VZCZCXRO3616
RR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLG #0021/01 0081432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081432Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY LILONGWE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0222
INFO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0003
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0614
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LILONGWE 000021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NAIROBI FOR FAS HAMMOND 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID EAGR ECON ETRD PGOV MI
SUBJECT:  MALAWI:  GLOBAL HUNGER AND FOOD SECURITY INITIATIVE 
DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY 
 
REF:  SECSTATE 124059 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. Summary: One of the poorest countries in the world and highly 
vulnerable to food shortages, Malawi is an appropriate target for 
the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative.  The Mission plan is 
based on three pillars (assistance, direct diplomacy, and public 
diplomacy), and will engage all USG agencies active in Malawi along 
with other development partners.  While USAID-administered 
assistance programs will constitute the bulk of Mission activities, 
we will complement those assistance efforts with private diplomatic 
efforts to emphasize policy reform messages and public diplomacy to 
convey broader messages and influence opinion.  End summary. 
 
The Malawi Context 
------------------ 
 
¶2. With a per-capita income of USD 836 (IMF), Malawi ranks as one of 
the world's dozen poorest countries.  Already the sixth most densely 
populated country on the African continent, Malawi's birth rate of 
over 40 per 1000 (16th globally) places continuing pressure on its 
ability to feed itself.  The Government of President Bingu wa 
Mutharika has made food security its highest priority since taking 
office in 2004, a year when drought left over 4.5 million Malawians 
in need of food aid.  Even after four consecutive years of crop 
surpluses, the country's food security situation remains fragile. 
Malawi's economy is still overwhelmingly dependent on rain-fed 
agriculture, leaving it vulnerable to drought or other weather 
shocks.  With little industry, Malawi cannot buy its way out of 
crisis, since its ability to generate income depends heavily on cash 
crops (tobacco, tea, cotton, coffee) subject to the same weather 
shocks as its food crops. 
 
¶3. The GOM is investing 13% of its 2009/2010 national budget to 
address agriculture and food security related issues, compared to 
the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) 
target of 10%.  The GOM's Agriculture Development Program (ADP) lays 
the foundation for a harmonized and country-owned strategy, linked 
to the CAADP and Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative (GHFSI) 
objectives.  ADP is an agreement between the GOM and donors on a 
harmonized agriculture strategy and investment plan.  The ADP, 
however, languished for several months in 2009 without action, and 
has only recently been accepted by Cabinet, with some 
qualifications.  President Mutharika recently announced the launch 
of the "Greenbelt Initiative" (GBI) promoting irrigation and better 
soil management as part of his push to improve agricultural 
productivity. 
 
¶4. President Mutharika's signature agricultural input subsidy 
program (AISP) has been widely praised as having contributed to a 
dramatic improvement in food security.  The high cost of the program 
makes its long-term sustainability doubtful for a country dependent 
on donor assistance for 30 to 40 percent of its annual budget.  Less 
than transparent application of the AISP and restrictions on private 
sector participation in the program hinder private sector growth and 
limit the overall impact of investments in the agricultural sector. 
 
¶5. GOM interventions in agricultural markets go beyond the AISP to 
include establishment of minimum prices for Malawi's major cash 
crops - tobacco and cotton.  During the past year, the Government 
expelled four executives of international tobacco firms for failing 
to pay the mandated prices.  Just a few months later, Malawi's 
largest cotton buyer, Cargill, pulled out of the country altogether 
after determining that it could not justify paying the GOM-set 
cotton price. 
 
Major Objective 
--------------- 
 
¶6. Addressing policies that constrain or disrupt market activities 
and inhibit sustainable investment in the agricultural sector will 
be a major objective for the GHFSI in Malawi.  In particular, a key 
goal will be to increase private sector investment in agriculture 
and unlock the increased tax revenue, foreign exchange, and growth 
that participation generates. 
 
GHFSI Assistance Programming 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. One pillar of the GHFSI effort in Malawi will be 
USAID-administered development assistance activities.  These 
investments are described in detail in USAID's Global Hunger and 
Food Security Implementation Plan.  Having worked closely with the 
GOM on the development of its ADP, USAID has designed its GHFSI 
implementation plan to support the principles of that country-led 
 
LILONGWE 00000021  002 OF 003 
 
 
program.  The GHFSI plan will focus on six core areas. 
 
a.  Increased Agricultural Productivity:  GHFSI projects will 
promote increased access to irrigation, credit, technology and 
markets by agricultural producers, strengthen organization and 
capacity of producer associations, and support bulking and market 
linkages at local, national and regional levels to increase 
productivity at all levels of the agricultural value chain. 
 
b. Increased Trade and Reduced Barriers to Market Access:  GHFSI 
programs will help producers associations to access national and 
intra-regional agricultural markets, stimulating growth in both 
export and import-substituting production. 
 
c. Sound Market-Based Principles for Agriculture:  GHFSI programs, 
through support and advocacy with the GOM and civil society, will 
promote evidence-based agricultural policies to reduce risk and 
improve the ability of farmers and the private sector to efficiently 
plan production. 
 
d. Accelerate Participation of the Ultra Poor in Rural Growth: 
GHFSI projects are designed to graduate 'vulnerable yet viable' 
households into sustainable producers in mainstream commodity 
markets. 
 
e. Reduce Under-Nutrition:  GHFSI programs will improve the 
nutritional status of households with special attention to pregnant 
and lactating women and children under five, increasing the overall 
health and productive capacity of the population. 
 
f. Increase the Impact of Humanitarian Assistance:  GHFSI programs 
will support vulnerability monitoring and assessment, as well as 
policy-making capacity to increase the impact of humanitarian 
assistance and improve the GOM capacity to utilize a sophisticated 
range of mechanisms against famine. 
 
