BOLIVIAN FOOD SAFETY: TENTATIVE STEPS FORWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LA PAZ 002601

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO FAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2018
TAGS: ECON PGOV AGR FAO FAS IFAD IICA BL EFIN PINR
SUBJECT: BOLIVIAN FOOD SAFETY: TENTATIVE STEPS FORWARD

REF: A. LA PAZ 1175

B. LA PAZ 111

Classified By: EcoPol Counselor Mike Hammer for reasons 1.4 (b),(d).


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Summary
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1. (C) The Bolivian Plant and Animal Health Service
(SENASAG) has spent the better part of 2008 trying to
reorganize and line up operational funding. Our effort to
fund technical programs with remaining Title I funds has been
caught up in political battles and the refusal by some
members of the Government of Bolivia to accept any U.S.
oversight. Additionally, SENASAG was paralyzed by the power
struggle between the national and departmental (state)
governments. These obstacles seem to be lessening. An APHIS
program to control the spread of hoof and mouth disease is
advancing in the Chaco region of Southeastern Bolivia and the
Government of Bolivia has also taken steps to work with us to
program and allocate the problematic Title I funds. The
September appointment of Carlos Romero at the Ministry of
Rural Development seems to have brought a new pragmatism to
both our relationship and to the goal of strengthening
SENASAG. That said, cooperation with the U.S. is still
problematic and may well be blocked by the former
Agricultural Minister Susana Rivero, who now heads the
Ministry of Production. End Summary.

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Positive News at SENASAG
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2. (C) The Bolivian Plant and Animal Health Service
(SENASAG) has been largely dysfunctional in 2008 (Refs. A and
B). It has been used for political purposes and has suffered
from the closure of an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
program and the cutoff of departmental funds for the national
operations. Several factors point toward a better year
ahead. The September appointment of Carlos Romero as Minister
of Rural Development appears to have brought a more pragmatic
approach to resolving SENASAG's problems. Additionally, a
new five year program with the IDB has been signed and now
lacks only the approval the Bolivian Congress. (Note:
According to IDB officials, funding can begin immediately
because of a new technical model designed to speed project
implementation. End note.)


3. (C) While Title I funded projects have languished, a
regional APHIS program aimed at reducing the threat of hoof
and mouth disease outbreaks is moving ahead. The program is
administered in Bolivia by the Inter-American Institute for
Agricultural Cooperation (IICA) which is working with both
the national and departmental governments to open and staff
six outposts in the Chaco region, as well as a agricultural
laboratory in the city of Villamontes in the Department of
Tarija (it is hoped that the lab will eventually be available
to clients in Paraguay and Argentina as well to reduce the
transport time of potentially hazardous materials). It is
encouraging that the central government appears willing to
cede operational and technical control of both the outposts
and the laboratory to regional officials. In fact, Minister
Romero, Vice Minister Remy Gonzales and Tarija's Secretary of
Economic Development Ernesto Farfan told Econoff that the new
model for SENASAG will assign technical work to the
departments, while oversight and certification will be the
purview of the national organization. (Note: A stumbling
block to the new system, which is also envisioned by the
proposed MAS constitution which is likely to be approved
January 25, is the persistence of the Santa Cruz Department
in creating and maintaining an independent and autonomous
plant and animal health service. End note.)


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4. (SBU) On December 12, Econoff traveled with Vice
Minister Gonzales, APHIS Regional Director George Ball, the
Hoof and Mouth Regional Supervisor David Ashford, and IICA
officials to inaugurate the Chaco program. The APHIS
officials emphasized the regional nature of the problem and
the international effort that will be required to prevent any
disease outbreaks; it is an issue that can only be
effectively contained through international coordination.
Meanwhile, Gonzales emphasized the role the new MAS
constitution would have in bringing more resources to
SENASAG. However, he also gratefully acknowledged the
efforts of USDA-APHIS and actually thanked the U.S. Embassy,
saying that he was happy to be at the event and had received
permission from President Morales himself to inaugurate the
project.

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The MAS: A House Divided
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5. (C) Much of this positive momentum must be credited to
Minister Romero and Vice Minister Gonzales and their
willingness to cooperate with U.S. officials. Gonzales
traveled to Lima to discuss USDA efforts to strengthen
SENASAG programs and also visited with the Peruvian plant and
animal health agency. He came away impressed (mentioning in
particular the advanced controls on fruit flies) and began
working in earnest with our two APHIS employees in Santa Cruz
to come up with a way to move the four moribund Title I
programs forward (Note: Technical support for programs
addressing hoof and mouth, fruit flies, Newcastle poultry
disease, and camilids have been frozen since the government
dismantled the financial controls we had put in place (Ref.
B). End note.) A plan for action was written and it was
agreed that a Consultive Committee meeting would be called.
(Note: The Consultive Committee is composed of the USDA
Counselor Gene Philhower, out of Lima, a U.S. Embassy
representative, and two members of the Ministry of Rural
Development. The Committee must approve projects which will
be funded with the remaining Title I funds. End note.)


6. (C) Title I projects were stalled over the past year
largely because the former minister, Susana Rivero, was
hostile toward U.S. cooperation. Rivero now sits as the
Minister of Planning, which oversees the PL-480 Board (now
renamed Insumos Bolivianos) and hosts the Committee meetings
(it also safeguards the Title I funds). When the PL-480 was
being "refounded," Rivero replaced the director with Oscar
Sandy, a former SENASAG employee hostile toward Embassy
involvement in SENASAG. According to PL-480 regulations, the
Embassy should be asked for its consent when a new director
is named--this did not take place. USAID, which also has
interests in the PL-480, wrote a letter expressing concern
regarding the naming process and Sandy replied by letter that
the U.S. had no such consultative rights and Insumos
Bolivianos did not need the Embassy's permission to name a
new director.


7. (C) Days before the scheduled Committee meeting, Sandy
announced that Insumos Bolivianos would not participate.
Despite this, we were able to sit down with Minister Romero,
the SENASAG Director, and Gonzales to discuss the proposed
Action Plan. At the meeting, we were open to the possibility
of re-approving the four technical projects with new controls
and a defined implementation schedule, but we were firm that
these programs could not be approved until they were clearly
defined in writing. We requested the ministry to move any
proposals through the formal approval process.
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Comment
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8. (C) The control of harmful plant and animal disease is
important not just for Bolivia, but for the region as a
whole. With that in mind, a functioning SENASAG is a worthy

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goal for the USG to continue to pursue. The current Minister
of Agriculture seems to be setting a more pragmatic agenda
regarding SENASAG and cooperation with the regional
governments appears to be advancing towards that goal. That
said, trust in the Morales administration to follow through
on its commitments is low and as we take steps to re-approve
any cooperative programs using the Title I funds, adequate
administrative and technical controls will have to be
ensured. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the current
minister and vice minister will remain at their posts;
turnover in the Morales administration is chronic and
programs tend to be personified rather than institutional.
Finally, while Minister Romero seems pragmatic regarding
SENASAG, it should be noted that he is an ideological member
of the MAS who is also functioning as the lead minister in
the push for land distribution. Given the past history of
our relationship with the government, current progress only
warrants cautious optimism.

URS