The Public Distribution System : consequences of U.S. Food Aid in Iraq

dc.contributor.advisorHutchings, Roberten
dc.contributor.advisorAghaie, Kamran Scoten
dc.creatorTibbets, Jessica Powellen
dc.date.accessioned2012-08-16T15:22:15Zen
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-11T22:27:03Z
dc.date.available2012-08-16T15:22:15Zen
dc.date.available2017-05-11T22:27:03Z
dc.date.issued2012-05en
dc.date.submittedMay 2012en
dc.date.updated2012-08-16T15:22:26Zen
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractThis report addresses the consequences of the Iraqi Public Distribution System (PDS), a food rationing system managed by the Iraqi Ministry of Trade (MoT), administered by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), and supported with U.S. food aid. The Saddam Hussein administration created the PDS as emergency food aid in 1991 when United Sanctions (UN) sanctions made food imports to Iraq difficult. After more than two decades in operation, the PDS has developed long-term negative effects on Iraq’s most vulnerable populations. Specific vulnerable populations include Iraqi War Widows, Iraqi farmers, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). This report introduces the current Public Distribution System following a thorough background on the development of government-citizen relations, Sunni-Shi’i dynamics, and urban-rural economies throughout the twentieth Century in Iraq. The PDS harms the most food vulnerable Iraqis more than it assists them in the long run because of the unreliable delivery times, poor quality of the PDS goods, and depreciation of the local food market; therefore, the WFP and Iraqi MoT should limit the PDS recipients, improve the efficiency and quality of fewer goods in the PDS basket, and strengthen Iraq’s agriculture sector to provide for the current market and wheat exports. Based on an analysis of the U.S. farm bill, this paper recommends a shift in U.S. food aid from distributing American surplus crops as food aid. The U.S. government should focus on building capacity in the Iraqi agriculture sector with a model similar to the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future (FTF) initiative.en
dc.description.departmentMiddle Eastern Studiesen
dc.description.departmentGlobal Policy Studiesen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.slug2152/ETD-UT-2012-05-5638en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2012-05-5638en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.subjectPublic Distribution Systemen
dc.subjectIraqen
dc.subjectUnited Nations World Food Programmeen
dc.subjectU.S. Food Aiden
dc.subjectWar widowsen
dc.subjectU.S. Farm Billen
dc.subjectOil-For-Food Programmeen
dc.subjectVulnerable populationsen
dc.subjectIraqi farmersen
dc.subjectFood rationsen
dc.subjectIraq agricultureen
dc.subjectFeed the Futureen
dc.titleThe Public Distribution System : consequences of U.S. Food Aid in Iraqen
dc.title.alternativeConsequences of U.S. Food Aid in Iraqen
dc.type.genrethesisen

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