GENERAL DISCUSSION (continued)
DEBAT GENERAL (suite)
DEBATE GENERAL (continuación)

- SATEMENTS BY HEADS OF DELEGATIONS (continued)
- ELCARATIONS PES CHEFS DE DELEGATION (suite)
- ANIFESTACIONES POR LOS JEFES DE LAS DELEGACIONES (continuación)

Steven NJINYAM (Cameroon): I would also like to congratulate all the new Member Nations which have joined the Organization especially our brothers from Eritrea and South Africa. We are confident that these new members will not only increase our membership but will also provide enriching

experiences to strengthen our common endeavours to assure a better life and food security for all the people from all the regions of the world.

This 27th Session of the FAO Conference will be remembered as the one during which was elected for the first time in its history, an African as Director-General.

The Cameroon Government would like to pay a special glowing tribute to Mr Saouma for his exceptional leadership and numerous achievements which have shaped the functioning of the Organization over the last two decades. Cameroon will recall especially and among many others, the creation of the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) which has become, despite its limited resources allocated, the most significant representation of the FAO fundamental roles and functions. After a long transparent and democratic balloting, our distinguished brother from Senegal Mr Jacques Diouf was elected Director-General of the FAO. I would like to seize this opportunity to address to him the warmest and most sincere congratulations of the Cameroon Government and its People. I would also like to assure him that we shall continue to support him as we did to his predecessor.

Mr Director-General elect, permit me to say a few words which may not be befitting in the generally accepted decorum during these types of occasions. As a matter of fact, Mr Diouf, you will have to face many unusual challenges out of which the first and foremost will be to erase the preconceived negative impression already circulating of mismanagement, incompetence and laxism generally attributed to African Senior Managers. Also, the most difficult one will be to prepare and reshape the FAO in order to be able to meet the food and agricultural challenges of the present, and this you did so eloquently highlighted in your acceptance speech on November 8.

You must do all in your powers, to get all hands on deck in order to restore the credibility so as to encourage donors to continue to support the Organization.

Yes, Dr Edouard Saouma did establish his own typical "Saouma Style". Cameroon, the African countries, Caribbean, Asia, Latin-American, North American and European countries are looking with eagerness for a "Jacques Diouf Style of Management".

It is our fervent hope that all the Member States who were present at this historic 27th Session of the FAO Conference will with the same brotherly spirit give the new Director-General our total support because we all set out the roles and massively elected him.

This present session of the FAO Conference is taking place at a time when my country, like many others in Africa and elsewhere, is seriously hit by the vicious effects of the world's economic recession resulting from unfair trade practices which have a negative impact on the agricultural and food situation. In fact, the world food production we are told, will decrease in 1993 by 0.5 percent and despite a modest increase of 0.6 percent in food production in developing countries, the situation will remain precarious because of certain unpredictable factors that are characteristically typical of the African continent.

The future does not look bright with the uncertainties hanging over the conclusion of the Uruguay Round Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the world economic growth. This means that our countries and other regions will

continue to face the persistence of protectionists and other unacceptable trade practices, the debt problem, the persistence of low prices for the major tropical commodities and the decline in food security exacerbated by civil conflicts and other natural disasters.

In order to overcome this economic crisis, the Cameroon Government was obliged to engage in a serious structural adjustment programme which has resulted in the liberalization of the economy, especially in the agricultural sector.

The crisis-striken economy should naturally be revived by making the agricultural sector more diversified and more dynamic through increased productivity and competivity so as to meet the domestic and foreign demands.

With all these constraints and in view of revamping the economy and providing jobs to the hundreds of trained and unemployed men, the Government has taken a decisive option to reinforce and diversify its agricultural production.

All these efforts would need the genuine and effective support from the international community in order to cope with the population growth.

We therefore seize this opportunity to express our deep gratitude to FAO and other United Nations institutions for their diversified and valuable support to the Cameroon people during this period.

Following the two important world gatherings that took place in 1992, namely the Rio Earth Summit and the International Conference on Nutrition, the Cameroon Government has taken action, with the support of multilateral donors, to prepare national plans of action on environment and on nutrition. For this, again, we will count primarily on our own dynamic efforts but the assistance of the international community will be most welcome.

I would like to solemnly reiterate here the support of the Cameroon Government for the liberalization of world trade. This is why we express hope for a speedy conclusion of the GATT negotiations. We would, however, like to stress that this liberalization process should take into consideration the regional characteristics, the existing trade and cooperation agreements, and the impact of all these on the fragile economies of our states. This is why Cameroon, like all the other African-Caribbean- Pacific countries, strongly supports the recent regulations adopted by the European Community for the Banana Common Market Organization. We consider it as a fair compromise and an absolute necessary transitional step before the complete liberalization of the market, provided that the accompanying measures attached to it are implemented effectively and rapidly.

This historic Conference will open, we strongly hope, a new era for FAO and its Member States, especially with the election of the new Director-General and the new team with new ideas that he will put in place. We believe that this is an opportunity to consider and evaluate thoroughly the way the Organization has up until now operated and to structure the FAO to respond effectively to meet the aspirations, food needs and challenges in a rapidly changing world.

May the Almighty God bless you and your families and bring you all the best things you have always longed for during Christmas and the New Year.

Habib A. KASSIM (Bahrain) (Original language Arabic) : In the name of God, the merciful and compassionate. Mr Chairman, honourable heads and members of the delegations, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a pleasure for me to head my country's delegation to this session. I should like to express my heartfelt congratulations to the Chairman of the general conference for the confidence participating Member Nations placed in him by electing him Chairman of this session.

I also wish to express my warmest congratulations and best wishes to the new Director-General, Dr Jacques Diouf, who has been elected for a six-year mandate. Undoubtedly, his election to this important post reflects the general recognition of his capabilities, qualifications and wisdom. However, this does not in any way underestimate the qualifications and eligibility of the candidates who were not so lucky. We do hope nevertheless that they will remain in their respective positions staunch supporters of this Organization.

I should like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and appreciation to Dr Edouard Saouma who guided this Organization for the last 18 years. Thanks to his able leadership, insight and resolve he was able to assist this Organization to expand the scope of its services under the most difficult and critical circumstances. There is no doubt that Dr Saouma will leave a clear and indelible stamp on the Organization.

Furthermore, I would like to welcome the new Member Nations of this Organization hoping that their membership will further strengthen and foster FAO's activities, capabilities and efforts so that a greater impetus will be provided to its continuous efforts to achieve its objectives, targets and aspirations. It is indeed an auspicious opportunity to meet here two years after our last session in order to review and to examine what has been achieved in the last biennium and also to shed light on the food and agricultural development in an ever-changing world. Indeed, this does put a major responsibility on this Organization in its dealings with thorny nutrition issues in a world characterized by major challenges, namely: fluctuations in food supplies, desert locust invasions threatening Africa and Asia, and natural disasters that leave in their aftermath a trail of destruction, victims, great losses and environmental pollution that threatens life, sea and atmosphere, in addition to other challenges obstructing humanity's progress and welfare.

