LE PRESIDENT: Excellences, Mesdames, Messieurs, la dixième séance plénière est ouverte.
Nous allons passer à l’audition des distingués délégués qui vont prendre la parole à l’occasion de la célébration de ce quarantième anniversaire de notre Organisation.
Notre temps reste très limité et je serais extrêmement reconnaissant à tous les orateurs de bien respecter les délais que nous nous sommes prescrits, à savoir des interventions ne dépassant pas quinze minutes.
Mrs Millicent H. FENWICK (United States of America): I am very happy to speak to this gathering here today on the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of FAO for a lot of reasons.
I was happy that at the very beginning of FAO there was a woman involved. I will confess that this makes me happy. Mrs Roosevelt was one of those, as I have been told by brilliant Canadians and Australians who were also involved here, finally ended up in Hot Springs and in Canada to sign the Charter. What an organization. I wonder if anybody had any idea? The question we must ask ourselves, all of us sent here by our governments, is: are we on the right path? Are we really headed toward what we set out to accomplish? It is a big question.
Forty years ago the world was innocent in a sense. We believed that if people were hungry, the answer was simply to produce and distribute food. That was the whole solution; it was that simple. We thought that that would answer the problem of this terrible suffering from hunger.
We have learned something; we have learned that that is by no means righteor even enough, that food and benevolence and money floods will not do it. They will not answer the question. We have to look somewhere else. It is not the old way as we thought, or the simple solution which we thought was right at hand.
What is the answer then? To whom do we turn? Do we turn to the universities and ask them for some marvellously intellectually developed programme based on statistics, based on theories, based on what the most advanced chemical engineers and statisticians know? Certainly we have to have those things. We cannot turn into a group of people who have no interest in intellectual development or in all of those things, but it is not enough. FAO has done marvellously in what it was supposed to do, collecting information, telling us about soil, water, forests, fisheries, what is going on in this planet where people have to live. There is no substitute for it. It has done the job it was supposed to do in my opinion magnificently, but it is not enough. Even that is not enough. I think that this morning we heard two of the signposts, as we have so often, from our distinguished Director-General and from our distinguished independent Chairmen of the Council, Dr Saouma and Dr Swaminathan. There is something more that is needed. What is needed is that we come to the people on whom we must rely, the workers, the farmers, not just with theories which have been somehow digested so as to make them intelligible and useful and practical for them, but with respect. Come not just with ideas but with our hearts.
It is not enough just to have a theoretical approach; you have to have some honest respect and concern for the people. If they are not involved and do not know that we care - if they do not know we are interested in their welfare - they will not do βit. Nothing we can do in the way of intellectual achievement will convince them.
This morning we heard two wonderful speeches. President Mitterrand told us that it is the individual who counts.
President Kountché of Niger also once said it is not enough to have these wonderful programmes devised in some university, executed in the capital in an air-cooled room by people who have never been on an African farm. You have to do what Gandhi told us: sit there, see their resources, bring them together. We have to care for and respect these people. Money can be poison if it is not handled with the greatest respect and concern for the people involved.
One can also remember the wonderful speech of President Kaunda of Zambia this autumn. It is not enough to have material assistance only, but it must be based on people who you care for and respect. “Go to the village, said Gandhi, and respect the people. See what they need”. See what resources they have - human and material - and bring them together.
In the six African countries I have visited I have seen FAO programmes. As Ambassador Muthama of Kenya said: if we can only have someone from the next village who has the same soil, they will see that it works. We must have that, and must count on the people who can make it work.
This morning I found it thrilling when President Soeharto spoke of bringing farmers here. I do not know if others were as touched as I was at the idea of having one in the delegation and others sitting and taking part. I know a farmer from Zimbabwe. What he has done with his two hectares of land is a miracle. He has not only gotten a truck but also a car and does not depend on the middle-man any more to get his produce to market. I have now been in six African countries and have found wonderful people. What does Mr Papafio of Ghana, living in a small village say: the same as Gandhi - go to the village, learn from them and serve them. We will not get anywhere unless we pay attention to this great statesman. India has learnt. France has learnt. We know that the strength lies within the human beings we represent. What do I really like about FAO? It is not just all these wonderful statistics but the fact that when you get to the bottom of their programmes and attitudes, this is what it is all about. They suffer if someone is suffering. Unless we touch the lives of other human beings we can do great harm.
G.J.M. BRAKS (Pays-Bas): C’est un grand privilège pour moi, гeprésentant du Conseil des ministres au nom des pays membres de la Communauté européenne, de prendre la parole à cette reunion plénière.
En tout premier lieu, je voudrais féliciter la FAO à l’occasion du quarantième anniversaire de l’Organisation. Pourquoi ? Parce que la FAO est l’une des organisations spécialisées les plus importantes et respectées des Nations Unies.
L’une de ses tâches essentielles est la relance de l’agriculture et la sécurité alimentaire dans les pays en voie de développement. Je peux dire que la FAO peut compter sur la Communauté européenne pour atteindre cet objectif et que, pour réussir, il faut une solidarité internationale.
La Communauté européenne et tout particulièrement notre politique agricole commune ont pu garantir la sécurité alimentaire en Europe, grâce à une telle solidarité entre les Etats qui la composent. Nous avons prouvé dans ce cadre que l’agriculture est la base et le moteur de tout progrès économique.
La Communauté européenne n’est pas seulement le deuxième exportateur mais en même temps le plus grand importateur des produits agricoles du monde et nous espérons cordialement que la démarche adoptee par la Communauté européenne pourrait être suivie dans les autres pays et parties du monde.
Naturellement la Communauté européenne n’est pas parfaite mais elle combat ses imperfections. Par exemple, dans le Livre vert, la Communauté européenne préconise des prix mieux orientés vers le marché à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur.
Elle ne veut pas non plus rester indifférente face aux excédents structurels de nombre de produits agricoles, d’ailleuгs pour une bonne partie causés par un accroissement technique de productivité.
Si la libéralisation des échanges des produits agricoles est importante pour les pays en voie de développement, nous savons qu’elle ne suffit pas à résoudre tous les problèraes en cause. Pour le développement de l’agriculture et la vie rurale dans ces pays du monde, úne stratégie intégrée surtout est efficace. Le développement d’une telle stratégie relève bien sûr de la responsabilité des pays concernés mais dans un monde où l’inteгdépendance est devenue une réalité, la coopération est indispensable.
L’action de la FAO est tout à fait vitale dans ce processus de développement, d’une part comme tribune entre le Nord et le Sud pour les problèmes alimentaires, d’autre part pour inciter les pays en voie de développement à mettre en place une politique appropriée.
En effet, la FAO est en quelque sorte l’expression de notre responsabilité collective face à un grand défi, celui d’assurer l’approvisionnement alimentaire dans tous les pays du monde, aujourd’hui et demain.
Je vous remercie au nom de la Communauté européenne.
Buta SINGH (India): I deem it a privilege to salute FAO on its 40th Anniversary on behalf of Asia which has over 50 percent of the world’s population. The founding fathers of FAO had great vision and this is clear from the preamble of the FAO constitution which asks all of us who are members of this Organization to work toward achieving greater efficiency and equity in food production and distribution. At the same time the FAO Constitution asks us to strive to improve the quality of life of rural populations and insulate human kind from hunger.
The inspiring speeches we heard this morning from the Presidents of Indonesia and France as well as the speeches so far made at the Plenary sessions indicate the total commitment of Member Nations to the ideals and goals of FAO. Therefore, this is an appropriate occasion to draw a 40 year balance sheet to indicate to ourselves where we have progressed and where we have failed. As an Asian, I am proud that in our part of the world we have succeeded in keeping the rate of growth in food production above the rate of growth in population. This is no mean achievement considering the fact that most of the countries were under colonial rule 40 years ago and that at the time of their independence, they lacked the minimum essential infrastructure for the modernization of their agriculture. Research and training institutions were either very ill-equipped and staffed or were non-existent, extension agencies had little to extend by way of new knowledge or inputs needed to apply new techniques and above all, the neglect of rural areas was so great that they lacked roads, electricity, storage and processing facilities and even clean drinking water. The progress made by Asian countries in improving the oroductivity and stability of major farming systems in recent decades has to be viewed against this background.
