VZCZCXYZ0013
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0149/01 0551215
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241215Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8902

UNCLAS ACCRA 000149 
 
NSC FOR CHRIS PRATT 
STATE PASS USTR 
STATE PASS PEACE CORPS 
STATE PASS MCC 
STATE PASS USADF 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EAID ETRD KGHG SENV ENRG PREL GH
SUBJECT: GHANA-SUMMARY OF REGIONAL CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOP ON 
GHFSI AND GCC 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
¶1. USAID/West Africa hosted a Whole of Government workshop 
in Accra, Ghana over February 8-12, 2010, on the 
implementation in West Africa of the Global Hunger and Food 
Security Initiative (GHFSI), as well as on the planning of 
investments related to global climate change (GCC).  Over 60 
people active in these two areas from six U.S. Government 
agencies -- State, USAID, the US Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), 
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), US Forest Service 
(USFS), Peace Corps, and US African Development Foundation 
(USADF) -- attended the workshop.  Participants came from 
Washington and from the six USAID missions active in the GHFSI 
-- West Africa regional, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and 
Senegal -- as well as from the missions in Benin and the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, and the embassies in Burkina 
Faso and Mauritania.  There was good representation from the 
country and regional teams, including economic, commercial, 
environmental, and agricultural officers from the embassies, 
as well as management, program, and technical officers from 
USAID. 
 
-------------------- 
GHFSI Outcomes 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. The three days of meetings on the Global Hunger and Food 
Security Initiative produced the following outcomes: 
 
- Mutual understanding of recent developments in the USG 
strategy for the Global Hunger and Food Security 
Initiative, including the five core principles guiding 
the initiative: 1) comprehensive plan; 2) country-led and 
owned; 3).strategic coordination; 4) multilateral 
cooperation; and 5) sustained commitment. The meeting was 
a valuable opportunity for the USG professionals 
responsible for implementation in the field to discuss 
issues with key representatives of the inter-agency team 
from Washington. 
 
- Sharing of experiences among agencies and missions on how 
the Whole of Government approach can best contribute to 
African country-led and regional strategies and 
investment plans oriented around the Comprehensive Africa 
Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), supported by 
national governments and multiple donors.  There were 
presentations on how multilateral organizations and 
funding mechanisms complement USG-supported programs. 
 
- Sharing of experiences from country teams on their 
progress putting Whole of Government principles into 
operation at the field level. 
 
 
- Clarification of the steps to be taken by the missions in 
2010 to put in place a new architecture for the 
implementation of significantly expanded activities to 
meet the major objectives of the GHFSI.  These are: 1) 
Improved economic performance of the agricultural sector, 
2) Improved nutritional status, and 3) Improved capacity 
of vulnerable households to meet their food needs. 
 
- Presentations and discussions on the planning and 
implementation of programming in key component areas. 
These were: 1) Vulnerability, reaching the ultra-poor and 
linking development with humanitarian assistance; 2) 
Nutrition; 3) Gender mainstreaming; 4) Transport 
corridors and regionally integrated markets; 5) Building 
capacity in public and private institutions; and 6) NRM, 
climate change, and food security. 
 
- Discussion in small groups of opportunities for joint 
planning and potentially coordinated procurement in 
program areas common across country teams. Points of 
Contact for each group will follow up with plans for 
further consultations and designs.  The areas were:  1) 
Capacity building; 2) Reaching the very poor; 3) 
 
Nutrition, and 4) Seed and fertilizer supply chains. 
- Second drafts of the Implementation Plans (IPs) for all 
of the participating Missions for FY2010, as well as the 
Diplomatic Strategies of each bilateral mission were 
discussed in side meetings.  The final bilateral IPs, due 
March 1, will integrate the Diplomatic Strategies. 
 
- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is 
 
leading the process in West Africa, with the national and 
regional compacts linked with each other and the CAADP 
process running in parallel with ECOWAS's own 
agricultural policy (ECOWAP).  All five focus countries 
represented at the meeting - Ghana, Liberia, Mali, 
Nigeria, and Senegal - have already signed their 
respective CAADP country compacts, as has ECOWAS at the 
regional level (and seven others among ECOWAS's 15 member 
states).  In keeping with ECOWAS's key role in the 
process, Ousseni Salifou, Commissioner for Agriculture, 
Environment, and Water Resources, and Yamar Mbodj, 
Advisor to the Commissioner, reported on the main 
achievements, proposals to strengthen the approach, post- 
compact actions, and a 2010 road map, all at both the 
national and regional levels. USAID and other members of 
the country teams have taken responsibility to work with 
the agricultural donor groups in the five focus countries 
and at the regional level, to move the process forward. 
The post-compact approach focuses on the investment 
plans, consultative and coordinating mechanisms, 
monitoring and evaluation, and accountability.  By the 
end of April, the remaining four national compacts will 
be signed, and during May and June, detailed investment 
plans will be available for all 15 countries and at the 
regional level. 
 
- The USAID bilateral missions and the West Africa regional 
mission gave presentations on the status of the 
respective CAADP country or regional compacts and 
implementation of the FY2009 supplemental funding.  In 
its presentation, USAID/Mali outlined how it is 
facilitating the CAADP process in the country, which 
signed its compact in October 2009.  The mission is 
providing support to the office within the Ministry of 
Planning and Statistics responsible for CAADP and to the 
Food Security Commission.  The presentation stressed the 
Whole of Government approach (involving State, USDA, MCC, 
Commerce, Defense, USFS, the Peace Corps, and Food for 
Peace) that was being pursued, as well as the involvement 
of other donors in the effort.  It also stressed the 
importance of building the capacity of Malian Government 
for leadership and analysis; in FY2010, USAID/Mali is 
supporting capacity-building for a major university, key 
ministries, and research institutions.  USAID/Mali 
concluded by appealing for a political push to motivate 
the headquarters of other donors more enthusiastically to 
support the CAADP process. 
 
 
- USAID/Senegal in its presentation noted that the 
following day (February 9) the country would be holding 
its national CAADP round table, with about 400 people in 
attendance.  The round table had been postponed since 
November 2009 to ensure the availability of the President 
and to allow the donors to work out who should sign the 
compact on their behalf.  The national agricultural 
investment plan could stand improvement, especially by 
including more measurable impacts.  There is a need for 
the Presidential agricultural initiative GOANA (Grande 
offensive pour la nourriture et l'abondance) to be 
incorporated into the investment plan.  USAID/Senegal 
chairs two donor groups   ones on environment and the 
private sector   and is active in the agricultural one. 
The mission is supporting a great deal of capacity- 
building this year, conducting an institutional analysis 
with the Ministry of Agriculture, supporting the planning 
unit at that ministry, and building the capacity of four 
universities.  The mission has been participating in a 
Whole of Government approach for many years, with an 
QWhole of Government approach for many years, with an 
agreement with USDA on sanitary and phyto-sanitary work, 
a major agreement with the Peace Corps, another with the 
US Geological Survey, and FFP and OFDA active in the 
country. 
 
- USAID/Nigeria in its presentation noted that the national 
CAADP compact had been signed in October 2009, with the 
USAID Mission Director signing on behalf of the donor 
community; the compact does not deal with nutrition, 
trade, or policy issues.  Mission projects, including 
MARKETS (Maximizing Agricultural Resources and Key 
Enterprises in Targeted Sites), have been adopted by the 
Government of Nigeria as models for government 
strategies, demonstrating the high degree of alignment 
between the mission's programs and such strategies.  A 
national CAADP Secretariat is now being established to 
coordinate and organize government activities in this 
domain.  Four donors in Nigeria (the African Development 
 
Bank, World Bank, the UK's Department for International 
Development, and USAID) have developed a country 
partnership strategy, which is the core of the mission?s 
strategic plan, while the UN's Food and Agriculture 
Organization is coordinating the Food Security Technical 
Group.  As to the Whole of Government approach, 
USAID/Nigeria has expanded work with USDA on the 
productivity side, while work on improving the policy 
environment is being undertaken by the International Food 
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and West Africa node in 
Ibadan of the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge 
Support System (ReSAKSS). 
 