In this connection I am pleased to pay tribute to the Director-General, his collaborators and all departments within this Organization for the sound preparation of the conference documents that have made it possible for us to grasp the present situation and to have a clear view of the relevant issues. All this contributes to the achievement of our targets, namely, reaching practical resolutions and recommendations in support of FAO's lofty goals and objectives.

The first and foremost objective of world food security as endorsed by FAO a decade ago was the supply of adequate and needed basic needs for all peoples at all times. However, ten years after this objective was adopted we wonder how close we are to achieving this goal. This hinges on several factors such as the adequacy of world food production, the levels of food reserves, price stability which would help food deficit countries secure

sufficient supplies. This, in turn, depends on the ability of these countries to import foodstuffs. Despite the indicators that show an improvement in the 1992 world food security situation, many developing countries, despite some progress, have not increased their cereal reserves, which puts them in a very critical situation. This becomes more obvious when we note that, out of the sixty-eight low-income food-deficit countries, the per caput share of cereal production in more than two-thirds of this category of countries during 1992-93 was well below the average level that prevailed during the second half of the last decade. Furthermore, despite the existence of sufficient food supplies in the world, one-fifth of the world's population in the developing countries during 1989-90 suffered from chronic malnutrition. Therefore, steady efforts should be made in order to reduce the rates on the basis of the principle whereby the satisfaction of food requirements is a basic human right for each and everyone.

Bearing in mind the fact that the supply of large numbers of people in the food-deficit countries with food depends to a large extent on the indigenous production, the logical and sound approach would therefore be to help those countries to use their own potential in order to increase food production levels.

Under the prevailing world circumstances, the Organization is called upon more than ever before to embark on a comprehensive strategy aimed at securing food supplies and fostering production levels in the developing countries. There is no doubt that the FAO is now fully equipped to undertake such a mandate, particularly as our world is at a turning point where the new world order is shaping up after the end of the cold war. FAO should take advantage of these dividends and chart its future course in the light of these new factors at work in order to secure the most efficient impact.

The new atmosphere of detente in the world and the peace initiatives looming in the Middle East horizon represent favourable opportunities for FAO to shoulder its responsibilities in rehabilitating and reactivating agricultural sectors in this region. Here I should like to make a special reference to the agricultural sector in the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where agriculture suffered a major setback because of the limitations of the occupation situation and also because of the critical water situation.

Since the international community is now endeavouring to breathe new life into the administrative structures of this region as the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, the international community should pay special attention through FAO to the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector in the occupied territories. Its goes without saying that other regions, as well, do need support and assistance in order to promote their own agricultural sector and to upgrade their own productivity. In fact, this is a harbinger for a new era of continuous and intensive efforts to assist developing countries to devise agricultural policy, implement prospective plans based on self-reliance in terms of their own needs, prepare adequate plans to secure the optimum use of available resources, improve the terms of trade in such a way as to guarantee the interests of all parties on an equal footing, create an adequate climate leading to the alleviation of commercial obstacles, protectionist measures applied by some countries on the basis of their shortsighted and blinkered self-interest without any regard to the interests of the international community at large.

Two months ago, FAO celebrated the World Food Day under the slogan "Harvesting Nature's Diversity", which is indeed a vital theme, closely linked the world food supply and the safeguarding of sustainable development. Sufficient attention should be attached to the biodiversity conservation programmes and the best use of such diversity for the benefit of all peoples.

Against this background, I should like to suggest that the Organization adopts a plan for assisting food-deficit countries to better exploit nature's diversity and also to diversify food intake and find new alternative resources likely to increase food production so that production keeps pace with population growth.

Such an objective will of course require legislation, programmes and projects geared towards the preservation of nature's diversity and the stepping-up of cooperation between the different countries in this field. I am happy to indicate, that my country's celebration of World Food Day coincided this year with the decision to set up a National Committee with the objective of raising the citizens' awareness about the conservation of nature's spontaneous forms of life, natural heritage, bio-diversity and also the protection of rare species threatened by extinction in Bahrain. Environmental pollution is, without doubt, one of the factors affecting bio-diversity and threatening the environment, food resources and public health in general. During recent years the Gulf countries have had to face major environmental pollution problems related to oil slicks and the chemical wastes disposed of in the Gulf waters. Dead fish were found in some parts of the Gulf waters which represents a major threat to a vital food resource for the peoples of the region. From this rostrum I should like to call for a special importance to be given to environmental pollution and also for stronger cooperation in combating pollution in the sea, on the land and in the atmosphere in order to protect mankind from these dangers.

The present world trend is towards forming major economic entities and blocs. This has been dictated by the present circumstances, since small entities no longer satisfy the requirements of the modern age and are no longer viable. On this basis, the Gulf Cooperation Council's creation provided a suitable platform for stability, survival and prosperity for its member nations. It is also a factor of stability in the region and a model example of the cooperation formula for homogeneous groups of countries. This structure also contributes towards agricultural integration through the tapping of all countries resources for the collective benefit of their peoples. FAO, thanks to its well qualified pool of expertise and skills, is in a good position to play a vital role in setting up strategies and plans devised in such a way as to secure optimum use of available natural resources and achieving integration in the field of agriculture. Turning to the national level, my Government is making every effort to foster agricultural development, which witnessed a strong impetus since the beginning of the last decade.

Relevant projects and programmes have been implemented with a view to enhancing the capabilities and capacities of agriculture, improving production quality with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency, particularly in dairy products, poultry, vegetables, fodder and fisheries. Special emphasis has been laid on building infrastructure and the implementation of pilot schemes to give incentive to private investors to follow suit. The focus was also on providing basic services, production inputs and concessionary loans to enable the farmers and animal breeders to

promote their activities and to apply the up-to-date agricultural methods. Furthermore, due to the critical water situation in my country, special emphasis has been placed on finding alternative irrigation water resources. Hence, an ambitious project was introduced in order to use treated sewage water for agricultural purposes. However, given the high cost of such a project, it is being implemented in a piecemeal fashion.

Having set up the adequate infrastructure, my country is embarking on a new strategy aiming at promoting the contribution of the private sector in all agricultural fields in order to draw on the capabilities and the potential of this sector. This would also help the private sector render the best possible services, which would in turn have a positive impact on agriculture.

I wanted to be brief and concise in my statement, and I therefore conclude my statement by referring to the difficult situation of the Organization. The financial situation of the Organization is due to the failure of some Member Nations to pay their assessed contributions, which forced the Organization to resort to borrowing in 1990-91 with interest payment amounting to US$1.6 million. We also note that staff costs account for a large share of the Budget. Thus, while urging Member Nations to make prompt payment of their assessed contributions to help FAO honour its obligations and render its services, we also hope that FAO and the administration of the Organization will strive to balance the budget appropriations so that its plans and programmes will not be paralysed by financial shortages. We do also hope that a proper and adequate balance will be struck and harmony achieved between FAO's resources and its aspirations so that this Organization can remain the umbrella contributing to the alleviation of suffering from all sorts of plights and disasters and retain its leading and pioneering role at the service of agricultural development in all corners of the earth.