I would like to illustrate the magnitude of the Asian achievement by taking the example of Indonesia whose illustrious President graced this morning’s ceremony and gave such a thoughtprovoking address.
The cultivation of rice which is the most important food crop of Indonesia began nearly 5000 years ago in Java. From that time up to 1970, Indonesia developed the capacity to produce annually about 10 million tons of rice. This year, Indonesia will be harvesting about 27 million tons of rice, making that country not only self-sufficient in rice but also capable of exporting some quantities to needy nations. Thus, the progress achieved during the last 15 years in rice production, far exceeds the progress made during the preceeding 5000 years. All of us in Asia are proud that the Indonesian farmers through their illustrious President have devoted 100 000 tons of rice for helping those who needed food. Similar progress has been made in most parts of Asia as explained the Minister of Agriculture of China the other day. In my own country, the production of wheat, which has been cultivated from the days of the Mohanja-Daro Civilization several thousands of years ago was about 10 million tons in 1964. This year we harvested nearly 46 million tons, these examples will be sufficient to illustrate what has been done by Asian
countries after they achieved political and economic liberation from colonialism, through their own efforts and supplemented by assistance and advice received from FAO and other multilateral and bilateral organizations. We would like to record our gratitude to FAO and all other agencies and Nations which have helped in accelerating the pace of agricultural progress in Asia.
Today also happens to be the anniversary of the birth of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister and the principal architect of modern India. Soon after he became Prime Minister in August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru said: “Everything else can wait, but not agriculture”. Jawaharlal Nehru christened our fertilizer factories and multipurpose irrigation projects as the “modern temple of India”. Many in this audience may not know that although the use of mineral fertilizers in crop production dates back to the last century in Europe following their discovery by the German chemist Liebig, most countries in Asia including my own had hardly any fertilizer factories until 30 years ago. It is such political priority to agricultural modernization that gave the needed social prestige, scientific attention and economic support to the rural sector.
While we can be proud of our achievements during the past 40 years, there is no time to relax or rejoice. We are aware of the sufferings of poor people in several countries of the world and in parts of almost every developing nation. The goals set by FAO for bettering the conditions of rural populations and ensuring humanity’s freedom from hunger are still distant goals, inspite of the pioneering work done by FAO during the past 25 years under the inspiring guidance of Dr B.R. Sen, Dr A.H. Boerma, and Dr Edouard Saouma. We are happy to see Dr Sen and Dr Boerma in our midst today. The Asia Group will also like to congratulate and thank Dr Saouma for the fitting manner which the 40th Anniversary celebration has been arranged.
Development of food and agriculture and the cherished goal of food for all are closely linked not only with the agriculture research, transfer of technology and development of infrastructure but also with the overall socio-political and economic environment. Greater production alone will not ensure food security unless the poor have the capacity to acquire food. Hunger is only a manifestation of poverty. If we are to ensure that no man, woman or child goes to bed hungry, it is essential to improve the present regime of international financing, monetary systems and trade practices.
The tragic situation in which a major part of Africa finds itself today is the consequence of this inequitous regime. At this juncture we would like to pay our sincere tribute to the international community and the Food and Agriculture Organization for mobilizing massive relief for saving precious human lives in the African continent and for rehabilitation of agriculture in these areas. We, however, recognize that these countries will have to be assisted in diverse ways through efforts, some of which are beyond the purview of Food and Agriculture Organization, to revitalize the economies.
I would wish to refer at this point, if I may, to our own modest contribution in terms of providing food, technical assistance and cooperation for development in human resources in a number of countries in the African region.
On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of FAO while acknowledging the great contribution of this Organization we should reflect on its future role and the direction in which its activities should focus. Utilizing our available experience of 40 years of mutal cooperation and learning we should look ahead and develop innovative approaches to tackle the serious problems of poverty, hunger and malnutrition prevalent in many developing countries. The tasks ahead will be more difficult than those in the past. Land extension possibilities for agriculture are extremely limited. In our region we have reached land frontiers. Research, hitherto, has mostly been confined to easier solutions for irrigated and assured rainfall areas. Research and technology for dryland farming which constitutes a major part of arable land should now enjoy the highest priority in the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization. Development of potential in these areas would be much more expensive and would call for greater imagination. While the yields under irrigated conditions and in large holdings have substantially increased, this progress has bypassed small and marginal farming units and now is the time to pay attention to their needs if we have to feed our populations by the end of the century.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, while responding to some of the questions posed to him at the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization, observed and I quote “Growth cannot be true development if it entails environmental degradation. The early stages of industrialization everywhere produce serious dislocations”. Growth in agriculture production at the cost of environmental degradation, large scale deforestation and desertification is not an acceptable choice. Serious scarcity of fuelwood and the rapid march of desert on our arable lands cannot be over-emphasized. We have to evolve a system of agriculture which respects, preserves and enriches our life support system. Our efforts for the development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries must constantly be informed by these considerations. We expect the Food and Agriculture Organization, through its vast reservoir of expertise and in cooperation with those capabilities available in the developed and developing countries, to address itself to these problems and endeavour to find viable approaches.
While it is necessary that all countries continue and intensify their efforts in improving the life and living standards of the poor and hungry, the developing countries, through their own efforts and by sharing their experiences, perceptions, capabilities and expertise, can achieve substantial results. We are happy that the promotion of economic and technical cooperation among developing countries is a field of activity to which the Food and Agriculture Organization accords a very high priority. However, in terms of resources devoted to these activities by FAO, there is scope for substantial improvement. We would like to call upon this Organization to make greater efforts for this purpose.
Mr Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, the achievement of the Untied Nations and its organs during these 40 years are very substantial and what they have not been able to achieve should only strengthen our determination to strive for greater success. These organizations deserve our fullest support, our most willing cooperation since our future is closely linked with their success. If global inter-dependence has any meaning, it can only be achieved through our cooperative and joint endeavours and by using these organs as effective tools of international cooperation and solidarity of mankind.
If we join together and decide to ensure that no fellow human being will be allowed to starve or live under sub-human conditions, we can certainly achieve our aim. But for this, we need a new ethos and a new culture of cooperation. I will end with a quotation from the Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda which provides the basis for developing a new culture of cooperation:
“In this world, take always the position of a giver: Give help, give service, give love, give any little thing you can, but keep out barter”.
TEKOLA DEGENE (Ethiopia): It gives me great pleasure to have the honour of addressing this 40th Anniversary gathering of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Forty years ago, when the agreement leading towards the creation of this Organization was signed in Quebec, Canada, the founding members had been motivated by the noble idea of eradicating hunger and malnutrition. Forty years ago, the world just survived the most destructive war in history, and human beings in all parts of the world came out of the doom and gloom of war and started to feel again the hope of life. It was those years of new hope, of the spirit of survival and revival, that stimulated the creation of the FAO. By that act, the new international community in a positive spirit of mutual concern and cooperation, undertook the task of saving mankind, not only from the horrors of war but also ensured “humanity’s freedom from hunger”.
Those were years imbibed with optimism. The new motive was to make a full stop to war and to reconstruct and recreate, out of the ruins of the war, a world of peace, understanding and development. Many organizations were created to meet that objective and FAO was one of them. Both the founding fathers and those who have joined the FAO since then are committed to this goal.
What have we achieved since then?
That spirit of development and reconstruction in the late 1940s did help the war-ravaged countries of the world, particularly Europe, to rebuild their infrastructure, reconstruct their industries and their entire social set-up and evolve in the post-war years as economic powers. The world has also witnessed advances in science, in technology, in production and in social development that in previous history one could at best only imagine. Human civilization has been able to create the means of abundance and has shown the possibility of humanity’s freedom from want. That is, however, only one part of the story.
