VZCZCXRO5003
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0036/01 0111652
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111652Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1561
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONROVIA 000036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/TPP/ABT - MPLOWDEN, GCLEMENTS, GSPENCER 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EAID LI
SUBJECT: PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY (GHFSI) IN LIBERIA 
 
REF: A) STATE 127466, B) STATE 124059, C) STATE 132094 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  In Liberia, food insecurity presents daily 
hardships for the majority of citizens, and has been an historic 
cause of destabilizing political unrest.  Post recognizes that a 
reinvigorated agricultural sector is the key to broad-based 
employment, economic growth, and a healthy population, while 
stimulating demand for rural infrastructure rehabilitation and 
attracting foreign investment.  To that end, post has devised an 
interagency food security strategy to amplify USAID's Global Hunger 
and Food Security Initiative (GHFSI).  A mission-wide GHFSI 
development group will meet monthly to explore how existing human 
resources and programs can be marshaled in support of Liberia's food 
security efforts.  A communications strategy will explain 
agriculture's potential value to Liberia, highlight USG efforts, and 
engage the general public, other development partners and the GOL in 
sharing information and building a consensus that leads to improved 
food security.   Post will leverage existing public diplomacy 
resources and small grants, such as exchange programs and the 
Ambassador's Self-Help Fund.  Post also will help Peace Corps, which 
enjoys a broad reach in rural areas, and AFRICOM, which oversees a 
large program to rebuild Liberia's army, to enhance existing 
projects that peripherally support food security.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Liberia is one of the most food insecure countries in Africa; 
a tragic irony considering the abundant sources of water and lush 
vegetation.  Fourteen years of civil conflict decimated a once 
self-sufficient agricultural industry.  Rice constitutes the staple 
of the Liberian diet, yet domestic producers satisfy only 40% of 
total demand.  Liberia's reliance upon imported food stuffs exposes 
it to fluctuations in global commodity prices, which in turn erodes 
purchasing power - a catastrophe in a country where 80% of people 
eke out a living on less than one dollar per day.  An inefficient 
port in Monrovia further raises the price of food imports, and 
dilapidated rural infrastructure makes it costly and time-consuming 
to connect producers and consumers.  Finally, shallow financial 
markets preclude would-be entrepreneurs from investing in 
agriculture-related industries.  As a result, a 2006 Food and 
Agriculture Organization study concluded that only nine percent of 
rural households in Liberia were food secure. 
 
¶3. (U) In concert with GOL priorities, USAID has designed a GHFSI 
implementation plan that increases sustainable market-led growth 
across the entire food production and market chain (including 
investment in agricultural research to improve crop yields, 
construction of farm-to-market roads, and access to finance), 
prevents and treats under-nutrition, and reduces trade and 
transportation barriers. 
The Food and Enterprise Development Program, which begins in May, 
will provide $110 million over three years to support GHFSI goals. 
In addition, Post advances the food security agenda through the 
following mechanisms: USAID's Office of Food for Peace ($15 million 
per year), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food for 
Progress ($3 million), the Sustainable Tree Crop Program ($10 
million), technical assistance to support the Ministry of 
Agriculture ($4 million), the Land Reform and Community Forestry 
Program ($6 million over 2.5 years), and the Liberia Energy Sector 
Support Program ($20 million). 
 
Interagency GHFSI Development Group 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) To ensure coordination of diplomatic and development efforts, 
post has created the GHFSI Development Group.  The DCM will chair a 
monthly meeting, which will include representatives from the 
political/economic and public affairs sections, USAID's Economic 
Growth team, the Peace Corps, and the Office of Security Cooperation 
(AFRICOM).  USAID subject matter experts in health, education and 
democracy and governance will participate as needed.  Economic 
Officer Sarah Gonzales has been designated Embassy point of contact 
for interagency food security coordination and will propose the 
agenda for meetings. 
 
¶5. (U) While food security is a long-standing priority for the 
Mission, regular coordination will ensure more creative and 
effective use of existing resources.  The GHFSI Development Group 
will explore how existing State, Peace Corps and military programs 
and skill sets can be used to amplify the GHFSI's development goals. 
 The group will design strategies for media and commercial outreach, 
ensure public diplomacy programs support food security goals, and 
coordinate among US agencies serving in Liberia. 
 
Communicating the Value of Domestic Agriculture 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6. (U) During the civil war, Liberians fled to the relative safety 
of urban areas, where agricultural skills enervated and an entire 
 
MONROVIA 00000036  002.4 OF 003 
 
 
generation became accustomed to city life and imported food.  Now, 
despite limited urban employment opportunities, many Liberians 
languish in Monrovia, and GOL and donor incentives to return to 
agrarian life have failed to persuade a cynical urban populace that 
agriculture can once again be profitable. 
 
¶7. (U) To combat misapprehensions that undermine agricultural 
revitalization, designing a communications strategy is the 
Development Group's first priority.  In fact, the committee agrees 
that a comprehensive media and public outreach campaign is perhaps 
the best means by which existing diplomatic resources can be 
deployed to buttress the GHFSI development agenda, which is itself a 
reflection of the GOL's Comprehensive African Agriculture 
Development Program (CAADP) and the Liberia Agriculture Investment 
Support Program (LASIP). 
 
¶8. (U) There are several messages post hopes to communicate.  First, 
we must reinforce the value of agriculture to a developing economy. 
With appeals to both patriotism and economic self-interest, we must 
outline how agricultural development can lead to widespread 
employment opportunities, better infrastructure and improved 
nutrition.  Second, to overcome the defeatist conviction that roads 
are too derelict and agricultural skills too long forgotten, we must 
draw media and public attention to every infrastructure project, 
technical assistance program or microcredit scheme, and explain 
plainly and carefully how each project draws Liberia one step closer 
to agricultural self-sufficiency.  We will also highlight "success 
stories," particularly those that reveal Liberians who have overcome 
obstacles to profit from agricultural endeavors.  Third, we must 
attempt to influence urban citizens' preference for imported rice 
through a "made in Liberia" campaign.  To strengthen consumer 
demand, media outreach will tout the economic benefits of import 
substitution and the superior nutritional content of domestic rice. 
 