Dasho Leki DORJI (Bhutan): Mr Chairman, Mr Director-General, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen:

May I congratulate you, Mr Chairman, and the Vice Chairmen, upon your election to chair this Twenty-seventh Session of the FAO General Conference. I am sure that under your wise leadership, we shall have very constructive and fruitful deliberations.

Allow me, Mr Chairman, to also congratulate Mr Jacques Diouf, the Director-General Elect, of our Organization, on his successful election to this high office. My delegation is confident that under his leadership FAO will be responsive to the present and emerging needs related to the performance of world agriculture.

I would also like to extend our appreciation to the outgoing Director-General, Dr Edouard Saouma, for his many years of dedicated and distinguished services to FAO, often under difficult and trying circumstances. I wish him the very best in the future.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the ten new members of our Organization.

Mr Chairman, we stand at the beginning of the 1990s, and into the future, across what remains of the 1990s, and into the twenty-first century. We see that we are indeed in a fast-changing world - a world with ever-increasing

demands on the earth's natural resources; a world in which population growth remains high. And yet a world in which the human aspiration for improved living standards continues to grow, and cannot be neglected. In very simple terms, these aspirations translate into the drive for freedom from hunger, disease, illiteracy and ignorance: for us today, for our children, for their children, and for the other generations to come. This, Mr Chairman, we believe to be the essence of sustainable development.

In spite of the fact that we have enshrined sustainable development in the policies of almost every nation on earth, and also into the policies of virtually all international organizations, the world's performance in meeting the simple aspirations of our people still falls far short of expectations. From the point of view of resource use, the global environment is fast deteriorating, mainly through resources depletion and all kinds and manner of pollution. Yet we have little to show for this aberration in terms of improved livelihoods: the number of poor, hungry, malnourished, disease-ridden, and illiterate people in the world remains high, and is becoming even worse in some countries.

Thus as we head towards the twenty-first century, the challenges to agricultural and rural development remain as critical as ever. An equitable and sustainable globe requires that we all work towards solving the problems confronting mankind as a whole. It is at times like these and for challenges like these that we need FAO the most. The most important direct challenges for the Organization and us to tackle together at this time are the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition, while conserving the natural resource base and the environment.

Only recently, these multifaceted challenges have been addressed on a global level through the Rio Earth Summit on Environment and Development, and through the International Conference on Nutrition, organized here in Rome by FAO and WHO. Mr Chairman, I would like to commend these fora for bringing perhaps the most outstanding problems confronting mankind today to the forefront. But I would also like to caution against complacency: that is, the temptation to be satisfied with the rhetoric of the day, and neglect to take the follow-up action to turn our good words into action.

While acknowledging the immensity of the problems before us, we also recognize that there are opportunities for us to meet the challenges before us. In particular, progress in the areas of technology, organization and management offers some real opportunities to break away from the vicious cycle of low unsustainable production that afflicts most developing countries. Our major constraint appears to be our imagination to innovatively use the technology and organizational and management methods intelligently and sustainably for the benefit of mankind. But we are also constrained by limited access to the technology and organizational and management methods, as well as the lack of financial resources to facilitate their adoption.

Within a comprehensive food security framework, and with the help of FAO, we in Bhutan are trying to develop a framework of policies, strategies and plans to ensure long-term food security. It is not an easy task as it encompasses the totality of economic activities. Yet it is, in our view, essential to adopt such an approach, in the spirit of sustainable development. Otherwise, sustainable development cannot be ensured as all the peoples do not benefit from development over time. Instead, the scope for lopsided developments are real, if strategic positions are not taken by governments well ahead of time.

We are also in the process of reforming our institutions and pricing policies. Our institutions are being reorganized to more effectively handle the inter-relationships between the various sub-sectors in the agricultural economy. Through such a restructuring effort we hope to be more relevant and responsive to our farmers, who undertake their tasks with a holistic perspective and purpose.

With regard to pricing policy, we are rapidly withdrawing all the subsidies in the interest of allocative efficiency. Our output pricing is market-based and -efficiency oriented.

All these are taking place alongside the developments that are evident in our region. Liberal economic policies and the benefits of trade in the region are a cause for optimism. The vast economic potential inherent in the region is about to be unleashed for the benefit of the common man.

For sustainable development to be truly in place the earnest desire to develop mankind as a whole must exist in principle and in practice. And for this to happen it is essential that there is a true sharing of all of human resources for the equitable benefit of all countries and all citizens. Agricultural trade policies would need to be rationalized and harmonized across all countries to start with.

Global growth and poverty alleviation are essential to sustainable development. As such, growth will have to be carefully nurtured. This calls for a holistic, rather than sectoral, approach to agricultural development. Under this system, all countries are expected to live together as if in one global village. Thus each country will have to take into account its resource endowments and future potential in the light of a dynamic global economy. To cope with rapid change, uncertainty, and inequality, there is a need to adopt a set of effective growth-sharing instruments.

As we go about charting a new course for FAO during this Conference, let us be optimistic and have faith in human ingenuity, perseverance and zest. My delegation is confident that we can collectively confront the challenges that lie in state and ahead in world agriculture.

José Antonio OCAMPO GAVIRIA (Colombia): Señor Presidente, señor representante del Director General, señores Delegados, quisiera, en primer término, presentar en nombre de mi país un caluroso saludo, en particular a usted, señor Presidente, que representa a nuestro hermoso Caribe, y a todas las delegaciones aquí presentes y ratificarles nuestro respaldo a los principios que nutren el Sistema de Naciones Unidas y a la Organización para la Agricultura y la Alimentación. Deseo también agradecer al Director General saliente, Edouard Saouma, por toda la energía y orientación que le ha dado a esta Institución a lo largo de dieciocho fructíferos años. A él y a nuestra compatriota, su esposa, Inés, quiero expresarles nuestros mejores deseos de éxito en esta nueva etapa que inician.

El proceso democrático que vivimos el día lunes con la elección del nuevo Director General enorgullece a todos los países participantes. Quiero felicitar al nuevo Director, Jacques Diouf, y a todas las naciones africanas por este nombramiento y ofrecerle, en nombre del Gobierno de Colombia, todo nuestro apoyo en las labores que inicia y, especialmente, en la tarea que planteó en su presentación inicial, de contribuir a la más noble de las batallas de la humanidad: la lucha contra el hambre en el mundo. Deseamos igualmente felicitar a todos los otros aspirantes a este

cargo, que con sus hojas de vida enaltecieron este debate, pero, en especial, a los candidatos de la hermana República de Chile y de Australia, con quienes nos une la batalla que hemos librado en los últimos años en el marco del Grupo Cairns.