- USAID/Ghana noted that that country's national CAADP 
compact had been signed in October 2009, with the World 
Bank signing on behalf of all donors.  The agricultural 
sector working group, co-chaired by the Canadian 
International Development Agency and the Ghanaian 
Government, has been very active, with USAID playing a 
major role.  The next major step is that the Ministry of 
Food and Agriculture will be holding an internal retreat 
in March to increase its understanding of its capacity 
gaps.  The national agricultural investment plan carries 
a price tag of 2.9 billion Ghana cedis (about $2 billion) 
and is running hundreds of millions of Ghana cedis short. 
There will be a joint sector review in June to review 
progress toward meeting the CAADP goals.  Some $12 
million of the supplemental funds have been used to begin 
the new ADVANCE (Agricultural Development and Value Chain 
Enhancement) cooperative agreement, with the priority 
commodities being maize, rice, sorghum, and soybeans. 
IFPRI is leading the process of increasing capacity at 
the Ministry of Agriculture, to the tune of $3.5 million 
over four years.  In terms of the Whole of Government 
approach, USAID/Ghana has been taking the lead among 
donors; the Ambassador or Deputy Chief of Mission chair 
quarterly food security meetings.  USAID/Ghana is looking 
to scale up its agreements with USDA, while the Peace 
Corps has submitted a proposal to place volunteers in 
remote, rural areas in support of the GHFSI.  Although 
the mission has one staff member under the Development 
Leadership Initiative, it still has a need for senior 
technical advisors. 
 
- USAID/Liberia observed that that country had signed its 
compact in October 2009, with the USAID Mission Director 
signing on behalf of the donor community.  The process in 
Liberia was slowed by the absence of a Minister of 
Agriculture from February to September 2009.  Even before 
the compact was signed, USAID/Liberia was providing 
capacity-building support to the Ministry of Agriculture, 
and supporting rice seed certification through an 
arrangement with the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) and 
multiplying seeds working with the private and public 
sectors.  Additional ongoing projects deal with 
infrastructure (feeder roads and bridges), potable water, 
and cash crops (cocoa and rubber).  The national 
agricultural investment plan that accompanied the compact 
has been costed out, but there has been no donor 
coordination meeting to discuss it.  As to the Whole of 
Government approach, other agencies active in Liberia 
include the Peace Corps, the Office of Defense 
Cooperation, and USDA (especially, Food for Progress). 
The mission is understaffed to manage its $35 million 
annual Economic Growth portfolio, which includes 
agriculture, natural resource management, infrastructure, 
and enterprise development.  The key constraint on 
coordination with the Government of Liberia is capacity 
Qcoordination with the Government of Liberia is capacity 
within the Ministry of Agriculture, where expertise is 
thin below the top level. 
 
- USAID/West Africa noted in its presentation that the 
ECOWAP/CAADP Compact has been validated and approved by 
the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on October 22, 2009, in 
Yamoussoukro.  An international conference in Abuja on 
financing ECOWAP/CAADP reviewed and approved the compact 
on November 11-12, 2009.  The ECOWAP/CAADP regional 
compact has three components (known as Mobilizing 
Programs), as follows: Promotion of strategic products 
for food sovereignty ($450 million); Promotion of a 
global environment conducive to regional agricultural 
development ($270.5 million); and Reduction in food 
insecurity and promotion of sustainable and stable access 
($225 million).  ECOWAS expects to contribute 15 percent 
of the $900 million.  Some donors have already indicated 
their levels of contribution (for example, Spain has 
pledged $300 million).  USAID/West Africa has been 
 
