El PRESIDENTE: Se abre la tercera reunión de la Comisión I, que trata en estos momentos del tema relativo a la situación agrícola y alimentaria del mundo.
He de advertir a los Sres. Delegados que esta Comisión, en principio, continuará con sus trabajos a lo largo de toda la mañana. Por otra parte, he de avisar a aquellos delegados o funcionarios que vayan a asistir a la Audiencia Papal que deberán portar en cualquier caso el pase especial que el Vaticano proporcionó a tal efecto. Si por alguna razón no lo portaren, podrá ser, hasta donde sabemos, imposible poder entrar a dicha Audiencia.
En este momento contamos con una lista todavía larga de oradores, que me voy a permitir leer:
Sri Lanka, Reino Unido, Arabia Saudita, Noruega, Panamá, Nigeria, Pakistán, Grecia, Dinamarca, Sudán, Canadá e Israel.
Tiene la palabra la Delegación de Sri Lanka.
N.V.K. WERAGODA (Sri Lanka): First of all I must take this opportunity on behalf of the Sri Lanka delegation to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of this Commission. I am sure under your chairmanship we should be able to conduct our deliberation in a very useful and time-saving manner. I also take this opportunity to congratulate the two Vice-Chairmen on their election, and to thank the Secretariat for the excellent documents that they have provided to us at this meeting on the important subject of the world food and agriculture situation.
Mr Chairman, we are all aware, and this document C 83/2 also highlights the problem of hunger and malnutrition faced by millions the world over. I do not want to get into a detailed discussion on this document but I will read one sentence which to my mind reflects on the achievements by the world community in tackling this problem. It reads, and I quote "There has hardly been any notable achievement in the battle against hunger and malnutrition during the last two years particularly in the low-income food-deficit countries".
Mr Chairman, we are gathered here to review this position and seek appropriate remedial measures. The causes of the situation are many and varied but they can be broadly categorized into two groups. The first is natural causes and the second is man-made causes. Natural causes, like floods, earthquakes and drought seriously endanger the food supply situation. Similarly, man-made causes like internal and international strife also play a devastating effect on the food supply situation. It was just yesterday that His Excellency the President of Sudan referred to the grave danger of desertification at the rate of 4 to 5 kilometers a year in the sub-Saharan Africa. These are matters which should be drawn to the attention of the entire world community though the calamity is confined to one region of the globe.
Yet another problem is the lack of resources of the poorer nations for food requirements, either due to worsening terms of trade or due to sheer drop in productivity of exports. Some developing countries are facing serious problems in the procurement of food requirement.
Mr Chairman, let me refer to a few of our experiences in Sri Lanka. Agricultural production in Sri Lanka is in the hands of the small farmer. We have about 1.6 million small farmers. The interests of these producers have been safeguarded by providing subsidized inputs like fertilizer, and improved seed materials and also by ensuring a guaranteed price for the farm produce. Massive investments have also been made in providing irrigation facilities and also in providing adequate training to farmers in water management and timely cultivation. Timely cultivation, Mr Chairman, is very important for us since we are dependent on the monsoon for our rain. We have also brought in institutional changes at village level to emphasize on farmer participation in the programming and implementation of agricultural development activities.
Mr Chairman, all these attemps I am happy to say brought in very satisfactory results during the last six years. We had a 46 percent annual improvement in agriculture as compared to a population increase of 1.7 percent per annum. If we are fortunate to maintain this trend, we shall be self-reliant in our food requirements in the very near future.
Mr Chairman, I must also mention that we have been concerned about the environment while concentrating on opening up land for food production. We in the tropics have to take serious note of this fact. With this in view, research and also propagation of the idea of zero tillage or what is called conservation farming has been undertaken. I am happy to say that we have had very good results in this area of work. Besides, we are further exploring other areas to improve our techniques of production whilst being in harmony with the environment. Mr Chairman, I think this is an important idea to be kept in mind in our attempts at food production lest with our anxiety in increasing food production we endanger the very basis of our existence.
M.C. WENNER (United Kingdom): On behalf of the UK delegation, Mr Chairman, I would like to congratulate both you and your Vice-Chairmen on your election to lead the deliberations of this Commission. I would also like to thank the Secretariat for a very succinct paper which covers many extremely complex issues in a very direct fashion. I think it is a tribute to the Secretariat that they have managed to compress many issues into such a usefully short paper.
Mr Chairman, there are not many comments we would like to make, just a few. While recognizing that there are some signs of improvements in the world economy, the general tone, we feel, of the Secretariat's paper is one of disappointment, even depression, that more progress in improving the world food and agricultural situation has not been made.
We can certainly see no room for complacency or a reduction in effort, but we do feel that the Secretariat has presented a very despondent view which perhaps, does not bring out a number of positive developments in recent years. For example, global food production has increased to the point now where world cereal stocks are well above the estimated minimum safe level. Also, although it is true that commodity prices have recently been generally low and have caused the export earnings of developed countries to suffer, the same low prices have been of benefit to food importing countries. Furthermore, considerable efforts have been made by the international community to improve agricultural trading relations. We share the Secretariat's disappointment that an integrated programme for commodities has not made as much progress as was hoped, particularly in the efforts to agree a new International Grain Agreement. However, we were most encouraged that at the GATT ministerial meeting in November 1982 a sub-committee on agricultural trade was set up to consider specifically problems in agricultural trade facing the world today. We, in the UK, look forward very much to hearing the results of this committee's deliberations.
The Secretariat's paper has not, quite rightly, dwelt on the problems facing the developed countries' economies but whilst this is not the place to examine them, their effects cannot be ignored or underestimated. Nevertheless in the context of world economy there are signs now that demand is slowly beginning to pick up which must be to the benefit of all countries. This brings me, Mr Chairman, to my second general point: paragraph 4 of the Secretariat's paper stresses the importance of interdependence between developed and developing countries. Just as the recognition of interdependence is vital in trading terms so is the message of interdependence and shared responsibility in developing and maintaining an adequate level of food and agricultural production. Developed countries must play their part in placing at the disposal of developing countries their experience and expertise, but at the same time, the developing countries themselves must ensure that maximum use is made of these resources through the development of national policies to encourage food and agricultural production. All too often, the good intentions of external development assistance are negated or frustrated by domestic policies. We are therefore most encouraged by messages such as contained in paragraph 43 of the paper.
I said earlier that there was no room for complacency or reduction of effort. This is particularly true of Africa, whose problems are highlighted in the paper. Here we agree with the Secretariat that the outlook is bleak and that there have been few signs of improvement. The Secretariat'S comment on the parlous state of food and agriculture in Africa are sobering particularly when the salient statements throughout the Report are drawn together. These include a long-term decline of per caput food output, the need for food security emergency measures in 18 African countries and the need for accelerated cereal imports. Mr Chairman, we have additional, more detailed important comments to make on the particularly serious position in Africa, which we will hand to the Secretariat. May I say at this stage that as was stated in paragraph 196 of the paper, the need for a technological breakthrough in African agriculture is overwhelming. Such breakthroughs are of course always desirable but unlikely in the foreseeable future. Surely what is required first is an improvement in management efficiency to capitalize on the potential benefits of technology and improved management efficiency is required through the agricultural sector at all levels to utilize the resources already available.
At the technical level world wide, Mr Chairman, we are particularly concerned about the rapid destruction by man of the means of production through deforestation, desertification, salinization, water-logging, erosion and marine pollution. These are briefly mentioned in paragraph 13 but they will shortly have a more profound effect than certain economic factors. Serious as this may be, the statement is one of realism, and credit must be given to FAO for drawing these factors to our attention. Even the positive elements mentioned in the paper give cause for concern. For example, the food gains of developing countries have been based ultimately on unsustainable high input agriculture.
Finally, the benefits of increases in agricultural production or improvements in food storage or distribution are often overtaken by the adverse results of population growth. It is essential that governments be encouraged to consider this issue in conjunction with food and agricultural problems.
I would like to repeat that we will be handing a list of detailed comments to the Secretariat.
* In Section 1: Overall Assessment (paragraphs 1 - 13) it becomes evident (especially from paragraph 8) that financial difficulties (critical shortage of foreign exchange) have led to reduced use of agricultural inputs in many developing nations. A number of donors have sought to alleviate the worst effects through programme aid to the agricultural sector in a number of countries (Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, to mention a few).
Tucked away in paragraph 13 is the only reference in the whole paper to the ever present long term problem of soil erosion. The topic is, however, covered in the Reviews of the Field Programme (C 83/4) and the Regular Programme (C 83/8), and does have a critical bearing on the future State of Food and Agriculture. In Current Situation (paragraphs 14 - 78) the section of Food Availability (paragraphs 14 - 23), especially with reference to the drought in Southern Africa, is rightly given special mention (paragraph 18). Of 26 countries reporting food shortages, 16 are in Africa, thus highlighting the major problem area as sub-Saharan Africa. During the past 15 years per caput food production in Africa has declined (paragraph 25). Not surprising in view of the rate of increase in population in many countries exceeding the rate of increase in food production.
Under Pests and Diseases (paragraphs 36 - 38) it should perhaps be noted that the Greater Grain Borer Prosteplanus truncatus (the Scania beetle) has now crossed the border from Tanzania, where it arrived in the late 1970s, into Kenya.
The call (paragraph 38) to build up national capacities to monitor and avert pests and pestilences before they become epidemic is endorsed and there are lessons to be learnt in this from the current rinderpest outbreak, which is commented on under Livestock.
From Fertilisers (paragraphs 39 - 42) it is noted (paragraph 40) how weakened commodity prices have reduced the profitability of using fertilisers. FAO's expertise in fertiliser programmes is second to none and there is a clear need for their assistance to devise regional and national strategies of fertiliser use that will direct attention to those crops, soils and areas where technical, logistic and economic forces enable the maximum benefit from fertiliser use to be realised.
Producer Prices (paragraphs 43 - 45) are acknowledged to be crucial in providing production incentives. The Director-General announced in 1982 that he had launched a comprehensive study of agricultural price policies that will not be finalised until Conference 1985. This is far too protracted a timetable for such an important topic.
Under Public Expenditure and Agriculture (paragraph 62) the move by FAO to monitor resource flows to agriculture is most welcome.
Statement inserted in the verbatim records on request.
Fisheries (paragraphs 66 - 72)
With essentially static fish catches and ever increasing costs of fuel, priority must be given to actions designed to increase, or at least maintain the profitability of, catching and marketing fish whilst maintaining high employment namely:
a. reduce catching costs by maximising the use of sail, using smaller engines, and by testing the efficacy of fish aggregating services;
b. Pay greater attention to the catch, ensuring there is no waste by insisting on good handling practice and by introducing schemes to utilise all the catch and product development will be an increasingly important element in this.
There is nothing new in these ideas as they have been put to this forum for the last 10 - 15 years,but there are now indications that FAO is really paying attention, as shown by the most recentCOFI papers for the World Conference referred to at paragraph 72 , and attended by fisheries specialists from all over the world.
Forestry (paragraphs 73 - 78)
Whereas other documents (C 83/3; C 83/4; C 83/8) show awareness of the over-riding importance of fuelwood famine, social forestry programmes, etc, this document (paragraphs 73 - 78) concentrates almost entirely on industrial forestry and the viewpoint of developed countries. This seems the wrong way round as, although such a comment would come better from a developing country, more attention must consequently be paid to the immediate concerns of the Forestry sectors of developing countries.
Livestock issues (comments for inclusion in debate)
One specific point related to the livestock sector is included in the section of the document headed Current Situation (paragraphs 14 - 78). This is the current rinderpest epidemic in Africa (paragraph 36). In addition, the sections on the effect of producer prices on production (paragraphs 43 - 45) and on Food Aid (paragraphs 58 - 60) which, surprisingly, omit to mention livestock products, cannot be allowed to pass without comment.
The rinderpest epidemic in Africa is an indicator of the degree to deterioration in livestock services which has taken place in many African countries over the past decade. Development assistance for rinderpest control in Africa should be offered as part of a programme to strengthen veterinary and livestock services, with special reference to field services. In addition to this emphasis on strengthening livestock field services, there is a need to improve diagnostic and vaccine production facilities. Development assistance is not, however, the long term answer. In the longer term, there is a need to convince governments of the importance of the livestock sector, thus helping to ensure that adequate budgets are allocated to livestock services.
In the section on pricing policy (paragraphs 154 - 156) and other sections of C 83/2, livestock is not mentioned, although this sector is as susceptible (or even more so) to market prices as the crop sector. Why should animals on the hoof be sold if prices are not realistic? The majority of livestock are kept by farmers practising mixed farming systems involving crops and livestock. Livestock sales or sales of livestock products (e.g.milk) are a rapid means of generating cash which can be available to improve crop production from, for example, the purchase of fertilisers, among other inputs.