In this age of boom and affluence, millions of human beings still suffer from hunger, malnutrition, ignorance and disease. While the technical capability to provide enough food for all exists, millions of people are threatened by hunger and millions are critically underfed, with death tolls of millions each year from hunger and related causes.
Though, remarkable progress has been achieved in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, FAO at its 40th Anniversary is still faced with the growing challenge of hunger and under-nourishment which we consider will still require, with new spirit and vigour, a coordinated noble effort by everyone so as to create global peace and justice.
Like the post-war decade of Europe, those of us in Africa are now passing through a period of disaster and rehabilitation. In 1945, Europe was a continent ravaged by war. Today Africa is a continent dilapidated by drought and other natural and social catastrophes. In 1945, Africa longed for rehabilitation and survival. The post-war period in Europe ensued with massive programmes of reconstruction, handsomely supported by external inputs; and in fact the whole international situation was rearranged to facilitate that objective. The post-war era in Africa, on the contrary, was marked by constant struggles for national independence, struggles against the blind forces of nature (drought, ecological imbalances, diseases and pests, etc.), and now the struggle for rehabilitation of agriculture and the whole economy.
Contrary to the sympathetic outside support enjoyed by Europe and the more favourable international arena for its revival after World War II, the programmes for Africa’s rehabilitation are meagerly supported from outside. Even worse is the declining trend of assistance for agriculture. The reconstruction of Europe also enjoyed financial and market opportunities from the outside world. The rehabilitation of Africa today, on the other hand, takes place in a cruel international market situation with declining prices and growing protectionism. The very little development assistance that does flow, provides little or no leverage for progress. In spite of the anticipated wish of recovering developing countries from their devastated economy, it has become a face-saving device for those trading on the ruins of developing countries. If the international community is to exist without the fear of hunger it is quite clear that much more has to be done.
Forty years is a long enough time to assess the outcome of policy actions, programmes and projects. Forty years is also a long enough time to draw conclusions based on experience so far gained.
Over many years past it has clearly emerged that agriculture and rural development are not problems with easy solutions and that the problem of food and agriculture acquires its complexity from its variability through space and time as well as through the cultural and social fabric of a given society.
Unprecedented and unpredicted phenomenon that affect food and agriculture have emerged at various-times.
It has also clearly emerged that agriculture is not only one of production and consumption but one involving distribution, technology, trade, industry, education, health, population, etc.
These are, therefore, the challenges that await our Organization, and are also facing those of us whose agriculture falters behind demand. These challenges have to be met by FAO, each and every Member State, and the international community at large.
We are certain that FAO, backed with 40 years of experience, will meet those challenges and contribute to the freeing of human beings from the horror of hunger. My Government, as a founding member, will do all it can to help the Organization fulfill its objectives.
Last but not least, I would like to pay tribute to the founding fathers of this Organization, to all who have served and who are serving in this Organization and the Director-General, who have untiringly worked towards the realization of the objectives of the Organization.
Doña Cecilia LOPEZ (Colombia): E1 pasado lunes esta Conferencia tυvo el privilegio de escuchar la voz del Sr. Alán García Pérez, Presidente del Perú, joven estadista, quien con elocuencia y fuerza admirables hizo una excelente disertación.
Esta mañana oímos al Sr. Soeharto - Presidente de Indonesia - grande país en desarrollo, cuyo Gobier-no y pueblos vienen haciendo notables esfuerzos por la recuperación de las condiciones económicas y sociales de su país y al Sr. François Mitterrand, Presidente de la Republica de Francia, generoso y altгuista país industrializado cuyas actitudes positivas de comprensión y entendimiento de la dificil situación de la cooperación internacional son ejemplares, dignas de ser imitadas por otros países desarrollados.
Los representantes de América Latina y el Caribe han concedido a Colombia el alto honor de intervenir ahora, junto con el distinguido repгesentante de Santa Lucía, para que los dos asociemos a todos los Estados de nuestra region a la celebración del 40 Aniversario de la Fundación de la FAO.
Pensamos que esta celebración no debe tener caгácter pasivo, limitado solamente a una mirada retros-pectiva al pasado, sino que, por el contrario debemos escrutar y afrontar el poгvenir, plenamente conscientes de nuestras responsabilidades.
Esta ocasión es propicia para que nos interroguemos acerca de qué ha hecho la FAO en sus primeros 40 años de vida, qué no ha podido гealizar y por cuáles razones, y qué podrá hacer la FAO en el futuro.
Comparto la necesidad de impulsar la participación de la mujer en la agricultura, pero ya es tiempo de que este reconocimiento deje de formar parte de la retórica que generalmente acompaña el tema de la mujer y el desarrollo. La mujer es ya agente activo de la agricultura del Tercer Mundo y por lo tanto debe reconocerse su papel y apoyarse su acción en las actividades de la FAO de manera decidida y clara.
Opinamos que si los problemas de la agricultura y de la alimentación se agravan y multiplican, no podemos aceptar el principio obstinado del crecimiento cero en el presupuesto de una Organización como la FAO, que fue creada hace 40 años para asistir a los países en desarrollo en el mejoramiento de la agricultura y de la alimentacion, aspectos que adquieren mayor vigencia en este momento cuando la grave crisis africana sacude con angustia la opinión mundial.
Sobre todo, corresponde a los gobiernos de los estados desarrollados - particularmente a aquéllos que cumplieron función tan decisiva en la,creación de la FAO hace 40 años - utilizar esta oportunidad para analizar su actitud que en muchos aspectos nos inquieta y revisar así las posiciones de aquéllos pocos países que parecen no corresponder a las aspiraciones, los derechos y las nece-sidades del Tercer Mundo.
Muchos Directores Generales de la FAO han contribuido al crecimiento y al fortalecimiento de esta Organización. Nos complace registrar la grata presencia en esta celebración de dos eminentes ex Directores Generales, los Doctores B.R. Sen - de India - y A.H. Boerma - de Países Bajos.
Edouard Saouma, actual Director General, tiene acciones privilegiadas en los buenos éxitos que la FAO ha logrado, al colocarse de manera diáfana en un sitio prominente, de respecto y prestigio, en el contexto de las Naciones Unidas y de toda la comunidad internacional.
Cumplimos el honroso encargo de interpretar el sentimiento de lЪs pueblos de nuestros·países, al expresar a Edouard Saouma el más sincero reconocimiento y la más profunda gratitud, por todo lo que él ha hecho en favor de los estados de nuestra región.
Nos preocupa angustiosamente la crisis que ha afectado la cooperación multilateral, particularmente en los últimos cinco años.
Seguimos pensando que la cooperación multilateral es el medio más digno y adecuado a través del cual se debe seguir ofreciendo asistencia a los países soberanos o independientes, que han supe-rado etapas de dependencia en el pasado y que ahora reclaman, con pleno derecho, tratamiento respetuoso y justo, dentro de la inexorable interdependencia que debe existir entre todos los estados del mundo.
Los 40 años que registran frutos positivos en la labor de la FAO, deben ser el mejor estímulo para que en esta Organización el concepto del multilateralismo siga vigente, sin sombras ni debilidades.
Esperamos que el mensaje universal del Papa Juan Pablo II, al igual que todos los otros que se han transmitido con motivo de esta celebración, iluminen las mentes y los corazones de quienes tienen decisivas responsabilidades en el futuro de la FAO, porque ellos disponen de los medios y de los recursos indispensables para que esta Organización pueda seguir cumpliendo la tarea fundamental, de trabajar cada vez mejor y con mayor eficacia, en faγor de todos los estados miembros, parti-cularmente de aquéllos en vías de desarrollo.