supporting the CAADP process in a number of ways, as 
follows: supporting a long-term advisor (Mbodj) at the 
ECOWAS Commission who works directly on the process; 
monitoring country-level compact development; supporting 
the preparation of Pillar 1 and 3 documents at the 
continental level through the Permanent Interstate 
Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS); 
supporting the preparation of Pillars 1 and 2 of the 
Regional Agricultural Investment Plans and other 
documents presented at the ECOWAS International 
Conference on Financing; and very recently providing an 
advisor on agricultural trade policy to ECOWAS through 
the Agribusiness and Trade Promotion project.  ECOWAS 
continues to have capacity-building needs, particularly 
with respect to its role in coordinating the 
implementation of the national compacts in its 15 member 
states.  Although the Whole of Government approach is 
complicated in the regional context by a host of factors, 
USAID/West Africa has long cooperated with, and will ramp 
up its cooperation with the USDA/Foreign Agriculture 
Service's regional attaches in Dakar and Lagos, and with 
USTR on trade policy issues, including trade/transport 
corridors. 
 
- A draft Results Framework for the Initiative was 
presented and draft indicators against which expanding 
activities will be monitored shared.  Participants were 
encouraged to provide comments and feedback by March 15. 
 
- Proposed methods for impact assessment were discussed, as 
well as the Mutual Accountability Framework being 
developed for all of the partners linked to CAADP. 
 
- Identification and discussion of key management issues of 
staffing, procurement, technical support, and so on, that 
will need to be resolved in each mission in 2010 as the 
GHFSI and programs in climate change are scaled up. 
Acquisition and Assistance officers from Washington and 
the regional West Africa mission participated actively in 
the discussions to find solutions. 
 
------------------ 
GCC Outcomes 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  The two-day meeting on Global Climate Change produced the 
following outcomes: 
 
- Mutual understanding of how the U.S. Government is moving 
forward in the context of the Copenhagen Accord with 
programs in support of low-carbon economic growth and 
adaptation to the probable effects of climate change. 
 
- Preliminary discussions of how programs in the field 
should be planned and implemented. 
 
- Agreement on a recommendation that Whole of Government 
country teams in Africa be fully involved in shaping the 
development of the climate change program. 
- Discussion of the need to balance the integration of 
climate change programs into the GHFSI and other 
portfolios of the missions in Africa on the one hand, and 
the needs of Washington-based offices to track progress 
of narrowly targeted policy priorities on the other. 
 
---------------------------- 
Workshop sessions on GHFSI 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Representatives of offices in Washington provided an 
overview of recent developments. The GHFSI is a global, multi- 
agency USG effort, led by an inter-agency team chaired by the 
Counselor and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State. USAID 
is taking a lead role in implementation, working closely with 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Treasury, USDA, 
MCC, USTR, and others in a coordinated, Whole of Government 
approach. Africa is in the spotlight because the chronically 
poor and hungry constitute a larger proportion of the 
population than in any other region of the world, and because 
Qpopulation than in any other region of the world, and because 
in spite of national economic growth, the proportion of the 
population classified as poor has been increasing in many 
countries in recent years. The GHFSI, which may be rebranded 
as "Feed the Future," incorporates the objectives and 
principles laid out at the G8 summit at L'Aquila, Italy, and 
the Food Security Summit in Rome in 2009. An updated version 
of the strategy document was distributed. A draft results 
 
framework was presented and draft indicators were distributed 
for discussion and feedback. 
 
¶5.  Presentations on the UN High Level Task Force on Food 
Security and on multi-donor trust funds managed by the World 
Bank provided the context within which the USG initiative is 
working as part of broader multi-lateral efforts. The 
Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research 
(CGIAR) system of international agricultural research centers 
has mobilized multilateral support for many years. The centers 
have long-term presence in many countries, and have built the 
capacity of national systems to generate applied research, 
policy options, and technology dissemination through 
partnerships. 
 
¶6.  African governments, in partnership with the private 
sector, civil society, and the international donor community, 
have taken a leadership role through CAADP. CAADP Country 
Compacts are endorsements by governments and development 
partners of evidence-based sector-wide strategies. After these 
are signed, the next step is to work towards comprehensive 
plans for investment and policy reform that will be externally 
reviewed by a team of experts mobilized by ECOWAS.  CAADP is a 
country-led, not an exclusively government-led process. The 
process must include effective consultations with private 
sector and civil society organizations, as well as with the 
agricultural donor working groups. A policy reform agenda is a 
key element in every strategy. USAID and other members of the 
country teams have taken responsibility to work with the 
agricultural donor groups to advance the CAADP process as the 
keystone partnership for the GHFSI in Africa. 
 
