Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER) is a nonprofit and non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations and established in 1980 as a forum for encouraging dialogue on cooperative energy and agricultural development between industrialized and developing nations. AER conducts international conferences, regional seminars and workshops, trade missions and technical assistance for the formation of autonomous indigenous counterpart associations.Agri-business Council, www.agribusinesscouncil.org/aer.htm
Origins Undertaken as a conference project in mid-1979, the agri-energy concept evolved into an independent forum following a New Orleans meeting held February 7–9, 1980 which attracted business and government leaders from energy-surplus nations. The first conference benefited from the Carter Administration’s Soviet grain embargo - announced weeks earlier - which created unprecedented congestion at the Port of New Orleans. Undersecretary of Agriculture Dale E. Hathaway keynoted the event which attracted major agricultural interest,Press Release, Hill & Knowlton, “Ag Undersecretary Hathaway to Discuss Soviet Embargo Regulations at New Orleans Agri-Energy Roundtable”, January 28, 1980 including the American Farm Bureau Federation, as well as media exposure nationally. Among the corporate sponsors was the chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation- Dr. Armand Hammer.
AER was formally incorporated in March 1980 by Nicholas Everett Hollis as a non-profit association. Hollis had conceived organized and conducted the New Orleans conference. and recognized the potential for a forum. Later, AER produced a publication entitled “The Agri-Energy Roundtable 1980- U.S. Agribusiness and the Energy-Rich Nations: Partners for Agricultural Development in the ‘80s”. The document featured themes of trilateral development Hollis had championed while in the State Department as well as a compilation of papers presented at the conference Hollis also used contacts in the Mid-East to advance the AER and helped organize an Egyptian agricultural conference in Alexandria in July.
Building a multilateral forum Determined to broaden AER's international profile, Hollis mobilized European contacts and began organizing a program in Switzerland with encouragement from US Senator Jennings Randolph and Dr. Armand Hammer. These plans were also advanced in the Arab world following a speech before the General Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce on February 3 in Kuwait.
During AER's Geneva conference April 27–29 at the Intercontinental Hotel Senator Randolph presided over a gathering which included Occidental Petroleum's president A. Robert Abboud, Dr. Satmoko Soedirdjo, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Warren Lebeck, president of the Chicago Board of Trade, Edgard Pisani, European Commissioner and member of the Brandt Commission, Chief Alhaji Bamalli, a Nigerian agribusiness leader and many others.Journal of Commerce, “International Group Urges Build-up of Agriculture”, H. Peter Dreyer, April 23, 1981Tribune de Geneve, “Dialogue Entre deux forces: L’energie et l’alimentation”, April 23, 1981Tribune de Geneve, “Debut de la rencontre internationale sur les resources en energie et en alimentation,” Vyes Magat, April 27, 1981Letter Dr. Sakmoko Soedirdjo, head of office of Secretary-General, Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to AER secretariat, January 21, 1981AER Report “Geneva Conference Update- Food and Energy Development- Laying the Groundwork for Cooperation”, Summer/Fall, 1981, p.1
In July AER organized a Capitol Hill luncheon for Dr. Hammer and Senator Randolph at which more than a dozen senators participated.AER Report “Geneva Conference Update- Food and Energy Development- Laying the Groundwork for Cooperation”, Summer/Fall, 1981, p.1 Later that year AER conducted meetings for advisory committees in Washington and Geneva- and hosted a one-day conference on agricultural training with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in December.
Further progress
By spring 1982 AER was gathering recognition in the energy-surplus nations, particularly in the Middle East. The third annual AER held in Geneva May 23–26 produced a breakthrough with Saudi minister for agriculture and water Dr. A. Al-Sheikh and Senator Randolph forging a head table dialogue – and a pledge for continued cooperation on agricultural exchanges.Agri-Energy Report: Geneva Update: Third Annual Agri-Energy Roundtable, Summer/Fall 1982 Later that year AER organized a seminar of barter/counter-trade in agriculture and formed a subcommittee on these trade finance issues.
In November, AER produced a worldwide mission linked with four independent conferences in Riyadh,Middle East Economic Report, “Saudi Arabia Farms for Self Sufficiency”, June 4, 1980, p.59Saudi Gazette, “Move to Develop Saudi-US Farm Extension Services”, Randall Palmer, October 11, 1982 Singapore, Bangkok and Hawaii.AER Business Development Mission, Delegates Handbook, Nov.27-Dec. 11, 1982 The final conference was held at the Maui Intercontinental, with a keynote speech by Robert O. Anderson, chairman of Atlantic RichfieldSpeech: “How the Dollar Stole Christmas” Robert O. Anderson, chairman, Atlantic Richfield Company, presented before the Asian Pacific Regional Conference of AER, Maui, Hawaii, December 9, 1982Los Angeles Times, “Arco Chairman Warns Against Deficit Pitfalls”, Robert Rosenblatt, February 1, 1983 and AER began attracting more corporate sponsors.