The section in document C 83/2 on Food Aid (paragraphs 58 - 60) surprisingly does not consider dairy products. In some instances, food aid in the form of skimmed milk powder and butter oil has been used by recipient countries to develop a dairy processing infrastructure. However, there is a serious danger that food aid of this type will hinder the development of a dairy industry in the recipient country. As has already been mentioned, milk sales are one way in which the small farmers can generate cash income and, as such, should be encouraged.
Some Regional Issues (paragraphs 79 - 122)
1 Far East
A reduction in the rates of production growth on a per capita output basis are inevitable in stable production systems where land resources are fully utilised and population is increasing.
A "new generation of breakthrough" is unlikely to give the incremental production jumps experienced during the green revolution. Some increases in production are being realised by the utilisation of unsuitable or marginal hill land and the long term degradation likely to arise from this activity should be closely monitored.
In addition to the issues raised by paragraph 86 there are indications that in a number of countries of the region the introduction of improved agro-chemicals is being held up by extremely slow and outdated testing procedures. FAO should advise on this.
The importance of maintaining close surveillance of the deceleration of the growth in foodproduction (paragraph 89) is recognised although it is not clear from this document what percentage of total world production comes from the Far East region to offset the heavy population density.
2 Latin America (paragraphs 92 - 102)
The account on Latin America recognises the economic problems in many countries, more especially the burden of foreign debts. Although better harvests in the region are recorded for 1982 the position of the small scale farming sector remains critical.
3 Near East and North Africa (paragraphs 103 - 111)
The alarming rise in sub-regional food deficits (paragraph 103) is becoming unsustainable and pricing policies and producer incentives do not seem to have had the intended effect. This is a particularly worrying issue since pricing policy adjustments are frequently chosen as key solutions by donors.
Note should be taken of the marked increase in capital intensive investments being made by the oil-exporting countries (paragraph 105) set against the need for labour intensive developments in non-oil-exporting countries of the region (paragraph 108). The tentative efforts at interregional cooperation (paragraph 109) are positive steps in the right direction even though only of recent date.
It is surprising to learn that the lack of bankable projects in non-oil-exporting countries is a constraint (paragraph 105) when there are tremendous needs in the whole area for improvement to irrigation systems, rehabilitation of saline and waterlogged areas and for afforestation and range improvements.
The Food and Agricultural Situation in sub-Saharan Africa (paragraphs 123 - 196)
This is the biggest section of the report as it rightly focuses on the problems of the most critically affected region. No mention is made, however, of the Pisani initiative covering Mali, Kenya, Zambia and Burundi. This is a major EEC initiative and the success or otherwise and the benefits from such a programme need to be known. Especially so if the schemes are worthy of support elsewhere.
Conclusions (paragraph 196)
Conclusion number two (paragraph 196) suggests that the need for a technological breakthrough in African agriculture is overwhelming. Such breakthroughs are, of course, always desirable but unlikely in the foreseeable future. Surely what is required first is an improvement in management efficiency to capitalise on the potential benefits of technology. An improvement in management efficiency is required throughout the Agricultural Sector, at all levels, to utilise the considerable resources already available. The particular improvements required are:
1. Farm Management
2. Management of extension services
3. Management of research and the interrelation between research-and extension
4. Marketing arrangements
5. National Pricing policies.
No doubt others will be added to this list.
M. M. AL-HAMOUD (Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of) (original language Arabic): Allow me at the outset to congratulate you Mr Chairman on your election as Chairman of this Commission and to wish you Godspeed in your work.
I would also like to thank the Secretariat and Dr Islam for the able manner in which he introduced the document. As the list of speakers is a very long one today, I shall be very brief in my statement.
Document C 83/2 has pointed out in its introduction that there are encouraging signs indicating that the economic stagnation has started to recede. International trade, on the other hand, has not shown any signs of improvement; neither have protectionist measures been reduced. The document also states that many countries are suffering from serious balance of payments problems, that interest rates remain high and that inflation is still a matter of concern.
Document C 83/2-Sup.1 in paragraph 18 points out that the number of countries suffering unusual shortages of food has reached 33 countries by September 1983. Most of these countries are from Africa.
The document also pointed out that a large amount of international support is required to provide additional aid in the form of food needed by the most seriously affected countries and to help them improve their agricultural infrastructure in livestock and agriculture sectors.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's sense of responsibility and its dual membership of the developing world and the international community prompted it to urge its fellow developing and developed countries to exert a greater effort in providing more resources for the development of the agricultural sector and for increased food output. These countries are also called upon to reform the present terms of trade in a manner that would achieve justice and benefit for all and which would create the appropriate environment for solving the problems of poverty and hunger for more than 800 million human beings. My country's delegation calls on the international community, especially developed countries, to endeavour to uphold those international organizations and institutions operating in the field of economic and social development and to seek to establish the basis of food security in the world.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's awareness of the serious nature of this problem and of its responsibilities towards the international community has led it to consistently provide aid through the channels of specialized organizations and technical agencies as well as through international financing institutions. Our participation the year before last has exceeded 7 per cent of Saudi Arabia's national income. This Committee is a technical one. We are currently discussing the state of food and agriculture in the world. However, as the agricultural adjustment adopted by the Organization has not yet yielded results, we think that every country should try to achieve self-development in its agricultural sector in order to reach the goal of food security. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has dedicated a great deal of attention to the agricultural sector, and results have been highly satisfactory. Over the past ten years despite a lack of adequate agricultural and water resources, we have recorded a growth rate of more than 5 percent in the agricultural sector. We have almost reached self-sufficiency in most basic food commodities in my country.
P.H. GRUE (Norway): On behalf of the Norwegian delegation, I want to stress some long-term perspectives connected to the actual State of Food and Agriculture. In the International Development Strategy for the UN Third Development Decade adopted in 1980, great importance was given to food production and nutrition. It was emphasized that agriculture and rural development must be given high priority in the coming decades. I would like to point out that only through increased agricultural production and improved utilization of fish resources can developing countries achieve a satisfactory degree of national and local self-sufficiency in food as well as improved nutritional standards.
In other international fora there is also consensus on the importance of giving priority to agriculture, forestry and fisheries, both for each individual country and for the international community.
We consider the agricultural sector to be important not only for improving the degrees of self-sufficiency and the nutritional standards but also for general economic development. The majority of the people in the developing countries live in rural areas. Generally, these people are connected with agriculture. If income and production for these groups are improved through higher producer prices, this will in turn create increased demand for goods and services. This means that other sectors in the economy are given the opportunity to expand and thus provide job opportunities for more people.
Because of the significance of agriculture for the economy of developing countries, Norway considers it important to carry out a sound, effective and goal-oriented development policy. To reach this, it is necessary to have a long-term planning perspective showing the connection between objectives and means available. Through the study "To 2000", FAO has made a valuable analysis of the need and consequences of increased global agricultural production.
It is important that this work be continued and given higher priority in the future. We are of the opinion that the analysis should be expanded from a sector study to a study comprising several sectors and the economy as a whole, thus providing a basis for assessing the interrelationships^ and relative importance of the various sectors of the economy. The international economic crisis makes it imperative to give priority to questions of agricultural policies in the context of general economic development by UN agencies and governments alike. We think that such a broadened scope for these endeavours should therefore be of interest to other UN agencies such as UNIDO, ILO, etc.
In this connection, the Norwegian delegation especially wants to welcome the initiative taken by the African countries in the Lagos Plan of Action. This Plan represents a most valuable statement with a long-term perspective focusing on the importance of agriculture. The Norwegian authorities are furthermore particularly satisfied with the initiative headed by FAO to strengthen its activities with regard to analytical studies on the effect of pricing policies on increased food production. A very important prerequisite in this respect, together with the more technical aspects of the production process for increased food production, is that the farmers are given the necessary incentives for increased production. For example, this may be done by higher and stable producer prices as well as by improved marketing systems. At the same time, due regard must be paid to the possibilities for low-income groups to buy food.
The Norwegian delegation considers the initiative taken by FAO to be a step in the right direction and hopes that further increased priority to economic and agricultural policy aspects will be given.
A. ACUÑA HUMPHRIES (Panama): A la delegación de Panama le satisface profundamente que sea usted, señor José Ramón López-Portillo, el Presidente de esta Comisión y que como tal este dirigiendo estos debates. Y nos complace profundamente porque en el tiempo que lleva como representante permanente de México ante la FAO, ha dado muestras de una gran capacidad y dinamismo. Como en otras oportunidades esta Comisión analiza el estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación y hemos podido contar con la orientadora presentación e introducción al tema por parte del Profesor Islam.
Por las limitaciones lógicas de tiempo, que nos supone el debate, conviene tratar los aspectos, que a nuestro juicio, son más relevantes.
Con relación al panorama económico general subrayamos lo expresado en el párrafo 2 del documento cuando sostiene que "se tiende más a destinar los fondos que se pueden encontrar y a las armas militares que a nuevas empresas o a prestar ayuda internacional".
Concedemos especial importancia a lo señalado sobre las preocupaciones inmediatas y a largo plazo, que establecen tres elementos intermezclados a los que se tiene que prestar gran atención para mejorar tanto la productividad agraria, la seguridad alimentaria y los ingresos rurales, de manera que se apoyen mutuamente e identifica estos tres elementos como el crecimiento económico no inflacionario, el estímulo del comercio, así como el mezclar eficazmente los recursos financieros nacionales e internacionales. Pero hay no sólo que prestar gran atención, como señala el documento, sino que avanzar mediante diversos mecanismos en la aplicación de estos elementos en forma concreta. Sobre estos mecanismos, contamos a la fecha con mumerosas propuestas que hemos discutido ampliamente en distintas oportunidades en la FAO, que van desde directrices y orientaciones a la determinación de elementos para la concertación de convenios internacionales sobre productos básicos.
Por otro lado y debido a debates que se han dado durante estos últimos años en distintos grupos intergubernamentales, así como en los Comités más importantes y en el Consejo de esta Organización, sobre el problema de la alarmante contracción de los precios mundiales de exportación de alimentos y materias primas agrícolas, y la consecuente tendencia descendente de las relaciones de intercambio, es que apoyamos la realización de estudios analíticos sobre políticas de precios a nivel regional para que sea amplia y profundamente debatido en próximas Conferencias Regionales de la FAO. De estas discusiones estamos seguros que saldrán acciones que aceleren las soluciones que la comunidad internacional debe encontrar a estos problemas y que deberá, entre otras cosas, cambiar o invertir la tendencia consistente en disminuir la asistencia oficial al desarrollo, lo cual está muy por debajo del objetivo del 0,7 por ciento del PIB anual de los países oferentes y fijada por la estrategia internacional para el desarrollo. A esto se viene a agregar la nunca justificada disminución de la ayuda multilateral que se estima disminuyó en 1982 en un 4 por ciento.
Sobre el otro aspecto reguardante a la aportación de recursos a la agricultura como lo es el de la ayuda alimentaria, apoyamos la estimación a que llegó el Comité de Políticas y Programas de Ayuda Alimentaria del Programa Mundial de Alimentos, en el sentido de que 20 millones de toneladas para alimentos para ayuda constituía una indicación útil de las necesidades de cereales para apoyar la balanza de pagos, los proyectos de ayuda alimentaria y atender los pasos de urgencia.
En relación a la parte del documento que trata sobre algunos problemas regionales nos ha parecido positivo tomar para cada region un solo tema principal, esto es debido a que la mayor parte del documento alude -como fue acordado- a la situación específica de Africa. Creemos que la discusión sobre temas regionales específicos permite concentrar más los enfoques y debates. Así tenemos que sobre el comercio internacional de productos agrícolas en América Latina y el Caribe (párrafos del 92 al 102) se destacan hechos como el de que esta región, tradicionalmente exportadora neta de productos agrícolas, ha visto sus importaciones agrícolas aumentar más rápidamente que las exportaciones durante los años 70; y que la relación entre estas exportaciones e importaciones disminuyó de 118 por ciento en 1961-71 a 115 por ciento en 1974-76 y desde entonces se ha estabilizado.
Se destacaba en la parte del documento sobre el comercio internacional de productos agrícolas en América Latina y el Caribe, y nosotros insistimos en ello, que el efecto negativo de esta situación está estrechamente relacionado con las corporaciones transaccionales en el comercio de los productos agrícolas y alimentarios.
Igualmente señala el documento en la parte relativa a América Latina y el Caribe, el hecho de que mientras las exportaciones agrícolas estuvieron casi estancadas entre 1970 y 1975, las importaciones aumentaron a razón del 9 por ciento anual durante los años 70. Así como han persistido aspectos estructurales desfavorables del comercio exterior como el de la concentración de este comercio en unos pocos mercados.