Podemos asegurar a ustedes que los países del Tercer Mundo reconocemos nuestгas propias responsabilidades y estamos dispuestos a cumplirlas sin ninguna vacilación. Pero pedimos - cordial y respetuosamente - a los estados desaггollados que traten de entender la difícil situación por que atravesamos ahora, víctimas de la crisis del multilateralismo, y nos den la mano para que juntos - con verdadero sentido de cooperación - recorramos fraternalmente el camino de la común recuperación, que sera la ύnica base estable, política y social, sobre la cual podrán descansar la paz y el progreso de toda la humanidad.
S. ABDEEN MOHAMED (Sudan) (original language Arabic): It is an honour and a privilege to address this august Conference today on my own behalf and on behalf of the Group of the Near East on the 40th Anniversary of FAO. It is a unique occasion. This Organization which came into being as a beam of light grew, supported by the aspirations of humanity and instilled with its quest for security, peace and freedom from the shackles of misery, fear, hunger and deprivation. I have to pay homage to those founding fathers, exceptional individuals, who lit this torch and to the national governments that supported the Organization to evolve into what it is today - individuals with exceptional qualities, endowed with insight and strong will, starting with David Lubin, the American, and the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, Frank McDougall, the Australian, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, President Roosevelt and others. While commemorating this occasion we should pay homage to those enlightened individuals who met in Hot Springs in the United States, and remember those who established this Organization in Quebec City in Canada. The idea which was born as a result of human need evolved into a strong edifice in which we meet today through the bond of unity of purpose and destiny, although we might differ in the degrees of our aspirations and means.
Thanks to the efforts of its staff and your efforts as member nations, this Organization grew into a mecca for mankind, a symbol of man’s hope, and the only authority capable of realizing our dreams in the achievement of food security and agricultural development on a sound and equitable basis through its programmes covering all aspects of agriculture and other related issues in achieving the overall development of underdeveloped societies and the formulation of equitable global systems in the fields of exchange and trade, as well as through the creation of optimal modalities for regional cooperation.
This Organization countered international crises in its fields of competence with efficiency and strength throughout the 40 years of its existence. The most recent crisis, which is perhaps the most serious in magnitude, is that faced today in Africa. The continent which has been known traditionally as the food basket of the world has become today an exhaustive desert area whose people lurk under the yoke of hunger and malnutrition, together with their tragic consequences. We all know that this Organization a long time ago sounded the alarm through, inter alia, its studies, analyses and early warning programmes. Africa, jcouid do nothing without the assistance of rich countries. When the catastrophe befell Africa, the Organization countered it in all fora. The Director-General seized every opportunity to draw the world’s attention to this catastrophe to the extent that people all over the world organized concerts in different languages depicting famine in Africa. The Organization held meetings and despatched teams of experts to Africa to assess the magnitude of the tragedy, specify the volume of requirements and prepare various scenarios for medium- and long-term rehabilitation.
World conscience, alive as ever, lent support and assistance to Africa in the form of food, medicines and rehabilitation projects. This is the spirit for which the Organization was established, namely for the international community to share the feelings of those who suffer hunger and malnutrition.
Like the human body, if one organ falls sick other organs suffer. The Organization has acquired its present capability thanks to the moral and material support it gets. This Organization has been blessed with sincere men with exceptional qualities at its helm, men guided by human compassion and endowed with insight, intelligence, patience, endurance, self denial and sacrifice. Beginning with Sir John Boyd Orr and ending with the current Director-General, Dr Edouard Saouma, during his term of office the Organization has greatly developed and flourished. He has innovated a number of very important and functional programmes and set rules to serve the objectives of the Organization at trying times.
Now the whole world knows this Organization. It is known in Asia, known by the hungry. However, no sooner had their stocks been built than they granted food to others. It is known in Latin America and Africa; it is known by the hungry, by farmers small and big. We in the Sudan know it through our own development projects in the valleys and on the plains. The Sudanese know the Organization through its programmes and our national agricultural policy, and even more through the water we drink, the vaccines for our animals, the seeds and fertilizers for the waste land rejected by nature and deserted by man; through experience, training and extension services; we know it as a vigilent eye protecting our crops.
The 40th Anniversary of FAO should be an occasion for all of us, developed and developing alike, to renew our determination to pursue our efforts in the same good spirit and with the same goodwill of the founding fathers in order to realize the dreams of man for security, justice and peace.
We have to agree that the aims are lofty, the objectives are far-reaching and the path is fraught with dangers.
Our thanks are due to the Organization, to your Conference, and to the Director-General of the Organization and his predecessors. We pay homage to those countries which laid the foundations of this Organization, to those individuals who innovated the idea and implemented it with selfdenial and perseverence. We pay homage to the generous Government and hospitable people of Italy for the provisions of these premises, where the cries of the hungry resound and from which the beam of hope and optimism shines forth.
May Allah’s peace be upon you all.
S. LUNDKVIST (Sweden): I feel greatly honoured to be allowed to speak today, when we are commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Sweden is one of the small industrialized countries in Europe that has realized the importance of multilateralism. I would like to quote here what my Prime Minister, Olof Palme, has said on a similar occasion in the United Nations: “The United Nations must be permitted to succeed, succeed in the efforts to promote peace and disarmament, succeed in preventing ecological catastrophe, succeed in the fight against hunger and deprivation. There is simply no alternative to international cooperation. Only through joint endeavours can we hope to move from common fear to common security.”
In these joint endeavours FAO has a very important role to play. If it did not exist already we would have to establish it now. But it was established 40 years ago, for the purpose of raising levels of nutrition and standards of living among peoples in different countries, of securing improvements in efficiency, production, and distribution of all food and agricultural products, of bettering the conditions of rural populations, thus contributing toward an expanding world economy and of ensuring humanity’s freedom from hunger. These noble goals are still valid.
Of course, the primary responsibility for the welfare of people and the duty to care for the poor and to improve their situation rests with each Government. But as there is need for greater solidarity between individuals within a country, there is also need for greater solidarity between countries. Therefore richer nations have a moral obligation to help and assist poorer nations in their struggle against hunger and poverty. These are, to my understanding, the basic principles behind the World Food Security Compact presented to this Conference for adoption.
Today we are able to place a man on the moon at the exact time we have chosen. But still we are not able to reach a starving child, in many of our countries, with the essential meal of food before time runs out.
We cannot talk of success for humanity as long as we cannot decide on better priorities for the use of our common resources. FAO has the duty within the UN System to keep this vision alive, and to contribute to efforts that lead us towards a new international economic order declared by the United Nations.
Since its birth, this Organization has grown in size, both in number of member governments and in personnel and financial resources. It has taken up a great number of duties, most spectacular in the field of development cooperation.
An organization like the FAO is not something abstract, it is governed by, and its activities are executed by, human beings. I would like, on this occasion, to place into focus the staff of this Organization, the management and the staff members on all levels in the Headquarters and in the field.
I wish to express today my sincere thanks to the Director-General, and through him to all his staff members, for their dedicated an untiring work, without which no achievements at all would have been made.
A 40th Anniversary gives an opportunity to look back, to measure achievements in the perspective of what has happened as compared to what was aimed at. It is also an opportunity, against these judgments, to look forward and, more deliberately than we normally do, ask questions about how to act in the future.
In my statement in the general debate, I have elaborated on the need to find forms for discussions between member governments and the Secretariat in order to formulate more explicitly the specific role of FAO in a 10 - 15 year perspective. Other delegations have also spoken along the same lines. It is my firm belief that this is an important issue to be dealt with in the period ahead of the next Conference, and a theme to be discussed more in depth during the Conference in 1987.
My Government extends a warm congratulation to FAO today. I am confident that FAO will show even increased flexibility in order to adapt to new demands on an ever changing world. This will further strengthen its role as a member of the UN family, and as the organization dealing with food and agriculture to whom we look for information, guidance and support.
Forty years is a long period in the life of a human being. But in the history of mankind it is only like a twinkling of an eye. A catastrophe can happen in a moment but wise decisions can now save the future.
Each generation has its own possibilities and its own responsibility.
With this understanding in mind, let us continue our work within FAO.
