$900,000: The Inter-American Foundation Supported Alpaca Farming in Peru.

The Inter-American Foundation — a small federal agency created by Congress in 1969 to fund grassroots development in Latin America and the Caribbean — awarded $900,000 to support alpaca farming communities in the Peruvian highlands. The grant targeted indigenous Andean communities where alpaca herding is the primary livelihood, funding improvements in animal husbandry, fiber quality, cooperative marketing, and supply chain access to premium alpaca fiber markets. Peru produces approximately 80% of the world’s alpaca fiber; the highland communities herding them are among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.

The IAF’s mandate is precisely this type of small-scale grassroots economic development. DOGE flagged it because “U.S. funds for alpaca farming in Peru” is an easy political target regardless of development economics merit. Whether the U.S. should fund rural development for Peruvian alpaca herders at all is a legitimate debate. Whether it belongs on a list with $22.6 billion in HHS migrant spending is a matter of perspective. The IAF’s entire annual budget is roughly $40 million; this grant represents a normal-scale program.