Otros aspectos relevantes de esta parte del informe son los insatisfactorios resultados del comercio intrarregional que en 1981 correspondió solamente al 10 por ciento de todo el comercio agrícola, apenas un poco mayor que hace 20 años, así como la alarmante disminución de los precios de exportación de productos importantes para la región tales como el azúcar (44 por ciento), cacao (20 por ciento), café (19 por ciento), maíz (14 por ciento) y carne (11 por ciento).
Con relación al comercio de los productos agrícolas en nuestra región, Sr. Presidente, merece consideración especial lo señalado en el párrafo 101, en el sentido que es incierto en varios países el grado en el que la vitalidad renovada de los mercados agrícolas del futuro puedan ir acompañados de mejoras correspondientes en la vida de los campesinos. Este aspecto debe ser tomado muy en cuenta en nuestros países en la determinación de estrategias, políticas, planes y programas nacionales.
K.B. DAVID-WEST (Nigeria): Mr Chairman, it is my honour and privilege to congratulate you on
your election as Chairman of this Commission, It is my sincere hope that under your able leadership
the deliberations of this Commission will be successful.
It is a matter of regret that in this debate the problem of hunger and malnutrition is still as grave as it was several years ago. I do not wish to dwell on the reasons for this, as delegates are quite familiar with the subject, but the failure of our past efforts points to the need to review policies, strategies and programmes, both at national and international levels.
In Nigeria since 1979 the Federal Government has committed itself to a programme of self-sufficiency in food within this decade. The public sector expenditure allocation to agriculture has been increased accordingly to 15 percent to provide infrastructure facilities, increase input delivery, improve extension services and support other incentive programmes. These efforts have resulted in increased grain, fish and livestock production.
We are grateful for the assistance and support we have received from international organizations like the World Bank, FAO, etc., organizations which have financed a number of agricultural programmes in Nigeria.
Mr Chairman, we cannot conclude this discussion without drawing particular attention to diseases of animals and crops, drought, desertification, and erosion. In 1983 rinderpest caused the mortality of over half a million heads of cattle in Nigeria and deprived thousands of cattle farmers of their means of livelihood. It requires substantial manpower and material inputs to control about 350 sites of infection scattered all over the country and also to rehabilitate badly affected farmers. The numerous references to rinderpest in the FAO paper on The State of Food and Agriculture 1983 is well appreciated, and the Nigerian delegation supports the appeal to international efforts to control this devastating disease. It is my sincere hope that there will be favourable reponses from the international community to start a continental action programme now.
Other diseases like trypanosomiasis and tick-borne diseases still constitute major constraints to livestock development.
The Lagos Plan of Action is a very concise document. We appeal to all African countries to make genuine efforts to implement the Programme. We also appeal for international support, which is necessary in order for us to realize the goals of the Lagos Plan of Action.
Mr Chairman, we must rededicate ourselves once again to tackling the problems of hunger and malnutritiono.
A.M. QURESHI (Pakistan): First of all, our delegation would like to congratulate you, Mr Chairman, on your election to the office of Chairman of this Commission. It is our confident hope that you will guide our discussions in an able and constructive manner. We would also profit from this opportunity to felicitate the distinguished delegates from Australia and Egypt on their election as Vice-Chairmen of this Commission.
We have been greatly impressed by the brief and succinct presentation of the global food situation by Professor Islam.
We would also wish to commend the Director-General for the document C 83/2 and C 83/2 Sup..1 which are a graphic and comprehensive appraisal of the state of food and agriculture in the world.
Several distinguished speakers who have preceded us have dwelt at length on the deteriorating world food situation. Therefore we would confine ourselves to a brief analysis of the current world situation in the background of efforts that my country has made in augmenting its agricultural and food production. We have carefully studied the documents presented to the Commission, and observe that grain crops were excellent during the last two years. They recorded a gain of 100 million tonnes in 1981, and increased by another 40 million tonnes in 1982, but geographically the increases were unevenly distributed. The share of developing countries in the increase was extremely modest and hardly adequate to keep pace with the population growth rate. Consequently, their dependence on food imports increased substantially in an environment where their purchasing power decreased greatly.
During 1983 as a result of a 13 percent drop in coarse grains, it is estimated that world cereal production will drop to 1605 million tonnes, 6 percent less as compared to 1982. It is feared that world cereal stocks, equivalent to 21 percent of annual consumption in 1982, could fall to 17 percent, which will be all right for one year, but beyond 1984 the situation will have to be carefully watched from the point of view of the stability of world food security.
The situation on the African continent is undoubtedly alarming, where in at least 22 countries severe drought has brought about a situation near to disaster. We commend the initiatives being taken by the Director-General to mobilise world support for the cause of our African brothers. The plight of low income food deficit countries is generally a cause of grave concern to us all. Shrinking markets, high interest rates, deteriorating terms of trade, protectionist barriers, mounting debts, and balance of payments problems have compromised their ability to buy basic foods for their needs. This is indeed a very sorry state of affairs which can be remedied only by creative foresight, as was mentioned by Professor Islam in his speech yesterday.
Therefore, my delegation is of the view that an increased flow of external assistance to the developing countries and accessibility to world markets will certainly help them out of the woods.
My delegation joins the other distinguished delegates to urge the affluent nations to help replenish the resources of IFAD and IDA so as to augment the flow of development assistance to the starving agriculture of the food deficit countries. We appreciate that the basic responsibility for the resolution of the problem of hunger devolves on the shoulders of the'developing countries themselves, but in order that they may develop as soon as possible their potential in land and water, their national need will have to be augmented by external financial and technical assistance.
In Pakistan we attach high priority to the development of food and agriculture. About 33 percent of the development programme is devoted to agriculture, water, and rural development projects. Overall foods grains production in Pakistan increased by 26 percent, from 12.86 million tonnes in 1977/78 to 17.44 million tonnes in 1982/83. Wheat, which is our staple diet, increased from 8.37 million tonnes five years ago to 12.39 million tonnes in 1982/83. After buildingup reserves of 1.6 million tonnes for national food security, we are in a position to export wheat to the extent of 500,000 tonnes. Similarly, rice production perked up from 2.95 million tonnes in 1977/78 to 3.45 million tonnes in 1982/83. Pakistan has emerged as the third largest exporter of rice in the world. Amongst coarse grains, the production of maize has increased to 1 million tonnes in 1982/83 as against a figure of 0.8 million tonnes in 1977/78. On account of icreased sugar cane production during the past few years, 1.3 million tonnes of sugar was produced in 1982/83, against a domestic consumption of 0,85 million tonnes. As a result, sugar is not only freely available on the open market, but we have started to export this commodity. In 1982/83, cotton production increased from 4.39 million bales in 1981/82 to 4.84 million bales in 1982/1983. Export earnings from this commodity rose by 35.4 percent in 1982/83. All this has been made possible by bold economic, technological and institutional measures adopted during the past five years. The economic measures include, inter alia, rational pricing policies. In Pakistan, pricing policy is presently used as an important instrument for achieving agricultural development. One of the most important objectives in determining support prices is the provision of incentives to growers for increased production. The Agricultural Prices Committee keeps the support prices for major crops under constant review and the Government announces them in advance of the respective sowing seasons to enable the farmers to plan their sowing programmes. The Government also ensures that the price reaches the farmer.
Apart from all this, an elaborate national agricultural research system has been created so that the results of our research and knowledge are transferred to the farmer. Efficient and effective:-institutional arrangements have also been devised, aimed at the supply of certified quality seed, , an adequate and timely supply of fertiliser, pesticides and credit. The supervised credit system takes the credit to the doorstep of the small farmer; it has also become a vehicle for the transfer of technology.
Nearly 10 years have passed since the 1974 World Food Conference took place, where noble resolutions were made to eliminate hunger from the face of the earth, but sadly, today, hunger and malnutrition are not diminished. Over 900 million people suffer from malnutrition, and 500 million are endemi-cally suffering from hunger. This is a common human problem which requires sincere effort and urgent action so that the suffering of millions can be aliminated.
V. MOUZAKITIS (Greece): Mr Chairman, I would like to congratulate you, and your Vice-Chairmen, on being elected. I would also like to express the appreciation of my delegation to the Secretariat and to the staff of the Organisation for this excellent paper, The State of Food and Agriculture in 1983.
The document under discussion and its supplement gives a very comprehensive and constructive analysis of the most recent developments and problems in the food and agriculture sector, both globally and regionally. In general we agree with the findings in the document, so I am not going to make detailed comments on the various issues raised. However, I would like to underline some of the main findings which in our view need to be stressed. I will also refer more analytically to two issues, namely, international trade and the food and agricultural situation in the sub-Sahara region of Africa.
There are no very strong signs of recovery. It is unlikely that the prolonged and deep world recession will be overcome in the near future, even if in the coming months the leading developed countries succeed in overcoming present difficulties. The existing interdependency between developed and developing countries may act either as an accelerator or as a braking factor in the recovery process. Most probably the latter will occur if the strategy approaches adopted are not based upon correct policies for development in the developing countries, but these are based simply on the belief that the effects of recovery in the developed countries will be widespread via international trade.
As the document points out, in 1982 and 1983 the global food situation seemed to be reasonably satisfactory, but this constitutes only a general assessment of the present situation. If we look at the issue from a more segregated point of view the picture is drastically altered. The situation in Africa, and especially in the sub-Sahara region, remains grave. In the Far East, there seems to be a shift in the pattern of production from food crops to cash crops which, in the long run if this tendency prevails, can undermine the food security of the whole region.
The level of stocks, mainly cereal stocks, is expected to be reduced by the end of the 1983/84 crop year to a level of 17 percent of consumption compared with 21 percent for the previous year. Although such a reduction acts positively on an even distribution of cereal crops, it has the disadvantageof making world food security depend on the level of production for 1984. These developments can hardly be considered as positive.
Another matter I would like to stress relates to the reference in paragraphs 92 and 146 to the involvement of transnational or multinational corporations in the production and processing of agricultural products. In our view, this is a more general and serious issue related to speculation in world prices, among other things. A deeper examination of this problem in this document would have been useful.
I come now to a more or less controversial issue, namely, international trade in agricultural products. The document raises an old and well-known issue - that of the continued deterioration of the terms of trade for agricultural products. Obviously, this has serious negative effects for the developing countries, whose export earnings are greatly affected by their exports of agricultural products. Such a deterioration means simply; that there is a transfer of surplus value from the developing to the developed countries. The main reason for this - at least in our view - is the bias of the trade mechanism, stemming from and reinforced by existing international inequalities. This is why we do not share the view that liberal international trade is the vehicle for development. This does not mean that we are in favour of protectionism. Beggar-thy-neighbour policies make us al] worse off. It is important to realise that protectionism is not effected only through tariff and non-tariff measures and subsidies, but also through indirect measures and often through the use of fiscal and monetary policies.
Furthermore, the agricultural sector, given its specific socio-economic and technical character, cannot be considered as exactly the same as the other sectors.
Lastly, I wish to refer to the acute problems of the sub-Sahara region of Africa. There: is an urgent need to help these countries to.overcome both their recent and long-standing difficulties. They need help to increase their level of self-sufficiency and to establish appropriate strategies for rural development. In this context, the international community could contribute by providing or strengthening the technical and financial assistance given to those countries.
E. HJELMAR (Denmark): Mr Chairman, may I join my predecessors in congratulating you and the Vice-Chairmen on your election?
We have a good basis for our discussion of the State of Food and Agriculture in the two documents introduced by Professor Nurul Islam. But we should be aware that it is necessary to have two documents issued with a month's interval to describe the current situation. The first document was issued as late as in August but that was before the results of the harvest in the northern part of the globe were known. One harvest in a part of the world can influence the food balance significantly. A record harvest in North America and Europe in 1982 was followed by a below average harvest in 1983. In the case of my own country, bad weather resulted in a reduction of the cereal crop by 20 percent.
These changes from one year to another should be a warning for us that we cannot base a long-term policy on the food and agriculture situation in one or two years. The statement in paragraph 31 of the supplementary document that "cereal stocks are expected to be smaller by the end of 1983-84 seasons" should not lead to panic reactions. It should be compared with the assessment in paragraph 4 of the same document that "globally there is no danger of any immediate shortage of market supplies". Furthermore we should note the statement of the Secretary of Agriculture Block on Tuesday, that the United States Government - I quote - "are preparing to bring most of the 20 million hectares taken out of production under the PIK programme back into production next year".
