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### Viewing cable 04ROME2277, FOOD SECURITY IN NICARAGUA: VISIT OF ALTERNATE

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
04ROME2277 | 2004-06-14 13:27 | 2011-06-21 08:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Rome

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS  ROME 002277

    SIPDIS

    FROM U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME

    NSC FOR DWORKEN
    STATE FOR IO/EDA, PRM/P, E, EB/IFD/ODA, EB/TPP/ABT, IO/EDA,
    WHA/EPSC, WHA/CEN
    TREASURY FOR OSDI - JASKOWIAK, BLOOMGARDEN, BRUBAKER
    USAID FOR AA/LAC, DAA/DCHA GRIGSBY, DCHA/FFP LANDIS
    USDA/FAS FOR CHAMBLISS/TILSWORTH/GAINOR

    E.O. 12958:   N/A
    TAGS: EAID EAGR EFIN AORC SENV NU XK WFP FAO IFAD
    SUBJECT:  FOOD SECURITY IN NICARAGUA: VISIT OF ALTERNATE
    PERMREP, MAY 2-5, 2004

    ¶1.  Summary:   U.S. Mission Rome Alternate Permanent
    Representative traveled to Nicaragua May 2-5 to review
    efforts by the UN agencies to work with the host government
    and other donors to address food insecurity in this low-
    income, food-deficit country that has been hit by recurring
    natural disasters and hampered by political and economic
    instability.  Field visits to eight ongoing projects
    supported by the World Food Program (WFP) and/or the UN Food
    and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in west and central
    Nicaragua provided compelling evidence of the extent of food
    insecurity and poverty problems, and of the positive impact
    the UN agencies can have on rural communities, particularly
    when they work together in a close and coordinated fashion.
    School feeding activities were seen to provide important
    benefits to vulnerable children and their communities, but
    the continuity and sustainability of such activities appear
    in doubt, given uncertain USG commitments.  The Nicaraguan
    government's apparent failure thus far to identify food
    security as a national development priority is a matter of
    concern.  At the same time, prospects for enhanced trade
    under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and
    development opportunities that come with Nicaragua's
    recently announced eligibility for the Millennium Challenge
    Account provide grounds for a measure of cautious optimism.
    End summary.

    BACKGROUND
    ----------

    ¶2.  Alternate Permrep Willem Brakel, from U.S. Mission Rome,
    visited Nicaragua from May 2 to 5, to review the field
    activities of the Rome-headquartered UN agencies for food
    and agriculture.  Also participating in the field visits on
    May 4 was Guatemala-based Regional Food for Peace (FFP)
    Officer David Hull.  This report seeks to highlight
    noteworthy activities and to flag issues related to actual
    or potential synergies among the programs of WFP, FAO, IFAD
    and other UN agencies and their complementarity with USG
    bilateral assistance.  The assistance of the WFP and FAO
    Permanent Representations, the USAID Mission and U.S.
    Embassy are gratefully acknowledged.  This cable may be read
    in conjunction with a separate report covering field visits
    in Guatemala.

    ¶3.  Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the Latin
    America/Caribbean region, with approximately half of the
    population living under the poverty line.  Almost 80 percent
    of the extremely poor live in rural areas prone to recurrent
    natural disasters.  Chronic malnutrition affects one out of
    four children under age 5.  Addressing food insecurity has
    not been a government priority.  In March 2004, FAO, WFP,
    UNICEF and WHO/PAHO drafted a joint analysis on "Food and
    Nutritional Security: a Strategic Element for the
    Development of Nicaragua."  The paper concludes that "in
    recent years, actions undertaken by the various
    organizations that promote food and nutritional security
    have implicated significant levels of financing, but their
    impact is scarcely perceptible, very isolated and with scant
    coordination in most cases, without a national strategic
    connection to integrate the different actors in this area
    ... resulting in the expenditure of resources without the
    least or acceptable impact (productive, social and economic)
    at the national level, with a few exceptions...."   The FAO
    and WFP reps sent a copy of the joint analysis to the
    Presidency in early April, urging the government to rethink
    its policies and to include food security more centrally in
    the National Development Plan.

    WFP OPERATIONS
    --------------

    ¶4.  WFP's Country Program (CP) for Nicaragua aims to achieve
    food security for more than 452,000 persons over the 2002-
    2006 period, at a total budgeted WFP cost of $14 million for
    basic activities and $9.4 million for supplementary
    activities.  The CP concentrates on the northern and south-
    central regions of the country, where rural women and
    children, small farmers and landless people are the most
    vulnerable and disadvantaged in gaining access to resources.
    The CP is being implemented through the following program
    activities: (1) integrated assistance for vulnerable women
    and children; (2) investment in human capital through
    education in areas highly vulnerable to food insecurity; (3)
    support to rural families in areas affected by drought and
    floods; and (4) assistance to additional school children
    (fully funded from the USDA McGovern-Dole initiative).
    Also, Nicaragua benefits from the $66.8 million Protracted
    Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) for Central America,
    providing targeted food assistance in 2003-2006 for persons
    affected by shocks and for the recovery of livelihoods.

