Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-110
§1726c Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement Projects
Title 7 › CHAPTER 41 — FOOD FOR PEACE › SUBCHAPTER III — EMERGENCY AND PRIVATE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS › § 1726c
Summary
Pays grants or cooperative agreements to certain groups so they can buy food grown in developing countries and use it as emergency food aid during crises. Key terms: Administrator = head of USAID; appropriate committees of Congress = Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, House Committee on Agriculture, and House Committee on Foreign Affairs; eligible commodity = food made and bought in a developing country that meets the receiving country’s nutrition, quality, and labeling rules; eligible organization = groups listed in law (and nongovernmental groups must follow U.S. audit rules). The Secretary must work with the USAID Administrator when making and running these projects. Food should be bought in a way that gets aid to people fast and does not sharply raise prices for low-income buyers. Purchases must not hurt local farmers or regional economies. Grantees must promise not to resell or send the food to other countries and to use it only for food aid. The Secretary must try to avoid upsetting world prices or normal trade and must pay reasonable local market prices. The Secretary will fund a mix of projects, mostly in Africa and buying African-produced food, and some projects must include at least 1 year of development work. Up to $80,000,000 is authorized each year for fiscal years 2019–2023. The Secretary may prefer groups tied to the McGovern-Dole program and must report yearly to Congress on impacts, timelines, and costs.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §1726c
Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Definitions
In this section: (1) Administrator (2) Appropriate committee of Congress
(3)Eligible commodity
The term “eligible commodity” means an agricultural commodity (or the product of an agricultural commodity) that—
(A)is produced in, and procured from, a developing country; and
(B)at a minimum, meets each nutritional, quality, and labeling standard of the country that receives the agricultural commodity, as determined by the Secretary.
(4)Eligible organization
The term “eligible organization” means an organization that is—
(A)described in section 1722(d) of this title; and
(B)with respect to nongovernmental organizations, subject to regulations promulgated or guidelines issued to carry out this section, including United States audit requirements that are applicable to nongovernmental organizations.
(b)Field-based projects
(1)In general
In accordance with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall provide grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible organizations to carry out field-based projects that consist of local or regional procurements of eligible commodities to respond to food crises and disasters in accordance with this section.
(2)Consultation with Administrator
In carrying out the development and implementation of field-based projects under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator.
(c)Procurement
(1)In general
Any eligible commodity that is procured for a field-based project carried out under subsection (b) shall be procured through any approach or methodology that the Secretary considers to be an effective approach or methodology to provide adequate information regarding the manner by which to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, the provision of food aid to affected populations without significantly increasing commodity costs for low-income consumers who procure commodities sourced from the same markets at which the eligible commodity is procured.
(2)Requirements
(A)Impact on local farmers and countries
The Secretary shall ensure that the local or regional procurement of any eligible commodity under this section will not have a disruptive impact on farmers located in, or the economy of— (i)
(ii)any country in the region in which the eligible commodity may be procured.
(B)Transshipment
The Secretary shall, in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, require from each eligible organization commitments designed to prevent or restrict—
(i)the resale or transshipment of any eligible commodity procured under this section to any country other than the recipient country; and
(ii)the use of the eligible commodity for any purpose other than food aid.
(C)World prices
(i)In general
In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall take any precaution that the Secretary considers to be reasonable to ensure that the procurement of eligible commodities will not unduly disrupt—
(I)world prices for agricultural commodities; or
(II)normal patterns of commercial trade with foreign countries.
(ii)Procurement price
The procurement of any eligible commodity shall be made at a reasonable market price with respect to the economy of the country in which the eligible commodity is procured, as determined by the Secretary.
(d)Field-based project grants or cooperative agreements
(1)In general
The Secretary shall award grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible organizations to carry out field-based projects.
(2)Requirements of eligible organizations
(A)In general
To be eligible to receive a grant from, or enter into a cooperative agreement with, the Secretary under this subsection, an eligible organization shall submit to the Secretary an application by such date, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(B)Other applicable requirements
Any other applicable requirement relating to the submission of proposals for consideration shall apply to the submission of an application required under subparagraph (A), as determined by the Secretary.
(3)Requirements of Secretary
(A)Project diversity
(i)In general
Subject to clause (ii) and subparagraph (B), in selecting proposals for field-based projects to fund under this section, the Secretary shall select a diversity of projects, including projects located in— (I)
(II)food deficit regions (that are carried out using regional procurement methods); and
(III)multiple geographical regions.
(ii)Priority
In selecting proposals for field-based projects under clause (i), the Secretary shall ensure that the majority of selected proposals are for field-based projects that—
(I)are located in Africa; and
(II)procure eligible commodities that are produced in Africa.
(B)Development assistance
A portion of the funds provided under this subsection shall be made available for field-based projects that provide development assistance for a period of not less than 1 year.
(e)Funding
(1)Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
(2)Preference
In carrying out this section, the Secretary may give a preference to eligible organizations that have, or are working toward, projects under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program established under section 1736o–1 of this title.
(3)Reporting
Each year, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the use of funds under this section, including—
(A)the impact of procurements and projects on—
(i)local and regional agricultural producers; and
(ii)markets and consumers, including low-income consumers; and
(B)implementation time frames and costs.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section was enacted as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, and not as part of the Food for Peace Act which comprises this chapter.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 115–334 inserted “to the Secretary” after “appropriated” and substituted “2019 through 2023” for “2014 through 2018”. 2014—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(1)(A), (B), substituted “Field-based projects” for “Study; field-based projects” in heading, struck out par. (2) designation and heading, redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) of former par. (2) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, and struck out former par. (1) which required a study of prior local and regional procurements for food aid programs and a report to Congress. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(1)(C), substituted “paragraph (2)” for “subparagraph (B)”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(1)(D), substituted “paragraph (1)” for “subparagraph (A)”. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(2), substituted “subsection (b)” for “subsection (b)(2)”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(3), (4), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d) and struck out former subsec. (d) which related to
Regulations
and guidelines. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(5)(A), struck out subpar. (A) designation and heading, redesignated cls. (i) and (ii) of former subpar. (A) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, substituted “subparagraph (A)” for “clause (i)” in subpar. (B), and struck out former subpar. (B). Prior to amendment, text of subpar. (B) read as follows: “To be eligible to receive a grant from, or enter into a cooperative agreement with, the Secretary under this subsection, an eligible organization shall agree— “(i) to collect by September 30, 2011, data containing the information required under subsection (f)(1)(B) relating to the field-based project funded through the grant; and “(ii) to provide to the Secretary the data collected under clause (i).” Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(5)(B), struck out par. (4). Text read as follows: “The Secretary shall not award a grant to any eligible organization under paragraph (1) until the date on which the Secretary promulgates
Regulations
or issues guidelines under subsection (d)(1)”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(6), added subsec. (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (d). Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 113–79, § 3207(3), struck out subsecs. (f) and (g) which related, respectively, to independent evaluations of field-based projects and report to Congress and to Commodity Credit Corporation funding and funding amounts for fiscal years 2009 through 2012.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective May 22, 2008, see section 4(b) of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 8701 of this title. Definition of “Secretary” “Secretary” as meaning the Secretary of Agriculture, see section 8701 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 1726c
Title 7, Agriculture
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110