Regional Visit of USDA/FAS General Sales Manager/Associate

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000198 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID ETRD PGOV GT ES SUBJECT: Regional Visit of USDA/FAS General Sales Manager/Associate Administrator and Deputy Administrator for the FAS Office of Trade Capacity Building and Development highlights successes of USDA Trade Capacity Building and Food Assistance Programs ¶1. Summary: From December 6-11, USDA/FAS General Sales Manager (GSM)/Associate Administrator John Brewer and Deputy Administrator of the FAS Office of Capacity Building and Development (OCBD) Pat Sheikh visited FAS programs in El Salvador and Guatemala. The visit of the USDA/FAS delegation to El Salvador and Guatemala allowed delegation members to witness first-hand how USDA food assistance and trade capacity building (TCB) programs are strongly supporting agricultural development, enhancing two-way trade under U.S.-Central America and Dominican Republic Free Trade (CAFTA-DR),and bolstering the food security of those countries. It also offered delegation members the opportunity to reinforce the partnerships, which USDA has with the Salvadoran and Guatemalan Ministries of Agriculture. With regard to the Guatemalan Ministry of Agriculture, in particular, the USDA delegation succeeded in pressing a critical Food for Progress (FFPr) funding issue, which if left unresolved could negatively impact future USDA government-to-government assistance/food security initiatives with Guatemala. End Summary ¶2. USDA Delegation Visit to El Salvador, December 6-8: Mr. Brewer and Ms. Sheikh began their regional visit in San Salvador, meeting Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) Manuel Sevilla. Minister Sevilla thanked the delegation for FAS logistical support during his November visit to Washington and underscored how valuable his FAS-arranged meetings had been, especially the meeting with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. The Minister asserted that he and his staff were making strenuous efforts to upgrade MAG's sanitary and phytosanitary analytical capabilities and increase public support for El Salvador's export-oriented small and medium sized enterprises. ¶3. Minister Sevilla strongly emphasized the imperative of increasing the efficiency of Salvadoran agricultural production through modernization and via the inculcation of an entrepreneurial mentality. Along those lines, he brought up the topic of biotechnology. While the Minister stated that he agreed with the goals inherent in biotech Sevilla pointed out that the Salvadoran government (GOES) needed to develop a regulatory biotech framework and convince the Salvadoran public in general, and the Congress, in particular, of the benefits of biotech. To that end, the USDA delegation raised the possibility of helping the Minister organize a Congressional delegation to travel to the U.S. and to learn about biotechnology first-hand. The Minister responded that this was an excellent idea on which he would like to follow up. ¶4. The Minister then asked the delegation to relay his request to Washington for support on MAG's Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 FFPr proposal. He stressed that FFPr funds would enable him to support key projects designed to improve rural infrastructure and to promote agricultural development, adding that because of the current global economic downturn, the GOES was cash-strapped. The delegation agreed to deliver this request in Washington. The Minister thanked the delegation and noted that he understood the value of monetization programs such as FFPr since he had seen for himself the benefits which these programs provide to poor Salvadorans. (Note: Under USDA's FFPr program, the USG donates commodities to a beneficiary which are subsequently monetized in-country with proceeds used to fund mutually agreed upon economic development projects.) ¶5. USDA Delegation Visit to Salvadoran TCB and Food Assistance Projects: GSM Brewer along with USAID Mission Director Larry Brady and Minister of Agriculture Sevilla inaugurated a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) week-long workshop attended by 60 small farmers and GOES technicians. This activity exemplifies the partnership between USDA and USAID in supporting improved food safety and sanitary-phyto-sanitary (SPS) standards which ultimately allow El Salvador and other CAFTA-DR partners to gain better access to the U.S. market. The GAP training also enhances two-way trade between the US and its CAFTA-DR partners. Since USDA began implementing USAID-financed TCB SPS training activities in El Salvador, over 680 Salvadorans have been trained in technical areas designed to upgrade food safety standards and to improve export readiness. Because USAID funding for the CAFTA-DR TCB program is scheduled to terminate by the end of FY2010, the delegation met with USAID Director of Economic Growth and Regional Programs Dr. Lawrence Rubey to discuss this funding issue as well as how important it is to share the many TCB success stories with Washington decision makers. During the meeting, Dr. Rubey underlined the need for making these programs sustainable lest the USG be faced with an open-ended commitment. The delegation concurred with Dr. Rubey's recommendation and GSM Brewer voiced his commitment to raise