MEDIA REACTION PRESIDENT BUSH'S VISIT TO AFRICAL;

UNCLAS HARARE 001478 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION PRESIDENT BUSH'S VISIT TO AFRICAL; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "U. S. crop subsidies disadvantage African farmers" the July 20 edition of the government-controlled Bulawayo-based weekly "Sunday News" carried the following article by Mbongeni Mguni, in which he criticizes President George W. Bush for dodging the issue of crop subsidies during his visit to Africa, charging that the current system of crop subsidies portray "a racist agenda by the Republican regime to entrench agricultural hegemony over Africa." Excerpts: ¶2. "President George W. Bush of the United States, whose country has stubbornly refused to scrap the trillion-dollar crop subsidies for U. S. farmers that disadvantage African farmers, remained mum on the controversial issue during his just-ended whirlwind tour of the continent. This has thrown a damper on export farming in Africa. . .With federal government backing, farmers in America are able to under-price their crop exports, cutting deeply into export markets, where African farmers are struggling to gain a foothold. . .Cotton, coffee, wheat and other cash crop farmers in southern Africa were hoping that Mr. Bush would use his African safari to announce a downward review of subsidies to farmers in America. However, the American President neatly skirted the issue of crop subsidies, focusing his energies on persuading African farmers and governments to import genetically modified crop products and allow the wide-scale use of biotechnology in agriculture. . .Other international groups, mostly based in America, believe the system of crop subsidies is part of a racist agenda by the Republican regime to entrench agricultural hegemony over Africa. . . ." SULLIVAN