134. Telegram 10697 From the Department of State to All Diplomatic Posts, January 17, 1974, 2048Z.1 2
TELEGRAM
Department of State
010697
O 172048Z JAN 74
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALDIP
STATE 010697
INFORM CONSULS
CORRECTED COPY (PARA 6 LINE 5 MISSING)
E.O. 11652: N/A
TAGS: AORG, EAGR, UN,
FAO
SUBJECT: WORLD FOOD CONFERENCE
REF: STATE 7206
FOR USDELS, GENEVA FOR UNCTAD, ROME FOR FODAG, DAKAR POUCH BANJUL
1. PURPOSE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO BRING US MISSIONS UP TO DATE ON STATUS OF PREPARATIONS FOR WORLD FOOD CONFERENCE, ON CURRENT STATE OF OUR THINKING ON PURPOSES AND SCOPE OF CONFERENCE AND TO ENCOURAGE POSTS TO EXCHANGE VIEWS WITH HOST GOVERNMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE THEY BELIEVE LIKELY TO PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN CONFERENCE AND IN PREPARATIONS FOR CONFERENCE. IT SHOULD BE STRESSED THAT OUR VIEWS AT THIS STAGE ARE STILL PRELIMINARY AND THAT WE WILL NOT FIRM THEM UP UNTIL WE HAVE HAD FULLER EXCHANGE OF VIEWS IN AND OUT OF PREPCOM WITH OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES.
2. CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION. ON DECEMBER 17, 1973, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVED CONVENING A WORLD FOOD CONFERENCE ( WFC) UNDER UN AUSPICES FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS IN NOVEMBER 1974 AT ROME. FOLLOWING CONSULTATION WITH THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FAO AND THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF UNCTAD, UN SECRETARY GENERAL WALDHEIM IS EXPECTED TO APPOINT SAYED AHMED MAREI OF EGYPT AS DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE WFC. MAREI WILL HEAD A SMALL CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT DRAWN PARTICULARLY FROM FAO, UNCTAD, AND OTHER RELEVANT BODIES OF THE UN SYSTEM. MAREI (CURRENTLY AN ADVISER TO PRESIDENT SADAT) IS A FORMER MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE OF EGYPT WHO IS WELL KNOWN IN INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CIRCLES.
3. PREPARATORY COMMITTEE. THE ECOSOC, WHICH IS ENTRUSTED WITH OVER-ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONFERENCE, IS NOW ESTABLISHING AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL PREPARATORY COMMITTEE (PREPCOM) OPEN TO ALL UN MEMBERS WHICH BY JANUARY 18 HAVE REGISTERED THEIR INTENTION TO BE INCLUDED. THE PREPCOM WILL MEET FEBRUARY 11-15 IN NEW YORK TO BEGIN INITIAL PREPARATIONS FOR CONFERENCE. PRELIMINARY INDICATIONS ARE THAT SECOND MEETING OF THE PREPCOM WILL BE HELD AT MID-YEAR AT GENEVA AND THAT THIRD MEETING WILL BE HELD IN ROME JUST BEFORE CONVENING OF WFC IN NOVEMBER.
4. THEME OF CONFERENCE. WE SEE THEME OF CONFERENCE AS EXPLORING WAYS IN WHICH WORLD COMMUNITY CAN ACT TO IMPROVE FOOD PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION AND LEVELS AND DISTRIBUTION OF RESERVES TO ENABLE MORE PEOPLE TO EAT MINIMUM NECESSARY FOR GOOD HEALTH, YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT. WHILE THIS FOCUS PUTS PRINCIPAL EMPHASIS OF WFC ON NEEDS OF LDC’S, WE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT DC’S ALSO FACE POSSIBLE FOOD SHORTAGES OR EMERGENCIES. FOOD PROBLEM IS TRULY GLOBAL.
5. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER CONFERENCES. WITHIN THIS CONTEXT WE BELIEVE IT ESSENTIAL TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS WORLD FOOD REPEAT FOOD CONFERENCE AND NOT REPEAT NOT ONE ON WORLD AGRICULTURAL OR WORLD DEVELOPMENT OR WORLD TRADE THOUGH ASPECTS OF THOSE SUBJECTS OVERLAP OUR CONCERN OVER FOOD SITUATION.
6. BECAUSE PREPARATION TIME FOR CONFERENCE IS LIMITED (ONE FOURTH OF TIME ALLOWED FOR ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION CONFERENCES) AND BECAUSE NO WORLD CONFERENCE CAN DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH MANY SUBJECTS IN ANY DEGREE OF DETAIL IN TWO-WEEK MEETING, CONFERENCE CAN ONLY DEAL WITH FEW KEY ASPECTS OF THIS FOOD PROBLEM. IT CANNOT AND SHOULD NOT DUPLICATE WORK OF OTHER INTERNATIONAL BODIES SUCH AS THE JUNE 1972 ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE, AUGUST 1974 POPULATION CONFERENCE, THE 1975 MID-TERM REVIEW AND APPRAISAL EXERCISE FOR UN’S SECOND DEVELOPMENT DECADE AND THE MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS (MTN), EVEN THOUGH RELATED TO FOOD QUESTION. IN THIS CONNECTION, WE SHOULD STRESS THAT UN BODIES CAN REACH POLICY CONCLUSIONS WHICH REPRESENT MORAL OR POLITICAL OBLIGATIONS TO UNDERTAKE BEST EFFORTS TO CARRY THEM OUT BUT THEY ARE NOT LEGALLY BINDING COMMITMENTS. ACCORDINGLY, WE SEE WORK OF CONFERENCE AS DIRECTED TO GETTING AGREEMENT ON BROAD PRINCIPLES WHICH CAN SERVE AS FRAMEWORK FOR THE WORK OF OTHER INTERNATIONAL FORA AND OF MEMBER GOVERNMENTS ON FOOD PROBLEM. THUS, MTN COULD BE FACILITATED IF WFC IN LINE WITH PARA 10D BELOW WOULD REITERATE TOKYO DECLARATION ON NEED FOR EXPANSION OF WORLD TRADE IN BASIC FOODS THROUGH REDUCTION OF OBSTACLES TO THEIR IMPORT AND EXPORT AND IF THE WFC WOULD REGISTER ITS HOPE THAT THE MTN WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS ALONG THESE LINES.
7. BECAUSE OF NATURAL AND HUMAN UNCERTAINTIES WITH RESPECT TO FUTURE TRENDS IN PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF BASIC FOODS AND SOME IMPORTANT GAPS IN ACCURATE INFORMATION ON CURRENT SITUATIONS, WE FEEL MAIN THRUST OF WFC SHOULD BE ON PROBLEMS AND REMEDIAL ACTIONS IN THE MEDIUM TERM, BETWEEN NOW AND 1980, THOUGH WE CANNOT DISREGARD SOME ACTIONS WHICH MUST AT LEAST BE INITIATED IN THIS PERIOD TO PRODUCE ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF FOOD AVAILABILITY FOR THE LONGER RUN.
8. WE HAVE REACHED NO FIRM CONCLUSION ON WHICH FOOD PRODUCTS SHOULD BE CENTER OF ATTENTION, BUT GIVEN LIMITATIONS ALREADY CITED WE THINK PRINCIPAL EMPHASIS SHOULD BE THE MAJOR FOOD CROPS SUCH AS GRAINS, SOYBEANS AND FOOD LEGUMES.
9. IMMEDIATE NEED IS TO REACH AGREEMENT ON AGENDA AT PREPCOM MEETING SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 11. AT THIS STAGE WE FEEL AGENDA SHOULD BE IN SKELETON FORM WITH MORE DETAILS TO BE FILLED IN IF NECESSARY AS DISCUSSIONS AMONG GOVERNMENTS IN AND OUT OF PREPCOM REVEAL IN MORE DETAIL THE ISSUES ON WHICH IT IS FOUND TO BE DESIRABLE AND POSSIBLE TO SEEK CONFERENCE ACTION. PREFER CONCENTRATE NEGOTIATING TIME OF SUBSEQUENT PREPCOMS ON RESOLUTIONS WHICH SHOULD EMERGE FROM WFC ON EACH AGENDA ITEM RATHER THAN ON DEVELOPMENT OF A DETAILED AGENDA.
10. OUR OUTLINE AS OF NOW IS AS FOLLOWS:
A. REVIEW OF PRESENT AND MEDIUM TERM OUTLOOK FOR FOOD SUPPLIES, WITH EMPHASIS ON IDENTIFYING SHORTAGES OF BASIC FOODSTUFFS AND NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES AND ON WAYS TO IMPROVE THE DATA FLOW AND ANALYSIS ON THESE SUBJECTS.
B. POLICIES FOR STOCKPILING OF BASIC FOODS TO PROVIDE GREATER FOOD SECURITY, WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO MEANS FOR MEETING DISASTER-TYPE SITUATIONS.
C. NEW LOOKS AT FOOD AID, ALSO IN PART RELATED TO DISASTER PROBLEMS.
D. MEASURES TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF BASIC FOODS. THEMES UNDER THIS HEARING, IN ADDITION TO THE REFERENCE TO TRADE IN PARA 6, COULD INCLUDE HIGHER PRIORITY FOR AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT AND IMPROVED PRICE POLICIES FOR BASIC FOODS IN COUNTRIES WITH SERIOUS NUTRITIONAL PROBLEMS; HIGHER PRIORITY FOR SPECIAL NUTRITION PROGRAMS; INCREASING PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY THROUGH MORE RAPID SPREAD OF IMPROVED TECHNOLOGIES; INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF CRITICAL INPUTS (AT REALISTIC PRICES) ESPECIALLY FERTILIZERS; IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY OF SMALL FARMERS; REDUCTION OF DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING COSTS ESPECIALLY THROUGH REDUCED WASTE AND IMPROVED TRANSPORT AND STORAGE FACILITIES; AND MAINTENANCE OF HIGH LEVEL OF COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL RESEARCH ON WAYS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY IN LONGER TERM OF PRODUCTION OF BASIC FOODS. WE ARE NOT YET READY TO DECIDE WHETHER ALL SHOULD BE ADDRESSED OR IF NOT, WHICH.
11. PLEASE REPORT PROMPTLY (INFO COPY OECD FOR MARTIN) ANY REACTION YOU MAY RECEIVE TO THIS SUGGESTED APPROACH AND OTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON PLANNING FOR WFC INCLUDING REPRESENTATION AT FIRST PREPCOM MEETING. RUSH
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Limited Official Use. Drafted Martin; cleared in EB/OFP, EUR/RPE, NEA/RA, AF/EPS, IO/AGR, USDA, STR, and NSC; and approved by Martin. Also sent to Geneva for UNCTAD, Rome for FODAG, and Dakar. Repeated to all Consulates.↩
- The Department updated posts on matters pertaining to the upcoming World Food Conference.↩