VZCZCXRO5550
PP RUEHRN
DE RUEHRN #0019/01 0481125
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171125Z FEB 10
FM USMISSION UN ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1286
INFO RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0377
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0314
RUEHFR/USMISSION UNESCO PARIS FR PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0024
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 0026
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0138
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0102
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO PRIORITY 0001
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 1364

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 UN ROME 000019 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR C, IO/HS, EEB/IFD/ODA 
USAID FOR DCHA, LAC, EGAT, AFR 
USDA FOR BPHILBROOK, ATUTWILER, PSHEIKH, GDOUVELIS 
TREASURY FOR LMORRIS AND PGANDHI 
NSC FOR GSMITH AND CPRATT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: FAO IFAD WFP UN EAID EAGR PREL HA
SUBJECT: USUN ROME CO-HOSTS HIGH LEVEL FOOD SECURITY EVENT ON HAITI 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Not for 
dissemination outside the U.S. Government. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, joined by 
the Haitian and Brazilian Missions, co-hosted a high-level 
meeting `Supporting a Haitian-Led Food Security Program' on 
February 12 at the World Food Program (WFP) headquarters. 
Designed to highlight the need for medium and long-term 
financing for Haiti's agricultural sector, the event was well 
received by the many participants from other Missions, NGOs, 
private sector and the media.  Haiti's Agriculture Minister 
Joanas Gue presented Haiti's $700 million agriculture plan in 
his keynote address, followed by remarks from WFP Executive 
Director Josette Sheeran, Food and Agriculture Organization 
(FAO) Director General Jacques Diouf, International Fund for 
Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Kanayo Nwanze, State 
Department Chief of Staff and Counselor Cheryl Mills, Brazil's 
Coordinator-General of International Actions in the Fight 
Against Hunger in the Ministry of Foreign Relations Milton 
Rondo, and Dominican Republic Agriculture Minister Salvador 
Jimenez.  Noteworthy moments included the Haitian Ambassador 
Benoit's emotionally charged opening remarks that drew tears 
from many in the audience, the announcement of a new Haiti Task 
Force established by the Rome-based UN Agencies, FAO Director 
General Diouf's critical comments on funding for agriculture in 
Haiti under the UN Flash Appeal, and a Haiti Multi-Donor Trust 
Fund (MDTF) proposal by the Inter-American Development Bank 
(IADB) and the World Bank. END SUMMARY. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The high-level meeting was held exactly one month after 
the devastating earthquake struck Haiti.  One of the primary 
objectives of the meeting was to gain commitments by parties to 
develop and implement a coordinated Haitian-led food security 
plan.  Ideally this plan would include agriculture, rural 
development, and safety nets.  With death totals estimated 
between 220,000 to 270,000 and untold infrastructural damage, 
the earthquake, in FAO Director General Diouf's words, `has 
destroyed all the headway' that had been made in the fight 
against poverty in Haiti.  WFP Executive Director Sheeran called 
the disaster the `most complex emergency' that the WFP had ever 
supported.  The event focused on building consensus for a 
Haitian-led agriculture plan that places agriculture as a 
leading sector for Haiti's economic development. 
 
Components of Haiti's New Agricultural Plan 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Outlined by Haitian Agriculture Minister Joanas Gue, 
Haiti's new agriculture plan is centered on two key objectives: 
produce more food and create more jobs.  Gue emphasized that 
with secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy badly 
damaged, agriculture must take a lead role in jump-starting and 
redeveloping the economy.  The major components of the new plan 
include:  integrate food production and humanitarian work; 
increase availability of inputs; rehabilitate infrastructure; 
improve management of water basins; support reforestation (with 
a focus on tree crops) and animal husbandry; and bolster the 
marketing of agricultural production.  The Haitian Agriculture 
Minister was confident that the new plan could produce 40-45 
million person days of work.  The cost of the program is 
projected at $700 million over a period of three years and will 
target areas with large inflows of migrants as well as areas 
that have the highest potential agricultural output. While 
acknowledging the importance of a medium to long term 
agriculture plan, Gue also stressed the importance of immediate 
action as the first and primary agriculture season, which 
accounts for 60 percent of Haiti's food production, will begin 
March 1. 
 
