Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954  The Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (, enacted July 10, 1954) is a United States federal law that established Food for Peace, the primary U.S. overseas food assistance program. The Act was signed into law on July 10, 1954, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. According to Eisenhower, the purpose of the legislation was to "lay the basis for a permanent expansion of our exports of agricultural products with lasting benefits to ourselves and peoples and peoples of other lands."