US embassy cable - 04ROME2319

UNCLAS  ROME 002319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 
 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI FOR AMBASSADOR MULFORD AND USAID 
DIRECTOR NORTH 
AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA FOR AMBASSADOR BRAZEAL AND USAID 
DIRECTOR HAMMICK 
STATE FOR AS/PRM DEWEY, A/S IO HOLMES, PRM/P, EUR/WE, 
EUR/NE, AF, SA AND IO/EDA BEHREND/KOTOK 
USAID FOR DA/USAID SCHIECK, AA/DCHA WINTER, AA/AFR, DCHA/FFP 
LANDIS, PPC/DP, PPC/DC 
USDA/FAS FOR CHAMBLISS/TILSWORTH/GAINOR 
GENEVA FOR AMBASSADOR MOLEY, RMA AND NKYLOH/USAID 
NAIROBI FOR REFCOORD AND REDSO 
KAMPALA FOR REFCOORD AND USAID 
DAKAR FOR USAID/OFDA 
BRUSSELS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS AND USAID/LERNER 
NSC FOR JDWORKEN AND AFRICA DIRECTORATE 
OMB FOR TSTOLL 
USUN FOR TAMLYN AND MLUTZ 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, EAGR, AORC, PREF, KUNR, WFP, UN 
SUBJECT:  PUBLIC LAW 480 FOOD FOR PEACE PANEL AT ANNUAL 
SESSION OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM EXECUTIVE BOARD, ROME, MAY 
26, 2004 
 
REF: (A) ROME 2196, (B) ROME 2243 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. USUN-Rome organized (on the margin of the Annual Session 
of the WFP Executive Board) a panel to celebrate the 
fiftieth anniversary of Public Law 480, the Agricultural 
Trade Development and Assistance Act that was signed into 
law in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ambassador 
Tony Hall hosted USAID Deputy Administrator Frederick W. 
Schieck, Indian Ambassador to the UN Rome Organizations 
Himachal Som, and Ethiopian Ambassador Mengistu Hulluka. 
They spoke on the five decades old program, described by 
WFP's Executive Director Jim Morris (ref A) as "the largest 
single humanitarian program in history." Schieck informed 
that "over the past 50 years, the USG has contributed more 
than U.S. dollars (USD) $50 billion to finance more than 367 
million metric tons of food to over 150 food insecure 
countries.  More than 3.3 billion people worldwide have been 
recipients of U.S. food assistance." Indian Ambassador Som 
remarked that India has benefited immensely from PL 480 
"through schemes which continue even today, towards 
achieving important social objectives impacting on critical 
issues of child and women development services, helping 
create food security, and developing support to critical and 
marginalized peoples."  Ambassador Hulluka noted Ethiopia's 
gratitude for the PL 480 support over the years provided by 
the United States and pledged his government's support "to 
working closely with all of you in successfully breaking the 
cycle of hunger and famine in the Horn of Africa region." 
End Summary. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
2. Next month the United States commemorates the fiftieth 
anniversary of PL 480, which was signed into law in July 
1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The U.S. organized 
(on the margin of the Annual Session of the WFP Executive 
Board on May 26) a PL 480 panel to look at its past 
achievements, present realities and future prospects. WFP's 
Executive Director Jim Morris, in his opening remarks to the 
Annual Session of the Executive Board on May 24 (ref A), 
described PL 480 as "the largest single humanitarian program 
in history." 
 
3. The panel was chaired by Ambassador Tony Hall; the 
panelists were USAID Deputy Administrator Frederick W. 
Schieck, Indian Ambassador to the UN Rome Organizations 
Himachal Som, and Ethiopian Ambassador Mengistu Hulluka. 
 
This cable summarizes remarks of the three panelists. Their 
complete statements will be posted this month on the US 
Mission Rome website. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Opening comments by Ambassador Hall 
----------------------------------- 
 
4. Ambassador Hall served as moderator and welcomed the 
panelists and guests.  There were about 50 people in 
attendance, including about a dozen other Ambassadors from 
different regions of the world.  Selections from his opening 
statement follow: 
 
"In 1954, then President Eisenhower signed the law that 
created this innovative program, which matched the bounty of 
America's farmers with the needs of hungry people around the 
world.  After the Second World War, the United States 
responded to the needs in Europe by feeding everyone in need 
- friends and foes alike - through the Marshall Plan.  We 
started a precedent that we would not use food as a weapon, 
but would instead feed those in need, regardless of 
ideology. 
 