Nuestro país, como la mayoría de las naciones del continente americano, ha hecho grandes esfuerzos en los últimos años por modernizar sus estructuras productivas y abrir sus economías a las oportunidades, pero también los retos del comercio internacional. No hay ningún otro continente que pueda presentar entre sus ejecutorias recientes una contribución igual a la liberación del comercio mundial. No hemos tenido una respuesta similar de nuestros socios comerciales y, especialmente, de los países más desarrollados. De esta manera, mientras abrimos nuestras economías a sus productos agrícolas e industriales, vemos cómo mantienen casi incólumes sus barreras al comercio y a sus subsidios a la producción y a las exportaciones agrícolas, que constituyen, sin duda alguna, las fuentes de las grandes distorsiones al comercio de bienes rurales y generan, con sus efectos depresivos sobre los precios internacionales, el mayor impuesto que debemos pagar los países en desarrollo con fuertes ventajas comparativas en la agricultura.

Como miembros del Grupo de Cairns hemos hecho, a lo largo de las negociaciones de la Ronda Uruguay del GATT, propuestas ambiciosas, que buscan corregir estas grandes inequidades que caracterizan el comercio agrícola mundial. Estas propuestas quedaron apenas tímidamente reflejadas en el proyecto de Acta Final de la Ronda, que presentó el Director anterior del GATT, en diciembre de 1991. No obstante, y pese a los inmensos compromisos que dicha Acta implica para nosotros en materia de propiedad intelectual, liberación del comercio de bienes y servicios, mayores disciplinas en materia de subsidios, inversiones relacionadas con el comercio y uso de restricciones cuantitativas durante las crisis de balanza de pagos, la aceptamos como base de acuerdo, con el convencimiento de que las mínimas disciplinas que en materia agrícola establece el borrador del Acta son, al menos, el punto de partida para un proceso de larga duración en el cual se obtendrá en forma gradual lo que aspirábamos como meta inmediata.

Desde entonces, observamos cómo lo que había sido la negociación comercial más importante de la historia mundial se convertía en un diálogo bilateral, en el cual la mayoría de los países no éramos más que simples espectadores. Lo que es más, vimos cómo algunos países y regiones intentaban por esta vía restringir el alcance de las negociaciones multilaterales precedentes o, peor aún, imponer unilateralmente regímenes comerciales más restrictivos que aquellos que han servido de marco para el crecimiento de nuestras exportaciones en los últimos años. En muchos casos, como acontece con el nuevo régimen bananero de la Comunidad Económica Europea, esas acciones violan compromisos adquiridos en negociaciones anteriores o el principio de Punta del Este, según el cual las nuevas reglas comerciales no deben restringir el acceso a los mercados en relación con los niveles previamente alcanzados.

Hemos visto con satisfacción y apoyado abiertamente el compromiso más reciente de los grandes socios comerciales de terminar la Ronda Uruguay antes del 15 de diciembre del presente año. Un nuevo fracaso en lograr un acuerdo antes de esta fecha podría ser catastrófico, ya que profundizaría la crisis económica internacional y, peor aún, las tendencias proteccionistas y regionalistas, que amenazan con frenar el proceso de

liberación comercial de largo aliento que ha tenido lugar en las décadas que sucedieron a la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Para que la Ronda llegue a su fin, es necesario, sin embargo, como lo ha reiterado el Grupo de Cairns a lo largo de los últimos años, que el paquete final cumpla tres requisitos indispensables: ser global, balanceado y resultado de un verdadero acuerdo multilateral. Ello excluye, como es obvio, un paquete que deje de lado a la agricultura para negociaciones posteriores, o que excluya alguno de los elementos que ha hecho parte de las negociaciones agrícolas (el acceso a los mercados, los apoyos internos, los subsidios a la exportación y disciplinas en el uso de normas fitosanitarias) o que trate de imponer sobre otros socios, a través de debilitamientos sucesivos de las tímidas cláusulas de liberación incluidas en el borrador de Acta Final, las decisiones unilaterales de alguna de las partes.

Queremos resaltar que, en contra de las interpretaciones erróneas de nuestros puntos de vista, no pretendemos que la liberación del comercio agrícola mundial se haga a costa de los países pobres importadores de alimentos o de las preferencias otorgadas a los países menos desarrollados. Por el contrario, apoyamos la conveniencia de que dicha liberación esté acompañada de medidas adicionales de apoyo a los primeros, como lo establece el borrador de Acta Final de la Ronda. Defendemos, igualmente, las virtudes de un ordenamiento mundial en el cual se otorguen preferencias comerciales especiales a los países más pobres, que les permitan articularse más favorablemente a los flujos del comercio mundial. Pero afirmamos enfáticamente que no puede haber un ajuste adecuado y equitativo de la economía internacional si los países más desarrollados no aceptan reducir sustancialmente sus excesivas protecciones y medidas de apoyo interno y, por ende, su participación en la producción agrícola mundial, para permitir la ampliación de la oferta, mucho más eficiente, proveniente de países en desarrollo.

El marcado deterioro de los términos de intercambio agrícola de estos países, asociado de manera no despreciable al creciente proteccionismo, es, sin duda, una de las tendencias más desfavorables que señala el informe sobre "El estado mundial de la alimentación y la agricultura" presentado a esta Conferencia. Este deterioro, del 40 por ciento en promedio entre 1979-81 y 1990-92, según el informe, ha sido particularmente dramático en el caso del café, cuyos términos de intercambio se redujeron en un 66 por ciento a lo largo de estos años, sin que dicha tendencia fuera amortiguada de manera significativa por el aumento en la productividad o los mayores volúmenes de producción.

El efecto de esta caída de los precios del grano debe medirse en función de la importancia que tiene el café para los países en desarrollo, no sólo como una de las principales fuentes de divisas de muchos países, sino, ante todo, como una de las principales fuentes de generación de empleo en el Tercer Mundo. Dada su gran importancia económica y social, a lo largo de tres décadas fue regulado por un gran acuerdo internacional entre los países productores y los principales consumidores, el más fructífero de su género, sin duda alguna. No quiero retomar en esta ocasión las razones que llevaron a su colapso, a mediados de 1989, sino simplemente resaltar que no existen en la agenda internacional mecanismos alternativos que permitan estabilizar los mercados internacionales de materias primas. Las propuestas que en tal sentido se han hecho desde hace dos décadas o más, de establecer fondos internacionales reguladores, no se han tomado nunca verdaderamente en serio. Tampoco han avanzado más allá de su carácter de iniciativas

ingenuas las que plantean algunas agencias, de que sustituyamos todos los mecanismos de estabilización por el uso activo de mercados de futuros. Y digo ingenuas porque cualquier conocedor sabe que estos mercados miopes no permiten coberturas más allá de unos pocos meses, que son claramente insuficientes para estabilizar los ingresos en productos cuyos ciclos de precios pueden alcanzar 20 ó 25 años.