We must meet acute emergency situations with emergency measures but long-term concerns should be met with policy measures in the development field. This distinction is important also in the case of the sub-Saharan African countries which rightly are in focus under this FAO Conference. The current food and agriculture situation in these countries is alarming and calls for immediate emergency reaction.
But even more alarming are the prospects that the food situation in these countries may remain highly critical over the coming decades, as demonstrated in the food and population projections which we will discuss next week. That calls for more development aid to these countries and for rethinking of the national policy in the countries.
As regards the Danish development aid I can confirm that sub-Saharan countries already have a very high priority in the Danish development aid programme. To be quite concrete on the current situation, I may add that we expect that the board supervising the Danish development aid next week will agree to requests from Mozambique and Lesotho for extraordinary aid exceeding earlier commitments.
As regards national policy measures in the countries concerned, an attempt to explain the background for the situation is given in the section on Development Strategies in document C 83/2 where paragraph 144 states: "Yet many African countries at various times have adopted development strategies that favour industrialization, exports, and the urban sector at the expense of food production and small-farmer labour and government revenues."
An attitude towards the agricultural sector like the one reflected in the report is certainly not conducive to solving the food problem.
Another important element is the role of government in agricultural development institutions, mentioned in the next section of document C 83/2. Here we would draw attention to the importance of activating the rural population, for instance, by the establishment of farmers' organizations and farmer's cooperatives managed by the farmers themselves. Government intervention in this field does not always seem to be successful and self-reliance among the rural population is important and should be supported. Perhaps non-governmental organizations like IFAP could have a role to play here.
Price policies as referred to in paragraphs 154-156 are another important aspect. We note from paragraph 155 that several interacting sets of policies related to prices are discussed in sub-Saharan African. Here we miss an FAO analysis of the application of these measures and their effect on food production.
We note, however, from paragraph 156 that an FAO study of price policies and producer incentives is under preparation for the 1984 Regional Conference for Africa which might be more clear on this important matter and perhaps also indicate policy options.
H. MOHAMADI (Sudan) (original language Arabic): Mr Chairman, allow me to join other speakers in congratulating you on your election and the Vice-Chairmen on their election. I would also like to comment on the excellent nature of the documents prepared for this Committee, especially document C 83/2 dealing with the State of Food and Agriculture and document C 83/2-Sup.l. I would like to make a few brief comments on this subject.
We as a member of the developing community have hardly been affected by the current signs of economic revival in the world, though we are aware that such a revival has a trickle-down effect on the contrary, we find that matters are going from bad to worse in certain countries. This indicates that the signs of recovery perceived by some nations are very weak. Though it is generally believed that economic recovery will improve the terms of trade, increase investment and provide further work opportunities, we nevertheless do not see how such an economic revival may be achieved and how its gradual effects can affect other countries without a balanced and equitable growth in trade, improved financial and technical aid as called for by the international community.
We only hope that further constructive dialogue will enable us to overcome the present economic crisis which affects first and foremost developing countries, then developed countries.
The present state of food and agriculture in the world and its diminished inputs and negative aspects which were referred to in the document remain a source of concern for one and all. Despite what was stated in the Plenary Session two days ago, namely that aid will be forthcoming, and more specifically to Africa, and that production would be resumed on more than twenty million ha. the questions raised by world leaders and by analysts about the acreage reduction programmes to defend the interests of certain farmers and to overcome the problems of price instability are still unanswered.
This matter may require further follow-up by this Organization in order to examine its impact in the future. The Organization should also examine alternative solutions so that such a policy may not be resorted to in the future.
The delegation of the Sudan agrees with what was said in the main document, namely that the expectations for food and agriculture in many developing countries, despite the relative improvement that has occurred recently, are not a source of satisfaction for the reasons previously referred to. Those reasons concern mainly the adverse weather conditions in Africa and the spread of rinderpest desease amongst its livestock. However, we wish to point out that the necessary technical abilities to draw up the appropriate food policies and to prepare programmes are available to a reasonable degree in some developing countries, if not in all of them.
However, the lack of the necessary financial resources represents the\main constraint amongst many others that impede the increase of food and agricultural production in the developing countries. But how could we explain the reason for the brain drain from developing to developed countries and to other richer developing countries?
If my memory does not betray me, some recent statistics have pointed out that the amount of experts that migrate to developed countries represents in overall terms the equal amount of aid provided by developed countries to developing countries. I do not remember the source of the statistics, but I remember reading it. I therefore wish here to stress the concern referred to in the document on intermediate and long-term prospects and more specifically the reference to the establishment of permanent networks to provide services in animal health and to combat crop pests, and more specifically in the traditional farming sector which is the main support for a majority of poor farmers in the developing countries. These farmers suffer from drought at some times and at other times from pests and other negative effects when weather conditions are favorable. Research activities must also be supported.
Here I would like to point out that we may not fully agree with what was stated yesterday in this Commission about the need to use traditional techniques, specifically in Africa, due to a lack of the necessary financial resources in such countries for the use of modern techniques.
We believe that if we wish to increase the acreage of traditional farmers, especially in the hard clayey soils, it is very difficult to do so with traditional methods. Therefore modern techniques must be resorted to, techniques that have been tested and have proved their validity, to reclaim such land and increase its fertility. These techniques will help to extend the acreage of land, increase incomes and reduce rural-urban migration. Furthermore, such techniques will help to reduce the pressure on the ever-use of sandy soils of limited fertility which are more easily exposed to desertification, especially in Africa where population density on such lands is low.
Therefore we believe that we here must commit ourselves to developing and using rationally our natural and renewable resources. This must be done in a comprehensive and integrated manner in order to maintain the ecological balance.
Such a procedure would enable us to guarantee the continued yield of benefits from such resources for the present and future generations. We must not seek "quick income" solutions but rather those solutions that will help us to combat desertification and to improve land and increase output.
We hope that development aid, both bilateral and multilateral, will continue to be provided in order to reach the goals of the International Development Strategy. Such aid should help to create the appropriate conditions to combat poverty and hunger.
I here agree with what was said by the Indian delegation as to the proper and rational use of such aid in the interests of one and all. This must not be in contradiction with local and national policies and interests. I do not perceive any danger to such aid because of national policies, this was referred to by the representative of the United Kingdom today, especially if the purposes and goals are the same, namely to increase production and to raise the standards of living of the poor.
I would also like to express my agreement with what the delegate of India said, namely that the Organization must play a pioneering role in this field. We here wish to urge one and all to seek to renew the resources of those financing institutions concerned mainly with the poorer countries of the world.
I have a question about paragraph 184 and whether agricultural settlement schemes and the "ruralization" of industries ... etc. are totally unrelated to the demographic aspect of urban shift in high population density countries where population growth rates must be reduced or whether this applies to low population density countries. Thank you Mr Chairman.
D. G. AMSTUTZ (United States of America): Mr Chairman, The US delegation wishes to commend the Secretariat for the good job it has done in presenting a generally well balanced picture of the current state of food and agriculture.
Before doing that we wish to join the others in congratulating you and the Vice-Chairmen on your election, and as in the past we look to the Chairmau of the Commission to ensure that our discussions focus on the issues before us. We are confident that you will carry out your duties in the fair and balanced traditions of your predecessors.
We appreciate the Secretariat'S practice, begun last year, of singling out areas of important concern to the world food situation for special attention. The special report on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa helps provide an excellent orientation and appreciation of the complex and difficult problem faced by that region. As further indicated by Secretary Block in his statement to the plenary on Tuesday, the US will participate in Thursday's meeting on the situation in Africa and will provide an additional $25 million in emergency food aid for needy countries there.
In its concern for the many difficult and chronic problems around the world that remain to be conquered, the report - and some interventions before this Commission - sometimes takes on what we think to be an unduly pessimistic tone, as in the statement that "there has hardly been any notable achievement in the battle against hunger and malnutrition during the last 2 years." Although some of the aggregate measures of per capita production and availability of food in the developing countries remain low,many of those indices over the past decade show a considerable improvement over earlier years. The performance in recent years gives no reason to relax efforts to improve the world food situation, but neither should it engender the kind of despair that only discourages further efforts, without kindling a spirit of renewed dedication to addressing the problems of hunger and malnutrition. For ourselves, we are encouraged by the recognition in food deficit countries of the importance of domestic policy and efforts by many countries to undertake difficult policy reforms.
The FAO supplementary report raises some concern about the availability of US exports of food in 1984. I wish to present the Conference with information which should allay those concerns. Although total US crop production fell more than 25 percent in 1983, the United States will easily be able to meet all its domestic and export requirements for agricultural commodities during 1983-84 Season, in part because of the very large carryover stocks from the bountiful 1981 and 1982 harvests. The sharpest declines in US production for 1983 were for coarse grains and oilseeds used mostly in livestock feeds. US wheat remains in very ample supply as does US rice. Severe drought conditions i vere responsible for about’ one-half of the decline in crop lout put, while acreage reduction programmes undertaken to offset severely depressed farm prices accounted for the remainder.
Although US wheat production is estimated to have fallen about 14 percent in 1983 from the previous year's record large crop, we expect that US wheat supplies during 1983/84 will very nearly equal last year's record high. US wheat stocks at the beginning of 1983/84 were at the highest level in our history, some 42 million tons. Wheat stocks are projected to decline only about 5 percent by the end of 1983/84 despite an increase in feeding of wheat to livestock. Of the projected 40-million-ton total reserves, about 41 percent is expected to be in our farmer-owned reserve, nearly 13 percent in Government inventories, and the remainder in freely available stocks. In short, the US is and expects to remain a reliable source of foodstuffs for all; we are fully prepared to meet all commercial and concessional food commitments and we have no concerns whatsoever about our continuing ability to do so.
The report on sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the patterns covered in paragraph 142 of the basic report, sums up very well some of the major issues to be considered in the agricultural development of Africa. Of special concern is the declina in many countries of the amount of land cultivated by each member of the agricultural labor force, even in some countries with generous land resources, and also the decline in several instances of productivity. We would like to see a further elaboration of the "various social and institutional" obstacles cited by the report. These problems will likely require considerable attention by the countries themselves to the agricultural and food policies, together with improved technology and farming practices, and control of particularly devastating animal and plant diseases.
The importance of agricultural policies, particularly price policies, in coping with food problems is, of course, not restricted to Africa. Thus, we were pleased to see the treatment of the influence of agricultural prices on food production contained in the section on "Producer Prices", paragraphs 43-45. We recognize the difficulties of data collection involved in such an analysis and welcome the Secretariat's efforts to expand its treatment of this subject. We also commend the Secretariat's expanded treatment of public expenditures on agriculture (paras.62-65) in the basic report.
On the other hand, statements about transnational corporations (in paras. 92-95 seem partial and do not convey the positive good from private investments and private resource development that agribusiness provide. And we see little need for the FAO, as some have suggested, to duplicate work being done elsewhere by studying the operations of the transnational corporations in the agricultural area.
We look forward to the study of domestic pricing policies and agricultural production mentioned by Professor Islam in his introduction. The U.S. has long maintained that price incentives — pricing policy — play a key role, which we expect will be a significant conclusion of this study.
In his statement to the Conference, the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr Block, stressed efforts necessary to improve international efforts in the area of trade. The documentation before us amply documents the lack of dynamism in world agricultural trade in recent years. The document also points out the difficulties caused by trade barriers and the use, by some countries or group of countries, of export subsidies that deny markets to countries whose comparative advantage may be greater. While the effects of such policies affect all countries, as the Committee for Commodity Problems and the FAO Council have pointed out, the developing countries are particularly negatively affected. What are less well documented for this Conference are recent proposals by a group of countries that would expand existing protectionist measures to include taxes on vegetable and marine fats and oils and import restrictions on non-grain feed ingredients, such as corn gluten feed and citrus pulp. Equally important for the development of world agricultural trade is the lack of attention given by this same group of countries to proposals that would limit the use of export subsidies on agricultural products. We would second the comments of our Austrian colleague on the trade distorting effects of such measures. The use of export subsidies and protectionist measures is hardly consistent, Mr Chairman, with the stress laid at this Conference and in earlier meetings upon the need to expand agricultural trade and remove trade barriers. We urge those countries to join with other countries that are striving to promote more liberal trade in agricultural products, especially with a view towards improving the opportunities for the developing countries.
M. GIFFORD (Canada): Thank you, Mr Chairman. While I guess there is some conspiracy to the extent that Canada and the US are both speaking at practically the same time, I assure you as far as we are concerned there is no conspiracy.
However, first of all let me first congratulate you, perhaps somewhat belatedly, on your election as Chairman and secondly to congratulate the Secretariat for the documents before us. Particularly, the supplements which we found more balanced than the original document which, like some delegations have said, we found to be somewhat gloomy and perhaps too pessimistic. When there are glimmers of light those glimmers should be identified and spotlighted rather than being obscured by some of the more gloomier assessments.
