INEFFICIENCY AND INEFFECTIVENESS PLAGUE US FOOD AID, INVESTIGATORS FIND

A wide range of inefficient practices in the US food aid system have dramatically reduced the amount, quality, and timeliness of food delivered, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress.

Rising business and transportation costs have contributed to a 52 percent decline in the average volume of food delivered over the last few years, say the investigators. These costs represent 65 percent of total emergency food aid, leaving only the remainder to buy food.

The report found that the effectiveness and efficiency of US food aid was hindered by funding and planning processes that increase delivery costs and lengthen time frames, as well as ocean transportation and contracting practices that are expensive and oblige shippers to factor in the costs of risks such as port delays. For instance, three-quarters of all government-generated cargo - including food aid - must be transported on US-flagged ships.

Other factors identified included requirements that cause food aid contracts to be awarded to more expensive service providers, and inadequate coordination over delivery problems between US agencies, recipient governments, and NGOs.

The agency prepared the report in response to a request from the Senate agriculture committee, as part of the hearings on the future US Farm Bill.

While the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have taken steps to improve aid timeliness, the GAO noted that the long term cost effectiveness of these reforms remains unclear.

Investigators were particularly critical of food aid 'monetisation'- where food is sold to generate cash for development projects. This was "an inherently inefficient use of resources," they found. "Monetisation requires food to be procured, shipped, and eventually sold -- incurring costs at each step in the process."

In the ongoing Doha Round agriculture negotiations, US trading partners have strongly criticised monetisation. More broadly, the EU has argued that US in-kind food aid is often effectively a disguised export subsidy.

The Bush administration's proposals for future farm spending call for 25 percent of the food aid budget to be in cash in order to facilitate local purchase.

To make US food aid delivery more efficient, the GAO recommended improved logistical planning, transportation, contracting, and monitoring, among other actions.

The report is online at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07560.pdf.

ICTSD reporting.

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE IMAGINES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CIRCA 2025

The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a report surveying the intellectual property landscape as it might look in 2025.

The study, entitled "Scenarios for the Future," considers the effects of four different 'drivers' for change: business, geopolitics, society, and technology. It was launched at the European Patent Forum, held from 18-19 April in Munich.

Some of the issues that shape the scenarios include patent harmonisation, the growing influence of developing countries and regions, the democratisation of the knowledge economy, and global efforts to address climate change.

At the core of the report is the increased complexity and importance of knowledge creation, requiring choices about "how best to adapt to the fundamental changes in the way in which knowledge is being produced and used." It does not attempt to arrive at particular conclusions or make policy recommendations, but rather it seeks to raise questions about the kind of factors that will determine future policy choices. Crucially, it draws attention to the question of the legitimacy of the IP system as it evolves to meet global trends and challenges.

Indeed, a source who attended the launch told Bridges that business delegates raised the issues of patent quality and the wider credibility of IP as being of prime concern to their future use of the patent system. They also discussed new, collaborative approaches to innovation that are causing SMEs and even larger businesses to rethink their IP strategy, such as IBM's interest in open research models. Another questioned examined was the need to ensure that IP still serves its purpose in supporting innovation, since the rate of technological change is racing ahead of the patent process so much that "business has moved on but IP has not caught up yet," the source said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a keynote address at the launch, in which she said promoting innovation and patent protection were essential to the EU economy. She also renewed calls for a European Community patent. Currently, the EPO grants patents for up to 37 European countries, but litigation is carried out by national patent offices. This raises costs, not least for translation. A Community patent would standardise European patenting criteria, but talks have stalled over the official languages chosen to reduce translation costs.

The EPO's report has been two years in the making, comprising of over 100 interviews.

More information about the Scenarios project is available at http://www.epo.org/focus/patent-system/scenarios-for-the-future.html

ICTSD reporting.