American Foreign Aid: The USAID and Its Mission

On November 3rd, 1961 President John F. Kennedy created the USAID (United States Agency for International Development). The agency was founded to lead international development, increase humanitarian efforts, reduce poverty, strengthen democracy, and improve ties with other nations. The ultimate objective of the USAID was to promote economic and social development, however, the agency was utilized to fight the Soviet Union and the spread of communism.

The U.S. worried that hungry peasants, especially in Asia, would adopt communist ideals and join revolutionary forces that would threaten U.S. interests. Through providing nations with food aid and agricultural technology, the U.S. hoped to minimize this threat and stave off communism. The USAID supplied at-risk countries with HYVs, which greatly improved crop yields and allowed for nearly year-round farming. Not only did the increased crop yield reduce the risk of communism, but the accompanying food security created nationwide dependencies on U.S. aid, further reducing a country’s susceptibility to Soviet influence.

“We must narrow the gap between abundance here at home and near starvation abroad.”

-President John F. Kennedy, Office of The Historian, 1961

"Suddenly Borlaug’s work was viewed as a geopolitical tool: the Cold War could be won by fighting famine, since no one becomes a Communist on a full belly.”

-Raj Patel, PBS Article, 2020