the funding issue with USDA and USAID upon his return to Washington in an effort to gain leadership support for TCB funding beyond FY-10. ¶6. The delegation also visited several projects which had benefitted from both FFPr and TCB funding. At the National Laboratory, delegation members learned how US$1 million in FFPr funds had modernized El Salvador's key agricultural laboratory, providing the infrastructure which helps to ensure that Salvadoran agricultural exports comply with U.S. food safety regulations. The National Laboratory has been the venue for TCB training activities in food microbiology and advanced analytical methods. ¶7. Other sites visited by the USDA delegation - the San Julian Dairy, an agricultural diversification project in Caluco, Sonsonate, and PAHNAS, an enterprise which successfully exports Salvadoran processed food products to the U.S. - all underlined the success which FFPr and TCB programs have achieved in El Salvador within the realm of agricultural development and trade expansion. ¶8. FFPr resources invested in the San Julian Dairy had resulted in the provision of assistance in good manufacturing practices, labeling, and good agricultural practices for milk suppliers leading to the production of better quality and safer-to-consume dairy products. The agricultural diversification project in Caluco, overseen by the PVO Cooperative League U.S.A. (CLUSA),has assisted 250 small farmers in the production of value-added crops such as tomatoes, black-eyed peas, baby corn, etc. which are being sold in San Salvador and exported to neighboring countries and the U.S. The income levels of FFPr beneficiaries, erstwhile subsistence farmers, have increased substantially due to this investment of USG resources. PAHNAS is a small Salvadoran food processor which has participated enthusiastically in a FFPr-funded ethnic product export promotion project. PVO Technoserve has assisted PAHNAS in diversifying its export product portfolio. The food products this enterprise is exporting to the U.S. includes frozen tropical fruits and processed foods indigenous to El Salvador. Despite the international economic recession of 2009, PAHNAS has experienced growth in its export products. ¶9. USDA Delegation Visit to Guatemala, December 8-10: Mirroring their visit in El Salvador, GSM Brewer and Ms. Sheikh held official meetings and visited Guatemalan projects which had been supported by FFPr and TCB funding. The delegation gained first-hand knowledge of the success which FFPr and TCB activities have had in bolstering non-traditional Guatemalan agricultural exports and in supporting agricultural development. ¶10. Meeting with Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA): The focus of this meeting was the status of FFPr funds (over Q34 million or the equivalent of around US$4.1 million) generated from an FY2006 agreement between USDA and MAGA. USDA and MAGA had agreed upon specific development projects which were to be financed these FY-06 funds but Post had recently been informed that project implementation had been halted due to budgetary problems. ¶11. After brief introductions, GSM Brewer raised the issue of the whereabouts of the over $4 million in USG funds with Minister Mario Aldana. Minister Aldana responded that MAGA had been experiencing difficulties executing its budget in 2009 given the strictures placed upon MAGA by the Guatemalan Congress and the current Administration via its Ministry of Finance. The Minister expressed hope that for 2010, MAGA would be able to account for these funds and implement the agreed upon projects. He emphasized that he especially supported export-readiness projects which strengthened Guatemala in the realm of SPS and to that end, voiced his intention to create a Vice Ministry of Livestock and Health which would presumably take the lead on SPS issues. ¶12. Minister Aldana also brought up the slaughter house in La Libertad, Peten, whose construction had been financed by FFPr funds. He mentioned that he would soon be meeting with the Vice Minister of Peten to discuss further investments in this slaughter house, and reiterated his hope that the 2010 budget would enable MAGA to be successful in this endeavor. ¶13. GSM Brewer thanked the Minister for his explanation, but emphasized already provided FFPr funding to support the execution of mutually agreed upon projects must be located and allocated to the appropriate projects. This action must be carried out despite the budget difficulties which the Minister outlined. GSM Brewer continued that due to the global economic downturn of the last year, governments around the world have had to grapple with budget difficulties. However, US assistance funds allocated for specific projects need to be directed to those projects. USDA auditors and more importantly, the US Congress are vigilant in their identifying funding deviations, and quick in rectifying these irregularities. ¶14. Ms. Sheikh echoed GSM Brewer's message and added that the U.S. Congress, to whose members she reported to every six months, was adamant that U.S. taxpayer dollars were expended in accordance with Congressional directives. Regarding the FFPr funding issue, she urged the Minister to stay in close touch with the Agricultural Counselor and to provide him with an update as soon as possible. Ms. Sheikh also advanced that the USG was looking closely