SENEGAL: WADE WAGES FOOD FIGHT AGAINST FAO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000647 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, AF/EPS, IO/UNP, INR/AA, AND EEB/TPP/ABT/ATP FOR JANET SPECK USDA WASHDC FOR FAS/OCRA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EAID EAGR PREL ECON UN FAO SG SUBJECT: SENEGAL: WADE WAGES FOOD FIGHT AGAINST FAO REF: A) DAKAR 497 B) DAKAR 471 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade continued his campaign against the FAO during the World Food Summit, calling for the UN agency to be disbanded. Many believe his attacks on the organization have more to do with domestic politics than international food aid policy. President Wade's critics allege that the president is merely trying to scapegoat the FAO for his administration's failures and to weaken a potential political competitor in the form of the Senegalese head of the FAO. A proposed FAO emergency seed and fertilizer program that would benefit 13,000 of some of Senegal's neediest households might become a victim of Wade's hostility to the organization. END SUMMARY. Wade Blames FAO for Africa's Food Insecurity -------------- ¶2. (U) President Abdoulaye Wade has launched a very public and very bitter attack on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). On May 4 on state television, President Wade, who has come under fire at home for rising food prices, blamed the FAO for his country's and the developing world's food insecurity. He called the organization a "bottomless pit of money largely spent on its functioning with very little effective operations on the ground," going on to call food aid "charity" and a "huge swindle." He proposed that the FAO be folded into a newer UN agency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, which he said should be based in Africa. He even threatened to try to sue the FAO for allegedly wasting money. ¶3. (U) On June 3, President Wade continued his assault on the FAO during the World Food Summit in Rome, calling the UN agency a "waste of money" and a failed bureaucracy that should be "scrapped." He described the current system of food assistance "a comedy," railed against Africans being treated like "beggars," and demanded that the developed world stop "imposing institutions [and] experts on [African countries]." But Many Believe this is Just Politics as Usual -------------- -- ¶4. (SBU) In Senegal, many have speculated that Wade's tirades against the FAO have more to do with domestic politics than principled opposition to the FAO and international food aid. President Wade recently announced an initiative called GOANA (Grand Agricultural Offensive for Nutrition and Abundance) which aims to boost production through mechanization, improved seeds, fertilizers, and farming techniques and to attract new investments by political and business elites into agricultural enterprises (Ref B). However, GOANA is viewed by many observers as an effort to buy time and convince Senegalese that the Wade administration is doing something to tackle the shortage of rice and rise in food prices. Sources at the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that within the Ministry itself there are deep reservations over the scope and feasibility of the plan. The attack on the FAO is viewed by many as an effort to scapegoat outsiders for the Wade administration's mismanagement and poor governance. ¶5. (SBU) Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, Jacques Diouf, the Senegalese head of the FAO, is coming to the end of his last term. Speculation is rampant that Wade views the upcoming return of Diouf to Dakar as a political threat to his efforts to anoint his son Karim as his heir as president and that Diouf is the real target of his broadsides against the FAO (although Wade was careful to say this was not the case during his remarks in Rome). FAO Emergency Program Could Be Victim of Wade's Assault -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Against this backdrop of presidential hostility to its work, the FAO is working to implement an emergency seed and fertilizer distribution program that would benefit 13,000 households in seven regions in Senegal. Seeds to be distributed include millet, sorghum, maize, niebe (beans),and rice as well as vegetable seeds. All seeds will be certified and distribution is ready to start soon, but the GOS has yet to approve the program. The project was developed and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture in late April. After being approved by said Ministry, the project needs to go to Ministry of Economy and Finance for approval. As of June 6 this has not happened. Some believe it is because the Minister of Agriculture is afraid to forward the project in light of President Wade's comments. At a recent stakeholders meeting, it came to light that the Minister of Economy and Finance wasn't even aware of the project. Nonetheless, FAO is moving forward based on the verbal commitment of the Ministry of Agriculture. ¶7. (SBU) Senegal continues to face serious food security challenges (Ref A) given that the FAO project would only target those in most need - a small fraction of the total number of farming households. First, there are a number of regions that face food insecurity and their food and seed stocks have dwindled to threatening levels. The amount and composition of food consumption has dramatically changed. Given that the GOS has not appealed for food assistance, the World Food Program (WFP) is unable to respond - their existing program is constrained by increasing prices, increased need, and a flat budget. Second, for Senegal to grow more food there is a need for certified seed and fertilizer to meet even a scaled-down version of the GOANA targets. These inputs are simply not available in the quantities needed - especially for certified seed which should be propagated locally with local varieties. Observers believe that the combination of denial on the food security side and overambitious (and underfunded) development plans will continue to erode support for the administration. In his Rome remarks, Wade was adamant that Senegal could solve its own problems. He asserted that the concept of "food assistance" is "unacceptable" and that Senegal does not need outside experts, but only supplies of seed and fertilizer. Should they be hungry, Wade advised Senegalese to "tighten their belts." Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) There is no doubt that at least some of President Wade's comments are heartfelt. He is well known for his criticism of development assistance that focuses primarily on the provision of technical assistance and the organization of seminars and conferences. For Wade, the only assistance that counts is kind that results in tangible benefits to Senegal, preferably in the form of infrastructure, and he has said as much to senior USG officials. Moreover, Wade is walking an increasingly fine line with donors. On a per capita basis, Senegal is one of the world's largest recipients of foreign assistance and the Wade administration allows a vast array of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to operate in the country. At the same time, he has recently taken the public view that NGOs are largely paternalistic and patronizing. One of Wade's goals appears to be to increase the amount of assistance funds that the government itself manages. Nevertheless, there is also little doubt that Wade is on the defensive because of the rise in food prices and the perception that the government has not done enough. It is also true that Wade has a history of systematically waging preemptive campaigns against any and all potential political competitors. SMITH