¶7.  In Washington, the Whole of Government approach has 
brought together State, Treasury, USDA, USTR, MCC, and other 
agencies with USAID to develop the GHFSI. The draft 
Implementation Plans developed by each of the USAID missions 
in the target countries have been reviewed by the interagency 
teams. In addition, the country teams led by State have 
submitted Diplomatic Strategies tied to the Initiative. These 
lay the foundation for the Whole of Government process in the 
field, identify key areas for policy reform, and name country 
and regional forums for disseminating information. 
Presentations by representatives the MCC, USTR, and USDA, as 
well as one sent from Treasury, provided information on how 
country teams can best link with their programs and resources. 
Representatives from each country team summarized their 
progress. The Peace Corps and the USADF also participated in 
the meeting. The final IPs, due March 1, will incorporate the 
technical programs, updated Whole of Government linkages, and 
the diplomatic strategies. 
 
¶8.  A key objective of the GHFSI in 2010 is to lay evidence- 
based foundations for further scaling up in 2011 and beyond. 
The core objectives of the initiative are 1) Improved economic 
performance of the agricultural sector, 2) Improved 
nutritional status, and 3) Improved capacity of vulnerable 
households to meet their food needs. Linked to these are a 
number of other key topic areas. Presentations and working 
groups discussed how country teams can best address these 
issues, and how they can work together to assemble relevant 
analysis, plan and perhaps also to jointly implement certain 
activities. Among the issues discussed were the following: 
 
- Reaching the poor and vulnerable: linking humanitarian 
assistance with agriculture-based growth; 
 
- Regional integration and transport corridors, to increase 
regional trade and the availability of staple foods 
 
through improved access to markets for producers and 
reduced transactions costs; 
 
- Building integrated, cross-sectoral programs on 
nutrition, to set standards of accountability for 
measurable decreases in the prevalence of underweight 
children and to support country-led processes to reduce 
under-nutrition; 
 
- Incorporating women and youth into development processes; 
 
- Integrating natural resource management and adaptation to 
the effects of climate change into programs linked to the 
GHFSI; and 
 
- Coordinated capacity-building, to provide short-term 
training to African partners in public and private 
institutions to strengthen their capabilities to 
contribute to programs and objectives of CAADP. 
 
 
 
---------------------- 
Management Issues 
---------------------- 
 
 
¶9. Within USAID in particular, key management issues of 
staffing, procurement, technical support, and so on, will need 
to be resolved in each mission in 2010 as the GHFSI and 
programs on climate change are scaled up. All of the missions 
urgently need more people, including qualified and experienced 
professional staff. In addition, "surge teams" of experts 
available from Washington and the regional missions must be 
expanded to assist in program designs, reviews, and 
evaluations. Ways must be found to deal effectively with very 
real constraints including National Security Decision 
Directive 38 (NSDD-38) ceilings on staff, office space, 
housing, support budgets, International Cooperative 
Administrative Support Services (ICASS) charges, and lengthy 
administrative approval processes. It was recommended that the 
GHFSI indicators and reporting requirements, as well as the 
definitions of funding categories, be integrated with existing 
mechanisms as much as possible.  Participants called for more 
certain budget levels in out-years to facilitate multi-year 
programming. Participants appreciated the difficulty of 
devising a process that was both country-led and governed by a 
common, Africa-side approach under a single Results Framework. 
Senior staff participated actively in these discussions, and 
expressed agreement on the need to work together to find 
solutions. 
 
