February 12, 2007

Buzz Guroff Serves on Food Aid Panel

ACDI/VOCA’s Senior VP for Food Security and Specialty Crops Avram "Buzz" Guroff participated in the launch of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa’s report “Reconsidering Food Aid: The Dialogue Continues” at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

After its author Emmy Simmons, a member of the Partnership’s Executive Committee and former USAID assistant administrator, gave an overview of the report, Mr. Guroff contributed to a discussion of developments and issues involving food aid. Other panelists included representatives from FAO, the Secretary General of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa and the Brookings Institution. Executive Director of Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa Julie Howard and the Ambassador of Mali to the U.S. and Co-Chair of the African Ambassadors’ Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Abdoulaye Diop moderated the panel.

Mr. Guroff indicated that private voluntary organizations such as ACDI/VOCA support the buying of commodities close to crisis areas where it is feasible, but cautioned that it can present logistical hurdles, raises quality issues and can have negative impact on local markets. He went on to say, "Any change we make with respect to food aid needs to be carefully thought out or it could have an adverse impact on the world's 850 million hungry people."

For more information on ACDI/VOCA's food security programming, click here.