Por este motivo, mi país defendió hasta el último día el Acuerdo Internacional del Café y ha sido el gran promotor de todas las negociaciones posteriores orientadas a restablecer alguna regulación internacional del mercado. Lo hicimos pese a que estábamos convencidos de que éramos el país más preparado para enfrentar un mercado libre, ya que contábamos con el mejor ordenamiento institucional de cualquier país productor. Así lo han ratificado, por lo demás, los hechos posteriores.

El reciente pacto de retención de café firmado por la mayoría de los países productores de América Latina y Africa, y algunas naciones asiáticas, es el primer intento de encontrar una solución a la coyuntura de bajos precios, que amenaza ya con generar un verdadero colapso de las estructuras productivas de café, con todos los funestos efectos que ello tendría sobre el mundo en desarrollo. Somos conscientes de que se trata de una iniciativa subóptima, ya que la experiencia del pasado nos enseña que los esfuerzos más duraderos de estabilización deben incluir a todos los productores y a los principales países consumidores. Abrigamos la esperanza de que el esquema actual, de emergencia, evolucione hacia una solución estable, que sin duda corrija los defectos de esquemas similares del pasado. No obstante, vemos con inmensa preocupación la respuesta desfavorable de los Estados Unidos, que reaccionó a este esquema con su retiro de la Organización Internacional del Café, cerrando así las puertas de la negociación y del restablecimiento de esquemas de este tipo en el futuro.

Son muchos los retos que plantea el ordenamiento agrícola mundial para los países en desarrollo. El establecimiento de un nuevo orden comercial, en el cual estos países tengan una participación creciente en la oferta agrícola mundial, y el diseño de nuevos mecanismos de estabilización que permitan en forma mancomunada evitar los desastres que generan caídas dramáticas de los precios internacionales, son, sin duda, algunos de los más importantes. He querido centrar mi atención el día de hoy sobre ellos.

Espero que esta Conferencia y los trabajos de largo alcance que lleva a cabo esta importante Organización contribuyan decididamente a abrir el paso a las ideas que aquí he expuesto y que representan, a juicio del Gobierno de Colombia, los verdaderos intereses de los países en desarrollo.

Milad Abdessalam SHMEYLA (Libya) (Original language Arabic): In the name of God the compassionate the merciful. Mr Chairman of the Conference, Mr Director-General, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen: the delegation of the Great Arab Libyan People's Socialist Jamaharia are pleased to congratulate you, Mr Chairman, and your friendly country on your election as Chairman of the 27th Session of the FAO General Conference. The way that you have so far run the sittings of this Conference is proof of your patience, experience and wisdom - all characteristics which will be of great help for the Conference to reach well-targetted and practical resolutions.

I would also like to extend our congratulations to the three vice-chairmen and the friendly nations which have joined this international family. I

wish them well and hope that their admission will help them meet their aspirations and be a reinforcement to FAO.

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Lebanon, our brother country, has honoured our Conference by delivering the MacDougall Memorial Lecture, and his Excellency the President of Italy has also honoured us by making a statement on the same occasion. The two statements covered a large number of important issues and policies which we all hope will implement what is appropriate for our countries, either directly or through the future programmes of our Organization.

During this session Dr Jacques Diouf, the nominee of our African continent, was elected Director-General of FAO to succeed Dr Edouard Saouma, the present Director-General, who has been an example of a knowledgeable, expert, firm, unyielding manager when it comes to issues which may compromise the objectives of the Organization. He has devoted all his efforts and time during the long years of his mandate as Director-General to the development of the Organization's activities. This has made him gain the respect and appreciation of all Member States. Dr Saouma's accomplishments have left their print in the history of the Organization and deserve our deep appreciation. They will remain forever as a guiding light for his successors who will bear the responsibility of preserving the great achievements of Edouard Saouma for the benefit of Member States.

Dr Jacques Diouf belongs to a friendly African country with whom my country enjoys long political, cultural and civilization relations. We have known him for a long time; he is a well-known development expert in the African continent and enjoys an established reputation at the international level. My country is confident that he will assume his responsibilities as the successor of Dr Saouma with great competence and will prove his ability to occupy the post of Director-General of FAO, the largest international organization, with its heavy responsibilities.

We pledge our support and cooperation to Dr Diouf in his endeavour to attain humanitarian objectives, namely the eradication of poverty and famine, the preservation of natural resources and their protection from deterioration and misuse for the benefit of future generations.

Mr Antoine Saintraint, the independent Chairman of the Council, has presided over the two last sessions of the Council of the Organization and has proved to be an example of wisdom and patience. His interventions at the right time always led to rulings serving the objectives of the Organization, and his expertise has been a guiding light to enable the Council to come to decisions and recommendations difficult to reach without his excellent management ability of the Council sessions. We should like to avail ourselves of this opportunity to convey to you, Mr Saintraint, the appreciation of the Great Jamahariya for the effort that you have been making for the success of international cooperation and its objectives. I should like to commend the excellent statement that you made at this Conference. Indeed it was a valuable lecture by a well informed expert whose main concern is to see the international Organization attain its objectives in the absence of undemocratic interventions.

Our delegation feels optimistic after reading the reports and studies on the issues related to world agricultural production. They clearly indicate an increase in the food production rate exceeding population growth rate. We believe that this is due to technical development and international cooperation in this area, and also due to the efforts deployed towards

ensuring food security by a number of countries, including the Great Jamaharia, whose people have achieved self-sufficiency in the production of most components of their food and are still working to mobilize its water resources for increasing agricultural production and exporting the production surpluses, thus contributing to the international efforts aimed at solving the problems of poverty and malnutrition.

In spite of this optimism, however, my country is deeply concerned because of the deterioration of the food situation in many poor countries in the world. Indeed, we believe that balanced nutrition is a natural right for every human being and that cooperation is essential to ensure this right for all, and to stop all practices which might jeopardize this right, such as the economic embargos unfairly imposed on a number of countries trying to build and develop their societies in order to ensure the well-being of their people, as well as other measures, aimed at hindering the movement of agricultural inputs and marketing agricultural products, the things which lead to the aggravation of food shortages and jeopardize human rights.

My country supports the efforts exerted by FAO for increasing agricultural production especially in the poor and food-deficient countries, and we approve the programme budget submitted to this session of the Conference because we are convinced that it aims towards this end. We hope that future programmes will include, among their priority areas, regional programmes which tackle the problems of drought and shortage of water resources and cover the issues of sustainable agricultural development and the protection of the environment, including desertification control.

My country thinks that it is important to develop FAO Regional Offices and provide them with the necessary support to enable them to face the problems mentioned above at the regional level, and to carry out scientific studies and projects on the basis of the realities prevailing in the regions concerned.

We would like to take this opportunity to urge the Organization to do its best in order to coordinate with the other international organizations concerned with food production and nutrition to ensure the continuity of their programmes in the interest of the beneficiaries.

