The Council appointed an ad hoc committee on Long Term Problems consisting of the representatives of Australia, Chile, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, India, the Netherlands, the Union of South Africa and the United States. This Committee was asked to consider the functions of the Council and of FAO in relation to the long range objectives of FAO and to consider the terms of reference of a committee to study long term production problems. The Council adopted the following report which was presented by this Committee at the final meeting held on 11 November.
1. The Council took the view that FAO should play an active and continuing role at each and every stage in the production programs of the member nations, during the stages of
Drawing up the plans,
Coordinating the plans at a global level; and
Consulting other international organizations and Member Nations with a view to making available the supplies and services necessary for carrying out national production plans, and advising on any necessary adjustments.
2. It was agreed that the Council of FAO should take urgent steps to achieve the long-range objectives set forth at the Hot Springs Conference and in the three sessions of the Conference of FAO and in particular those defined by the Second Session of the following terms:
"(a) developing and organizing production, distribution and utilization of the basic foods to provide diets on a health standard for the peoples of all countries;
“(b) stabilizing agricultural prices at levels fair to producers and consumers alike”.
3. The steps primarily necessary for the achievement of these objectives are divisible into
preparation of national plans of production,
analysis and examination of these plans by reference to their feasibility and to FAO's general objectives,
measures necessary to help in the achievement of the production targets,
measures (beyond the temporary period of allocations) which may be agreed upon to facilitate the distribution and best utilization of food supplies.
4. The preparation of national production and distribution plans by Member Nations is a prerequisite to the development and organization of improved supplies. Each country should frame its own targets of production and the means of achieving them, subject to the relevant Hot Springs and FAO principles and objectives and in line with Resolution 65 of Commission II of the Third Session of the FAO Conference. Such plans should also embody indications of requirements in men, money and materials
available in the country,
needed from outside the country, or
available for export.
The Council should take steps to provide assistance which may be desired by Member Nations in the preparation of such national plans. This should be one of the main and early functions of the Regional Offices as soon as they are established. The Council notes that the Secretariat has already inquired of certain Member Governments as to their progress in establishing national production and distribution plans, and recommends that such inquiries be addressed to other Member Governments, asking also what help would be most useful to them in framing such plans. The Council would then consider all such requests for help in the light of its ability to offer practical advice and assistance.
5. Having received the individual production plans of the Member countries, the Council of FAO should proceed to analyze them with the following objectives in mind:
presenting to the Annual Conference the world picture of nutrition, production and trade which emerges, and
taking further action thereafter between Conferences in the following lines:
to make recommendations for increasing agricultural production where required and looking toward adjusting supplies and requirements beyond the temporary period of allocations;
to consult with Member Nations with regard to production and foreign trade in fertilizers, farm machinery or other necessities of agricultural production;
to consult where appropriate with agricultural commodity councils and study groups, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the International Trade Organization when formed, and any other agencies concerned with aspects of these various questions; and
to take any other action necessary within the authority of the Council on measures which might assist the coordination of national programs in food and agriculture.
6. The effective execution of these lines of work will be facilitated by the creation of a Policy Committee on Production and Distribution. Such a Committee should be formed immediately. Its terms of reference should be those set forth in No. 5 above. It should meet as often as necessary, and in any case just before each meeting of the Council. The Committee should be fully representative of all the regions of the world, as well as of surplus (exporting) and deficit (importing) interests. To this end it should be composed of the representatives of eight member nations.
In accordance with the recommendation in Paragraph 6 above the Council appointed a Policy Committee on Production and Distribution composed of eight member nations - Australia, Cuba, Egypt, France, India, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
