INVESTING IN FOOD SECURITY: EXPERTS ADDRESS RESPONSIBLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 UN ROME 000014

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EAID EINV ECON ETRD PREL UN FAO
SUBJECT: INVESTING IN FOOD SECURITY: EXPERTS ADDRESS RESPONSIBLE
AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT AT GLOBAL DONOR PLATFORM MEETING

REF: USUN ROME 9


1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for
dissemination outside the U.S. Government.



Summary

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2. (SBU) On January 24, the Swiss Development Corporation, the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),and the International
Fund for Agricultural Investment (IFAD) jointly hosted a one-day
seminar entitled "Land, Investment, and Development," attended
by many of the key players working on responsible international
agro-industrial and land investment principles (reftel). In
addition to USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and USUN
Rome participation, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Food briefed on his own set of land investment principles.
Senior technical staff of the World Bank, FAO and IFAD discussed
their ongoing work on the topic, as did representatives of the
OECD, the International Land Coalition, and many other
non-governmental organization researchers and policy staff.
Concluding the seminar, participants agreed that next steps
should entail harmonizing the World Bank's and Special
Rapporteur's investment principles, and that relevant agencies
would continue developing a "toolkit" for countries and
investors, additional research and analysis on the issue, a
"sourcebook" and country-level strategies to ensure principles
were translated into implementable actions. Also agreed was the
notion that time lines for action are desired, and that the
process of action should be advanced rapidly. End summary.



Side Meeting: Global Donor Platform

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3. (SBU) The Swiss Development Corporation, FAO and IFAD hosted
a one-day seminar on land and investment issues on January 24 at
FAO headquarters, one day before the start of the Global Donor
Platform for Rural Development annual meetings. In attendance
were senior technical experts of the World Bank, FAO, IFAD, the
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the International
Land Coalition, the OECD, UN Habitat, and the International Food
and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). While several
donor-state representatives were in attendance (Swiss, Japanese,
U.S.),conspicuous by their absence were representatives of the
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and
representatives of developing country governments.





The Human Rights-based Approach

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4. (SBU) First to speak in a session entitled "Principles
Proposed for Investment" was the UN's Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Food (R2F),Olivier DeSchutter (most likely indicative
of the Swiss Government's support for a rights-based- approach
to food security, and to the Rapporteur, generally). DeSchutter
recalled his June, 2009 draft paper on investment principles
which was shared in advance of a round table event in September,
2009 on the margins of the UN General Assembly. In a 19-page
addendum to his UNGA report shared with participants, DeSchutter
argues that the R2F framework offers a useful human rights
construct for governments and investors to approach the topic,
and should be seen as "a minimum safeguard" and not a substitute
for more operational guidelines (being prepared in a separate
process led by the FAO addressing Voluntary Guidelines for Land
Tenure~). Though recognizing "certain opportunities"

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associated with agricultural investment, DeSchutter's paper
focuses heavily on the "risks" of such development and proposes
a list of 11 principles which he calls the "minimum human rights
principles on which large scale land acquisitions or leases
should be based."




5. (SBU) Consistent with the human rights based approach to
food security, DeSchutter argues that neither host states nor
investors need await finalization of guidelines on investments
or land tenure to act in accordance with human rights. The home
states of private investors, he asserted, are also under
obligation to regulate the conduct of its investors abroad,
particularly if the host State appears unwilling or unable to do
so. Investments that can affect land rights, he noted, are a
particular source of concern. The human right to food would be
violated, he argued, if people depending on land for their
livelihoods, including pastoralists, are cut off from access to
land, without suitable alternatives; if local incomes are
insufficient to compensate for the price effects resulting from
the shift towards production of food for exports; or, if
revenues of local smallholders fall following the arrival on
domestic markets of cheaply priced food, produced on more
competitive large-scale plantations developed thanks to the
arrival of investors. In reaching agreement on large-scale land
acquisitions or leases, he said, states should take into account
the rights of current land users in areas where the investment
is made, as well as the rights of workers employed on the farms.
They should also be guided by the need to ensure the right to
self-determination and the right to development of the local
population.



World Bank Proposes Set of Guiding "Principles"

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6. (SBU) In the second presentation, WB Land Tenure Adviser
Klaus Deininger discussed why the Bank backed adoption of the
seven principles discussed and generally accepted at the
September UNGA round table meeting in New York, vice FAO's
vetted "code of conduct" on the issue. Deininger explained that
principles can be general and more technical, and apply to all
stakeholders. A code of conduct, he said, is too easily bogged
down in political process and procedural detail - ending up with
the lowest common denominator. Principles, he continued, can be
refined and improved in an iterative process, can be backed up
by detailed work on implementation, and can draw upon the
expertise of a wide array of stakeholders. These views, he
noted, were generally supported by a Bank study on investment
issues in 20 client countries, that touched upon inventories,
frameworks, and projects linked to investments. After sharing a
WB case study on land investment issues in Mozambique, Deininger
turned to next steps in the process, adding that an inter-agency
team was working to next produce a toolkit (by April 2010),
country level analysis (8 countries identified),a "sourcebook"
(to finalize by early 2011),and additional consultations among
interested parties. Responding to questions on the R2F
principles addressed earlier, Deininger said he saw no major
contradictions between the two sets of principles. Another
senior World Bank participant in the audience was at pains to
emphasize during Q and A that the Bank's work on the issue was
part of a collaborative effort between it and the other three
agencies.



FAO Pressing a "Code of Conduct"

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7. (SBU) FAO's point person for land investment issues was sick
and did not attend this event, but his colleague, Paul Munro,
presented an update on FAO's work to promulgate "Voluntary
Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Land Tenure and Other

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Resources" - work currently funded by Germany, Finland and
others. The major conclusion of FAO's work on this issue to
date is that good governance is critical to the responsible
stewardship of land and other resources, and that weak
governance was usually the culprit in cases of poverty,
degradation and exploitation. Regarding FAO's work on
international investments, David Hallam continues to be at the
center of ongoing work in this field, and tells USUN Rome that
FAO will continue to seek agreement from members on a "Code of
Conduct" for responsible international investment. This
approach was further bolstered in a panel discussion on
international regulatory instruments, in which panelists
concluded that voluntary guidelines are generally weak due to
lax monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.



Comment

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8. (SBU) The discussion on responsible international investment
in land and agriculture is moving rapidly, with Japan and
various international agencies pressing for decisive action and
follow-up to discussions at the UNGA and in other fora. Much
work is being done at the World Bank and FAO, in particular, and
according to our local contacts Tokyo appears intent on pressing
for agreement this year on an international "framework" through
which investment principles are endorsed and implemented. What
such implementation means should be better understood,
particularly in terms of the vehicle through which it is pursued
(i.e., a "code of conduct" or self-policed industry principles).
It will be helpful for this mission to have guidance to respond
to questions on this issue, particularly as USUN Rome considers
hosting a discussion in early April for permanent
representatives and others regarding the practical applicability
of these principles (reftel). End comment.
COUSIN