VZCZCXRO4217
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHHI #1404/01 3590714
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240714Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8930
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5428
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001404 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLSBROWN 
 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EAGR TBIO EAID VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM FOOD SECURITY RESEARCH BY STAFFDEL LUSE, SENATE 
FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE 
 
HANOI 00001404  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  Keith Luse, Senior Professional Staff Member, 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Vietnamese officials, 
scientists, policy makers, and NGO representatives to analyze food 
security issues and identify partnership opportunities in Vietnam 
from December 6-11.  Vietnamese participants expressed appreciation 
for US assistance and hope to receive additional support to build 
partnerships with US universities and research institutions, 
especially in human resource development at all levels of the 
agricultural sector and biotech research.  Participants stated 
concerns about rice production and storage, human resource 
development, and climate change. While Vietnam is well known as the 
world's second largest rice exporter, gaps remain in its ability to 
provide safe and sufficient nutrition to all of its population and 
the agricultural sector needs capacity building at all levels.  Luse 
also met with Vietnamese MFA officials and National Assembly members 
and discussed bilateral relations and regional issues.  End summary. 
 
 
Policy Makers and Crop Production Officials 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 
¶2. (U) Luse met with representatives from the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development's (MARD) Institute of Policy and 
Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development (IpSard).  He 
discussed MARD's educational facilities and extension services from 
the national to the local level.  IpSard said current priorities 
include maintaining agricultural exports, especially rice and 
coffee, finding full employment for rural labor, and promoting the 
use of biotechnology. Future concerns include avoiding loss of 
needed agricultural land to increased industrialization and 
privatization. 
 
¶3. (U) IpSard said Vietnam would benefit from US assistance in 
building human resources capacity not only in research and 
biotechnology, but also in agricultural policy and management. 
Vietnam also needs assistance in post harvest technology, and 
although it is the world's second largest rice exporter, it is still 
lacking in capacity to properly store, label, and market its rice. 
 
¶4. (U) Officials from MARD's Crop Production Department described 
how MARD assists and supports farmers.  Concerns were raised about 
the effects of climate change on rice production, especially if 
rising ocean levels would increase the salinization of the Red River 
and Mekong River Deltas.  Officials discussed ways to improve the 
quality of rice, including developing new saltwater resistant 
strains and building the use of additional export crops including 
coffee, peppers, corn, cashews and rubber. 
 
NGO Roundtable and Agricultural Genetics Institute 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (U) Luse participated in a roundtable with 3 NGOs working in the 
food sector. The American Red Cross has school feeding and water 
sanitation programs funded under USDA's Food for Education program, 
with beneficiaries in Central Vietnam and in ethnic minority areas 
of Northwest Vietnam.  CounterPart International has a USDA Food for 
Progress grant under which it is offering support to farmers and 
agricultural workers at the grassroots level in Central Vietnam. 
OxFam Great Britain has been working in northern Vietnam and the 
Mekong Delta on food security, including emergency response to 
disasters and advocacy for farmers. 
 
¶6.  (U) The NGOs noted that while Vietnam exports large amounts of 
rice, coffee, pepper and cashew, there are several serious 
vulnerabilities in food security.  First, Vietnam is prone to 
natural disasters such as typhoons, floods, and droughts which 
negatively impact food crops.  Secondly, parts of the population, 
especially in the Central Highlands, Central Vietnam, and the 
Northwest, including ethnic minorities, have higher poverty rates 
and weaker access to sufficient nutrition than urban populations. 
Third, Vietnam has been listed by the UN as one of the world's most 
vulnerable countries to Climate Change.  Finally, at the grassroots 
level, many farmers are at a subsistence level and the agricultural 
extension service is inadequate. 
 
¶7. (U) Luse emphasized the importance of providing detailed project 
evaluations to determine which programs are most effective.  The 
USDA-funded projects have detailed reporting requirements, and the 
NGOs conduct additional external monitoring and evaluations.  The 
USDA programs are concluding, and no additional funds will be 
available from those sources.  Despite repeated efforts by Post to 
arrange a meeting, World Bank officials in Hanoi were unavailable to 
discuss food security issues with Luse. 
 
