VZCZCXRO2816
PP RUEHTRO
DE RUEHTU #0843 3221201
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181201Z NOV 09 ZDK CTG UR MISSING MCN SVC
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6990
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0103
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 0005

UNCLAS TUNIS 000843 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EEB/TPP/MTAA/ABT AND NEA/MAG 
RABAT FOR FAS (AHMED) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID ETRD TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA AND THE WORLD SUMMIT ON FOOD SECURITY 
 
REF: A. TUNIS 799 
     ¶B. TUNIS 781 
     ¶C. STATE 107298 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) The Government of Tunisia (GOT) has underscored its 
commitment to food security by promoting itself as a leader 
on the issue on the domestic and international fronts. 
President Ben Ali attended the Rome World Summit on Food 
Security and all major Tunisian media outlets have devoted 
their front page to his speech.  Additionally, the GOT 
pledged its support for the "Partnering on Food Security" 
initiative (refs B and C) and called for increased support to 
other initiatives, such as the "World Solidarity Fund," 
proposed by Tunisia and adopted by the UN General Assembly in 
¶2002.  Despite its continuing market-oriented reforms in 
other sectors, however, Tunisia remains dependent on heavy 
state control to maintain food security for its own 
population.  End summary. 
 
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Much ado about food security 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a November 9 letter addressed to the Secretary, 
Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah pledged 
Tunisia's support for the "Partnering on Food Security" 
initiative, lauding the willingness of the international 
community "to assure the most fundamental human right, the 
right to food."  Abdallah expressed support for the 
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (an 
initiative of the New Partnership for Africa's Development 
(NEPAD) launched in 2002) and reiterated Tunisia's call for 
financial support to the "World Solidarity Fund" (proposed by 
Tunisia and adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002). 
 
¶3. (SBU) The front page of state-owned La Presse newspaper 
was almost entirely devoted to coverage of President Ben 
Ali's appearance at the World Summit on Food Security, 
including key points from Ben Ali's speech, a description of 
his meetings with other heads of state, and an editorial on 
"Ben Ali and the Inalienable Value of Humanity."  Both La 
Presse and Le Temps, a daily owned by Ben Ali's son-in-law 
Mohammed Sakhr El-Materi, published the full text of Ben 
Ali's speech and highlighted both the success of Tunisia's 
agriculture sector and Ben Ali's call for increased funding 
for the "World Solidarity Fund." 
 
¶4. (SBU) On the home front, the Government of Tunisia (GOT) 
plays an active role in ensuring an adequate food supply. 
The key subsistence crop, wheat, is subsidized through direct 
support to farmers, and the GOT controls all wheat 
importation and distribution.  Prices for bread, couscous, 
and pasta have been kept low since bread riots in 1984 
threatened to topple the government of then-president Habib 
Bourguiba.  The GOT invests heavily in the agriculture 
sector, which recorded six percent growth in 2009. 
Agriculture minister Abdessalem Mansour is a skilled 
technocrat whose stated goal is to achieve self-sufficiency 
in cereals and who has confirmed his interest in cooperating 
with the United States on agricultural programs (ref A). 
 
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Comment 
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¶5. (SBU) Paradoxically, as Tunisia opens to the global 
economy through increased trade and financial sector reforms, 
the GOT relies on statist, anti-trade policies and practices 
to ensure food security.  Its association agreement with 
Europe does not include trade in agriculture, and 
negotiations to include the sector are progressing slowly. 
The complicated price control system for bread, couscous, and 
pasta is incompatible with the market-oriented reforms the 
GOT is pursuing in other areas.  Still sensitive to the bread 
riots in 1984 and concerned above all else with stability, 
the GOT will likely maintain protectionist food security 
policies for the foreseeable future yet play up the issue on 
the international stage.  End comment. 
 
GRAY