 
¶9. (U) Post will reinforce these messages through the Ambassador's 
speeches, editorials in local newspapers, and ribbon-cutting events. 
 The Development Group will create a food security fact sheet that 
outlines Embassy-wide diplomatic and development efforts and 
provides talking points on the value of agricultural revitalization 
for Liberia's economic growth and political stability.  Mission 
personnel will be encouraged to use these talking points in 
conversations with varied public and private sector contacts.  In 
addition, post will introduce food security themes into existing 
public diplomacy programs, such as speakers' programs at American 
Corners, the International Visitors' Leadership Program and the 
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. 
 
¶10. (U) As an opening salvo, the Ambassador will introduce these 
themes during an upcoming event to inaugurate a USAID-funded, United 
Nations-World Food Program school feeding program.  Thanks to an 
unexpected bumper rice crop this year, USAID, through WFP, will 
purchase rice from Liberian farmers and distribute it to schools 
throughout the country. This $3.5 million project is made possible 
due to the FY09 (carryover) supplemental issued by Congress for 
Global Financial Crisis mitigation.   The ribbon-cutting, to be held 
in late January or early February, offers an opportunity to 
communicate multiple messages we wish to share with the Liberian 
public: donors' coordinated support for GOL agriculture initiatives, 
the potential for domestic rice production, and the link between 
proper nutrition and children's physical and intellectual 
development. 
 
Youth Outreach 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Despite Liberia's agrarian roots, few school children or 
teenagers entering the work force have experience with agriculture 
or livestock cultivation, and fewer still perceive farming as a 
viable profession.  Through the 1980s, all public schools required 
students to take a vocational class in farming.  Students spent one 
afternoon per week cultivating a school-owned vegetable garden, 
learning the basic principles of agriculture and sharing equally the 
produce they cultivated.  Few schools still offer this practical 
curriculum, although post proposes other small-scale mechanisms on 
this model that would reintroduce youth to farming. 
¶12. (U) Liberia's 24 Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) work primarily in 
the education sector, whether as teachers at the Rural Teacher 
Training Institutes (RTTI), advocates of Parent Teacher Associations 
in local schools, or trainers of public health professionals.  PTA 
organizers assist PTAs in creating vegetable gardens at the local 
schools to enhance school lunch programs and ensure the effective 
delivery of food to children.  Nutrition instructors teach health 
care professionals the importance and intricacies of nutrition. 
Teacher-trainers support the efforts of the RTTIs to grow their own 
food, and plan to incorporate agriculture into the teacher training 
curriculum, with the hope that teachers will impart useful knowledge 
 
MONROVIA 00000036  003 OF 003 
 
 
to students once they return to classrooms throughout the country. 
¶13. (U) Post will also explore the possibility of reviving 4-H in 
Liberia.  The Ministry of Youth and Sports, which has a modest 
national volunteer service program, may be a viable partner in this 
effort, and we will encourage them to pursue 4-H's youth exchange 
program.  Finally, the Public Affairs Section will use its 
educational advisory services to encourage more young people to 
pursue careers in sustainable agriculture. 
 
Ambassador's Self-Help Fund and Other Small Grants 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶14. (U) Of 13 self-help projects in 2010, seven are related to 
agriculture or food security.  Post will launch an "adopt a 
self-help project," to ensure that each funded organization or 
community is paired with an officer who provides guidance and 
oversight during the year-long project, and assures continued 
sustainability and success in 2011 and beyond.  For example, one 
project supports 50 women who are starting a poultry farm.  The 
officer who supports this project might help the women identify 
appropriate markets to sell their goods, design a cost-effective 
mechanism for getting goods to market, and help them time the 
chickens' lifecycle to coincide with seasonal demand. 
 
¶15. (U) Where Embassy human resources alone are insufficient, other 
small grant programs may enable Post to support grassroots 
organizations that would complement USAID's endeavors.  For example, 
Post's food security Development Committee will develop a grant 
request to the Office of Global Women's Issues in response to its 
request for proposals (ref C).  We plan to identify a worthy local 
organization that could use funds to encourage women's economic 
empowerment through agriculture. 
 
Military Outreach 
------------------ 
 
¶16. (U) Both AFRICOM and the United National Mission in Liberia 
(UNMIL) recognize that food security programs for soldiers and 
ex-combatants advance military reform, improve soldiers' morale and 
reinforce peacekeeping efforts.  For example, at Camp Ware near 
Monrovia, U.S. military and contractors, who serve as mentors to 
military personnel, are helping the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) 
clear land and plant crops.  USAID will provide technical training, 
seeds and tools beginning January 18, and if the project is 
successful, the Office of Security Cooperation may provide similar 
resources to other AFL military bases. 
 
¶17. (U) UNMIL's Bangladesh unit trains ex-combatants as farmers in 
Bong County, and the new farmers run a small farm that grows enough 
rice and vegetables for their families.  However, the Bangladeshi 
battalion does not retain any trained farmers or agronomists, so 
their efforts, while providing a valued community service, remain 
modest.  The new U.S. military observer at UNMIL will work with the 
UN to scale and professionalize this operation, so that it can be 
adopted successfully as a viable profession for ex-combatants in 
other counties. 
 
 
 
THOMAS-GREENFIELD 
 
 
 
1