Photo credit: U.S. Wheat Associates.
U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers joined organizations representing wheat, rice, sorghum, milling and maritime industries, along with the World Food Programme and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, to celebrate a Food for Peace shipment during a portside event in New Orleans.
The U.S.-flagged Liberty Grace was loaded with 28,420 metric tons of Louisiana rice before departing for Houston, where it will take on an additional 19,980 metric tons of U.S. hard red winter wheat. The vessel is then scheduled to sail to the Port of Mombasa in Kenya. Through distribution by the World Food Programme, the shipment is expected to provide enough food to feed more than 1 million people facing starvation for a year.
The event also marked the transfer of Food for Peace administration to USDA. Michelle Bekkering, USDA deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said the shipment reflects both the productivity of U.S. agriculture and the partnerships among farmers, commodity organizations, the maritime industry and humanitarian groups that deliver food assistance around the world.
The shipment is the second bulk Food for Peace vessel USDA has sent this summer. Earlier this season, the U.S.-flagged Liberty Glory departed Houston carrying 9,200 metric tons of U.S. hard red winter wheat and 37,700 metric tons of U.S. sorghum bound for Ethiopia.
Wheat has long been a cornerstone of U.S. international food assistance programs. According to USW, U.S.-grown wheat often accounts for about half of bulk in-kind food aid shipments, with approximately 1 million metric tons used annually.
USW Chairman Gary Millershaski, a Kansas wheat farmer, said wheat farmers have supported U.S. food aid for more than 70 years and welcomed USDA's leadership of the program. He said the shipment continues the tradition of American farmers helping families in need around the world.
NAWG President Jamie Kress, an Idaho wheat farmer, said U.S.-grown wheat remains a key component of global food security while creating demand that supports farm families and rural communities. He urged Congress to make USDA's administration of Food for Peace permanent.
Supporters of the program said Food for Peace has helped feed more than 4 billion people in more than 150 countries while creating markets for U.S. agricultural products. Organizations participating in the event included USW, NAWG, USA Rice, National Sorghum Producers, the North American Millers' Association, the Transportation Institute and the American Maritime Congress.
World Food Programme officials said nearly $5 billion in food has been purchased from U.S. farmers and producers through Food for Peace during the past decade and donated to WFP for humanitarian relief efforts.
Representatives from the milling, rice, sorghum and maritime industries also emphasized the program's benefits for U.S. agriculture, processors, ports and merchant mariners while urging Congress to make USDA's management of Food for Peace permanent in the next farm bill.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates, "Wheat Groups Celebrate Food for Peace Shipments at the Port of New Orleans"