J. C. CLAVE (Philippines): The Food and Agriculture Organization appears more fortunate today as it enters its forty-first year than when it was founded forty years ago. Today it has the distinct honor of receiving two presidents - His Excellency, President Soeharto of Indonesia and
His Excellency, President Mitterrand of France. Last Monday, this Conference was similarly honored by the visit of His Excellency President Allan Garcia Perez of Peru. He delivered the McDougall Memorial Lecture.
Earlier, on October 16, 1985, His Excellency President Cossiga of Italy visited FAO to lay the cornerstone for an additional building to house the Organization. He addressed the ceremonies marking the 40th anniversary of FAO. He reaffirmed his country’s commitment to FAO.
It is my country’s hope that these visits would usher in a new epoch in the Organization, a period of greater awareness of the role of FAO in the highest echelons of power and the emergence and steady growth of a political will and commitment which the Organization urgently needs to help it achieve its goals. The active support of the political leadership of our respective countries is essential to provide direction for the Organization, as well as decisiveness and effectiveness in the implementation of its decisions. As I speak of involvement of the highest political leadership, Mr Chairman, I have in mind new developments in other multilateral organizations such as the European Economic Community (EEC), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In these multilateral organizations, the Ministers and Heads of governments meet to consult, to deliberate - argue and debate in a give-and-take manner. They reach decisions. They make decisions.
This is not the case in the FAO and other UN organizations. Ministers come to this Conference to deliver their country’s statements. They do not engage in a give-and-take debate. Shortly after giving their statements the Ministers return home. When the decisions are finally made these Ministers have all gone home, back to their local national concerns, and perhaps think of FAO business two years hence or in 1987. The Ministers cannot be faulted for this state of affairs. They find themselves bound by the existing systems, processes and procedures which circumscribe their activities. Some Ministers attending the current sessions of the Conference have expressed their desire to do more than engage in the on-going monologues here. This is evident from some of the speeches in plenary. It is expressed in informal conversations outside this hall. But it has been difficult to change the existing systems, processes and procedures. They are entrenched and no one has dared to change them.
A few minutes ago, Mr Chairman, we heard the distinguished delegate from the Netherlands attributing the success of the European Community to the solidarity of the Member States of the Organization. The existing solidarity, in my view, could be attributed to the labours of the Ministers of these countries, their Presidents and Prime Ministers. These high officials have been directly involved in the business of the Community.
The European experience should perhaps be studied by FAO with the view of adopting it as its regime for the incoming period. Perhaps we need new structures, new systems, new mechanisms. I say “perhaps”, Mr Chairman, because I am not certain. It needs the collective wisdom of the Members of FAO to ascertain the efficacy of the European experience. I am at least certain, however, that the deliberations of the Conference could be made more constructive, more deliberative, more productive, more interesting, more useful and of greater worth to our respective delegations.
Philippine Membership in FAO: An Act of Faith: Mr Chairman, distinguished colleagues, in 1944, the Philippines stood with 41 countries in Quebec, Canada, to establish the Food and Agriculture Organization. In the same year, the Philippines likewise stood with 50 countries in San Francisco, California, USA, to establish the United Nations Organization. Again, in 1945, the Philippines stood with 43 countries in London to establish the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Philippines, Mr Chairman, since then has been a member of and has been active in all the world organizations within the UN system. These decisions by my government to become a member of these organizations were acts of faith.
Reaffirmation of Faith in FAO and Other UN Organizations: The Philippines stood with other nations in Quebec, in San Francisco in 1944, and in London in 1945, moved by a taith that peace and security as well as the economic well-being of the peoples of the world could best be achieved through the concerted action of united and determined nations to pursue these common causes.
Today, Mr Chairman, I stand here to reaffirm the Philippines’ faith, the faith of 55 million Filipinos, in the FAO as an instrument of all Member Nations to attend to the problems of agriculture and food. The faith of my government and people in the UN and other world organizations was articulated and reaffirmed earlier in New York by the First Lady of the Philippines, Mrs Imelda Romualdez-Marcos. She headed my country’s delegation to the 40th anniversary celebration of the UN by the General Assembly. The President of the Philippines - my President - has written a book on the UN - “Forty Years of the United Nations”: his tribute to the Organization.
Basis of Abiding Faith of Filipinos in FAO: The faith of my government and people that I speak of today is stronger and greater than their faith 40 years ago. The Philippines’ faith in the FAO today is based on achievements - accomplishments of the FAO - the vast experience and knowledge of what nations acting in concert with each other could do, and the equally vast experience and knowledge on what the FAO ought to do.
I will not go into the details of the achievements, Mr Chairman. The Director-General has given us a comprehensive report on these achievements. He made reference to them also in his speech this morning.
The achievements of the last 40 years are indeed impressive viewed in the light of existing conditions. Hence, we have valid and good reasons to congratulate the Director-General and the Secretariat, the other Director-Generals before him, the Chairman and members of the FAO Council, both the incumbents and their predecessors. We commend them.
It is also appropriate for us to congratulate ourselves, however, the Member States, for FAO is our Organization. The Director-General has stated this: that FAO is an Organization of Hember States and that his role is to implement our will as Member States. But should the Member States congratulate themselves? Have we not made it difficult for the Organization to do more?
“You can do what you want with it”, the Director-General has told me.
I believe, Mr Chairman, that FAO, our Organization, could have done more if given the conditions conducive to greater cooperation and collaboration.
The UN and other world organizations were established to be instruments of Member States to carry out a collective will. These organizations were intended to be organs for collective action to serve the common welfare of the peoples of the world. But there have been persistent efforts and designs to utilize them instead for the enhancement of the national policies, and objectives and the ideological and political predilictions of certain members and groups of members.
As I see it, therefore, Mr Chairman, our first great task is the establishment of the political conditions under which the FAO could act more effectively and efficiently. There may be wisdom in returning to the charter obligations, and in subscribing to them anew. There is evident need for a renewal of faith in the competence of the Organization and a rededication to the vision of collective action by the founders. I believe that it was their purpose to establish world organizations that would serve as the foundry shops for collective wills and actions.
The other great and immediate task for FAO in my view, as it enters its forty-first year is the establishment of a climate for the development of a real and genuine consensus - one based on free, healthy and enlightened give-and-take dialogue - a consensus on certain basic issues, such as the role of FAO, the extent of its authority, its purposes and consequently, its activities. The Organization has to establish a climate where views could not only be given freely but also could be given without fear and where Member States have the assurance that these views are heard and considered.
I bring up the need for a consensus on the role of FAO because of an obviously divided view regarding it. On the one hand, there are those (mostly developing countries) who look to it as a financing agency. On the other, there are those who maintain that it is a technical agency. This is a vital issue because it affects the positions of the Member States on the budget and programs of the Organization.
We have seгn in many of the FAO deliberations, clashes between national and regional interests, and clashes between national objectives and global objectives. In the process we have dissipated resources, energies and time.
These two steps, Mr Chairman, are in my view essential initial steps to ensure that the Organization enters its forty-first year with dynamism. There are other equally important measures, I believe, that should be taken. But the time of this Conference is tightly allocated.
The great hope of the Philippines is that the FAO becomes in fact the foundry shop for a universal will on issues and programs affecting food and agriculture in the world: an organization of member states with a boldness to break away from traditions and conventions and established practices and processes, and the courage to chart a course responsive to the demands of the new emerging world. Before us, Sir, is a new world. We can not deal with this new world relying only on the tools of yesteryears.
Life Begins at 40: Mr Chairman, this morning you said to us: “Life begins at 40”
My distinguished colleagues, the Philippines is ready to start our business of building a new world for agriculture, and thus a world secured against hunger. We must begin, aware of the realities of our new and changing world and aware as well of our real objectives.
Our political objective, said President Mitterrand, is Mankind.
Especially the farmer, was the obvious rejoinder of President Soeharto and President Garcia Perez.
