Assessment of the PL-480 outreach and enhancement grant programs

The evaluation focuses on possible funding alternatives to these projects. Both projects support the current trend toward Title II programs that have long-term development (as well as food assistance) objectives, and therefore involve more inputs, closer management, and higher costs. In fact, in encouraging expansions, the Outreach project has created an ongoing need for more funding. A.I.D., however, has only a limited amount of funding available to support Title II, all of which is currently directed through the two projects. PVO's, for their part, are unable and unwilling to increase their financial support, due to such factors as their own funding limitations, their increasing focus on development projects rather than feeding programs, and the restrictions placed by A.I.D. on integrating Title II foods into other PVO activities. Nor do other ready funding sources exist. Host governments have been increasingly unable to support Title II, and food aid beneficiaries are generally too poor to contribute toward program costs. Monetization has become an important funding source in some cases, but cannot be relied upon. Moreover, both A.I.D. and PVO's are increasingly questioning whether traditional programming represents the best use of Title II commodities and of their own resources. Serious consideration of this issue is long overdue. A.I.D. and PVO leadership should examine whether traditional feeding programs should be scaled back in order to mobilize food resources for development programs that have little or no feeding component. They should also, however, consider whether FFP Title II should return to its earlier focus of food relief, perhaps in a child survival mode, with less emphasis on long-term development. Or it may be that the current programs represent the best compromise between relief and development. Once these issues are resolved, funding questions can be addressed. The evaluation proposes that DA funding be restructured to provide block grants to PVO Title II country programs and to central PVO management. This format would explicitly recognize that A.I.D. funds constitute core support to Title II activities, not incremental funding for optional program improvements. The grants should be provided on a multi-year basis in order to promote better PVO management and planning, and should be allocated on the basis of a formal set of Title II priorities.