The program give small-scale farmers access to reliable markets and a chance to sell surplus goods at competitive prices, the World Food Program said in a news release.

"It's a win-win," the organization's Executive Director Josette Sheeran said. "We help our beneficiaries who have little or no food and we help local farmers who have little or no access to markets."

Buying food in the country where the organization has operations has been a World Food Program policy for years, Sheeran said. In 2008, the program expects to spend up to $1 billion buy buying food from developing countries to assist 90 million hungry people worldwide.

The first Purchase for Progress initiatives will be in up to 21 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia during the next five years, Sheeran said.

The $76 million program enable small-holder and low-income farmers to supply food to the World Food Program's global operations, gives farmers the knowledge and tools to be competitive as well as provide them more cash in return for their crops, she said.

In a five-year pilot period, the $76 million program hopes to increase the incomes of 350,000 such farmers in 21 countries, including 15 in sub-Saharan Africa.

The program is being funded largely by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's biggest grant-maker, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) said.