 
¶8. USDA Title II Food for Progress and Dole-McGovern funded programs 
supporting school-feeding, agriculture associations, and 
microfinance programs will be integrated to leverage these broad 
GHFSI focus areas.  Additionally, Peace Corps programs in Malawi 
include a substantial environmental element; the Mission GHFSI team 
will coordinate to identify and implement potential synergies with 
these volunteers. 
 
Direct Diplomatic Engagement 
---------------------------- 
 
¶9. To improve a broad policy environment that sometimes constrains 
or disrupts market activities and inhibits sustainable investment in 
the agricultural sector, direct diplomatic engagement will be key. 
The Ambassador, USAID Director, and other senior Mission officers 
regularly discuss these issues with their Malawian counterparts and 
donor colleagues.  We will expand that effort in a systematic way by 
engaging key GOM officials and civil society and private sector 
leaders with GHFSI messages. 
 
¶10. The Ambassador and senior Embassy officers will promote GHFSI 
principles and objectives through their participation in the monthly 
heads of mission meetings of donor country representatives.  These 
meetings address higher level policy issues, as well as technical 
issues not resolved at lower levels. 
 
¶11. USAID will incorporate the GHFSI agenda into its participation 
in the heads of co-operating partners' forum, newly formed to 
discuss donor coordination, harmonization, development assistance 
strategy and relevant technical issues.  This forum will provide the 
Mission another opportunity to work toward achieving a common donor 
position on needed agricultural policy reforms. 
 
¶12. In line with the Paris and Accra principles on the coordination 
and harmonization of assistance with country-led plans, and the 
Malawi Development Assistance Strategy (DAS), the GOM is in the 
process of establishing an Agricultural Sector Working Group 
(AgSWG).  The AgSWG will be co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of 
Agriculture and a rotating representative from the donor community, 
and will constitute the principle mechanism for coordinating efforts 
to implement Malawi's ADP.  Experience implementing the MCC 
Threshold Program demonstrated the utility of a task force approach 
in engaging the GOM, the USG and the broader donor community.  The 
Mission will use its participation in the AgSWG to advance GHFSI 
objectives and ensure that USG efforts are in line with the overall 
agricultural development agenda in Malawi.  Although the GOM and the 
donor community, through its experience with the health sector, have 
some familiarity with sector working groups, the new AgSWG is still 
at the embryonic stage.  The Mission anticipates that considerable 
effort and resources, including technical assistance and capacity 
 
LILONGWE 00000021  003 OF 003 
 
 
building, will be needed to make it a fully effective. 
 
¶13. Also at the working level, USAID plays a central role in Donor 
Committee for Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS), which holds 
monthly meetings to discuss coordination of donor efforts, and a 
second meeting each month with the GOM Permanent Secretary for 
Agriculture.  Despite uneven donor commitment to press for 
agricultural reform, and limited institutional strength, DCAFS still 
represents the best available venue for promoting the GHFSI agenda 
to all of the stakeholders in Malawi's agricultural sector. 
 
Public Diplomacy Activities 
--------------------------- 
 
¶14. As the third pillar of the Mission-wide GHFSI diplomatic 
strategy, we will design and implement public diplomacy and outreach 
efforts to inform the public regarding GHFSI activities.  Our 
programs will seek to inspire public interest in encouraging 
Malawian leaders to address the necessary policy issues that 
constrain agricultural development. 
 
¶15.  Our public diplomacy tools will include direct outreach 
initiatives such as Ambassadorial op-ed placements, press releases 
highlighting particular assistance activities, press interviews, and 
programs with targeted audiences using visiting experts or digital 
video conferences.  We will also use less direct public outreach 
tools such as International Visitor Leadership Programs and academic 
training opportunities for key up-and-coming officials and civil 
society leaders. 
 
Mission Coordination 
-------------------- 
 
¶16. The Mission will establish an overarching Food Security 
Oversight and Coordinating Committee, chaired by the Deputy Chief of 
Mission, to coordinate Mission-wide GHFSI activities.  USAID will 
take the lead in coordinating GHFSI assistance activities, with 
collaboration and support from the Embassy.  USAID will designate a 
GHFSI Country Coordinator to be responsible for the coordination of 
GHFSI assistance activities in country.  The GHFSI Country 
Coordinator will lead monthly meetings with representatives from all 
USG agencies involved to ensure that information is shared and 
efforts are coordinated across agencies.  The Country Coordinator 
will produce a monthly activity report and provide regular briefings 
to the Food Security Oversight and Coordinating Committee. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶17. Notwithstanding a sometimes challenging policy environment, 
Malawi is ideally suited to benefit from GHFSI.  Given Malawi's 
historic vulnerability to food shortages, nutrition challenges, 
fertile soil, abundant water, and a close cultural connection to the 
productivity of the land, the stage is set for Malawi to benefit 
significantly from this U.S.-led food security initiative. 
 
¶18. The U.S. Mission in Malawi enjoys good working relationships and 
cooperation between all USG agencies resident in country and across 
all sectors of our engagement.  The Mission's Health team, for 
example, with contributions from State, USAID, CDC and the 
Department of Defense, has been recognized as a model of interagency 
cooperation and effectiveness.  With similar Mission-wide 
coordination and a strategy that includes 1) a carefully designed 
assistance implementation plan, 2) regular diplomatic engagement at 
all levels of government and civil society, and 3) consistent public 
outreach with GHFSI messaging, a U.S.-led food security initiative 
in Malawi will make real progress. 
 
BODDE