RESULTS REPORT: U.S. FARM OFFICIAL FINDS FERTILE

UNCLAS PRETORIA 004477 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD - TROOKARD; AF/S - MTABLER-STONE USDA FOR FAS/PUBLIC AFFAIRS/MAUREEN QUINN AND FAS/FAA/RANDY HAGER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO SF SUBJECT: RESULTS REPORT: U.S. FARM OFFICIAL FINDS FERTILE GROUND FOR FREE-TRADE MESSAGE; MPP GOALS: EP-ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND SECURITY ¶1. Activity: Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator ¶A. Ellen Terpstra's October 29-November 1 visit to South Africa as leader of a farm trade and investment delegation resulted in print and broadcast media interviews that provided an excellent platform for explaining US agricultural trade policy, particularly the latest US offer at World Trade Organization talks. The nation's largest-circulation newspaper also ran an op-ed piece under her byline encouraging South African support for US trade policy. ¶2. The Administrator's first media event was an interview for AgriTV taped on October 31. AgriTV is an early morning television program carried by the South African Broadcasting Corp. that has a viewership of about 200,000. She discussed her trade mission and U.S. trade policy. The two four-minute segments air the week of November 7. ¶3. On November 1 the administrator hosted a one-hour, on- the-record discussion with five journalists from leading publications. She spoke on the latest agricultural trade proposal put forth by the USG at WTO talks, on US subsidies, and on bilateral trade. The discussion resulted in three favorable articles the following day: in Business Day (circ. 40,000) under the headline "EU Plan for Farm-Aid Cuts Not Aggressive Enough - US Official;" in Business Report, which appears in a number of papers including The Star (circ. 170,000),under the headline "Washington Offers to Scrap All Farm Subsidies in 15 Years;" and in Beeld, an Afrikaans-language daily with a circulation of 100,000, under the headline "US Slams EU Agricultural Proposals." ¶4. Finally, PAS submitted an op-ed piece under Terpstra's byline to the Sunday Times (circulation 505,000). The article, which appeared on the Nov. 6 opinion page of the paper's business section under the headline "Bold Action Needed to Boost Global Growth," urged South Africa to support U.S. efforts to push forward WTO trade talks and discussed the general benefits of reducing barriers to trade. ¶5. Results: Pretty darned good. Although not a high- profile figure in South Africa, Terpstra was covered by a number of leading media. She effectively delivered the message that the US was making a bold agricultural trade proposal to help ensure a successful Doha round of WTO talks and that it was in South Africa's interest to support that US proposal and free-trade in general. HARTLEY