    FAO ACTIVITIES
    --------------

    ¶5.  FAO has four major ongoing projects under the Technical
    Cooperation Program (TCP) totaling $1.06 million, related to
    (1) support for artisanal fisheries on the Atlantic coast;
    (2) expansion of the Special Program for Food Security
    (SPFS) in the Dry Zone (Note: the Dry Zone is an area in
    Nicaragua than extends northwest into Honduras, El Salvador
    and Guatemala that suffers from frequently recurring
    droughts); (3) emergency diversified production for small
    coffee producers in Matagalpa and Jinotega Departments; and
    (4) preparation for a coffee production conversion and
    diversification program.  There are new TCP projects under
    consideration involving (1) sustainable development of small
    watersheds in NE Nicaragua; (2) management of pine forests
    affected by fire; (3) development of a forest inventory; and
    (4) demarcation of indigenous lands in the Atlantic (RAAN)
    region.

    ¶6.  Four ongoing or recent activities supported by voluntary
    Trust Fund contributions are: $1.66 million from Spain for
    the pilot phase of the SPFS; $323,828 to support the
    national agricultural and livestock census; and two smaller
    projects studying remittances and the impact of HIV/AIDS,
    respectively.  Possible new Trust Fund projects involve (1)
    technical education and agricultural information systems,
    (2) live exports of spiny lobsters, and (3) technical
    assistance for small/medium livestock producers, provided
    through the Rural Credit Fund.  Also under consideration is
    a $10 million FAO/UNDP project on sustainable use of rural
    land in areas susceptible to degradation.  There are six
    small (less that $10,000 each), community-based Telefood
    projects in progress, and seven more on the drawing boards.
    Finally, there are four regional TCP projects and five
    regional Trust Fund projects currently ongoing.

    IFAD-FUNDED PROGRAMS
    --------------------

    ¶7.  IFAD has two approved projects in Nicaragua:

    -- Program for the Economic Development of the Dry Region.
    Loan amount: SDR 10.15 million ($14.6 million).  The program
    will enable poor peasants and microentrepreneurs to
    participate in planning and implementation of business and
    employment plans, ensuring improved access to income-
    generating activities.  Cooperating institution: Central
    American Bank for Economic Integration.

    -- Technical Assistance Fund Program for the Departments of
    Len, Chinandega and Managua. Loan amount: SDR 10.2 million
    ($14.7 million).

    The main objective is to improve the productive and
    marketing capacity of rural, small- to medium-scale
    producers and entrepreneurs in order to improve the income
    and living conditions of their families.  Specifically, the
    program will ensure that the target groups have access to
    sustainable technical assistance services.  Cooperating
    institution: International Development Association.

    USG ACTIVITIES
    --------------

    ¶8.  USAID/Nicaragua is implementing a five-year P.L. 480
    Title II program with a total budget of approximately $52.5
    million.  The program began in 2002 and will run until
    ¶2006.  The program monetizes approximately 60 percent of the
    commodities and directly distributes the rest through food-
    for-work activities.  A little more than half of the
    program's budget supports agricultural activities aimed at
    increasing the incomes of small-scale farmers through crop
    diversification, markets linkages, and the adoption of new
    agricultural technologies.  The remaining funds support
    maternal and child health and nutrition programs with a
    focus on children below two years of age.  In addition,
    USAID is funding development of a Meso American Food
    Security Early Warning Systems (MFEWS) aimed at
    strengthening regional capacity to detect potential food
    insecurity crises ahead of time by improving access to and
    sharing of information.

    ¶9.  USDA food commodities are directly distributed in
    programs that support: (1) maternal child health for 115,000
    children and 21,000 adults in hospitals, orphanages,
    schools, and homes for the elderly; (2) food-for-education
    to improve attendance, enrollment, nutrition and achievement
    levels of pre-primary and primary level students in the
    municipalities of Jinotega, Madriz, and Managua; (3) WFP's
    protracted relief and recovery operation and school feeding
    project.  USDA monetization programs include support for:
    (1) 260 primary school students and street children, grades
    1 to 9; (2) improved productivity and income of small and
    medium-sized farmers; and (3) improved attendance and
    quality of education though the food-for-education
    initiative.

