WASHINGTON, D.C., May 14, 2003 - The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) opposes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) naming Mr. Daniel Amstutz as Senior Ministry Advisor for Agriculture in Iraq. According to USDA, this advisory position will coordinate the reconstruction of Iraqi agriculture into "a democratic, market driven economy."

Amstutz is the President of Amstutz & Company-a Washington, D.C. based consulting practice specializing in agribusiness and international trade issues. In the private sector, Amstutz served as Assistant Vice President for Feed Grains and then as President of Cargill Investor Services. He also served the U.S. government as the USDA Undersecretary for International Affairs and Commodity Programs and Ambassador/Chief Negotiator for Agriculture during the Uruguay Round General Agreement, on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks.

"Daniel Amstutz, an ex-Cargill executive, is there to push the agribusiness agenda, not a democratic agenda," said NFFC President George Naylor. "He will excel in telling the world that his policy is good for farmers, consumers, and the environment when just the opposite is true."

Amstutz played an active role in formulating the U.S. trade and domestic agricultural policy, including the infamous Freedom to Farm Bill. Characterized by free trade agreements, elimination of federal farm price supports, increased decoupling, and tariff elimination, his policy prescriptions forced U.S. family farmers out of business over the last 25 years by the thousands.

NFFC and its member groups also fear Amstutz will dump cheap U.S. grain on a potentially lucrative Iraqi market at precisely a time when Iraqi grain farmers struggle desperately to survive. "At the same time Amstutz is telling Iraqi farmers how his plan is so wonderful, he has been telling U.S. farmers that they will profit from 'more exports' to Iraq --- talking out of both sides of his mouth," Naylor stated.

Even if there will be more exports to Iraq, this tactic will not help U.S. farmers. "Amstutz perpetuates the 'more exports' lie because his agribusiness cohorts are encouraging over production all over the world, thus being able to sell more GMO seed and chemicals and buying ever-cheaper farm commodities," Naylor continued. "Someone should warn the Iraqi people that other third world countries can already attest that the 'dependence' Amstutz will create surely means that Iraq's sovereignty will be greatly compromised."

Naylor suggested that before Amstutz is allowed to implement a corporate self-serving agricultural policy on the war torn country that the following questions need to be addressed by the Iraqi farmers, Iraqi consumers, the United Nations, and the world community:

* Will food produced in Iraq really be accessible to Iraqi people or will it just get shipped out to other people with lots of bucks?

* Will Iraqi farmers have to go in debt with an uncertain future of ability to pay it off since Amstutz's free trade policy will mean that cheap imports could make crop prices in Iraq very undependable?

* Will average farmers have access to credit and markets or will just a few people get to set up mega-farms connected to big agribusiness and who would be quite willing to exploit cheap hired labor?

* How much corporate concentration will there be in distribution, processing, and marketing?

* Will Iraqi farmers become dependent on U.S. corporations for technological inputs like GMO crops, which would require buying imported herbicides and prevent them from saving seed from one year to the next?

The National Family Farm Coalition urges that the role of family farm agriculture be taken seriously by all citizens and decision makers around the world as the foundation of democratic society and an abundant, safe food supply.