First of all, Mr Chairman, let me just briefly comment on the Canadian situation before turning to the world. Largely as a result of adverse weather conditions, in eastern Canada production of the seven major grain and oilseed crops in 1983 is estimated at about 49 million tons,down 10 percent from the 1982 record. In 1983 exports of the major grains and oilseeds are projected to reach a record of about 30 million tons. However, we should note that Canadian agriculture was subject to a number of adverse developments in 1982, because Canadian agriculture, like agricultures in most developed countries is extremely capital intensive and therefore vulnerable to price fluctuations, cost inflation was particularly rapid in 1982 largely as a result of sharply higher energy prices and all-time record interest rates. The cost price squeeze was reflected in 1982 net farm income which fell by some 13.5 percent in 1982 as compared to 1981. However, the situation in 1983 has improved somewhat. We are estimating that net farming income will increase by some 3 to 4 percent over the depressed 1982 levels, as a decline in input costs is expected to more than offset a reduction in cash receipts.
In recent months we have seen a. strengthening of feed grain and oilseed prices. However, livestock prices continue to be weak.
I will conclude the Canadian situation, Mr Chairman, by noting that the Government is in the process of introducing legislation into the House of Commons in order to strengthen the Canadian grain transportation system. I should note, Mr Chairman, in relation to some of the comments I am going to make later on, that this is a situation which is extremely politically sensitive.
We are talking about a policy that goes back to the year 1906, but I think it is relevant, Mr Chairman, that countries have to have the political will to address some of the sacred cow policies which permeate most of our agricultures, and if Canada is to continue to be a reliable and expanding supplier of grains to the rest of the world it is essential that we come to grips with the albeit difficult political situation involved in this context.
Turning to the international situation, Mr Chairman, we would agree with the Secretariat that the present world agricultural situation is mixed. Production declines in North America and Western Europe on the one hand, has slight increases in USSR, India, China and some other countries, on the other hand. Obviously, of particular concern is the continuing decline in per capita production in Africa. Nevertheless Mr Chairman as several other delegations have indicated the distressing situation in Africa in particular, should not be allowed to obscure the fact that some, and perhaps many, developing countries continue to make solid progress in expanding their domestic agricultural production.
Mr Chairman, I think it is also relevant to note in passing that we should recall our basic economics, that when you do have rapid economic growth in a country, particularly at the early development stage, you would expect a rapid increase in imports, because of the rapidly expanding domestic demand caused by economic growth, will obviously result in food demand outstripping the capacity of the domestic agriculture to supply the food. Therefore, Mr Chairman, although I recognize that over the last two or three years very few countries have been in a position of being able to describe their economic performance as rapidly expanding, nevertheless if we take a longer term perspective, say over the last ten years, it can be fairly said that in some cases in some developing countries the sign of an increase in imports is not a signal of failure, it is a signal of success and that fact if often obscured. Of course, Mr Chairman, I recognize by saying this that obviously many developing countries today are in a precarious economic situation, and in these cases food import growth is an indication of either adverse weather conditions, inappropriate agricultural policies or the cumulative effect of an insufficient priority being accorded to the agricultural sector.
However, Mr Chairman, we find it encouraging that there is a growing recognition that a strong agricultural sector is a necessary condition for sustained economic development and this is now becoming conventional wisdom.
I am also pleased to note in Canada our developement assistance programmes have long recognized that the agricultural development is a necessary condition to the economic developement in the developing countries and we are aiming by 1985 that 45 percent of Canadian development assistance will be directed towards agriculture and rural development. At the same time, Mr Chairman, an ever increasing proportion of Canadian aid is being directed towards Africa both for short-term relief and long-term development.
Mr Chairman, I would now like to conclude by talking about interrelationships and trade and I must admit Mr Chairman, that I was somewhat surprised at a comment made by an earlier speaker who said, if I can paraphrase it very roughly, that this is not the place to discuss the policies of developed countries and by implication all we should be talking about are the agricultural policies and the agricultural problems of developing countries. I find that a somewhat incredible statement given the fact that I thought this was supposed to be a Food and Agriculture Organization Conference and obviously when we talk about food and agriculture in the world context we talk not only of the developed countries, developing countries, we also talk about the essential planned economies, and of course the relevance of the developed countries to world agriculture is primarily in terms of the impact on trade of the domestic policies of the developed agricultural world. Therefore, both the developed and developing countries share a common objective in seeing trade and agricultural products becoming free and all forms of trade measures, both tariffs and non-tariffs, being brought under more effective international discipline.
In this context, I would like to make a brief reference and a brief plug for the work of the GATT Committee on trade and agricultural products which several delegations have already noted came into being as part of the 1982 GATT ministerial meeting of November 1982 and is presently undertaking an examination, and I think an important thing to note is that this is not a report that is simply going to examine trade measures and their associated domestic policies but it is also going to be a report that is going to contain recommendations as to how to improve the international agricultural trading environments, and hopefully that report will be completed by the summer of 1984 with the advantage of submitting this report to the contracting parties of the GATT in November 1984, and at that time the contracting parties of the GATT will have to take a decision as to whether to initiate negotiations on the recommendations contained in the Committee's report.
I think it is also worth noting in passing that in contrast to earlier discussions in the GATT regarding agriculture which I have been involved in over the last 15 or 20 years, I think it is fair to say that this time around, countries are not defending the status quo, are not defending doctrinal positions, but there appears to be an increased recognition that the trade measures, particularly of the developed countries which are distorting world agriculture, are a direct function of the forms and types of domestic agricultural policies and more importantly, not the technique of support but the level of support.
So although I am an economist by training and therefore a member of the dismal profession, I am also an agriculturalist, and therefore as a farmer I tend to be an optimist and I think that things could come out of the GATT over the next couple of years. Obviously, we will not reach Utopia but I think there is a possibility that some limited but meaningful progress can be made and that a number of countries on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world are working in that direction.
C.-E. ODHNER (Sweden): I think that the main importance of this discussion is to try to analyse why the deterioration of the agricultural situation in many developing countries has taken place and to find suggestions and discuss possible remedies. I shall venture to make a few points of analysis and recommendation.
I have four points of analysis. The main reason for the deterioration is that we are all now in the austerity trap. That means that the inevitable economic restrictions deprive us of much of the means for development and investments that should have increased production and productivity and therefore reduced the need for future austerity, and it deprives us of the demand necessary to promote investment, growth and employment. We are in a vicious circle. The present upturn in the business cycle is mainly limited to the United States so far; for the rest of the industrialized countries, prospects are still rather poor.
This austerity stems from the need to fight inflation and reduce budget deficits in the industrialized countries and to improve external balances and limit debts in the developing countries. Through international economic interdependence, these efforts are reinforcing each other in a vicious circle, successively reducing demand and prices.
My second point is that there is an interesting shift in the emphasis from problems of production to problems of distribution of available resources and to trade and prices. A main problem will be to find methods to reconcile a necessary short-run expansion of food aid to drought-stricken countries, especially in Africa with the longer-run work of expanding local production to attain self-sufficiency. The study of price policy underway should be given primary importance .But this shift in emphasis should not detract interest from continuing production efforts.
Another main problem is the destabilizing effect of the great swings in world market prices on efforts to strengthen local production.
The fourth point is the shift in demand from traditional local food to more sophisticated imported products that might become a growing problem in some countries.
As to my recommendations, I also have four points.
The question is, what can be done about the austerity trap. To get out of it would demand a degree of economic coordination between the dominating industrialized countries, which still seems to be very far off. The crucial question is whether the present repression of inflation and inflationary expectations in some big countries would prove durable when demand and employment increases. I very much doubt that, and I fear that inflation and restraint will return rather soon in these countries. We shall have to adapt to a situation with weak international demand, therefore.
My second point is that a very important role will have to be played by pricing policy in the food-deficient countries. The study of pricing policies should be centered on finding methods to reconcile food aid with the necessity of stimulating the expansion of local production.
FAO has a very important role of developing and monitoring such methods. A close cooperation with the World Food Programme and also with UNCTAD will be appropriate in this respect. Such methods might have to overtake the principles of free trade. Countries with problems of food deficiency will often have to shield their local production from competition from abroad which would make it very difficult to build it up and increase it sufficiently.
My third point refers to the impact of swings in world market prices on local production. There are two levels of action. An internal price system might be developed so as to shield the products from those swings. This, however, demands quite sophisticated systems and control of foreign trade. The other level is international agreements for primary products which ar.e presently in more or less total disarray. In the longer term it is essential that FAO collaborates with UNCTAD to resume productive work in this field. The role of the multinational corporations must be closely watched in this context.
My last point is that the shift in tastes and demand in many countries following urbanization will have to be taken as a fact. This will demand a restructuring of local production to meet the new demands as far as technically and economically possible, but it is also important to see to it that such shifts are not unduly stimulated by selling new products at subsidized or world market prices out of line with prices of local products. A well balanced price policy also shows here its importance.
H. S. BAR-SHAI (Israel): Mr Chairman, on behalf of the delegation of Israel, I should like first of all to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of the Commission. I am sure that you will lead this forum toward instructive and important conclusions.
I should also like to thank the Secretariat for the very comprehensive and very to the point documents C 83/2 and C83/2-Sup. 1. These documents sum up very succinctly and effectively the present world food and agricultural situation.
Like many world countries, Israel has been affected by the continuous world recession, and my government looks for ways and means to remedy this situation. Believe me, it is not an easy task. It goes without saying that tariff and non-tariff barriers should be lowered in order to facilitate international trade, enabling developing countries access to developed markets and giving them a better chance to improve their usually negative balance of trade. Countries should be urged to hasten negotiations and bring about fast and positive results through the UNCTAD, GATT and other frameworks. All this to be on top of steps towards more liberalization which have to be taken by many countries, themselves.
The forecast of lower stocks for basic foods is very alarming, meaning that countries like Israel and other developing countries will have to pay rather more for their basic food requirements, as we know from experience with other commodities, and less for their strivings and plans towards self-sufficiency.
We have in the past suggested in former conferences the setting up of an international crop insurance system to cover against natural disasters. We have also suggested the setting up of regional reserves for staple commodities which will regulate supplies and prices for the benefit of all concerned, and we renew our suggestions on these points.
I agree with my Egyptian colleague that development is the key to eventual self sufficiency in food supply. This can be done by applying systems and means of production suitable and compatible to the capabilities of the farmers involved. Not every country and every farmer has the same possibility of solving these problems. This should not always be on a grand scale, as is done sometimes, mainly to the benefit of the big equipment manufacturers, but on a scale which takes into account the know-how and capabilities of those who have to do the work itself - the farmers.
Israel's agricultural cooperation with many developing countries is based on this 'concept, and we are ready to share it with more countries. I believe that development in agriculture, like other fields, should be brought about by gradual processes, as everyone can progress only at his own rate.
This is not to detract from the important and urgent necessity of a new international Marshall Plan, as was suggested on Monday by Dr Kreisky in his celebrated McDougall Memorial Lecture, which belongs to the general infrastructure or what we call "macro" level, and which can at a later stage be a basis for a further stage of faster development in agricultural production, but the first, stages in the meantime should be suited to the requirements and capabilities of the farmers themselves.
I have one last point. Page 16 in document C 83/2 - Sup. 1 compares public expenditure on agriculture in relation to agriculture's share of the gross domestic product. This is a very illuminating survey, although not complete. It shows that out of 31 countries mentioned in this survey - see Fig. 1, page 17 - only in four countries did agriculture's share of total public expenditure exceed its share of total gross domestic product. In four more countries agriculture's share of total public expenditure was over half its share in the total GDP. We should take into account that the share in public expenditure includes also international agricultural aid to this or other dimensions.
First of all, I should like to join my New Zealand colleague in urging the Secretariat to conclude the survey in order to get a clear and better picture of what happens in other countries and areas of the world. However, the picture of 23 out of 31 countries allocating less than half of the share in public expenditure which agriculture deserves, especially when dealing with the lives of children and the less privileged, speaks for itself.
May I propose that the FAO resolves to call upon the governments of the world to put agriculture and food production higher in their priority lists, giving them their fair share within their public resources, allocating annually growing shares of their budgets, both in nominal and real terms, so as to help solve the acute problems of hunger and malnutrition and supply more means for development and growth in food production.
ABDUL WAHID JALIL (Malaysia): May I first, on behalf of my delegation, join other speakers in congratulating you and the Vice-Chairmen on your elections.