We begin, invoking the spirit that continues to inspire and motivate us all: the humanity of Mankind, the humanity of nations. At this point, Mr Chairman, I wish to commend the farmers of Indonesia for donating 100 000 metric tons of milled rice to the peoples of Africa. And yesterday, Mr Chairman, the Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany stated that his country has waived the debts of developing countries “with a low gross national product”. He said the amount thus far waived is DM 4 billion. These, Mr Chairman, are manifestations of the human spirit.
Now, Mr Chairman, permit me to bring in a personal experience. Ten years ago, returning from work I found Madame Clave furiously condemning people whom she could not even identify.
“Why?” I asked.
“They have stolen the fruits of the chicos and star-apples in the orchard!” she replied.
“But why be that furious?”
“What do you expect me to do?” she retorted.
“Calm down, and listen”, I said, and added softly: “Hunger is a very powerful force. It could drive people to commit theft. Survival is the first’motive force to people. Now, I suggest that tomorrow you distribute those chico and star-apple seedlings for others to plant.”
“But we bought those seedlings for our own farm,” she said, calming down.
“I know,” I said.
The next day, after perhaps meditating on my suggestion, she distributed the seedlings.
Today, Mr Chairman, she does not complain of stealing in her orchard. Very often she reports to me about certain people bringing her some chicos and star-apples; peoples’ manifestation of their gratitude.
The other possible development to this goodwill could be violence starting with robbery.
It is on. the humanity of Mankind and nations that the Philippines anchors its faith and entrusts its future, Mr Chairman.
Y. ROUSSEV (Bulgarie): J’ai l’honneur et le privilege de presenter nos felicitations à l’occasion de la celebration du quarantième anniversaire de la creation de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture.
Avec ses activités honnêtes et dynaroiques, la FAO s’est confirmée dans la société mondiale comme un forum utile et respecté qui sert à l’échange des opinions sur les questions qui concernent l’approvisionnement de toute l’humanité avec les produits alimentaires, pour l’échange d’expérience des peuples dans la production et la distribution des produits alimentaires, pour l’approfondissement de la cooperation technique et scientifique multilatérale.
Pendant ces quarante ans, la FAO a réussi à élaboгer et à développer une langue commune de ses pays membres dans la recherche de solutions et approches des problèmes de la famine, de la malnutrition et de la pauvreté. Malgré la différence de conceptions sociales, économiques et philosophiques des différents pays, cette langue nous permet de communiquer dans la recherche et la trouvaille d’une communauté de sentiments et d’actions avec ceux qui souffrent du mal le plus féroce de notre époque.
Comme il y a quarante ans, aujouгd’hui et, je le crois, dans l’avenir, la FAO a été, est, et va rester le symbole de l’espoir et de l’action en défense du droit de l’homme le plus sacré, le droit de chaque être humain à l’accès des produits alimentaires, le droit aux moyens de la vie.
Pendant ces quarante ans, les pays socialistes ont soutenu activement et d’une façon constructive l’activité de l’Organisation pour qu’elle aboutisse à ses buts. Pendant cette période, depuis la seconde guerre mondiale jusqu’à aujouгd’hui, des changements profonds sont intervenus sur la carte politique et économique du monde. Un grand nombre de pays ont conquis leur libération de l’esclavage colonial, ils ont conquis leur libeгté politique et leur souveraineté nationale. Une grande partie des pays colonisés ont maintenant un niveau de développement économique le plus bas; presque tous ces pays ont un grand besoin de moyens et d’expérience pour édifier une structure et une organisation nationales pour la production de produits alimentaires.
A notre avis, la faim dans le monde peut être liquidée uniquement dans les conditions d’une indépendance économique et politique de tous les pays, dans les conditions d’échanges économiques internationaux justes et à intérêts mutuels.
Les гacines de l’injustice dans les relations économiques internationales, nous ne les voyons pas simplement et uniquement dans l’héritage colonial, mais aussi dans l’application intensive d’une nouvelle pratique néocoloniale. A cette pratique, on doit inscriгe les difficultés et l’empêchement des pays en développement de participer aux marches internationaux pour les produits alimentaires, l’application des mesures les plus diversifiées du protectionnisme et l’élimination des pays en développement à la formation de politiques des prix sur le marché international.
L’augmentation excessive de la dette des pays en développement ne correspond pas au développement de leurs capacités de production; à travers des mécanismes de gestion de la dette des pays en développement circulent des ressources immenses vers les pays qui souffrent de surproduction de
produits alimentaires et qui appliquent une politique coûteuse pour une limitation de la production agricole. La FAO doit jouer son role irremplaçable dans la solution d’un tel problème d’autosuffisance nationale des produits alimentaires de base.
Les résultats de l’activité pendant ces quarante ans sont énormes et, dans leurs grandes lignes, correspondent avec les buts et les tâches de la FAO. La cinquième décennie débute dans des conditions d’aggravation du problème de la famine et de la malnutrition dans le monde. Il est évident qu’une partie de cette aggravation est causée par de mauvaises conditions climatiques pendant les dernières années dans les grandes régions du monde mais il faut reconnaître que dans les mêmes régions ou dans d’autres régions, avec des conditions climatiques noгmales, la famine existe encore. Il est nécessaire, dans la stratégie qui a pour but d’éliminer la famine, de prévoiг des transformations économiques et sociales menant à la liquidation des racines et des causes fondamentales de la famine.
Il est nécessaire de noter que les ressources de la FAO sont incomparables avec la dimension des problèmes auxquels doit faire face notre Organisation. La limitation des armements serait une ressource énorme, sinon unique, pour fournir les moyens nécessaires à une acceleration du développement économique mondial, pour une diminution et une élimination du fossé croissant entгe le niveau des pays développés et celui des pays en développement.
Je profite de l’occasion pour transraettre nos remerciements les plus profonds au Directeur général de la FAO, le Docteur Saouma, pour ses efforts à guider l’activité de l’Organisation vers ses buts et lui souhaite le succès dans l’application de son importante mission.
En conclusion, permettez-moi d’exprimer un souhait à l’égard de la FAO, celui que les peuples sèment et récoltent les fruits de la terre sur laquelle n’est jamais passée l’explosion des armes de la guerre. La FAO ne peut pas rester à côté de la menace de la guerre; les ambitions, les rêves et les espoirs des producteurs agricoles dans le monde sont inséparables de la paix.
L.P. DUTHIE (Australia): I am greatly honoured as leader of the Australian delegation and on behalf of the Southwest Pacific Region, to have this opportunity to speak on this occasion marking the Fortieth Anniversary of FAO.
All of you will be aware of the significant role played by an Australian farmer and economist, Frank McDougall in the establishment of this Organization. Some 50 years ago, in 1935, he was instrumental in getting the attention of the then League of Nations focussed on the need for better public welfare. He saw that it was essential to convince world opinion of the close relationship between nutrition, agriculture and economic development.
In 1941, the Australian Government sent Frank McDougall to Washington on an economic mission. It was there in 1942 that he outlined his ideas in a memorandum which resulted in an invitation to the White House.
In September 1942 Frank McDougall met the President and Mrs Roosevelt at a luncheon at the White House and seized the opportunity to outline the idea of an international agency concerned with food and agriculture.
In early 1943 the President issued invitations to a number of governments to a conference on food and agriculture to be held at Hot Springs, Virginia. Frank McDougall attended that Conference and, after the establishment of FAO in 1945 at the Quebec Conference, he became Counsellor to the inaugural Director-General.
Frank McDougall’s ideas have become a basic tenet of the FAO and have been fundamental in shaping and directing its activities. His life and work should be an inspiration to us who are involved in multilateral endeavours to work towards a world free from hunger and malnutrition.
Over the past 40 years membership of FAO has increased almost four-fold to 158 Member Nations and it is of particular significance to Australia that in more recent years perhaps the most marked expansion in membership has been in our own Region, the Southwest Pacific. At this Conference two new members of our Region, the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands, joined the Organization increasing the Southwest Pacific constituency to nine members.