UN ROME 00000019  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
Coordinated Relief 
------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) The three UN Rome-based Agencies announced a new `Task 
Force for Food Security in Haiti' designed to `support the GOH 
in the implementation of a concerted, coherent, and targeted, 
immediate and longer-term food security strategy that integrates 
agricultural production and social safety nets.'  The heads of 
the three agencies pledged that they would work together on a 
daily basis, combining the expertise and resources of their 
agencies.  They recognized `the need to create social safety 
nets to stimulate the economy in urban and rural areas; to 
re-start urgently needed school feeding; and to ensure that the 
coming planting seasons are as productive as possible.  In the 
longer term, agriculture sector policies and funding frameworks 
are required to pave the way for enhanced production and 
productivity.'  For example, the three agencies now are 
coordinating their efforts to provide seeds for next month's 
planting season, with IFAD providing funding, FAO purchasing 
seeds and giving technical expertise, and WFP assisting with 
distribution. 
 
Diouf Raises Concern on Lack of Funding 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) In his remarks, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf 
raised concern over the lack of funding that has been committed 
to and made available to the FAO through the UN Flash Appeal. 
Diouf noted the importance that the GOH had placed on 
agriculture in the recovery process and expressed strong concern 
that only $23 million of the $576 million Haiti Flash Appeal (as 
of February 12) was designated for agriculture and, of that 
amount, only eight percent had actually been funded. 
 
Counselor Mills' Intervention 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Counselor Mills said that both Haiti and food security 
have figured prominently in U.S. foreign policy and are a good 
example of the combined role of diplomacy and development that 
President Obama and Secretary Clinton have pursued over the past 
year.  She urged the international community to meet its 
pre-earthquake commitments and redouble its efforts to work 
together with a single purpose, under a coordinated plan and 
under the leadership of Haiti.  Mills recalled the tentative 
progress Haiti had made before the earthquake and encouraged 
donors and UN agencies alike to build off of the hope and 
opportunity that still exists in Haiti, particularly in the 
development of the agriculture sector. 
 
¶8.  (U) Counselor Mills explained that, prior to the earthquake, 
a joint U.S.-Haitian team determined that a robust agriculture 
development strategy would need to focus on three core elements: 
Grow More, Save More, and Sell More.  Now, after the earthquake, 
Mills said it would be necessary to include four additional 
areas of investment in the agricultural sector:  rebuilding the 
Ministry of Agriculture; enhancing coordination through rapid 
and transparent information exchange; supporting an integrated 
strategy between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and promoting 
job creation in agriculture.  An expanded strategy would also 
have to take into consideration the GOH stated goal of 
decentralizing the country and drawing people out of Port au 
Prince.  (The full text of Counselor Mills' statement is 
available on the Mission website: http://usunrome.usmission.gov) 
 
World Bank and IADB Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Haiti 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
¶9.  (SBU) The World Bank proposed a Multi-Donor Trust Fund 
(MDTF) for Haiti.  Developed in collaboration with the IADB, the 
MDTF could direct funds to either budget or project support. 
The Fund would be governed by a steering committee of Haitians 
and donors, would allocated according to a common needs 
assessment, avoid working on a project-by-project basis, and 
 
UN ROME 00000019  003 OF 003 
 
 
prohibit earmarked donations. 
 
Significant Media Interest 
------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) There was substantial media interest in the high-level 
meeting.  Twenty-one journalists attended, including 
representatives from international news agencies [AP, CNN, AFP, 
APTN, NPR, DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur), and Europa Press] as 
well as from several Italian news agencies [RAI International, 
Radio RAI, Ansa (Italy's leading news agency), La7 
(privately-owned center-left newscast), and Terra].  The entire 
event was also live-streamed via webcast on the web sites of 
USUN-Rome, WFP, FAO, and IFAD.  It is estimated that over 4,000 
viewers accessed the webcast from one of the four sites during 
the event. 
 
¶11. (U) Most media coverage focused on the GOH's $700 million 
plan to meet long-term food production needs and create jobs for 
the thousands of Haitians who have fled the quake-stricken 
capital.  Coverage also centered on FAO DG Diouf's complaint 
about the lack of support for the agricultural component of the 
UN Flash Appeal as well as the announcement of FAO, WFP, and 
IFAD having established a task force to help the Government of 
Haiti implement a food security strategy focusing on both 
immediate needs and long-term rural development. 
COUSIN