My delegation has listened with keen interest to the statements of the various distinguished speakers, and one fact has come out clearly. While it is indeed rejoicing to know the positive side of the significant increase in global food production, the benefits of these production gains have been unevenly shared, and it is not certain that this state of abundance will continue.
Conscious of its' moral and humanitarian obligations towards the eradication of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, the world community has contributed a great deal of effort and resources in the past, but the situation demanded that much more should be done if the goal was to be achieved. Otherwise there would continue to be starvation and malnourishment, even if there was improvement in the food and agricultural sector. The degenerating food and agricultural situation in many developing countries, particularly those in Africa and Asia, needed the continuous support of the international community, as well as the sincere efforts of the countries themselves. Whether or not the prospect for world food supply was going to be grim would also depend on how each of us faces up to the realities of today and makes the necessary sacrifices.
We are all aware that efforts to increase food and agricultural production were more pronounced and complex in the developing countries, mainly due to the lack of resources, technical and financial, to enable them fully to exploit the available resources in their own countries. They needed assistance to help them plan and develop their resources, to help them plan their infrastructural requirements, and implement their development programmes in an increasing food and agricultural productivity.
In this respect FAO had played a leading role in providing the necessary assistance and expertise required for such development, while member governments themselves take firm commitments and efforts in their overall agricultural and food development programme.
The impact of FAO's programmes and projects and those of other agencies dealing with food and agricultural development and their importance to the developing countries was reflected by the increasing demand from the developing. countries for these agencies to support them in their priority projects, which kept increasing year after year. Intensifying efforts and revised priorities in many developing countries meant that more assistance from the international community was needed. If this assistance could continue to be given, the efforts of the developing countries could go a long way towards overcoming the precariousness of the present food situation. The importance of international commodity trade in the development of all countries has been expressed repeatedly in many fora in the past. My delegation concurs with the delegation of the United States, and all those others who have spoken against protectionism and called on countries to open up possibilities for trading without imposing further barriers.
Finally, we realise the world economic and financial situation affects every one of us today, particularly in the developing countries. However, the continuing presence of a serious world food situation should not restrain us from giving our continuing support to the development of this sector, so vital for the survival of mankind in the world today. Any implication of a lack of support, and worse still, any withdrawal from the effort we have all agreed to make, will only result in a feeling of betrayal. Again, it is our moral obligation to continue to play our role, and to provide necessary funds so that the programme in the developing countries, so vital for the survival of the poor in those countries, can be carried out.
M. HERSI BAHAL (Somalia): Mr Chairman, my delegation extends its congratulations to you upon your unanimous election to the Chairmanship of this Commission. We wish you every success in guiding the Commission in its deliberations.
The situation of food production in Africa is very grave, due to calamities beyond our control, while the effects of the Sahelian drought which occurred in the 1970's still persist - rainfall in the last two years has been so erratic that production of crops and raising of livestock have once more taken a negative trend. While vast irrigation potential exists in Africa, the extend of irrigation for crop production is minimal. In view of this, we are dealing with a situation whereby over 90 percent of the farmers pursue dryland farming.
In order to mitigate the food shortage in Africa it is of paramount importance that the international community should respond favourably to the appeal launched by the Director-General by extending emergency food assistance to the hard-hit countries of Africa. While we appreciate the concern voiced by the industrial countries with regard to the chronic food shortage in Africa, it would be very much more useful if they could extend concrete action to help us surmount the current hurdles to food production in Africa.
My delegation notes with deep appreciation the keynote speech made by Dr Kreisky in that third world countries can only implement their infrastructural projects when they are provided with massive aid. More than at any other time in the past the will to work towards agricultural development exists today in Africa, but the tools with which to work are either missing or in short supply. The attainment of the green revolution in some parts of Asia in the 1960s was the result of concerted international effort geared to a particular situation. The time is ripe for Africa to work out an action programme aimed at increasing basic food crops such as maize. The introduction of a package-deal programme encompassing high-yielding varieties of seeds, input materials and appropriate technology would result in a long-lasting achievement in the production of food in Africa. In this international community, trade between the industrial countries and the primary producing countries is readjusted in an equitable way and no saving can be made available for the procurement of foreign components so essential for the agricultural development of developing countries. Our concern for the attainment of a just and permanent solution for the current international programme should continue in a mutual way. It is only when the purchasing power of the primary producing countries is increased that the economies of the industrial countries will flourish.
Over the last six years, my country has become the host to thousands of refugees. In order to meet the basic necessities of these refugees, Somalia has diverted a major portion of her resources to solving the plight of these people. We are particularly grateful to the donor governments, the international organizations like the World Food Programme, and non-governmental agencies who generously provided food assistance as well as shelter materials for these refugees.
Last but not least, my delegation is fully satisfied with the outstanding way in which the Secretariat prepared the working document before us.
F.T. GOES DE OLIVEIRA (Brasil): La delegación de Brasil está de acuerdo con los puntos principales que están siendo discutidos en esta Sala. Sin embargo, hay algunos aspectos que necesitan ser considerados. A mi juicio, no es necesario, no basta solamente producir alimentos en el mundo, no basta aumentar la producción de alimentos solamente. Es necesario, sobre todo, que se tenga una distribución racional más equitativa de los alimentos en el mundo; y para esto, hay algunos puntos básicos que deben ser considerados. Principalmente, lo que se reporta a la facilidad de los países en desarrollo en participar del comercio internacional.
Las barreras del comercio son, de cierta forma, muy perjudiciales al aumento de la producción de alimentos en el mundo. Esta producción es de fundamental importancia, y por eso es muy importante que los países en desarrollo adopten medidas fuertes de revisión de su política agrícola, sobre todo con respecto a la producción y comercialización de productos agrícolas.
La FAO, como el gran forum de debates de asuntos de agricultura en el mundo, tiene una misión muy importante, me parece, junto a los países en desarrollo en el sentido de que.estudie las principales medidas de política agrícola para que esos países puedan efectivamente participar más democráticamente de los mercados internacionales. Solamente de esta forma, de esta manera, es posible inducir a una mayor producción de alimentos. A este respecto, yo quería señalar, registrar la realización de un Seminario sobre Política Agrícola que se debe hacer en Brasil, en diciembre, con la colaboración de expertos de la FAO. Es una oportunidad en que nosotros debemos estudiar, con mucha atención, las principales medidas de política agrícola del país para que podamos aumentar la producción efectivamente de nuestros países, teniendo en cuenta la posibilidad de mejor entrar en el comercio internacional.
Esta es una recomendación que yo gustaría de dejar a la dirección general de la FAO, a los presidentes y a los directores que componen esta Mesa para que la FAO emprenda, junto a los países en desarrollo, un trabajo efectivo de revisión, de ayuda de revisión de las políticas agrícolas de esos países.
E. MAMMONE (Italie): C'est la première fois que la délégation italienne prend la parole dans la première Commission et je voudrais vous féliciter, vous et les deux vice-Présidents, pour votre élection.
Comme à l'habitude, la FAO nous a présenté un document fort intéressant, clair, et exhaustif sur ce point de l'ordre du jour. On y trouve même, dans sa forme très synthétique, un examen approfondi sur les productions, les consommations, les échanges en produits alimentaires. Malheureusement, le tableau qui en ressort est, cette année,assez inquiétant. En face d'une augmentation mondiale de la production agricole de 2,1 pour cent en 1982, on constate, pour la deuxième année consécutive, une réduction de la production agricole dans les pays moins avancés. Le document C 83/2 nous parle d'importants stocks céréaliers, tandis que dans le supplément ce taux est modifié à cause des mauvais résultats de la récolte 1983 dans l'hémisphère nord. Tout de même, dans ce domaine, il est rassurant de lire qu'il n'y aura pas danger de pénurie et,d'autre part, les Etats-Unis nous ont encore plus rassurés sur ce sujet, surtout que la réduction des stocks est manifestement plus marquée dans les pays exportateurs que dans les pays importateurs.
Toujours dans le document C 83/2 on lit que les pays moins avancés ont consacré au secteur agricole, dans l'esemble de leurs dépenses publiques, une plus forte proportion que le restant des autres pays. Cela est très intéressant et donne un énorme plaisir à le lire, mais tout de même, l'objectif de leur autosuffisance alimentaire est encore très lointain. Il faut encore compter sur un gros effort international d'aide.
D'autre part, hier soir, nous avons entendu, par le délégué de l'Inde qui a connu la révolution verte, que cette révolution est arrivée au sommet sauf pour d'autres interventions dans le secteur de l'irrigation, etc.
En ce qui concerne plus particulièrement l'Afrique, nous avons apprécié l'effort que la FAO a fait pour étudier et surveiller la production et l'offre alimentaire dans les pays d'Afrique qui ont été les plus touchés par de dramatiques pénuries alimentaires. L'Italie a été toujours consciente de la situation très grave qui se manifeste en Afrique, elle a été toujours aux limites de ses possibilités vis-à-vis de ces pays. Nous avons fait et nous faisons un gros effort, non seulement pour offrir l'aide alimentaire à ces pays, mais aussi pour les aider dans des projets de développement de caractère multilatéral.
M. STRACHAN (Jamaica): Mr Chairman, permit me on behalf of the Jamaican delegation to congratulate you on your election to the Chair. I would also like to express appreciation for Professor Islam's opening remarks and for the excellent documentation prepared by the FAO.
It is disturbing to note that food production continues to decline in Latin America and the Caribbean in an alarming way. This is against a background of a steep decline in prices of agricultural commodities in 1982 which has resulted in a further deterioration in the balance between prices of agricultural products and those of other major training products. Even when there has been a decline in the price of some critical products such as fuel and fertilizer, the economic recession being experienced in most developing countries in the region has made it impossible for the farmers in these countries to benefit from these price reductions.
The immediate effect of this decline in production has been an increase in the import of food items in many countries. At the same time, because the more developed countries are also experiencing the effects of the economic recession, this has led to a deteriorating climate for the promotion of international economic cooperation. It should be noted that although the UNCTAD Conference from 6 June to 3 July 1983 adopted a number of resolutions in the areas of commodities, trade, finance and development, no comprehensive programmes to revitalise development cooperation were adopted, although support was reiterated for several programmes. The Common Fund for commodities which is considered an important element for the promotion of commodity agreements and for financing commodity development programmes has not yet entered into force although 64 countries, accounting for over 40 percent of the directly contributed capital have ratified the agreement. 90 countries, accounting for two thirds of the Fund's capital are required to ratify the document before the Fund becomes operational. Let us hope that there will be speedy action by the remaining countries.
It is encouraging to note that the GATT contracting parties at their ministerial meeting last year reached agreement to bring agricultural trade more fully into the GATT framework and decided to establish the Committee on Trade and Agriculture. The Committee, which has already started work, is examining tariff and non-tariff barriers as well as the operation of GATT with respect to subsidies affecting agriculture, especially export subsidies. It is to be hoped that these deliberations will lead to meaningful conclusions.
Turning to the area of external assistance to agriculture, it is most discouraging to note that the level of assistance reached in 1981 was still nearly 40 percent short of the internationally agreed estimates of annual requirements. It is even more disheartening that the concessional component is also declining.
Both bilateral and multilateral assistance contributed to this decline which is an indication of the hardening terms of agricultural development activities in developing countries. I need hardly point out that many countries are already in a very critical situation with respect to debt servicing and that any further escalation of interest rates can only be viewed with alarm.
In conclusion, while it is reasonable to say that the depressed state of agriculture in many developing countries, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean, can be improved by initiatives and developments at an international level, this will have to reinforced by appropriate action at the national and regional level. Such actions must surely embrace the recommendations outlined in document C 83/2. I will not itemise these but in closing I recommend that this Commission give detailed attention to proposals which could lead to meaningful implementation of those recommendations.
EL PRESIDENTE: Las delegaciones de Siria, Portugal y Etiopía no estuvieron presentes para formular sus declaraciones oralmente; de manera que se les solicita a estas delegaciones que entreguen por escrito sus declaraciones, de manera que se puedan incluir en el verbatim de esta Comisión, así como contemplarlas dentro del Reporte, que en su oportunidad aprobaremos.
Les anuncio también que la delegación de Lesotho hizo ya entrega por escrito de su declaración.
Por último, deseo informar a los Sres. Delegados que la Secretaría me comunica que Tailandia ha proporcionado también, de forma escrita, su declaración, la cual será comprendida dentro del verbatim a los efectos pertinentes.
Si no hay alguien más que quiera hacer uso de la palabra, le solicitaré al Sr. Dr. Islam que presente sus comentarios relativos a este subtema 6.1.
M. SALAMEH(Syria) (original language Arabic): Mr Chairman, at the outset, I have to congratulate late, as well, all the Committee Secretariat for the introduction. The two documents before us are perfect in terms of the comprehensiveness and precision with which they tackled the state of food and agriculture in the world, and shedding lights on the points of weakness in the food and agriculture situations, and in pointing out the action needed from the international community to achieve a sound agricultural and food situation.