Finally, Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I wish this session of the Conference success and extend my best wishes to the new Director-General together with my wishes of good health and happiness to Dr Saouma and Mr Antoine Saintraint.

Mario Leopoldo Carlos REBELO CABRAL (Guinée-Bissau): langue origninale portuguais): Messieurs les Délégués, Mesdames et Messieurs, La Guinée-Bissau a le plaisir de présenter au Président de la Conférence de même qu'aux membres du Bureau ses vives félicitations pour leur brillante élection. Nous sommes convaincus que la grande expérience de M. Mullings, bien démontrée par ailleurs au cours de l'élection du Directeur général qu'il a su conduire avec tant de générosité et de sagesse, sera mise à profit pour continuer à diriger nos travaux qui, je le souhaite, seront couronnés d'un plein succès. Ce succès que nous attendons tous est vital pour l'avenir de notre Organisation tant la complexité des tâches qui nous sont assignées exige une définition claire de nos responsabilités dans un cadre institutionnel efficace.

Chers délégués, honorables participants, il est vrai que notre Organisation a démontré à bien des égards dans le passé qu'elle était largement à la hauteur des ambitions et des attentes des pays membres grâce à l'engagement ferme de la direction générale dont la compétence et le dévouement, ainsi que ceux de son personnel, méritent que nous lui rendions ici hommage.

C'est également le moment pour nous de féliciter M. Edouard Saouma pour les longues années d'effort constant où il s'est trouvé à la tête de notre Organisation dans une lutte très difficile mais victorieuse contre la faim et la malnutrition. Le moment est venu pour nous de lui souhaiter une excellente retraite bien méritée et le plus grand succès dans ses nouvelles fonctions. Il restera une figure remarquable et nous sommes sûrs qu'il ne disparaîtra pas de la scène internationale.

Quant au nouveau Directeur général, M. Jacques Diouf, nous lui présentons au nom de la Guinée-Bissau nos félicitations très sincères et chaleureuses pour son élection à la tête de notre Organisation. Au moment où les enjeux présents et futurs exigent plus que jamais de la FAO une capacité d'anticipation remarquable liée à un savoir-faire de qualité qui ne peuvent être obtenus sans expérience et sans un dialogue nourri et constructif avec tous les partenaires, M. Jacques Diouf possède non seulement le profil et les compétences nécessaires pour ce faire, mais il a également, à travers son discours de remerciement, démontré qu'il avait une conscience claire des enjeux ainsi qu'une stratégie en tête pour les aborder avec succès, surtout dans le domaine du combat contre la faim qui est un problème majeur pour l'Afrique car il s'agit d'un problème de survie pour ce continent.

Il n'est pas inutile de rappeler que les acquis de la science et de la technologie qui confèrent aujourd'hui à l'humanité des atouts indéniables pour faire face à ses besoins alimentaires sont rarement exploités dans un souci d'équilibre mondial.

Comment s'étonner alors des divergences observées çà et là quant au partage des responsabilités et des obligations ou quant à la gestion de notre patrimoine commun, la terre?

Oui, comment ne pas s'étonner qu'au nom de la division du travail, de la liberté du commerce, de la recherche de la vérité des prix, on voit tellement d'obstacles mis en travers de la route pour limiter les chances de développement de l'agriculture de la plupart des pays membres de cette Organisation?

Les pays africains comme le nôtre vivent ce paradoxe, se devant de faire face à la fois aux besoins croissants des populations de plus en plus attentives à tout ce qui se passe dans le monde, de plus en plus conscientes de la nécessité de préserver leurs ressources naturelles pour contribuer à un équilibre écologique salutaire de la planète et qui, pour autant, ne disposent pas de la solidarité nécessaire pour faire face à la situation, d'autant plus que, comme l'a dit M. Edouard Saouma dans son discours d'introduction à cette Conférence, les prix des matières premières baissent tandis que ceux des équipements et des marchandises montent. L'augmentation des investissements en agriculture est une donnée incontournable pour soutenir les progrès dans nos pays.

Dans notre pays, La Guinée-Bissau, nous avons établi une stratégie destinée au secteur agricole, concentrée sur la formation des ressources humaines, la recherche appliquée, la vulgarisation des nouvelles techniques et technologies, visant d'abord à atteindre l’autosuffisance alimentaire, mais

également à produire en vue de l'exportation. Cette stratégie sera mise en échec si la situatin macro-économique mondiale n'est pas modifiée en notre faveur car nous nous verrons écrasés par le poids de la dette extérieure.

Comment concevoir une modernisation de l'appareil de production dans un contexte mondial dominé par le ralentissement de l'activité économique et la récession des prix de nos produits? L'agriculture africaine en cette fin de siècle subit de plein fouet la réduction constante et régulière de son espace commercial. Si les pères de notre indépendance ont longtemps dénoncé la détérioration des termes de l'échange, nous avons le triste privilège d'ajouter à ce fléau celui de l'absence quasi totale de marchés pour nos produits.

Au moment où tout concourt dans nos pays au développement des libertés et à l'élargissement de la démocratie, à une explosion des idées et des initiatives de base, la conjoncture internationale devient de moins en moins favorable au progrès de nos pays.

Que de défis pour notre Organisation! Il ne s'agira pas seulement pour la FAO de se contenter d'enregistrer des faits, de les interpréter, mais, je le répète, de les dénoncer à la lumière de sa longue expérience, afin de se convaincre et de nous convaincre que notre avenir, l'avenir de tous, est commun et que cela exigera une plus grande solidarité pour que fiat panis, pour que cela devienne une réalité.

La Guinée-Bissau espère donc la mise en application réelle des décisions prises au sommet de la terre de Rio de Janeiro et à la Conférence internationale sur la nutrition, avec le plan d'action forestier tropical. Notre pays espère également l'établissement d'une convention sur la désertification de la part des pays membres du CILSS auquel nous appartenons.

La Guinée-Bissau participera aux discussions sur les différents documents présentés au cours de cette Conférence: le Programme d'action à moyen terme, le document "L'Agriculture mondiale à l'Horizon 2010" et autres documents.

Je ne saurais terminer sans féliciter et remercier M. Saintraint, Président indépendant de la FAO, pour les efforts qu'il a faits tout au long de son mandat qui lui ont permis de visiter récemment mon pays. Je voudrais le remercier également pour le discours magistral qu'il a fait devant cette Conférence.

Permettez-moi enfin de saluer les nouveaux Etats Membres récemment admis pour la confiance qu'ils accordent à la FAO. Nous espérons qu'ils contribueront ainsi à son universalité et à renforcer sa vocation. Je vous remercie de votre attention.