During its 40-year history FAO has made an important contribution to the betterment of human conditions. Its achievements however are often under-estimated or sometimes taken for granted.
In his thoughtful and reflective introduction to the special issue of CERES to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of FAO, the Director-General, Dr Saouma, outlined the role that the Organization has played in testing and refining solutions to fundamental problems of rural development. He also emphasized the need for increased political will and commitment in both North and South in addressing these issues.
Much progress has been achieved over the past 40 years. However gratifying this may be this should not be any cause for complacency.
New humanitarian and developmental issues have emerged related to deep-seated food and agricultural problems affecting a much larger and more diversified membership. This has increased the pressures on the UN System and on this Organization to respond in a meaningful and effective way. This situation has heightened the need to identify priorities within the FAO’s mandate so as to use FAO’s limited resources and deploy its fund of technical expertise to the optimum advantage. There are, of course, no easy or quick solutions to most of our common concerns about the problem of world food and agriculture.
They need to be approached with pragmatism and without raising unrealistic expectations and without setting unattainable goals which could be a future source of disillusionment. A sober assessment by members will suggest that the problems, priorities, needs and interests of all of us cannot be resolved overnight.
A review of the present issues on the international food and agricultural agenda also calls for a realization that the problems cannot be addressed by one institution alone. As FAO is essentially a technical body this reinforces the need for it to work closely with and complement and reinforce all the resources available to the international community to better understand, better articulate and better attain our common objectives of overcoming world hunger and malnutrition.
While we continue to face daunting and extremely complex and inter-related problems of a seemingly intractable character we can still afford on this important occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Organization to look back on some of the practical achievements which clearly demonstrate that FAO has been sensitive and responsive to the changing need and concerns of all its member countries. Many of these have already been highlighted during the course of our deliberations. There are, however, two significant achievements and developments which from the perspective of the nine member countries of the Southwest Pacific with very different cultures, values and stages of economic development, are particularly noteworthy.
These developments relate to the Early Warning System and to Fisheries.
We would like to congratulate the FAO on the particularly valuable role played by the Global Information and Early Warning System in estimating cereal import and food aid needs.
The timely and continuous flow of detailed information on impending food supply problems especially in relation to the drought-affected African countries, has been of considerable assistance to my Government. The operational utility of the data provided by the Food Information Group, working in close cooperation with the World Food Programme, is now such that Australia drew very heavily on the various analyses contained in the publications and reports of the Group in reaching decisions on the distribution of our bilateral food aid for 1985/86.
We are particularly impressed by the priority FAO continues to attach to improving and defining the methods of data collection, crop assessments and forecasting techniques relating to cereal import requirements and food aid needs.
We also wish to commend the Organization for the help that it is providing in establishing national early warning systems which are an essential prerequisite to the effective management of food supplies in vulnerable countries. This, Mr Chairman, is one example of benefits all members derive from the work of our Organization.
Let me turn to a second significant achievement - that in fisheries. As you are aware Mr Chairman, I am speaking today as the representative of the Southwest Pacific Region, a region relatively small in terms of population but substantial in terms of its total geographical coverage, and also in terms of the unique resources which it encompasses in its region. Mr Chairman, the South Pacific, a region composed exclusively of island states, is a region with unique characteristics and problems, nevertheless, the FAO and other multilateral agencies, have been making an important contribution to countries of the region, particularly in the area of fisheries, where a multilateral approach within the framework of the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency has contributed substantially in enabling the members of our Region to benefit more fully from the valuable resources under their control.
In this respect may I pay tribute to those responsible for the initiatives that led to a most successful World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development held in this building only a matter of some eighteen months ago. We in Australia have based our own national fisheries strategy on the management strategies endorsed by that Conference and I know that members of our Region, who were well represented at the World Conference, are continuing to benefit from the opportunities it has provided.
Perhaps it is salutary to reflect on the reasons for the success of the World Fisheries Conference. I believe that in large part the World Fisheries Conference owed its successful outcome to its focus on practical solutions to identified problems. Furthermore, I think we as member governments of this organization benefitted from the Organization focussing its expertise on those areas where it has a unique role. I refer in particular to the collection and dissemination of relevant information; to the development of sound policy proposals during the preparations for the Conference; to the intergovernmental consultations not only during the Conference itself but in the preparatory stages preceding the Conference and finally, but not least, to the continuing provision of practical technical advice to those governments requiring it.
I believe it is precisely these functions which have been the strengths of this Organization in the past and I believe that the Organization will continue to be relevant to member Governments, and consequently to prosper by continuing to focus its activities squarely in these directions in the future.
Finally, Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Southwest Pacific region, let me conclude by saying that it is to the future that thoughts must now turn. We need at this time to renew our commitment to the ideals of multilateralism and the concept of international cooperation. The tremendous challenges that lie ahead will call for a mobilization of all our talents. Against this background we need to redouble our efforts in reviewing and devising more effective approaches to world food and agricultural problems within the mandate of this important Organization. Otherwise, Mr Chairman, history will judge us harshly.
I. d’AUVERGNE (Saint Lucia): I am especially honoured to speak today on this historic occasion, on behalf of the Caribbean States, members of the Latin American and Caribbean Region of FAO and to extend heartiest congratulations to the Food and Agriculture Organization on its 40th Anniversary. The participation of the Caribbean States in the observance of the Fortieth Anniversary of this Organization, in the presence of this large and distinguished gathering of Ministers responsible for agriculture in their respective countries, signals our clear acceptance of the important and central role the Caribbean attaches to the FAO as a vehicle for multilateral cooperation in food and agriculture. The observance of this Anniversary is indeed an historic milestone in a journey which began in 1945 after the Second World War which left in its wake unprecedented misery, hunger, hatred and dislocation. But neither the glory and euphoria of victory nor the sufferings of the defeated blinded the nations of the world to the need to establish a world order through an association of nations designed to bridge the differences and the inequities which brook the equality of men. The United Nations has provided such a forum where all nations, large and small, weak and strong, can speak freely and frankly, without bitterness or rancour, to seek solutions to the global problems that affect mankind.
FAO was designated the specialized agency responsible to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of the peoples of its Member States. From its inception it has dedicated itselt to the search and harnessing of resources to develop the agricultural and other food sectors in keeping with the primary objective of its Charter, that is, to remove forever the souгge of hunger from the world.
The Caribbean Group of countries has benefitted meaningfully from its membership in FAO and wishes to record its deep appreciation to the Organization, the Director-General and his staff, not only for their concern for the individual and collective problems of the Group, but also for the prompt and effective implementation of programmes and projects to help remedy them.
We are particularly pleased that coinciding with the 40th Anniversary is the unanimous support for the peoples of Africa and for the achievement of world food security.
We are confident that FAO will continue along the path of promoting the agricultural development of the developing Member States, that will enable them to blossom into full economic sovereignty and to realize the fulfillment of their national goals of food security, thereby strengthening and broadening the only lasting foundation upon which an equitable civilization can endure.
A·B. DIOP (Sénégal): En me désignant pour m’adresser à vous, mes collègues africains viennent, encore une fois de plus, témoigner, à travers ma personne, une marque de sympathie et de considération pour Son Excellence M. Abdou Diouf, Président de la République du Sénégal et Président en exercice de l’Organisation de l’unité africaine, et au peuple sénégalais.
Aussi voudrais-je leur exprimer ma profonde gratitude pour cet insigne honneur.
C’est done avec un réel plaisir que je m’acquitterai de cette importante et exaltante mission, qui trouve toute sa signification dans l’ampleur de l’événement de ce jour, dédié à la commemoration du quarantière Anniversaire de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture.
Permettez-moi d’abord de vous dire combien mes collègues et moi avons été honorés et sensibles à la présence parmi nous, ce matin, de leurs Excellences les Présidents des Républiques de I’lndonésie et de la France dont les déclarations, de haute portée politique, ne manqueront pas d’inspirer nos pays respectifs soucieux de construire un monde de paix, de justice sociale et de bonheur.