¶8. (U) At the meeting with the Agricultural Genetics Institute, the 
 
HANOI 00001404  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Director General (DG) said there could be food security problems if 
the land available for agriculture continues to decline.  Different 
types of crops and crops with different characteristics will be 
needed to respond to changing conditions.  The DG welcomed research 
and academic partnerships with American universities and thought 
there would be many topics for joint research, especially in 
biotechnology. 
 
Food Crop Research Institute and Hanoi Agricultural 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
University 
---------- 
 
¶9. (U) Luse met with the leadership of the Food Crop Research 
Institute of the Vietnam Academy for Agricultural Sciences located 
in an agricultural province 70 kilometers north of Hanoi. 
Scientists have an active research program there focusing on rice, 
tubers, legumes and vegetables.  The institute develops food crops 
to meet the needs of farmers using traditional and high tech methods 
such as strains that are drought resistant.  One professor said that 
the GVN maintains a 6 month supply of food stores for emergencies 
and that because geographic conditions differ regionally, it is 
unlikely that a massive disaster would wipe out all food crops in 
the north, center, and south at the same time. 
 
¶10. (U) Many of the institute's staff have advanced degrees from 
different countries and would like to have greater exchanges with 
American universities.  One repeatedly mentioned concern was the 
lack of Vietnamese with sufficient English skills to participate in 
programs in the United States.  The senior leadership at the 
Biotechnology Institute of Hanoi Agricultural University shared many 
of the same interests and concerns as their colleagues at the Food 
Crop Research Institute.  Vietnam needs human resource development 
in the agricultural sector, from local extension workers to national 
policy makers.  They would like to establish more research 
partnerships with American universities, especially in 
biotechnology, but have concerns about the English abilities of 
potential participants. 
 
MARD Vice Minister and Ministry of Health 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) On December 11, Luse met with MARD Vice Minister Bui Ba Bong 
who emphasized the need to upgrade rice production, storage and 
marketing, ensure biosafety, address climate change and build human 
resources.  The Vice Minister thanked the US for cooperation and 
support, especially from USDA, and expressed hope for future support 
from USAID.  He said he would like to build more partnerships with 
US universities and research institutions and was optimistic about 
the future of biotech in Vietnam. 
 
¶12. (U) The DG of the Vietnam Food Administration of the Ministry of 
Health provided a detailed briefing of the administrative structure 
of the food safety system.  He said key issues in 2008 were consumer 
complaints about pesticides in vegetables and problems with fruit 
preservatives.  Many of these concerns proved to be unfounded. 
Current priorities are the implementation of the GVN decree on Food 
Safety systems and screening food imports for safety.  He requested 
US further assistance in drafting Food Safety laws. 
 
Meetings with MFA and National Assembly 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) MFA and National Assembly representatives separately hosted 
Luse for dinner.  During those meetings, Luse raised issues of 
concern in the bilateral relationship, including curbs on press 
freedom, arrests of journalists, and pressure on the Catholic 
archbishop of Hanoi.  He noted the high degree of Senate interest 
about Vietnam and Senator Lugar's satisfaction with the positive 
trend of relations in recent years.  There was also discussion of 
the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations and Vietnam's 
application for GSP status. 
 
¶14. (U) On regional issues, Luse said that the North Koreans have 
shown they trust Vietnam and he encouraged his Vietnamese hosts to 
contribute to regional stability by sharing their economic reform 
experience with Pyongyang.  He noted that the North Koreans have 
tried unsuccessfully several times to implement new economic 
policies.  The Vietnamese responded that their interaction with the 
North Koreans had dropped off earlier in the year and agreed that 
this might be a result of leadership uncertainty in Pyongyang.  Luse 
and an MFA North Korea expert shared their views on the North Korean 
political situation and Kim Jong-il.  Luse emphasized that both 
parties in the Senate were concerned about North Korean weapons 
shipments to Burma and the possibility of nuclear cooperation 
between those two parties.  Luse and his hosts also discussed the US 
 
HANOI 00001404  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
relationship with ASEAN and China's regional policies. 
 
¶15. (U) This cable was cleared by Staffdel Luse. 
 
MICHALAK