R.E.W. ELLIOT (New Zealand): Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Over successive Conferences, New Zealand Ministers of Agriculture have focused on two major isues that still dominate international agriculture today. These, as so many speakers at this Conference have said, are the continuing problems of hunger, malnutrition and food shortages in many parts of the world; and secondly the surpluses arising from agricultural support and trade policies of the industrialized world. At yet another FAO Conference we must again note that even while large parts of the developing world are faced with food shortages, in many

parts of the industrialized world high domestic support prices and other forms of assistance have created surpluses that are then dumpled on the international market at subsidized prices. There have been any number of studies that have shown that domestic support and export subsidization policies of developed countries have imposed very real costs both on themselves and on developing countries. It is time to change.

In calling for changes to international agricultural and trade policies New Zealand is not proposing one set of rules for the world and another set of rules for -itself. On the contrary we have implemented one of the most rigorous programmes of economic reforms that have been put into place anywhere in the world. Before 1984 our economic policies were based on high levels of government intervention. The government set interest rates and exchange rates and intervened in negotiations over wages. It protected domestic industries from competition through import licensing and high tariff measures.

All this has changed. Since 1984 the government has floated the New Zealand dollar; removed price controls; reduced protection; liberalized financial markets; sold its specialist bank for rural loans; and deregulated labour markets. Policies applied in the decade of the 70s had proved to us that economic growth cannot be based on domestic controls and heavy external borrowings.

In these reforms, the government reduced assistance to many sectors including agriculture, and allowed resources to flow freely within the economy. Assistance to agriculture, for instance, fell from an average of 24 percent in 1984 to zero in 1992. The reforms have not been without some pain. From being a society with full employment, New Zealand has had to contend with unemployment which now stands at around 10 percent, and many businesses just did not make the painful transition from a protected environment to one driven by the market.

However, the impact of the reform programme has so far been positive. Our industries, including our agriculture, are now operating more efficiently in both the domestic and external markets, and this is a point I must stress. The extent to which we can now build further on this progress will depend on the pace of liberalization in a world where there is still far too much protection. It is a world in which still too many countries say one thing and practise another, and we think that it is the Uruguay Round that provides us with the best opportunity to stimulate global agricultural activity through a concerted programme of economic reform and trade liberalization, and I will return to that point.

An integral part of the reform programme was to aim for a more efficient and more competitive public sector. The government moved to commercialize many services and made fundamental changes to how those services were provided and how they were paid for. Since 1990 indeed, the government has implemented policies under which many of the costs are met by those who actually use the services.

If I were to summarize, I would say that in a way we have embarked on a large social, as well as an economic experiment. The key policy has been to remove government intervention wherever citizens could do the job better on their own. Citizens are challenged to make their own decisions on what they want to do with their own resources, and to take the consequences themselves.

Now having noted that the government has given away many tasks, we have in the process developed a much clearer idea of the tasks that must stay with the government in our society. As far as agriculture is concerned, food safety is an inescapable responsibility of the government . At the international level we are actively supporting the work of Codex in developing a harmonized set of standards that are acceptable around the world. We see Codex as a very important part of FAO activities against the prospect of a successful conclusion of the GATT Round.

Along with the Codex work on standards, we are pleased with the progress being made by FAO with the International Plant Protection Convention and the efforts that are currently going into constructing and promoting international phytosanitary standards.

Since the last FAO Conference the Earth Summit has been held, and while it did not achieve all that was expected of it, many important decisions were made. New Zealand has ratified the two conventions concluded at Rio and will contribute to the global environmental facility. We place a high value on the natural environment. We are also now implementing a comprehensive resource management law, which has a very clear objective. The sustainable management of natural and physical resources will enable us today to reach the standards that our children want tomorrow.

New Zealand fully endorses FAO's Plan of Action for integrating women into agriculture and rural development. The vital role that women play in agriculture is still not adequately recognized. New Zealand women are asserting their rights to full participation in the economy and we recognize the very important role FAO is playing in promoting the full participation of women everywhere in rural development. We would not hestitate to support the call from this rostrum by a number of speakers for FAO to employ more female staff at senior levels of management.

As a fishing nation New Zealand is an active participant in international fisheries discussion, both in this forum and elsewhere. We look forward to the conclusion at this Conference of the Agreement on the Flagging of Fishing Vessels. From the start we have been a supporter of the concept of a Code of Conduct on Responsible Fisheries and we congratulate the FAO Secretariat for its preparatory work. We are happy with the aim of completing this work in time for the 1995 meeting of the Committee on Fisheries. Such a timetable will allow members to take account of important policy decisions which are now being developed in the context of the United Nations Conference on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Species. Our discussion here should contribute to but not pre-empt decisions in the UN Conference.

I would like to touch briefly on the issue of good governance. After our experience in the public sector reforms we look forward to seeing FAO, under its new leadership, further improve its planning and its priority setting and rationalizing services where it is possible to do so. All members should be confident that their contributions are being used and targeted as efficiently and as effectively as possible. Members will also want to see complementary agencies collaborate rather than compete.

Finally, I want to return to our main concern. New Zealand must call on FAO to support a successful outcome for the Uruguay Round. We are not making this call alone. We are joining our colleagues in the Cairns Group, the Rio group of countries, the ASEAN Economic Ministers, the Commonwealth Heads of Government and the African Ministers of Trade. We have been heartened, too,

to hear calls for a successful conclusion from so many colleagues sharing this rostrum.

New Zealand must reiterate that change is possible. It should not be avoided because of short-term political discomfort. We are convinced that as long as subsidized exports dominate LDC markets at cut-rate prices or as food aid those countries will find it difficult to develop viable agricultural production industries of their own. Will they find it easy to develop viable exports of primary products? Without reform we will reinforce the dreary cycle of food aid and dependency which has selectively inhibited economic development in so many countries. It just cannot go on.

We make no apology for emphasizing this point yet again. Trade reforms will confer significant economic benefits to all countries, including the developing countries. You know of the recent World Bank/OECD study which estimated the benefits of trade liberalization for developing countries at over US$70 billion. We have noted at this Conference the concerns expressed by a number of developing countries about the adverse short-term impacts of trade liberalization and the particular adjustment problems they might face as net food importers. These problems are recognized, and we agree that any final agreement must include reduced obligation for such nations and more effective food aid measures.

We believe that trade reforms must be used to bring about real changes to international agriculture. They will discourage the capital and chemical intensive forms of agriculture that have degraded the environment and encouraged overproduction.

Dr Saouma completes his long and notable term of office and, as the new Director-General takes up his position, New Zealand considers it is timely and appropriate to reaffirm our commitment to the ideals of this Organization. We acknowledge and accept the awesome responsibilities that those ideals place on each of us.

We congratulate Jacques Diouf as our new Director-General. We look to him to help us fulfil our obligation to others who share this globe with us. I can assure him, in turn, of our help as he applies the skills and resources of FAO to its daunting but inescapable tasks.

Anselme BANKAMBONA (Burundi): M. le Président, Excellences, Mesdames, Messieurs, permettez-moi de me joindre aux orateurs qui m'ont précédé pour vous féliciter, M. le Président, ainsi que tous les membres du Bureau, pour votre élection à la présidence des présentes assises et pour votre prestation remarquable.