In early February 1983 Senator Randolph hosted another Capitol Hill luncheon with featured speaker Robert O. Anderson discussing the overvalued dollar and its negative impact on U.S. trade to an audience in the Senate Russell building which included Paul Volcker, Federal Reserve Board chairman, Jacques d. Rosiere, head of the IMF, a number of senators and business leaders.Los Angeles Times, “Arco Chairman Warns Against Deficit Pitfalls”, Robert Rosenblatt, February 1, 1983 Later, that spring Randolph and Anderson teamed up at the fourth AER (May 23–26) to spark another program success which included representatives from the People's Republic of China (PRC) The conference was reported in the London Observer newspaper.The Observer (London) “New Food, Energy Crises Loom” Geoffrey Lean, May 29, 1983
Mission to China Falling oil and commodity prices along with unfavorable economic conditions stymied AER's membership expansion. In late fall Hollis traveled to China – visiting Beijing and Zhengzhou (Henan). After meetings and tours Hollis negotiated a memorandum of agreementMemorandum of Discussion, (Zhengzhou/Henan Scientific Exchange and Technological Exchange with Foreign Countries and N.E. Hollis, AER, Nov. 3, 1983 (Agreement document for AER Mission to PRC) with Henan authorities (November 3) which resulted in an international AER mission and workshop series in China (March 16–24, 1984).Journal of Commerce, “China to Host Global Mission, March 16–24”, January 10, 1984 The 24 member AER delegation represented six countries and was led by Gustavo de los Reyes D. president of Rio Yaracuy Ranch Venezuela (King Ranch). Follow-up PRC representation on the AER board resulted in another AER achievement –United Nations accreditation (recognition) of AER as a non-governmental organization.Agri-Energy Report, China Business Development Mission Spring 1984
Agricultural subsidies The fifth international AER annual meeting in Geneva (May 27–30) saw Senator Randolph introduce a colleague, US Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE), who challenged the international forum to press GATT for successful agricultural negotiations and a reduction of European subsidies. Years later the same issues pitting the US, Europe and the emerging nations would resurface to frustrate trade negotiations, leading to the collapse of the Doha Round (July 2008)
In June AER attended the UN World Food Council ministerial meetings at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as a non-governmental organization representing the private sector. In July AER organized a two-day seminar on agricultural technologies in partnership with the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) at Stratford-upon-Avon, July 4–6.Agri-Energy Report: “Geneva and Stratford-upon-Avon Updates”, Summer 1984Brochure “Emerging Agricultural Technologies- New Dimensions For Food Security, Stratford-upon-Avon (in cooperation with the Royal Agricultural Society of England), July 4–6, 1984 Hollis used his participation at these annual UK events to solidify high level industry support throughout the Commonwealth.
AER primary sponsors in the UKLetter, Sir Ian MacGregor, chairman National Coal Board to N.E. Hollis, AER January. 31, 1984 included Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) plc, Taylor Woodrow plc,., Paterson-Zochonis, Prudential Bache Trading, Universal Leaf Tobacco and others. Sir Ian MacGregor, chairman of the National Coal Board and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s chief industrial advisor, was instrumental in generating support for AER in the UK MacGregor had been a close Hollis ally as a founding member of the US-European Business Council at the Versailles conference of March 1972.
During this same period the subcommittee on counter-trade began meeting in London under the chairmanship of Andreas Calice of Prudential-Bache Trading in response to the recognition that debt was choking trade with much of the Third World.
West African outreach In late 1984 Hollis was invited to visit Nigeria at the inspiration of several sponsors who had hoped to organize an African regional conference in Lagos. This effort was pursued for eighteen months but was suspended when it was determined that local sponsors could not assure a conference success. The campaign did spark interest in establishing an indigenously supported counterpart Agri-Energy Roundtable/Nigeria.
Competition for public funding Shortly after retiring his Senate seat, Jennings Randolph assumed the chairmanship of AER and visited AID Administrator M. Peter McPherson to request program assistance to enable the Roundtable to develop its task force and subcommittee activities for more substantive focus in various agro-food processing, distribution, technology and finance sectors. This approach would have insured greater private sector participation as well which appealed to the Reagan Administration.Letter -Michael Deaver, Assistant to the President (Reagan) to Senator Jennings Randolph, September 26, 1984 However, just as the AID interest in the proposal seemed to gel, a reorganization at the White House undercut higher level encouragement at a critical juncture and AID's Bureau for Science and Technology (S&T) itself underwent a sharp downsizing- which effectively left AER's proposal shelved and unnoticed. It is worth noting that AID was under pressure to terminate its ongoing support for a USDA backed group called the Joint Agricultural Consultative Committee (JACC) after internal reviews cited poor performance and other issues. JACC was considered competitive with AER.
AER staff pulled out of the quicksand of AID meetings and produced a Sixth annual International Agriculture Forum in Geneva, June 2–5, 1985. Senator Randolph introduced James Ingram, executive director of the World Food Programme and presided over a gathering which featured representations from nearly forty countries. A letter from President Reagan was read to the conferees.Letter- President Ronald Reagan to AER delegates, Sixth Annual IAF, May 26, 1985 AER opened a Geneva office, staffed by Carl Bjertnes and Brooks Ford.
Participation at UN World Food Council Meetings AER fielded a small delegation to represent private enterprise at the UN World Food Council ministerial conference in Paris (June 10–13) led by Gustavo de los Reyes. AER celebrated its new status as an officially accredited non-governmental organization before the United Nations.