WANTED: AMERICAN FOOD SECURITY EXPERT(S) TO SERVE ON NEW

UNCLAS UN ROME 000089 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID PREL FAO UN SUBJECT: WANTED: AMERICAN FOOD SECURITY EXPERT(S) TO SERVE ON NEW HIGH LEVEL PANEL OF THE FAO'S COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY REF: A. A) HEGADORN 12/18 E-MAIL (WEEK IN REVIEW) ¶B. B) UN ROME 61 ¶C. C) 12/3 HLPE LETTER FROM FAO/CFS LETTER TO SEC STATE AND SEC AG ¶1. This is an action request. Please see paragraphs two and four. ¶2. As part of a major reform plan for the FAO's Committee on World Food Security (CFS) approved during an October 2009 plenary session (ref B),a High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition is being created under the CFS to contribute substantive input toward future CFS policy debates on a variety of food security and agriculture-related topics. A ten-member Steering Committee will serve as the HLPE coordinating body and nominations by FAO member states are due by January 25. An ad-hoc selection committee comprised of representatives of FAO, WFP, IFAD, CGIAR/Bioversity International, and a Rome-based NGO representative will select the ten Steering Committee members. ACTION REQUEST: Post hopes that the U.S. Interagency Policy Committee on food security will consider this subject and ensure consideration by all interested USG agencies, to educate all on the HLPE and to widen the scope of consideration for potential U.S. nominees. Once appropriate nominees are identified, Post seeks a front-channel instruction message on presenting nominations to the HLPE (up to three) before the January 25 deadline. END ACTION REQUEST. ¶3. Originally a French-inspired proposal within the Group of Eight, the HLPE was envisioned as one of the three "pillars" of the Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security, and later steered (and funded) by Paris and FAO Director General Diouf toward its new home under the CFS. FAO Members spent the majority of 2009 negotiating details of a plan to overhaul the CFS, including how an HLPE would contribute to its future work. With a minimum 10-member (not to exceed 15) Steering Committee, the HLPE will assemble teams of renowned food, agriculture, and nutrition experts to draft position papers on subjects chosen by the CFS Bureau (topics not yet identified/agreed). The CFS session planned for October, 2010 will include for the first time input and debate on the work conducted by the HLPE and its project teams. While designed to provide politically "neutral" expert input to the CFS, it remains to be seen how the HLPE will function in practice and what impact(s) it could have on politically sensitive issues related to food and agriculture. ¶4. In a December 3 letter sent to the U.S. Secretaries of State and Agriculture by FAO DG Diouf and the CFS Bureau Chairman, nominations were solicited for the HLPE Steering Committee, with a January 25 deadline. While some individual agencies may already be seeking appropriate candidates for the HLPE, Post is unaware of any formal process by which potential U.S. citizen candidates might be informed about the HLPE Steering Committee, the Panel's project team database of food security experts, or officially nominated by USUN Rome. COMMENT: Post proposes that Washington agencies consider creating a similar network of food security experts in the U.S. to mirror that of the CFS/HLPE, as a way to encourage broad discussion and debate among the government, academic, farmer and private sector groups on issues being addressed within the CFS and HLPE. Such a network could help inform inter-USG debate on the subjects pertinent to global food security, and provide a ready-made pool of potential participants in the HLPE Steering Committee and its Project Team members database. Drawing from the wide network of Land Grant universities, think tanks, foundations and agro-industry groups could help strengthen debate within the CFS while ensuring U.S. policy interests are given due consideration. GLOVER