Mr Chairman, the study of the food and agriculture situation leads into such details as can be really considered a food balance, and go beyond the mere total quantities of production, consumption and the utilization of food and agriculture, to include more accurate framework which define levels of hunger and malnutrition. It is the framework of the consumption of nutrients such as energy and proteins as indicators of malnutrition and food deficiency diseases. These matters could be tackled in this report and in such similar technical reports that are prepared on the basis of the findings of food consumption surveys. 1/
M.A. CORREIA DE PINHO (Portugal): Le Programme d'aide alimentaire a fait, dès sa création, des stocks d'aliments, surtout de céréales, destinés à faire face à des situations d'urgence, dans n'importe quelle partie du monde.
Les laits en poudre sont parfois utilisés, ainsi que les conserves de poisson. Il est intéressant de souligner que cette dernière recommandation a surgi après la proposition de la Commission portugaise de la FAO pour son utilisation dans le Programme d'aide alimentaire.
Bien sûr que les céréales, le lait en poudre, certains types de conserves de viande ou de poisson et aussi quelques graisses peuvent constituer les réserves d'assurance alimentaire mondiale, mais il faut préciser que tous les aliments doivent obéir aux caractéristiques suivantes:
- Transport facile
- Stockage facile
- Temps de stockage prolongé
- Avoir un minimum d'eau de constitution
- Distribution facile
- Confection culinaire rapide
C'est évident que seulement les pays qui ont excès de production de certains aliments peuvent contribuer pour les stocks du Programme d'aide alimentaire; cependant il y a beaucoup de gouvernements qui pourraient constituer dans leurs propres pays des stocks de certains aliments, ne recevant comme aide alimentaire que les aliments en manque, indispensables à l'alimentation pendant la période d'urgence.
Chaque pays, pour avoir son stock, devrait avoir fait une étude sur le régime alimentaire d'urgence des différents groupes étaires de la population, pour que le gouvernement ait une idée exacte de la qualité et de la quantité d'aliments basiques nécessaires à la survivance de sa population.
Relativement au Portugal ces études ont déjà été faites par un technicien de la Commission portugaise de la FAO.
Il est aussi nécessaire que les pays étudient la valeur nutritionnelle de quelques aliments natifs, déjà en usage, mais desquels on ignore avec précision la composition.
1/ Statement inserted in the Verbatim records on request.
Au Mozambique, par exemple, on produit une graminée - la MAPIRRA (Sorghum) - dont la farine est excellente, mais dont on ne connaît pas encore exactement la valeur nutritionnelle. Ce produit est en train d'être étudié à l'Institut national de recherche à Lisbonne, par demande du Département du travail du Gouvernement du Mozambique.
Cependant, la création de ces stocks d'assurance ne sera vraiment efficace que si, dans les locaux où ils seront constitués, existent les conditions indispensables au stockage de ces produits.
Ainsi qu'on le réfère dans le Programme ordinaire 1982-83 les pertes de produits agricoles après les récoltes sont très élevées et les mauvaises conditions de stockage des produits fait augmenter le volume de ces pertes, soit dans les produits de production locale, soit dans ceux qui sont importés, surtout à cause des ravageurs, des insectes, des maladies et de l'excès d'humidité dans ces produits lors de leur récolte.
Nous trouvons aussi qu'il serait nécessaire d'identifier les pertes et de localiser les zones du circuit où elles sont plus intenses, afin de les réduire dans la mesure du possible, de même que nous considérons qu'il serait souhaitable d'améliorer les moyens de distribution des aliments, pour permettre que les aides alimentaires d'urgence puissent atteindre le plus grand nombre de personnes possible et non seulement celles qui se trouvent plus proches des stocks.
Il est également très important de faire accompagner la distribution d'instructions concernant la façon d'utiliser les aliments lorsqu'ils sont exotiques ou se présentent sous une forme différente.
Le lait en poudre, par exemple, est quelquefois consommé comme une bouillie de maís avec des conséquences qui peuvent être très graves pour la santé et donc créer une réaction négative à sa consommation, parce que les gens croient que le produit est de mauvaise qualité, quand en réalité c'est parce qu'il a été préparé d'une façon déficiente.
En conclusion, il est fondamental que les populations soient conscientes de la nécessité de créer beaucoup de stocks d'assurance alimentaire, constitués d'une part par les aliments de production nationale et d'autre part par les aliments provenant de la contribution internationale, afin de permettre d'avoir un régime de survivance approprié. l/
GETACHEW TEKLE MEDHIN (Ethiopia): Mr Chairman, allow me to congratulate you and the Vice-Chairmen on being elected to chair this Commission. I would also like to congratulate Professor Islam for his brief but clear introduction of the subjects contained in the document.
Mr Chairman, my delegation has reviewed the document C 83/2 with great care and it is in full agreement with its assessment of the world food situation in general and that of sub-Saharan Africa in particular. The previous speakers have repeatedly said that the food problem in LDC African countries is very disturbing. Many speakers have also discussed the food situations which I don't want to go over again.
Mr Chairman, the document has been successful in bringing out the problem of food and it has created awareness of the food situation to the world community at large. I don't add much to this general situation. However, I would like to make a few specific points. Mr Chairman, to close the widening gap between food demand and production in African countries, three possibilities can be mentioned.
1. Increase production through intensive use of inputs such as fertilizer, improved seed, chemicals and other inputs.
- Because of increasing price of fertilizer and decline in foreign exchange earning of non-oil
exporting developing countries the fertilizer consumption is declining. Hence, no increase
in yield through this means.
-Because of inadequate attention given to agricultural research in the developing countries
new innovations such as high- yielding, disease and drought resistance varieties are not available
to boost production.
-Similar to that of fertilizer, chemical costs are also too high to be used by farmers of
developing countries to save their crops from distruction by disease, pests and parasites.
1/ Texte reçu avec demande d'insertion au procès-verbal.
2. Increase production through extensive production.
- Most of the areas which are not currently under cultivation have problems which developing
countries cannot solve easily.
- Most of the areas are infested with human and animal disease.
- Needs infrastructural development.
- To develop this area large investment beyond the ability of the LDC countries is needed.
3. The third way to reduce the food gap is by reduction of the post-harvest loss which comes close to 30 percent of the total production.
Mr Chairman, if some improvements are made in the areas reiterated above, the African food situation would have had a different face. Making such an improvement, my delegation believes, is within an easy reach of the world community. This is true if there is a genuine understanding and appreciation by the developed countries to the socio-economic problems of the developing countries of the world.
Mr Chairman, the developed world often reacts fast when emergencies, man made or natural, arise anywhere. My delegation urges that the industrialized countries should react in the same manner to assist the agricultural development programmes of .the developing countries. 1/
S.J. KAO (Lesotho): Mr Chairman, as this is the first time that my delegation takes the floor in Commission I, I take the opportunity to congratulate you and your two Vice-Chairmen on your unanimous election to those positions. I further take the opportunity to commend the Secretariat for the good quality of the documentation we are using.
This Commission on this first item of its agenda is addressing itself to the most important responsibility of this Organization, i.e., the state of food and agriculture in the world. Paragraph 24 of document C 83/2 states "In per caput terms, production still has failed to increase during the past 5 years".
Mr Chairman, that is a very serious indictment on the part of those responsible for development of the capacity of the human race to feed itself, and a challenge to this Organization and member countries. Further, paragraph 180 of the same document states "A technological gap also indicates the failure of agricultural research to interact with farming systems, managerial capacities and local support services." The point that I call for support is that increase in food production can be done by farmers and no one else: thus emphasis should be on the farming systems and managerial capacity of farmers. It is the awareness, commitment and training/education of farmers that must be given priority. This is the first major change in the policies of agricultural development that is called for. Without this redirection of policy, Member Nations, particularly developing countries, will not be able to take full benefit of the resources placed at their disposal to produce food.
In 1980-81, Lesotho launched a food self-sufficiency programme which directed its efforts to the elements mentioned above, i.e., farming systems, managerial capacity and support services. The result was a five-fold increase in yields. FAO has had the opportunity to evaluate this programme and its report is positive.
Paragraph 39 refers to decline of production and consumption of fertilizer. The operational relationships of foreign exchange, international trade, international indebtedness, unemployment between developing countries and industrial countries have been very ably addressed by His Excellency Bruno Kreisky. I can only call on developed countries to reassess the situation and facilitate food production.
In most forums like this one, there is endless call for incentives including producer prices. This matter is addressed in paragraph 43. We look forward to the results of the study of agricultural price policies which the Director-General has launched. However, at this stage, I merely want to bring to the attention of this meeting that there is a vicious circle in balancing the interests of the producers and those of the consumers. To date, the emphasis has been to protect the consumer. That policy has not benefited either side. Thus, my suggestion is to provide producer incentives in the form of remunerative prices and the effects would be increased production and employment -even the landless would provide wage labour in agriculture.
1/ Statement inserted in the verbatim records on request.
Last but not least, Mr Chairman, let me refer to food aid. "Man shall live by the sweat of thy brow". Food aid should be used as an instrument of development. While some countries use food for humanitarian causes to save the life of the abject poor, others use it as an instrument of foreign policy to coerce the poor and hungry nations to accept certain ideologies. I call on this Organization to condemn that action and to ask such countries in the name of sanctity of human life and in the name of humanity to refrain from such actions. 1/
N. SRISURAK (Thailand): May I join the previous speakers in congratulating you, Mr Chairman, on your election to the high office of the Commission I.
Mr Chairman, the overall world food situation at present is not as critical as it was in the early 1970s. But it is a fact that many developing countries are facing serious problems of food shortages and malnutrition, particularly in Africa. However, the years 1981 and 1982 were by far the most difficult years for world agricultural commodity trades. The sharp and widespread decline of commodity prices on the international market during 1981 and 1982 below the cost of production, have brought about serious repercussions on the economies of both developed and developing countries. However, the situation in 1983 has ushered in a brighter world economic outlook characterized by a partial economic recovery in some major industrial countries and a moderate recovery of world market prices of some agricultural commodities.
Mr Chairman, our agriculture has been one of the most dynamic in south-east Asia. Between 1960 and 1981, Thai agriculture grew annually at over five percent. This growth enables us to reduce rural poverty substantially. Our capacity to produce food for others has been curtailed by the severe drop in their purchasing power, due to the collapse of the markets for their traditional products. Furthermore, our farmers were seared by drought in the first half of 1983. They were swamped by floods a month ago. However, in 1983 aggregate agricultural production is expected to increase at the rate of 3.2 percent higher than the 1.5 percent growth in the last year. Output of fishery, livestock and crops is to grow at the respective rates of 10, 4 and 1.9 percent. The 1.9 percent increase in crop production was due mainly to the drought at the beginning of the planting season which had caused a delay in the planting process of several crops. Production of the first crop of rice and maize was slightly affected at the beginning of the season. However, rainfalls became more regular since June resulting in an expansion in planted acreage of both crops. Outputs are estimated to be 16 and 3.6 million tons for paddy and maize respectively or an increase of 6.0 and 14 percent over previous years. Tapica output is estimated to be 21 million metric tons in 1983. As for sugar-cane, output decreased as result of the drought at the beginning of 1983 which had affected both latoons and newly planted sugar-cane stalks. It is believed that the output of sugar will be 19 million metric tons of cane. To achieve the above targets we have carried out various programmes, namely price support schemes, insurance facility for high risk crops, the reduction in prices of fertilizers, development of water resources, rural job creation programmes, monetary incentive measures and export promotion policy. 1/
N. ISLAM (Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Policy Department): I have only a few queries to respond to and we are very grateful to delegates for the various suggestions and comments they have made which will certainly help us with our future work, especially in writing our expanded and fuller version of The State of Food and Agriculture.
We are also grateful for various appreciative remarks which delegates have made on our rather detailed analysis this year, as distinct from other years, on regional aspects of performance of various regions in the sphere of food and agriculture. We intend to continue this work at regular intervals, especially in respect of the medium-and long-term aspects of developments in food and agriculture in various regions of the world.
Mention was made by a few delegates of the relative neglect of social and institutional constraints; an analysis of these constraints is in our treatment of the regional sections in The State of Food of Agriculture. This is indeed an important issue, we have however analysed these aspects in greater depth in another document which will be considered by this Commission later on under a different agenda item. That is the Progress Report on the Implementation of the WCARRD Programme of Action.
In at least some of the Regional Conferences next year, we will also have a discussion on the implementaton of the WCARRD Programme of Action in respect of those specific regions. This will provide an opportunity for going into greater detail on the discussion of social and institutional constraints in the field of agricultural development.
