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Insurance-eff ects
The study revealed that the insurance eff ects of food assistance were
minimal. Although during WFP food provision, the assistance was regarded
as an important addi� on to other sources of food, thereby increasing the
overall well-being and feeling of security (see also discussion on transfereff
ects), its role as an insurance prior to the distribu� on was minimal. This
is mainly due to the fact, that poten� al recipients lack basic and � mely
informa� on on the future provision of food assistance. Food assistance
is therefore perceived as diffi cult to access. This lack of transparency was
also refl ected in the villagers’ assump� on that the selec� on of VDCs for
the distribu� on of support was determined by powerful poli� cal leaders,
their village fell from poli� cal grace, which served as an explana� on for the
current exclusion of the village from FFW. Due to the lack of informa� on,
food assistance becomes unreliable. As villagers do not know when food
assistance might be distributed in future, they do also not adjust their
livelihood strategies prior to the distribu� on, including migra� on to India,
and engagement in domes� c works.
Once, food assistance-programming had started, however, the provision
is regarded as rela� vely � mely and according to the schedule. General
hindrances are the instable poli� cal situa� on in the Terai, recurrent bandhs,
and adverse weather situa� ons, hindering the transporta� on of rice.
Nevertheless, although people do not have informa� on on the provision
of food assistance, they have very high expecta� ons regarding the future
provision. This became especially prevalent in the worse-off wealth group
indica� ng where food assistance plays a more important role.
To summarise, these fi ndings put a ques� on mark on the role of food
assistance as a safety-net. The concept of safety-nets suggests that they
must be regular, reliable, � mely, and transparent (see FAO/GTZ 2005) to
enable people to rely on it also prior to the concrete distribu� on of aid. Lack
of transparency, and longer-term planning on side of the WFP, which is itself
dependent on donors’ funding decisions, hinder the proper applica� on of
food assistance as a full-fl edged safety-net on which people can readily rely
in � mes of crises.
Transfer-Eff ects
Once the distribu� on of food assistance has started, it provides an
addi� onal source of food for the recipients in form of a transfer.
The fi ndings of the study revealed that the food assistance’s transfer
eff ects were mainly posi� ve. Households replied that through food
assistance they were enabled to preserve their assets during crisis, and that
all household members were able to consume suffi cient food. Further, the
reliance on less-privileged coping mechanisms such as migra� on to India,
or doing baure kaam, declined during food assistance. Further, recipients
reported a general improvement of their well-being, and an enhanced feeling
of security. Also the need to exploit natural resources, such as the (illegal)
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Changing paradigms of aid eff ec� veness in Nepal