    SITES VISITED
    -------------

    ¶10.  We visited the following projects/activities:

    (1)  School Feeding, Las Banquitas Community, Department of
    Matagalpa:

    WFP provides food assistance to the El Nicarao school's 201
    preschool and primary school children in this community of
    760 inhabitants.  During our visit on May 3 the student
    association leaders presented a letter thanking the U.S. and
    other WFP donors for food contributions "that fill us with
    happiness."  In their letter, the children highlighted the
    positive effects of school meals on attendance and
    children's health.  "We hope that you as donors continue to
    support us with food products, and in so doing shape the
    future."

    (2) WFP Vulnerable Group Activities, Las Banquitas
    Community, Department of Matagalpa:

    We visited a clinic where WFP provides food assistance in
    the form of complementary rations to 46 pregnant or nursing
    women and 77 infants.   Recent data indicate that in this
    community 20% of the children under the age of two are
    malnourished.

    (3) FAO Emergency Seeds Project, Las Banquitas Community,
    Department of Matagalpa:

    In 2003, WFP created a food-for-work program in cooperation
    with the National Union of Coffee Growers, permitting 32
    families to diversify their economic activities away from
    coffee.  Concurrently, FAO provided seeds, fertilizer and
    tools to 65 families for cultivation of black beans, in its
    first emergency activity that was specifically targeted to
    address an economic crisis.

    (4) FAO Emergency Seeds Project, La Fundadora, Department of
    Matagalpa:

    We visited additional families cultivating black beans with
    FAO support in the community of La Fundadora.  The farmers
    explained that people in this area are not used to eating
    black beans and there is not much of a market for them
    locally; but they considered themselves fortunate to have
    this variety since the beans were able to withstand an
    unexpected rainy spell much better than the traditional red
    beans.  They will try again this year.  The farmers'
    experience suggests that farmers may need assistance for
    more than one growing season in order to successfully adopt
    new crops and techniques.  They also may need more help in
    accessing regional markets where demand for black beans is
    stronger and prices are higher.

    (5) Nutritional Recovery Center, Town of Matagalpa:

    This center operated by a faith-based NGO in conjunction
    with local medical authorities provides in-patient care to
    children suffering from serious malnutrition.  When we
    visited, there were only 9 children receiving treatment, but
    two were severely malnourished.  The center's staff
    explained that follow-up with the children's parents is an
    important part of their work, since families' lack of
    awareness of nutritional basics, together with economic
    hardship, are the principal causes of their children's
    malnourishment.

    (6) WFP Interventions, Los Pochotillos Community, San
    Francisco Libre:

    This isolated community of 44 families -- mostly subsistence
    farmers -- is located in the Dry Zone.  Road access is
    difficult in the dry season, and nearly impossible during
    the rains.  Burros are the preferred mode of transport.  The
    poverty rate is over 95%.  Basic services are rudimentary.
    The preschool, with an enrollment of 15 and using the
    building of a local church, has a roof but is otherwise open
    to the elements.  Lessons at the one-room elementary school
    (enrollment: 73) are given in shifts, with first and second
    graders attending in the morning and third through sixth
    graders in the afternoon.  It is 7 km to the nearest clinic,
    and 24 km to the nearest secondary school.  In this
    environment WFP provides food for work during critical times
    of the year.  There is a school feeding program to which
    parents contribute their labor (preparing the meals) and
    vegetables (to enrich the diet).  A vulnerable group program
    provides complementary food rations to pregnant and
    lactating mothers and their infants.

    (7) FAO Irrigation and Agriculture Demonstration Project,
    Los Pochotillos Community and environs, San Francisco Libre:

    We visited an FAO SPFS irrigation project that has been
    operating since 2000.  The project supports local farmers in
    construction of small irrigation systems, provides training
    in soil conservation and watershed management, and
    encourages diversification of crops, to include onions,
    yucca, high-yield maize and plantains.

    (8) WFP/FAO Projects, La Trinidad Community, San Francisco
    Libre.

    WFP and FAO activities similar to those in Los Pochotillos
    were also observed in the neighboring La Trinidad Community,
    a settlement that
    is slightly larger and somewhat less poor, but where
    socioeconomic and climatic conditions are much the same.
    The school feeding program could be enhanced by creation of
    a vegetable garden on the premises to provide fresh produce
    for inclusion in the menu -- FAO may be able to assist.

    (9)  IFAD:  Foundation for the Technical Development of
    Agriculture and Foresty of Nicaragua (FUNICA):

    Due to time constraints, it was not possible to visit IFAD-
    funded activities in the field.  We met instead in Managua
    with the General Manager and other officials of FUNICA, a
    foundation created under the Technical Assistance Fund
    Program (para 8).  Under this program, public and private-
    sector institutions jointly manage public funds to promote
    demand-driven services in research and agricultural
    extension.  The officials outlined the lines of action of
    FUNICA's Technical Assistance Fund (FAT) in promotion and
    organization of producers, pre-investment studies, technical
    assistance services, and local capacity building.

