VZCZCXRO3551
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHFR #2319/01 3581359
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231359Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5130
RUEHRC/DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 0013
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1654
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2976

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002319 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR USTR 
USDA FOR ONA/RIEMENSCHNIEDER; OCRA/HALE; OCBD/SHEIKH 
 
E.O. 19523: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EAID FR
SUBJECT: FRENCH MEETING ON AGRICULTURE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA FOCUSES 
ON REGIONAL MARKETS 
 
REF: UN ROME 97 
 
PARIS 00002319  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The French EU Presidency hosted a December 8 
high-level meeting on Investing for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan 
Africa.  The following day, a seminar on West African regional 
agricultural policy launched discussion of a regional agricultural 
policy (ECOWAP) modeled on the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. 
The forum was attended by a number of Western African agricultural 
ministers with the stated aim of developing further collaboration 
between West Africa and the international community on agriculture 
and food.  The G8 Global Partnership for Food and Agriculture (GPAF) 
initiative was raised only tangentially.  French Ag Minister Barnier 
used the meeting to underscore French support for increased 
regionalization and regulation of agricultural trade.  End summary. 
 
 
Investing in Agriculture for Sub-Saharan Africa 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶2. (SBU) Alain Joyandet, Secretary of State for Cooperation and for 
Francophone Countries, opened the meeting with the announcement that 
the EU would contribute EURO one billion in aid to developing 
countries over a three-year period. (Note: This money became 
available due to lower-than-projected EU agricultural spending due 
to unusually high commodity prices in 2007.  France, among others, 
initially resisted the diversion of money from this fund for other 
purposes because it didn't want to set a precedent for doing so. End 
note.)  He emphasized that the current financial crisis and lower 
commodity prices in 2008 are not excuses for inaction and that the 
urban poor are particularly vulnerable.  While aid has historically 
been oriented toward the extraction of primary materials rather than 
local food security, he said, it should be reoriented.  He 
underscored the need to move to more sustainable investment 
strategies, which should take into account climate change, land 
tenure issues and insufficient financing, by forming a complex 
partnership (Note: He did not refer to the GPAF explicitly. End 
note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Subsequent panels, consisting largely of representatives of 
Africa-based institutions, focused on sectoral investment needs in 
West Africa, private and public financing opportunities for 
agricultural infrastructure and business environment issues.  In the 
closing roundtable, Minister Joyandet's Chief of Staff Jean-Marc 
Chataigner said the discussion reflected the French vision for the 
G8 Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food.  France wanted 
"representatives from all sectors to come together in a common 
effort."  Among Chataigner's take-away messages: it is critical to 
get out of the "model of 20 years ago," strong public/private 
cooperation is feasible and necessary; rural development issues 
cannot be viewed in isolation from overall development goals, an 
integrated approach is critical; long-term engagement is important, 
the international community must not see this as a one-off crisis. 
UN High Level Task Force Coordinator David Nabarro emphasized that 
the HLT was "engaging with those establishing the GPAF to support 
their efforts." 
 
The West-African Regional Agricultural Policy 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶4. (SBU) Day two featured a series of speakers discussing 
implementation of the ECOWAS regional agricultural policy (ECOWAP). 
Most lauded ECOWAP goals of creating a regional market that could 
satisfy internal demand and reduce food "dependency."  The region's 
growth model is "no longer viable," with a bottoming out of 
productivity and rapid degradation of arable land.  ECOWAP's 
regional approach - "a regional offensive for food production" -- is 
the correct response.  The region featured a high degree of 
complementarity between production and demand areas, and authorities 
need to create an internal market based on regional preferences.  An 
effective ECOWAP would better regulate supply and demand, and better 
position ECOWAS on the world stage.  The effort should be based on a 
"post-structural adjustment" approach that includes strong 
regulation of agricultural markets.  This did not mean a return to 
the regulatory structures of the past, however. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Agricultural Minister Michel Barnier closed the two-day 
session, reminding the participants of the conference, "Who will 
Feed the World?" which was held at the beginning of the French EU 
presidency.  He praised regional integration under ECOWAS, which he 
encouraged to emulate the EU model.  He spoke disparagingly about 
efforts to revive the Doha negotiations, asserting the ACP countries 
 
PARIS 00002319  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
would be "the losers" in a final accord. Asserting that he would 
never leave agricultural policy to the free market, he stressed that 
regional entities need to find the right level of protection and 
regulation in order to promote "regional preference," which is what 
allowed the EU to reduce its dependence on imports.  He concluded 
that he hoped the Euro one billion would be allocated by the end of 
the year and that it would not be channeled by international 
organizations, but rather directly into projects in the field. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Barnier has been widely quoted as blaming the 
world food crisis on the international trading system and using this 
as a pretext to call for both increased regionalization and 
regulation of agricultural trade. It appears that France, finding 
limited receptivity to this point of view within the EC, is now 
taking its case to developing countries.  Reftel description of a 
French NGO presentation at FAO of a (reportedly GOF-backed) 
initiative to combat price volatility through an interventionist 
agricultural trade model provides additional evidence of this 
strategy. 
 
PEKALA