Food Aid Impacts in Rural Kenya

Abstract

Abstract Assessing the potential role of food aid in economic development requires that analytical attention be given to both household production and consumption consequences of food aid projects. Effects of a food‐for‐work (FFW) project in rural Kenya are assessed using a peasant‐household‐firm model which incorporates a linear programming model and an almost ideal demand system. The results indicate that program participants have net returns 52 percent higher than nonparticipants, most of which is due to induced effects of capital formation on own‐farm production. Greater capital formation increases the opportunity cost of participants' time, encouraging a transition over time from FFW activities to greater own‐farm production. FFW increases food demand, employment, and marketable surplus.