continues in the long-term, they will be limited in their ability to help because they can't draw on the majority of their government funding.
Purchasing grain in Canada and shipping it to the affected country is useful in certain situations, particularly when a country has a drastic food shortage and has no grain at its disposable. But in a crisis situation, where food is available in large amounts and at a lesser cost, it makes little sense to spend money to ship grain from Canada — an expensive and timeconsuming process.
Cornelius said the current problem simply illustrates the larger issue of inflexible government policy when it comes to food aid. "Europe and Australia have changed their policies to be more flexible," he said. "Only the U.S. and Canada have such restrictive policies. Let's not stay behind. Let's create policies that make sense."
Australia allows up to 67 per cent of its food aid to be purchased locally. The European Union permits nearly unlimited purchase of local foods in specific situations, in certain countries. Similarly, CFGB wants to reach an agreement where allowances are made to buy local grains when such action is needed.
Cornelius said decreasing the reliance on Canadian grain for food aid will not hinder the Canadian market, as Canadian food aid equals less than one per cent of production of major commodities, and therefore, the change will be insignificant.
Amy MacLachlan