La célébration d’un anniversaire est devenue un rite habituel empreint d’une atmosphère de fête.
Sans renoncer à la ferveur qui nous anime en cette circonstance, je voudrais, à l’occasion de cette cérémonie de ce jour, évoqueг brièvement la naissance de notre Organisation, retracer certaines de ses actions les plus significatives, pour mieux dégager ses perspectives d’avenir.
On se rappelle que la FAO a été créée le 16 octobre 1945, en vue de favoriser une étroite et dynamique coopération dans les domaines agricole et alimentaire.
Il s’agissait pour ses fondateurs de créer un cadre de coopération intergouvernementale plus large, susceptible d’aider efficacement à l’expansion de l’économie mondiale, par des actions concrètes visant une.amélioration et une répartition plus equitable de tous les pгoduits alimentaires.
Certes la FAO a beaucoup entrepris et beaucoup réalisé, depuis sa création.
La liste de ces realisations est longue:
- 2 500 projets dans plus de 130 pays;
- la convocation d’une conférence mondiale suг la гéforme agraiгe et le développement rural;
- le Programme de coopération technique
- les interventions du Programme alimentaire mondial et la Conférence mondiale de l’alimentation;
- la tenue d’une Conférence mondiale suг le développement et l’aménagement des pêches, etc., et j’en passe.
Cependant, malgré toutes ces initiatives, parmi tant d’autres non moins importantes qu’il n’est pas utile d’énumérer, force est de constater que la situation mondiale de l’agriculture et de l’alimentation s’est sensiblement aggravée dans la plupart des pays du tiers monde.
Plus de la moitié de la population mondiale souffгe de la faim ou de la malnutrition, Quarante mi lie enfants meurent, chaque jour, dans les pays en développement, d’inanition.
La situation est encore plus grave en Afrique, et particulièrement dans les pays du Sahel.
Ce continent qui, il y a vingt ans, était exportateur net de produits de base, est actuellement devenu importateur d1aliments. Ses importations céгéalières ne cessent d’augmenter, puisqu’elles sont passées, de 1970 à 1984, de 5 à 18 pour cent de sa consommation.
L’Afrique est par ailleurs confrontée à un lourd service de la dette extérieuгe et aux effets négatifs de la détérioration des termes de l’échange, ce qui contribue à accentuer le déficit, déjà considérable, de sa balance des paiements.
Or, elle ne peut compter que sur 8 kgs d’engrais à l’hectare contre 65 à 110 kgs dans les pays industrialisés.
Il n’est done pas étonnant, à la lumière de ces quelques considérations, que la production moyenne de céréales à l’hectare ne dépasse guère en Afrique 150 kgs lorsque dans les pays développés, cette production varie entre 2 500 et 6 500 kgs.
Convenons qu’à ce rythme, l’Afrique va assurément au devant d’impasses économiques et sociales propres à mettre en cause sa sécurité, voire sa pгöpre existence, malgré les nombreux programmes et plans d’action élaborés aux niveaux national, regional et international.
Cette situation que la FAO n’a cessé de dénoncer devrait nous conduire aujourd’hui à constater, comme le faisait déjà, en 1983, le Club du Sahel, que l’Afrique se situe toujours au même niveau de développement qu’en 1973, ce qui signifie que la situation économique, agricole et alimentaire s’est grandement détériorée, dans ce continent, durant cette dernière décennie. Notre action doit viser davantage, dans le cadre de notre Organisation, à rechercher des solutions plus judicieuses et efficaces à cette dramatique situation plutôt qu’à nous attarder sur ses causes profondes.
Force nous est de reconnaître, dans ce contexte, que nous vivons une ère de civilisation où les égoïsmes nationaux exacerbés l’emportent sur la solidarité internationale, la confrontation sur la concertation, l’hégémonisme économique sur la coopération et le protectionnisme sur la liberalisation des échanges internationaux. Nous pouvons aussi admettre que, dans l’euphorie des indépendances, l’Afrique a longtemps cherché sa voie, commettant des erгeurs d’appreciation dans ses tentatives d’élaborer des stratégies de développement, souvent compromises par un manque d’organisation et de ressources. Ce n’est done pas par hasard si les responsables africains ont pris aujourd’hui davantage conscience de leurs responsabilites, avec la ferme determination de les assumer pleinement. En effet, il me suffit. d’évoquer le Plan d’action de Lagos, réactualisé lors du vingtième Sommet des chefs d’Etat et de gouveгnement de l’OUA et la Déclaration de Harare des ministres africains de l’agriculture, pour faire la preuve que l’Afrique est plus que jamais décidée à prendre en charge son propre développement.
Il se trouve malheureusement qu’elle n’a pas les moyens de ses légitimes ambitions de développement. Elle ne peut done que compter sur la solidarité internationale pour гéaliser à terme ses programmes et strategies de développement. Pour toutes ces raisons, elle a foi en la volonté des pays développés d’apporter leur plus grand soutien à notre Organisation et à son programme de relance de l’agriculture en Afrique.
L’Afrique espère également que la cérémonie d’aujourd’hui fera renaître, en la renforςant, l’idée d’entraide afin que toutes les institutions internationales de développement comme le FIDA, l’IDA et le PNUD puissent disposer de toutes les ressouгces nécessaires à la poursuite de leur programme d’assistance.
C’est au nom de tous ces principes qui constituent la base fondamentale des objectifs assignés à la FAO que l’Afrique, par ma voix, lance un appel à tous les donateurs pour qu’ils maintiennent leur appui à l’aide publique internationale au développement. Les orientations prises par la FAO pour donner la priorité à la production agricole, aux activités de terrain, à la formation et à la recherche scientifique agricole nous confortent dans les espoirs places en elle. C’est pourquoi l’Afrique reste confiante et persuadée de pouvoir compter sur la solidarité de tous les Etats, espèrant qu’ils saisiront l’occasion qu’offre cet anniversaire, pour manifester un plus large appui à notre Organisation.
Quarante ans dans la vie d’un homme sont significatifs, mais ils représentent bien peu dans la vie d’une organisation Internationale comme la FAO, appelée, malgré un contexte economique international peu favorable, à devoir progresser vers ses nobles objectifs, l’instauration d’un nouvel ordre economique international plus juste et plus humain.
La paix, l’équilibre et le bonheur de notre monde reposent essentiellement sur notre fertne volonté de poursuivre ensemble notre lutte pour que notre humanité soit affranchie de la raisère, de la faim de la malnutrition.
L’Afrique est convaincue que nos Etats respectifs confirmeront aujourd’hui le serment des fondateurs de la FAO, afin que demain, tous les êtres humains puissent s’épanouiг pleinement et vivre prosperes dans la dignité et la paix. Vive l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture! Vive la solidarité internationale pour un monde de justice et de liberté!
LE PRESIDENT: Avant de cone lure, je voudrais signaler qu’à l’occasion de l’anniversaire que nous fêtons aujourd’hui, l’Organisation a reçu d’un grand nombre de chefs d’Etat ou de gouveгnement des messages de félicitations ou de voeux. Ces messages seront publiés ultérieurement dans le cadre des actes de la Conférence.
Excellences, Mesdames, Messieurs avec la fin de cette dixième séance plénière se termine une journée d’intense emotion, au cours de laquelle nous avons commémoré la création de la FAO et célébré son quarantième anniversaire, rendu hommage à ses pгomoteurs et à ses fondateurs, rendu horamage à ceux et à eelles qui accomplissent quotidiennement ses activités.
Il est difficile d’ajouter quoi que ce soit aux déclarations émouvantes, encourageantes et pleines d’espoir que nous avons entendues ce matin et cette après-midi. Aussi, en toute humilité, je voudrais simplement lever cette séance.
The meeting rose at 17.30 hours
La séance est levée à 17 h 30
Se levanta la sesión a las 17.30 horas