at the food security situation in Guatemala, and that the FFPr funding issue, if it remained unresolved, could interfere with possible MAGA involvement in any overarching USG initiative to address the well publicized food security challenges in Guatemala. Guatemala's food security situation was a topic of conversation in Washington and the FFPr funding issue needed to be resolved so that the broader food security situation could be addressed untarnished by the appearance that US assistance funds have been misappropriated by the current administration. ¶15. Minister Aldana underscored the seriousness of the food security situation, especially in Guatemala's "dry corridor". He said that a prolonged drought had led to an overall Q114 million crop loss (around US$13.7 million) which was affecting many of Guatemala's subsistence farmers. The Minister continued that MAGA had not been able to focus on helping subsistence farmers, who according to him, represented 95 percent of all Guatemalan farmers. The budget for MAGA's extension service had been reduced to almost nothing, the Minister confessed, but MAGA was determined to reassert itself in this area, via the implementation of an emergency plan which in addition to expanding extension services, would increase crop storage capacity and upgrade the technology available to subsistence farmers. ¶16. Ms. Sheikh voiced her support for the Minister's vision to help subsistence farmers and told the Minister that she and GSM Brewer would relay the message that the Guatemalan government was committed to helping its people. GSM Brewer then thanked the Minister for his time and again urged him to follow up on the FFPr funding issue as quickly as possible. He called MAGA USDA's partner and as such MAGA must be supportive and transparent. To that end, he repeated, it was imperative that the FFPr funding issue be resolved as soon as possible. ¶17. USDA Delegation Visits TCB and FFPr Projects: GSM Brewer and Ms. Sheikh were exposed to a variety of TCB and FFPr projects which demonstrated the effectiveness of USDA programs in supporting agricultural development and training Guatemalan growers and exporters so that two-way trade could be enhanced within the context of CAFTA-DR. ¶18. Visit to FINCA International Micro-Credit Program: The delegation attended a briefing by PVO FINCA International on the impact of its microcredit program on improving living conditions of some of Guatemala's poorest citizens. Since the inception of the FFPr program of which FINCA is a cooperating sponsor, FINCA had increased its portfolio from around 11,000 loans in 2006 to over 51,000 loans in 2009. Direct and indirect beneficiaries of this activity numbered over 100,000 with the average loan size a little bit under the equivalent of US$220. ¶19. According to FINCA's evaluation criteria, the standard of living of its clients had risen around 12 percent, and there was a 60 percent drop in the number of clients who had previously experienced food insecurity. Finally, 90 percent of clients responded that they were now able to send their children to school. Mr. Brewer congratulated FINCA for its efforts and opined that FINCA's successes should be shared with the U.S. Congress. ¶20. Visit to National Health Laboratory: The delegation proceeded to the National Health Laboratory, which is responsible for food safety analysis of all food products registered in Guatemala, both locally produced and imported. This laboratory benefits both MAGA and the Ministry of Health, and has received direct support via FFPr and TCB programs. Delegation members met with the head of MAGA's Plant Protection Program (PIPPAA),which is responsible for certifying Guatemalan exports of fresh produce. PIPPAA operations, which have been strongly supported by FFPr, have been instrumental in increasing Guatemalan produce exports to the U.S., which for 2009, will exceed US$41 million. This is close to 95 percent increase from 2006, which was the year when CAFTA-DR was implemented in Guatemala. ¶21. Visits to SHARE Guatemala Operations and Cuatro Pinos Cooperative: The USDA delegation rounded out its visit to Guatemala by acquainting itself with the operations of SHARE Guatemala and the Cuatro Pinos cooperative. SHARE Guatemala implements food assistance programs under both USDA's Food for Education (FFE) and USAID's Public Law 480 Title II programs. GSM Brewer and Ms. Sheikh were able to contrast the two programs, which illustrated the complementary activity between USDA and USAID to improve child nutrition and maternal health in some of Guatemala's poorest areas. For FFE specifically, SHARE Guatemala had reached 66,000 pre-primary and primary students, increasing school attendance and bolstering nutritional standards. ¶22. The USDA delegation finished its visit by traveling to the Cuatro Pinos Cooperative, which had been a beneficiary of the TCB program. This cooperative, which was founded in 1979, employs over 15,000 Guatemalans in 16 of Guatemala's 22 departments. Cuatro Pinos is a major Guatemalan produce exporter with 80 percent of its shipments directed to the U.S. The delegation learned that in addition to employment generation, Cuatro Pinos works continuously to support improvements within the communities which it operates. ¶23. This cable has been cleared by USDA/FAS John Brewer and Patricia Sheikh. MCFARLAND