1/ Statement inserted in the verbatim records on request.
A few comments were made as to whether the Secretariat document adequately emphasized the positive aspects of the food and agriculture situation. Specific reference was made to two issues: one is the discussion on the level of cereal stocks and the second is on the positive aspects of falling prices of food and agricultural commodities.
The level of cereal stocks, as was recognized by almost all the delegates in their interventions, was indeed high at the end of the 1982/1983 season. However the supplementary document also mentions the developments expected at the end of the next season where the level is expected to go down from 21 percent today, to 17 percent of annual consumption, due to cutbacks in production as well as the result of the drought. So we continue to be caught in the regular well-known cycle of periods of high output and low prices, followed by falling output and higher prices.
The second issue raised was whether we have emphasized enough the beneficial effect of low prices, but the facts indicate that the beneficial effect of low import prices for developing countries has been more than offset by the greater fall in their export prices. The terms of trade have been very depressed, as all delegates have recognized. Moreover, the fall in prices in the usual manner, especially where the price has fallen below the cost of production, has discouraged production and would result in lower output and higher prices next year, in the next season.
On the issue of public expenditure on agriculture, questions were asked as to whether there was not a decline in the latest years for which figures are available in public expenditure on agriculture in developing countries. As we have indicated in the document, public expenditure both in current and real terms, went up for the 57 countries for which we have data available, from 1978 to 1981. For the year 1982 there was indeed a decline, but of course there are differences in patterns among different regions and in one region it even declined in other years.
This decline in 1982, of course, was associated with the decline in overall public expenditure due to well-known reasons, currently depressed conditions and falling revenues in the developing countries. Moreover, I think it will be interesting to mention that public expenditure on agriculture as a proportion of total public expenditure has remained more or less unchanged, with slight variations, over the whole period of 1978-1982 at about 7 percent. So the decline in 1982 in absolute levels, either in current or constant prices, is associated more with the overall decline in public expenditure as a whole.
Delegates have been informed in various past sessions how difficult we have found it to collect data on public expenditure on agriculture in developing countries; over the years we have made rather strenuous efforts to collect this data, but with limited success. What is needed now is for the developing country members to set up their own system of collecting this information and for FAO - and as far as FAO is concerned we are ready to be of assistance within the limits of our resources -to help the countries to set up this system of collection and analysis of information on public expenditure in agriculture.
We explained earlier how difficult, indeed almost impossible it is to collect data on private investment in agriculture. Let alone the developing countries, it will be difficult enough for the developed countries.
Several delegates have mentioned the need for analyses of the role of trans-national corporations in the field of agricultural production, trading and distribution. This subject was discussed in several FAO committees in the past year or so, including the discussion in the Council meeting in June 1983. In the Council report, as delegates will recall, the Secretariat informed the Council that FAO would keep in touch with other United Nations bodies working on transnational corporations and would inform the members of its investigation research' in this respect. We have already initiated contacts with other United Nations bodies including United Nations Centre for Transnational Corporations, UNCTAD and others working on various aspects of the work, of the activities of Transnational Corporations. We hope to prepare in due course an objective review paper summarizing the present state of analysis and information on transnational corporations working in the field of food and agriculture. We hope this paper would not only reveal the present state of information and analysis based "upon the work of others as well as would strive to identify the gaps in analysis for the information of the members.
One question was raised earlier in the debate as to the timing of the publication of the Fifth World Food Survey and suggestion was made that the Secretariat should try to advance the date of the publication of the Fifth World Food Survey which is now scheduled for 1985. I have to inform the Commission that the work involved is rather extensive. It not only includes a revision of the earlier work on the estimation of calorie requirements, based upon earlier FAO/WHO Expert consultations, but also analysis and additional statistical information and improvement in the terminology. All this work is underway and we do not think it will be possible to finish the work in 1984. We hope still to undertake the publication sometime in 1985.
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias Dr. Islam, si no hubiera ninguna cuestión que en estos momentos algún delegado deseara poner ante esta presidencia, me permitiré intentar un resumen de las discusiones celebradas sobre este subtema 6.1, pero antes de ello consulto a esta Comisión si hay alguien que desee hacer, en estos momentos, uso de la palabra.
Bien señores, en ese caso les quiero informar que hemos culminado los debates sobre este subtema 6.1. Estoy seguro de que han sido de provecho y les informo de que 38 delegados de países miembros hicieron uso de la palabra, y me permito a continuación intentar concluir con la difícil tarea de hacer una síntesis de la enorme multitud de temas aquí tratados.
El resumen que presento lo hago con el conocimiento de que será tan sólo indicativo para la elaboración del informe y que de ninguna manera, mejor dicho que no necesariamente}deberá prevalecer en su redacción.
Se destacó aquí la utilidad de los documentos C 83/2 y del C 83/Sup.l como material de trabajo claro y breve.
Se actualizó y precisó información relativa a los esfuerzos productivos en la agricultura, distribución y acceso a los alimentos en regiones y países y se solicitó profundizar en los análisis incluyendo estudios sobre la función de las corporaciones transaccionales.
Mayor información objetiva y amplia se necesita en este sentido. Se hizo referencia a la desalentadora situación y perspectivas de la agricultura y la alimentación, con más fracaso que éxitos, que enfrentamos ahora una profunda crisis, con un comercio internacional deprimido y una mejor participación de las economías en desarrollo y particularmente de su agricultura.
Se expresó preocupación sobre cómo salir de la trampa de la recesión y algunas referencias al respecto se hicieron.
Se confirmó la vinculación entre la crítica situación económica internacional y sus diversos efectos en las diversas fases de la cadena agrícola y alimentaria.
Se insistió en la necesidad de avanzar hacia un nuevo orden económico internacional, pero subrayo que a pesar de ello ha habido pocos logros en ese sentido, que los organismos internacionales relativos a comercio y desarrollo no han tenido avances significativos, y que los problemas bélicos y otras distorsiones se han exacerbado. Todo ello abate la seguridad alimentaria, principalmente porque la paz es su condición indispensable. Se dijo que no se ha avanzado tampoco en el establecimiento de acuerdos internacionales de productos alimentarios básicos, en especial los cereales.
La dependencia creciente de la importación de alimentos en países en desarrollo, debida a la insuficiencia de la producción local, y con los efectos relativos al empleo, el ingreso y la productividad rural, así como en la formación de los hábitos de consumo de manera indeseable, afecta las balanzas de pagos de esos países, compromete el uso de divisas, de por sí caras y escasas, e incrementa el peligro de menores niveles de alimentación y nutrición de la población.
La producción de alimentos y de la agricultura decreció en un 1 por ciento aproximadamente en 1982, principalmente debido a las reducciones en la oferta de alimentos (-8 por ciento) causada en buona parte por una caída del 14 por ciento, aproximadamente, en la producción de cereales en países desarrollados.
Se insistió en que los gobiernos pusieran mayor interés en incentivar la producción local, buscando una mayor autosuficiencia alimentaria y en incorporar a ello programas agrarios y de desarrollo rural, así como adecuadas políticas de precios y esfuerzos para incrementar la productividad por campesino.
Asimismo se destacó tener en cuenta el equilibrio de los ecosistemas, la necesidad de repoblación forestal y el fortalecimiento de las áreas de temporal. Se subrayaron las dificultades para aumentar las exportaciones agrícolas y la contracción de los ingresos derivados de ellas, que fue mayor que la asistencia externa dedicada a la agricultura. El origen principal de dicha contracción deriva principalmente de un proteccionismo que no ha cedido por lo que se solicitó insistentemente en liberalizar y democratizar más los mercados.
Sin embargo, esta situación se complica por la inestabilidad de precios y de los propios mercados, con el deterioro de los términos de intercambio para los países en desarrollo, con la presencia de empresas transnacionales y su posible función negativa o positiva en su caso, y con las dificultades financieras y monetarias que se enfrentan. Se dijo también que problemas naturales como el deterioro económico, variaciones climáticas y catástrofes naturales en general hacían muchas veces fluctuar la oferta agrícola de muchos de los países en desarrollo, y también de los desarrollados.
Se manifestó preocupación por la concentración de la producción y de los excedentes alimentarios en pocos países, y por la política de reducción de superficie cultivada y de reservas mundiales, y la dependencia creciente de la seguridad alimentaria respecto a las decisiones de esos pocos países. Se solicitó conocer sus políticas y la necesidad de tomar en cuenta los intereses de los países en desarrollo. Se recordó sin embargo y también, que existe la intención de ampliar las áreas de cultivos en esos países en los próximos años y que los excedentes de cosechas anteriores permitirían garantizar ahora, como en el futuro, las necesidades de reservas y el cumplimiento de los compromisos comerciales. También se manifestó que se debería condenar todo condicionamiento político para el acceso a los alimentos. Se expresó preocupación por la fluctuación de insuficiencia de las reservas alimentarias y la necesidad de distribuirlas más equitativamente. Asimismo, que la asistencia para el desarrollo agrícola y alimentario se ha estancado y que, por tanto, se requiere de un mayor esfuerzo de cooperación internacional entre los países del norte y del sur, y también entre los países en desarrollo; es decir entre el sur y el sur.
Se subrayó que el objetivo debía ser apoyar organizada e integralmente la producción, disponibilidad y acceso a los alimentos. Muchos países destacan los importantes esfuerzos productivos y distributivos que están realizando. Se subraya también el difícil equilibrio de las políticas de precios que deben atender ingresos rurales, capacidad adquisitiva de los consumidores y producción de excedentes deseables en el comercio internacional.
La ayuda alimentaria ha enfrentado los reveses del comercio internacional y el manejo de los excedentes como mercancía y/o ayuda.
Los objetivos de ayuda alimentaria en 1982/83 permanecieron por abajo de lo establecido, por lo que se sugirió que la Comisión elevara tal objetivo de 10 a 20 millones de toneladas. Se exhortó a los países donadores a responder a las necesidades de ayuda de los países en desarrollo y a incrementar sustancialmente los fondos de asistencia para el desarrollo agrícola y alimentario. Se planteó la posibilidad de que por parte de varios países en desarrollo se incrementara la ayuda no sólo en especie sino en dinero, y también se expresó por otros países la necesidad de una mayor ayuda.
Se puntualizó que por lo menos en algunos casos, los esfuerzos adicionales de ayuda rebasaban de manera importante los incrementos de gastos militares, aunque se mencionen que los gastos militares eran exorbitantes comparados con los de asistencia y ayuda. Se declaró que la ayuda alimentaria no debía ser utilizada para fines políticos, y se condenó el uso de alimentos como instrumento de presión política.
Se expresó preocupación por el creciente problema de los refugiados en el mundo que, como sabemos, llega ya a 10 millones de personas, la mitad de las cuales se encuentran en Africa y que, por lo general, todas ellas absorben una buena proporción de la ayuda alimentaria total de emergencia.
Se insistió en reforzar el FIDA para que no se colapse y mejorar y reaprovisionar la RAIE que tiene un papel humanitario. El reaprovisionamiento de las reservas deberían incrementarse sustancialmente.
Hubo consenso sobre el imperativo de reforzamiento de la ayuda alimentaria, comercial y financiera al continente africano, en particular Sub-Sahariana.
Se puso énfasis en dar seguimiento al Plan de Acción de Lagos y se habló detratarel problemainte gralmente,cone speciala tención en el desarrollo rural y en el progreso tecnológico,enelcontrolfito y zoosanitarioyenla lucha contra laerosión, pues la inseguridadalimentariaenesecontinente no se ha reducido.
Los programas de rehabilitación, muchas políticas tomadas y esfuerzos diversos no han tenido el éxito deseado en ese continente, por lo que se destacó de manera muy enfática incrementar la cooperación internacional y política de desarrollo, que comprenda desde la producción, empleo, ingresos y tecnología, hasta los problemas de balanza de pagos, financiamiento, moneda, ecológicos, geopolí-ticos y aun los militares.
Se habló asimismo de reforzar los esfuerzos de la FAO para ampliar y profundizar en el conocimiento de la situación agrícola alimentaria mundial, y en particular de Africa.
Se exhortó también en favor de la asistencia al diseño de políticas relativas a la superación de la problemática de la inseguridad alimentaria.
Si no hay ninguna observación por parte de ninguna Delegación, esta Presidencia levanta la Tercera Sesión de la Comisión I, y les ruega a todos que estemos aquí puntualmente a las 14.30 horas para iniciar los debates relativos al Subtema 6.2 de nuestra Agenda.
The meeting rose at 12.30 hours
La séance est levée à 12 h 30
lSe levanta la sesión a las 12.30 horas