¶10. Led by members of USAID's Office of Acquisition and 
Assistance (A&A) from Washington and the region, the group 
discussed flexible ways of setting up grants and contracts to 
scale up activities. The field is receiving mixed signals. On 
the one hand, the OMB recently issued a paper calling for 
reductions in costs and risks to the government, reducing 
reliance on Indefinite Quantity Contracts, and encouraging 
smaller implementing agreements with increased participation 
by small businesses and African partners. On the other, the 
missions and country teams are being encouraged to find 
mechanisms to reduce the number and complexity of procurement 
mechanisms and management units. New requirements for 
Congressional notification for proposed procurements above 
specified thresholds are in the FY2010 Appropriations Bill. 
A&A offices both in Washington and in the field are over- 
stretched already. A&A specialists should be brought into the 
early stages of planning, so that programs can be scaled up 
quickly and effectively, using appropriate mechanisms within 
the framework of agency and administration policies. 
 
¶11. The U.S. Government interagency team met with 
representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 
commercial banks, consulting companies, and philanthropic 
foundations.  The consultation provided an opportunity to 
update the group on the consultation process, to document and 
review the principles underlying the initiative, and to 
describe the planning for implementation that is taking place. 
Meeting participants were appreciative of the consultations 
that the U.S. Government has supported.  They raised questions 
regarding the role of private commercial banks in the process, 
where CAADP fits within the GHFSI, and the importance of 
capacity-building for African institutions (as opposed to the 
conventional approach of funding projects implemented by 
companies and NGOs from the developed world). 
 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Workshop sessions on Climate Change 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
¶12. USAID/West Africa hosted U.S. Government staff from 
 
missions across West and Central Africa and offices in 
Washington to plan for scaling up USAID's climate change 
investments.  The two days included discussions on how USAID 
is organizing itself to address climate change, an update on 
outcomes from the UN negotiations in Copenhagen in December 
that will impact USG policy and programs, and emerging 
analysis on opportunities for USAID climate change investments 
in Africa.  Several USAID missions shared their experience in 
addressing climate change issues through existing investments 
in biodiversity, clean energy, and adaptation. 
 
¶13. In Copenhagen, the U.S. committed itself to spending $1 
billion on REDD-related (UN Collaborative Programmed on 
 
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation 
in Developing Countries) activities over the next three years. 
In addition, the U.S. will contribute its share of an 
international commitment to spending $10 billion per year on 
climate change over the next three years, rising to $100 
billion per year by 2020.  Lastly, pending legislation in 
Congress is likely to shape the direction of the USG's climate 
change investments.  USAID is still determining Copenhagen?s 
impact on priorities, programs, and reporting on investments. 
 
¶14. In meetings with representatives of USAID/Washington's 
Office of the Sustainable Development under the Africa Bureau 
and Bureau of Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, each 
mission provided updates on national policy development on 
climate change and discussed potential USAID investment areas 
and technical assistance needs.  Missions also provided input 
to emerging priorities.  Although there were some areas where 
the data did not reflect the current situation, many missions 
felt that the analysis did provide a sound basis on which to 
lay out budget priorities. 
 
¶15. Missions noted that they would like the field to be more 
involved in shaping the development of the climate change 
program.  Participants felt that there was a disconnect 
between Washington's expectation that climate change funds 
meet narrowly targeted policy priorities and field missions' 
emphasis on integrated programming that meets key development 
priorities, including climate change.  In particular, there 
was concern that the narrow definitions of mitigation may mean 
the discontinuation of funding for long-standing, successful 
programs, such as support for the West African Power Pool, and 
the inability to support fossil-fuel based initiatives that 
clearly reduce carbon emissions, such as efforts to reduce gas 
flaring in Nigeria.  Another key question was the nexus 
between programming in the areas of biodiversity and climate 
change, with the view widely expressed that areas containing 
important biodiversity should not be totally ignored in favor 
of ones with the greatest potential for carbon mitigation. 
 
¶16. Questions and issues from all participants were collected 
throughout both sessions of the workshop. Many of these were 
discussed in the meetings, and other will be addressed on the 
interactive website Food Security, Sustainable Trade, and 
Environmental Resilience (FOSTER) 
(http://communities.usaidallnet.gov/foster). 
 
TEITELBAUM