Article 5 Commitment

To meet the objectives of this Convention, each Party agrees to make an annual commitment of food assistance, set in accordance with its laws and regulations. Each Party’s commitment is referred to as its ‘minimum annual commitment’.

The minimum annual commitment shall be expressed in terms of value or quantity as further elaborated in the Rules of Procedure and Implementation. A Party may choose to express either a minimum value or a minimum quantity, or a combination of both for its commitment.

Minimum annual commitments in terms of value can be expressed in the currency chosen by the Party. Minimum annual commitments in terms of quantity can be expressed in tonnes of grain equivalent or other units of measure provided under the Rules of Procedure and Implementation.

Each Party shall notify the Secretariat of its initial minimum annual commitment as soon as possible and no later than six months following the entry into force of this Convention, or within three months of its accession to this Convention.

Each Party shall notify the Secretariat of any change to its minimum annual commitment for subsequent years no later than the fifteenth day of December of the year preceding the change.

The Secretariat shall communicate the updated minimum annual commitments to all of the Parties as soon as possible and no later than the first day of January of each year.

Contributions made to meet minimum annual commitments should be made in fully grant form whenever possible. With respect to food assistance counted towards a Party’s commitment, not less than 80 per cent provided to eligible countries and eligible vulnerable populations, as further elaborated in the Rules of Procedure and Implementation, shall be in fully grant form. To the extent possible, the Parties shall seek progressively to exceed this percentage. Contributions that are not made in fully grant form should be accounted for in each Party’s annual report.

The Parties shall undertake to conduct all food assistance transactions under this Convention in such a way as to avoid harmful interference with normal patterns of production and international commercial trade.

The Parties shall ensure that the provision of food assistance is not tied directly or indirectly, formally or informally, explicitly or implicitly, to commercial exports of agricultural products or other goods and services to recipient countries.

To meet its minimum annual commitment, whether expressed in value or quantity, a Party shall make contributions that are consistent with this Convention and that consist of funding for eligible products and activities, and associated costs, as set forth in Article 4, and as further elaborated in the Rules of Procedure and Implementation.

Contributions provided to meet the minimum annual commitment under this Convention may only be directed at eligible countries or eligible vulnerable populations, as set forth in Article 4 and as further elaborated in the Rules of Procedure and Implementation.

The Parties’ contributions may be provided bilaterally, through intergovernmental or other international organisations, or through other food assistance partners, but not through other Parties.

Each Party shall make every effort to meet its minimum annual commitment. If a Party is unable to meet its minimum annual commitment for a particular year, it shall describe the circumstances of its failure to do so in its annual report for that year. The unfulfilled amount shall be added to the Party’s minimum annual commitment for the following year unless the Committee established under Article 7 decides otherwise, or unless extraordinary circumstances justify not doing so.

If a Party’s contribution exceeds its minimum annual commitment, the amount of the excess, but not more than five per cent of its minimum annual commitment, may be counted as part of the Party’s contribution for the following year.