PRESIDENT YAYI CONOVKES CHARGE TO ASK AGAIN FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L COTONOU 000336

SIPDIS

AF/W FOR DANA BANKS, NSC FOR KAREN O'DONNELL
LONDON FOR PETER LORD, DAKAR FOR SABINUS ANAELE
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS USAID/DCHA CAROLYN HUGHES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID BN
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT YAYI CONOVKES CHARGE TO ASK AGAIN FOR
FOOD AID

REF: (A) BANKS - BOUSTANI EMAIL 06/11/2008 (B)

COTONOU 288 (C) COTONOU 262 (D) COTONOU 143

Classified By: CDA Martina Boustani for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(C) President Yayi convoked the Charge on June 12 to ask
for a response to the two letters (Ref A and C) that he sent
to President Bush requesting food assistance. Yayi
repeatedly stated the close friendship he felt for President
Bush and re-iterated that his messages were a "SOS" (Ref B)
for food assistance. The Charge assured President Yayi that
his letters had been transmitted to President Bush and a
response would be forthcoming. The Charge urged President
Yayi to work with his technical experts to develop a detailed
request for assistance. The Charge and Poloff attended the
meeting. Also in attendance was Mariam Diallo, Yayi's
foreign affairs' advisor.

2.(C) In a twenty minute meeting President Yayi repeated his
written requests for food aid and asked for a response to his
letters to President Bush requesting aid. Referring to
President Bush by his first name, he asked the Charge to
convey his feelings of friendship to President Bush and
request that President Bush send corn and rice to help
Benin's poorest citizens. Yayi stressed that his government
was working to encourage farmers to grow more foodstuffs but
was in need of food aid over the short term. As an example
of the situation that poor Beninese find themselves in, he
stated that consumers asked Benin's National Food Aid and
Security Office (ONASA) to sell subsidized corn in 500 gram
increments instead of 1 kilogram bags because the 165 FCFA
($0.40) a kilogram price was too expensive. Yayi also said
Benin could not find enough seed and fertilizers at
affordable prices to spur agricultural production.

3.(C) The Charge assured Yayi that his letters have been
transmitted to President Bush. The Charge explained the
USG's food aid programs and the procedures used to distribute
food aid. The Charge suggested that President Yayi ask his
technical experts to prepare a detailed analysis of Benin's
food situation as a starting point for discussions of food
aid. President Yayi ended the aimiable meeting with a
renewal of his previous invitation to President Bush, former
President Bush, and former First Lady Barbara Bush, to visit
Benin (Ref D).

4.(C) Comment. President Yayi's words and gestures during
the meeting conveyed a genuine concern for the plight of the
poorest of his people. Yayi very much wants a positive
response to his letters to President Bush. American food aid
would aid those Beninese experiencing difficulty as the
result of rising food prices and would buttress President
Yayi's political standing. As he stated in the meeting he
hopes the food aid would be known as "the rice that George
sent to Boni". As stated in Ref B, ONASA identified a
deficit of 50,000 tons of corn, 20,000 tons of rice, and
3,000 tons of beans. The projected deficits are difficult to
use barring confirmation from outside experts. USAID Benin
requested a visit by a regional USAID food expert to examine
the food security issue in Benin but funding does not exist
to support the visit. Until more information is forthcoming
from the Government of Benin or outside experts can verify
the necessity of President Yayi's requests for food aid it is
difficult to determine if Benin risks a food crisis. End
Comment.

BOUSTANI