I am proud that we still use food for peace, as a tool to 
aid those who are less fortunate.  I am pleased that the 
United States still provides food to those in need, even if 
we disagree with their governments.  As President Reagan 
said in reference to the Great Famine in Ethiopia in 1984, 
`a hungry child knows no politics.'  While some of us may 
disagree on the finer points of food aid, and discuss that 
in forums here in Rome and elsewhere, it is always important 
to remember the beneficiaries - the men, women and children 
who desperately need the food they are provided.  Many would 
die without it." End of Ambassador Hall's opening comments. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
USAID Deputy Administrator Schieck's statement on PL 480 
Food for Peace 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
5. USAID Deputy Administrator Schieck informed that "over 
the past 50 years, the USG has contributed more than $50 
billion to finance more than 367 million metric tons of food 
to over 150 food insecure countries.  More than 3.3 billion 
people worldwide have been recipients of US food 
assistance.Confronted with ever growing numbers of 
emergencies and some 800 million acknowledged chronically 
food insecure in the world, USAID recognizes that any type 
of assistance must not increase dependency, disrupt local 
markets or discourage local agricultural productivity. 
USAID and its implementing partners continue to take careful 
 
steps to conduct analyses on each program to prevent harmful 
results."  He described a number of MYTHS related to food 
assistance: "a) buying locally is always the best way to 
meet world food aid needs; b) food aid basically acts as an 
impediment to local production and invariably harms local 
markets; c) the United States continues to use food aid as a 
means of surplus disposal; and d) the United States 
continues to carry out massive bilateral food aid programs." 
 
6. He concluded that the United States "remains open to 
exploring how we might deepen our cooperative efforts with 
other donors in order to achieve further coherence in our 
combined responses to fighting global hunger." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Indian Ambassador to the UN Organizations in Rome, H.E. 
Himachal Som 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
7. Summary of comments by Ambassador Som: 
 
"Let there be no doubt that India has benefited immensely 
from the PL 480 Food Aid Program, first in feeding its 
millions in critical years of acute food shortage in the 
fifties and sixties.  Secondly, when this period was over, 
thanks to the Green Revolution by the mid 1970s, to monetize 
this assistance to help the creation of a number of 
important food-related activities and reach the goal of self- 
sufficiency in these areas; to create, through an innovative 
food for work programme, of a number of critically important 
agriculture-related infrastructure projects from small 
village level activities to pharaonic works like the 
Rajasthan Canal.  Finally, through schemes which continue 
even today, towards achieving important social objectives 
impacting on critical issues of child and women development 
services, helping create food security, and developing 
support to critical and marginalized peoples.  Some of these 
are mammoth in vision and scope and are exemplary Government- 
to-Government partnership efforts, like the Integrated Child 
Development Services covering 400,000 of the 650,000 
villages of India.  Indeed, the non-convertible Rupee funds 
created by the huge U.S. dollar (USD) $ 8.56 billion, PL 480 
loans, have been utilised also in innumerable innovative and 
imaginative ways like procurement of books for U.S. 
libraries, for cultural and academic exchanges, science and 
medical research, providing scholarships and towards meeting 
local expenses of U.S. Embassy in India, etc.  The PL 480 
funds were even used to help feed the absolute destitute 
through organizations like Mother Teresa's Sisters of 
Charity." 
 
8. Ambassador Som went on to say: "idealism.ennobled U.S. 
Government's act of pragmatism.  It was pragmatic to use the 
 
funds created by the sale of excess farm production - a help 
to the U.S. farmers, while furthering U.S. foreign policy 
objectives around the world. It was idealistic to use the 
bulk of such funds for not only feeding the hungry, but 
addressing the assistance to sustain and help the most 
vulnerable sections of the society, especially the rural 
poor - women and children.  It was again pragmatic as well 
as idealistic, to use the loans for capacity building - for 
reducing dependence and help towards achieving self- 
sufficiency." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ambassador to the UN 
organizations in Rome, H.E. Mengistu Hulluka 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
9. Summary of comments of Ambassador Mengistu Hulluka: 
 
"Securing a sustainable supply of food has been a priority 
for the Ethiopian government and donors for twenty years. 
The major famine of 1984-85 was followed by further food 
shortages in 1988-1989, 1992, 1994, 1999-2000, and 2002- 
2003. (There have been 15 droughts since 1965.) These all- 
too-frequent occurrences indicate that disasters are 
becoming increasingly endemic in Ethiopia. 
 
Over the period 1994-2003, humanitarian food assistance to 
Ethiopia totaled 5.62 million tons, of which the U.S. 
contributed 2.86 million tons (50.8 percent). 
 
We are committed to making serious efforts to prevent 
famines.We are grateful for the PL 480 support over the 
years provided by the United States and we look forward to 
working closely with all of you in successfully breaking the 
cycle of hunger and famine in the Horn of Africa region." 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
10. WFP's Executive Board's Annual Session provided a 
wonderful off-shore forum to commemorate the fiftieth 
anniversary of America's PL 480 Food for Peace. We are 
grateful for DA Schieck's visit, his staff's hard work, and 
the opportunity to showcase, in a UN-setting, a model U.S. 
program. The United States is WFP's leading food aid donor 
(USD $8.77 billion, 1992-2003), played the key role in 
promoting the creation of this remarkable institution, and 
has over the past dozen years provided outstanding American 
leadership to the organization in Catherine Bertini and Jim 
Morris. And it was largely PL 480 that drove United States 
contributions through WFP in 2003 to USD $1.47 billion, the 
largest voluntary donation to the UN and to a humanitarian 
 
agency in history. In sum, PL 480 fifty years on - alive, 
relevant, and still very much needed. Hall 
 
 
NNNN 
	2004ROME02319 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED