This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

Talking Points for Administrator J. Brian Atwood
BIFAD Meeting
Washington, D.C., October 2, 1997
U.S. Agency for International Development

--    Before I get into agricultural issues, let me bring you up to date on a few of the current issues in the Agency. As Jill Buckley reported this morning, the state of play on reorganization of the Foreign Affairs agencies is that, in accordance with the President's April decision, USAID will remain a separate and distinct agency. In the pending authorization bill, Congress will affirm the President's decision.

--    As you know from this morning, we are also waiting for final action on our FY 1998 appropriations. Congress this week passed a 23-day continuing resolution to keep the government operating and hopes to complete action on the appropriations bill in the next few weeks.

--    The numbers for FY 1998 demonstrate that for the first time in several years, we have turned around the downward trend for foreign aid funding. The numbers look better and we expect to meet our commitments to the CRSPs and CGIAR, as well as to the Africa Food Security Initiative.

--    Beyond the budget issues, much of the Administration's focus this Fall will be on fast track trade authority and the international negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions leading to Kyoto.

--    USAID is playing a role in Kyoto that I want to share with you because of implications climate change has on agriculture. In his statement at the United Nations, President Clinton announced that the U.S. would provide at least $1 billion over the next five years to help developing nations promote energy efficiency, develop alternative energy sources and improve resource management.

--    USAID will implement this $1 billion program. David Hales of our Environment Center will brief you tomorrow on more of the specifics, so I won't go into detail here but I wanted to talk a little bit about the debate that is underway in this country. You have probably seen the television and newspaper run ads by opponents to signing a binding treaty. They think it would hurt our economy if U.S. industry must meet targets for limiting our greenhouse gas emissions when developing countries would not be similarly bound.

--    President Clinton has been clear that if we don't take the right approach to reducing emissions, it could harm our economy, but he also understands that NOT reducing greenhouse emissions will hurt our economy . There is growing evidence that the savings in energy costs and in the prevention of other environmental costs, could equal or even exceed the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The financial costs if coastal areas are inundated, damaging storms increased and agricultural conditions changed could far exceed the cost of prevention. The spread of tropical diseases into what are now temperate areas of the world could also be disastrous. If climate changes occur over a short time, ecologies could not adjust.

--    America needs to understand all the implications, all the risks, to arrive at the best approaches. That's why President Clinton is bringing together industry leaders and scientists for a full day White House conference next Monday to explore some of the possibilities.

--    What is happening in South Asia right now should be a wake-up call for those who fail to understand how environmental problems impact other aspects of economies, not only where the environmental damage occurs, but among their neighbors and in countries far away. The fires in the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo have left much of the region choking in a blanket of smoke. That smoke has filled hospitals, turned away tourists, and may threaten Malaysia's tea and rubber harvests. When the smoke clears, we will have a better understanding of whether the fires were caused by rich timber barons or poor slash and burn farmers.

--    The El Niño helped to bring on the smoke-crisis, producing serious drought conditions that made it more difficult to contain the fires, but the mistakes of human beings turned those dry conditions into a health and ecological disaster. Serious economic repercussions have also occurred in countries whose economies were already under stress. If temporary El Niño winds can precipitate this kind of regional problems, think what will happen with long-term global warming.

--     Now I want to turn inward to agriculture activities at USAID:

--    As I announced in July, we are elevating agricultural development as a major goal to be pursued in tandem with our economic growth objective. I know you have invested considerable effort in helping this Agency refocus on the links between agriculture, economic growth and food security. Thank you for your input and activism in this area.

--    Agricultural development has been a vital part of USAID from the beginning. Some of this Agency's most notable successes have been in agriculture, and I take great pride in USAID's role in worldwide agricultural development. But my commitment is not merely nostalgic. As you know even better than I, agriculture is a critical constraint in most developing nations today, and it also has the potential to be one of the driving forces that propels many faltering nations into emerging growth economies.

--     Economic growth and agricultural development will be pursued in tandem at the goal level, but the agricultural strategy will be stated separately, recognizing that the relationship between agriculture and economic growth is close but the means often are different. One of the things we will do as part of this new goal is to encourage more rapid and enhanced agricultural development and food security.

--     As Karl Schwartz probably explained to you earlier, the new elevated goal was included in our strategic plan, which we submitted to Congress this week. I want to personally thank you for all your contributions to this process.

--     To solidify this renewed emphasis we have renamed the Center which houses the Office of Agriculture and Food Security. It was the Center for Economic Growth, now it is the Center for Economic Growth and Agricultural Development.

--    I have appointed one of our finest foreign service officers, Ms. Emmy Simmons, to head this renamed Center. Emmy was also trained and served with USAID as an agricultural economist.

--    I hope to get our Assistant Administrators and their deputies more involved with agriculture so that everyone in the agency has a better understanding of agricultural issues. I understand that you have heard some disturbing numbers earlier about trends in Agency staffing and funding for Agriculture. I want you to know that this concerns me greatly. I'm especially concerned about the issue of reductions in the number and percentage of USAID's technical officers, including agricultural officers (although this is not a problem that is limited to the agricultural sector). We currently have a workforce planning group looking at these issues, and I hope that as we bring additional staff on board in the future, we will be able to improve the prospects for agricultural and other technical officers.

--    We have added Curt Reintsma in LPA, a strong and knowledgeable advocate of agriculture who is reaching out effectively to the university community, particularly the land grant colleges.

--    In the next few months, I would like for the Agency staff to hold a workshop with U.S. agribusiness, to really examine the opportunities and limits of new public/private partnerships. We need innovative people both inside and outside the Agency to come up with some new ideas about ways we can achieve our common goals within the operating restraints we face. I hope that BIFAD and members of the university community will fully participate. This would be especially useful in light of the increased interest within the university community in working with U.S. business related to trade and export markets.

--    This week USAID has been hosting an Economic Growth Training Workshop in Leesburg, attended by prominent economists, such as Jeffrey Sachs. Emmy Simmons reported to our senior staff meeting yesterday that the econometric models presented showed what most of us thought we knew all along -- economic growth DOES raise all boats -- increases in Gross Domestic Produce decrease poverty. But those models also confirmed something else WE knew, but not enough other people seem to understand -- that in countries where more than 25 percent of the economy is agricultural, agriculture MUST grow if the overall GDP is to grow.

--    I rely on BIFAD's guidance and recommendations for our foreign assistance agricultural programs. As we address areas related to personnel, partnerships, crisis prevention and strategic leadership I will look to you for even greater assistance especially by:

--    providing both stimulus and support to my staff in shaping and focussing the USAID agenda in agricultural development;

--    participating actively in the effort of forging a public policy consensus on key issues for agricultural development and food security; and

--    exerting leadership in the academic community and in relationships with the state-based groups concerned with America's role in international development -- trade, technology transfer, and finding its place in what Dick Sawyer calls the "global village."

--    How can this be done?

--    The inter-agency Working Group for Food Security which coordinated our efforts for the World Summit and follow-on activities is a successful model for inter-Agency cooperation. There are other areas of international agricultural development which call for closer collaboration with other government offices and agencies and USAID is in a position to take the lead . The expanded BIFAD board will be a helpful structure to better ensure a cohesive U.S. policy.

--    USAID's partnerships with US universities, NGOs and the business community have brought about tremendous accomplishments and provided a wealth of experience from which to learn. We must strengthen our teamwork to build on our successes and cement stronger and more environmentally sound trade and development relationships in these vital sectors. We are doing more to revitalize our relationships with the university community and the private sector. In this regard, I have approved several concrete steps to strengthen university partnerships, as Curt Reintsma reported this morning. I encourage additional recommendations from BIFAD on how these efforts can be broadened and deepened.

--    In addition to our discussion today, I will be meeting on Oct. 7th with Peter McPherson, Whitney McMillan, Ed Shuh and other Agriculture leaders to discuss practical ways we can undertake jointly to explore new partnerships and ensure that USAID will be able to maximize our contributions to agriculture and human capacity development.

--    I'd be happy to respond to questions or further discuss these issues.

This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

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