VZCZCXRO9079
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKA #0086/01 0270840
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270840Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9943
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR C CHERYL MILLS, SCA 
DEPT PASS TO USAID FOR RAJIV SHAH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON EAID PREL PGOV SOCI KPAO BG
 
SUBJECT: BANGLADESH: AN IDEAL FEED THE FUTURE FOCUS COUNTRY 
 
REF: DHAKA 26 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  Bangladesh is an ideal candidate to serve as the Asian focus 
country for the USG's Feed the Future (FTF) Initiative.  This Muslim 
majority nation of more than 150 million people, where poverty and 
malnutrition rates remain high, places a very high priority on 
ensuring food security.  The effects of global climate change on 
agriculture will further compound the food security challenges here. 
 Food security in Bangladesh also has implications for the stability 
of South Asia and the United States.  Despite many obstacles, 
Bangladesh has made major strides to improve food security since 
independence, achieving near self-sufficiency in rice production. 
An FTF program in Bangladesh has a high probability of success, 
given the will of the Government of Bangladesh and existing USG 
programs. 
 
THE NEEDS ARE GREAT 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  Tens of millions of people in Bangladesh are chronically food 
insecure.  According to the World Bank, roughly 40 million 
Bangladeshis live in extreme poverty while malnutrition affects 
nearly 40 percent of Bangladeshi children under 5 years old.  Most 
Bangladeshis live on an economic precipice. 
 
¶3.  Bangladesh's agriculture and food security also face some of the 
harshest effects of global climate change.  As a low-lying coastal 
country which serves as the delta for three major river systems, 
Bangladesh is vulnerable to increasingly frequent and severe 
tropical cyclones which affect agriculture.  The cyclones contribute 
to rising salinity of soil and water which affects agriculture and 
food security in sizable areas of southwestern Bangladesh. 
 
ADVANCING U.S. SECURITY INTERESTS 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  These food security challenges have major political and 
stability ramifications.  The Government of Bangladesh (GOB), 
regardless of the political party in power, must constantly monitor 
for imminent major threats to food supplies or accessibility.  The 
GOB, as a matter of political survival, continually strives to 
improve the food security and economic well-being of its citizens. 
Food security programs can also contribute to enhanced regional 
cooperation.  After the Prime Minister's recent visit to India, the 
two countries are looking at food security as a key area for 
enhanced bilateral cooperation.  By fostering this trend, our food 
security program will pay dividends across a wide range of issues, 
including U.S. national security priorities. 
 
¶5.  Studies conducted by the USG and others directly link economic 
security to vulnerability to extremism.  Most Bangladeshis only turn 
to extremism in the absence of legitimate economic opportunities. 
The current GOB is committed to stopping terrorism and extremism 
within its borders and to working with the United States, India and 
others to combat transnational terrorism.  We need to give them all 
possible tools to reduce this threat. 
 
BUILDING ON EXISTING PROGRAMS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  The need for expanded food security programs is matched by 
Bangladesh's commitment to feed its population.  The GOB has 
recently conducted several analyses of food security and identifies 
it as the top priority of the government.   The government has 
developed a country-led food policy and plan of action that will 
serve as the basis for Feed the Future programs.  Bangladesh has a 
long history of progress on food security.  While its population has 
doubled since independence, Bangladesh went from importing half the 
food it was consuming in the 1970's to virtual self-sufficiency in 
rice today.  Moreover, although chronic malnutrition remains 
widespread, the GOB, with USG support, has developed safety net 
programs that now prevent a recurrence of the mass starvation of the 
1970's. 
 
¶7.  Furthermore, the USG already has a range of programs underway in 
Bangladesh that address food security, including in the areas of 
agriculture, nutrition and climate change.  We are well-positioned 
to build on and expand these programs to support the GOB in its 
efforts to make a momentous leap forward on food security.  We 
created an Embassy-wide food security task force last year to 
utilize the distinct strengths of State, USAID, DOD and USDA offices 
and apply the whole-of-government approach in preparing our food 
security proposal (reftel). 
 
 
DHAKA 00000086  002 OF 002 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8.  This environment bodes well for creating a successful Feed the 
Future program.  Given the long-term nature of this challenge, it is 
in our interest to focus the initiative in countries where we have 
the maximum chances for success.  If we truly want to effect 
meaningful change to the problem of hunger, we need to create 
partnerships with strong candidate countries.  Bangladesh is clearly 
one of those countries. 
 
MORIARTY