    CONCLUSIONS
    -----------

    ¶11.  U.S. Mission Rome offers the following comments and
    observations based on the visit.

    -- WFP is managing a dynamic program in Nicaragua that goes
    well beyond distribution of food.  Food is seen to be used
    as a tool for development.  Activities such as school
    feeding, by involving parents in preparation and transport
    of food, are acting as a catalyst for community
    organization.

    -- Looming over Nicaragua's school feeding program are
    proposed USG cuts for McGovern-Dole initiative.  The
    situation is worsened by the recent termination of a related
    Japanese program.  School meals for 400,000 schoolchildren
    may have to be discontinued shortly if the shortfall is not
    addressed.

    -- During the visit to Nicaragua, we also learned that
    Central American governments affected by the proposed cuts
    in McGovern-Dole have agreed to a joint demarche in
    Washington, led by the Nicaraguan Embassy.

    -- Local expectations of foreign aid may be unrealistically
    high after the extraordinary donor efforts following recent
    disasters.  In the long term the Nicaraguan government will
    need to play a larger role in its national food security,
    but it has not shown leadership in this area.

    -- There needs to be a clear demonstration of political will
    on the part of the GON to end hunger.  Reported government
    attempts to target food aid to municipalities for political
    advantage should be investigated and brought to a halt.
    Government policy in other areas, such as land tenure, is a
    major factor in food insecurity.

    -- Consideration should be given to allocating part of the
    new resources available to Nicaragua under the Millennium
    Challenge Account to addressing food security issues.

    -- It is unlikely that the domestic private sector can do
    much to fill the food aid resource gap; they may have some
    commodities to donate, but not the cash required to pay for
    transport, nor can they assure continuity of supply.

    -- WFP Nicaragua is doing commendable pioneering work with
    the international private sector, as host for volunteers
    from the Netherlands-based freight/parcel forwarder TPG.
    The volunteers are released by their employers for a 3-month
    tour, implementing school feeding activities and small
    projects in Matagalpa area.

    -- More could be done to harness the influence and resources
    of Nicaraguan expatriates.  We learned that WFP is already
    embarking on promising outreach to the Nicaraguan community
    in the U.S.  The power of such an approach was demonstrated
    recently when a Miami Herald article on Nicaragua generated
    $28,000 in unsolicited contributions from expatriates and
    other well-wishers.  Also, FAO Nicaragua, with the Ford
    Foundation, is planning an interesting pilot project to
    study the use of remittances for local development
    activities in the municipality of El Sauce.

    -- Commendably, the WFP and FAO offices cooperate closely
    and effectively, both in the field (as seen at Las Banquitas
    and Los Pochotillos) and in the capital (where the FAO and
    WFP reps together spearheaded a dialogue with the Presidency
    on the role of food security in the National Development
    Plan).

    -- We understand that close UN agency cooperation also
    extends to UNICEF and UNDP, although strong pressure on the
    UNDP office to generate new projects appears to have
    contributed to a competitive -- rather than cooperative --
    interagency environment in the development of project
    proposals.

    -- FAO is fortunate to have an energetic Resident
    Representative in Managua, but this individual is hamstrung
    by limited resources and a lack of technical experts.  A
    possible solution might be to give consideration to out-
    posting FAO officers from Rome to a sub-regional office for
    Central America that supports the FAO permanent
    representations in Managua and other Central American
    capitals.

    -- We encourage increased regional cooperation and
    information exchange on food security issues.  This applies
    both to coordination among the UN organizations and major
    donors, as well as within USG agencies.  A recently proposed
    effort in that direction -- a Central American regional food
    aid planning conference involving FFP officers, WFP reps and
    other key players -- was reportedly scrapped.  From our
    conversations in Nicaragua, we believe that such a meeting
    has merit, and should be reconsidered.

    -- The HIV/AIDS epidemic is considered to be in its early
    phases in Nicaragua and UNAIDS estimated in 2000 that only
    4900 persons were infected; but, extrapolating from Health
    Ministry statistics on AIDS-related deaths and factoring in
    underreporting, the actual number may be in the 24,000-
    36,000 range.  The GON is currently implementing a grant
    from the Global Fund; Nicaragua's implementing NGO
    consortium has included the link to nutrition and food
    security in its work plan and is receiving technical
    assistance from the USAID-supported Food and Nutrition
    Technical Assistance (FANTA) program.

    -- FAO-Nicaragua has taken an important step in initiating a
    Pilot Study on HIV/AIDS and Food Security in Rural
    Nicaragua, with funding from the Livelihoods Diversification
    and Enterprise Development program, and is preparing a
    follow-on study for the North Atlantic region of the
    country.  Other UN agencies and bilateral donors need to
    work with the GON to give HIV/AIDS greater attention.
    Hall

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