Je souhaite aux pays qui viennent d'intégrer la FAO en tant que membres une chaleureuse bienvenue. J'adresse mes félicitations au nouveau Directeur général de la FAO, M. Jacques Diouf, à qui les pays membres viennent de confier la noble et lourde tâche de diriger la FAO. Je lui souhaite plein succès dans sa nouvelle mission.

Je voudrais, M. le Président, rendre un vibrant hommage au Directeur général sortant, M. Edouard Saouma, pour les efforts que la FAO n'a cessé de déployer pour appuyer le développement agricole au Burundi tout au long de son mandat.

En effet, avec l'appui notamment de la FAO, le Burundi progressait petit à petit vers une autosuffisance alimentaire et une modification positive du paysage agricole grâce à une approche participative dans sa politique agricole qui responsabilise davantage les principaux acteurs du développement, à savoir les familles rurales représentant 90 pour cent de la population.

Comme vous le savez, les efforts de développement menés par le Gouvernement viennent d'être gravement compromis par un putsch criminel survenu dans la nuit du 20 au 21 octobre 1993. L'armée mono-ethnique et régionaliste du Burundi vient de décapiter les premières institutions démocratiquement élues dans l'histoire de notre pays en assassinant sauvagement le Président de la République S.E. M. Melchior Ndadaye, le Président et Vice-Président de l'Assemblée nationale et d'autres hautes personnalités comme le Ministre de l'Administration du Territoire et du Développment Communal, l'Administrateur général de la Documentation et des migrations, deux gouverneurs de provinces, l'épouse du Ministre des relations extérieures et de la coopération ainsi que de très nombreux dirigeants locaux du parti vainqueur des élections libres et pluralistes de juin dernier.

Le mort du Président Ndadaye et des autres dignitaires de la République a malheureusement provoqué la colère et la furie populaires qui se sont exprimées, chez les populations Hutu, dans des escalades de violence à l'endroit de la population Tutsi. De même, des Tutsi dressés et entraînés idéologiquement par les concepteurs du coup d'Etat et autres acteurs direcs et indirects de la tragédie, ont commencé à traquer et massacrer des Hutu avec le concours de militaires pratiquement enragés.

Tous ces faits ont entraîné un cycle de violence, dans un véritable engrenage qui a mis le pays à feu et à sang.

Aujourd'hui, tout le pays est plongé dans la désolation. L'Administration territoriale, tant au niveau provincial que communal, est complètemment déstabilisée, démoralisée et terrorisée.

Le Gouvernement du Burundi, traqué et pourchassé par les putschistes, a été contraint de s'exiler à l'Ambassade de France à Bujumbura dont il n'est sorti qu'il y a seulement 3 jours. Près de 600 000 personnes ont fui le pays portant ainsi à 850 000 le nombre de réfugiés burundais à l'extérieur, ce qui entraîne une pression sociale sans précédent dans les pays voisins qui les hébergent.

Il ressort de tout cela que l'action entreprise par l'armée au cours de la nuit du 20 au 21 octobre 1993 a de graves conséquences politiques, diplomatiques, militaires, et humanitaires graves tant à l'échelon national qu'à l'échelon sous-régional.

Face à ces crimes contre l'humanité, nous sommes gré à la Communauté internationale qui, dans son unanimité, a condamné leurs auteurs et exprimé tout son soutien au peuple burundais. Je voudrais, Monsieur le Président, avec votre permission, demander à tous les membres des délégations ici présents, d'exprimer à leurs Governement qui compte toujours sur cette solidarité internationale dans son action de stabilisation définitive du pays et dans l'oeuvre exigente de reconstruction nationale.

Je voudrais profiter de cette occasion pour remercier particulièrement la FAO qui, dès le 28 octobre 1993, a lancé une alerte spéciale pour mon pays

en vue d'une aide humanitaire d'urgence, demandé qui elle a réitérée ce 2 novembre 1993.

En terminant mon intervention, je voudrais en outre remercier la FAO pour la confiance qu'elle a placée dans mon pays, en acceptant qu'il puisse abriter la prochaine Conférence régionale en juillet 1994.

Fort de la confiance que lui a témoignée son peuple, et avec le soutien agissant de la communauté internationale, le Gouvernement du Burundi espère qu'il pourra, dans un très proche avenir, confirmer la possibilité d'abriter cette importante session. Je vous remercie.

CHAIRMAN: Thank you, delegate of Burundi. I am certain members do regret to hear of the very unfortunate developments that have taken place in Burundi, and we should hope that peace and stability will return to that country before long.

May I invite the distinguished delegate of Kenya to take the floor.

Simeon NYACHAE (Kenya): Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I would like on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf to extend warm congratulations to you, Mr Chairman, on your election as Chairman of the Conference. We have every hope that you will guide the deliberations of this session to a sucessful end.

Let me also extend my delegation's congratulations to the new Director-General, His Excellency Ambassador Jacques Diouf on his election, and hope that under his dynamic leadership, FAO will find new directions and approaches to the many challenges that face the world up to the turn of this century and beyond

In the same spirit, I pay tribute to the outgoing Director-General,Dr Edouard Saouma on his very successful stewardship of the Organizationfor the past 18 years

My delegation believes that the 27th Session of FAO Conference comes at a time witnessed by momentous changes in the international political and economic environment.

The reasons for stating this are obvious in that such changes are expected to have substantial impact on the international economic prospects in general and in particular on agricultural production and trade and consumption, which in turn will have considerable influence on a large section of the world population in terms of nutrition and good health. These are issues that naturally fall within the mandate of FAO.

Permit me to express our views on some specific items of the agenda. First, we would like to recognize that the concern on food inadequacy and increasing rural poverty is not new. We note that over two decades, this has been at the forefront of the agenda for FAO. In this regard we do recall that it was through FAO initiatives and leadership that the World Food Congress of 1974 analysed and exposed the precarious situation with regard to food production and supplies in developing countries. As a result of decisions and resolutions of the World Food Congress we have witnessed the birth of new institutions such as IFAD, among others.

However, Mr Chairman, the state of world agriculture has not improved in spite of the noble aims of the Food Congress. In the current assessment of the state of food and agriculture, we note with dismany that while there has been marginal improvement on worldwide food production and trade, the state of affairs with regard to Sub-Sanaran Africa has continued to decline. Two major consequences arise out of this state of affairs. One, Sub-Saharan Africa now largely depends on cereal imports to meet their domestic requirements. This in itself points to serious obstacles to development programmes since these countries have to allocate over 50 percent of their foreign exchange earnings on food imports. The second consequence of this is the deepening of poverty in these countries accompanied by widespread deterioration of the nutritional status of the poor and disadvantaged, especially women and children.

We in Kenya are inclined to agree that one of the causes of the misfortunes can be attributed to a policy mismatch with regard to agriculture vis-a-vis import substitution, industrialization and over-reliance on primary commodity production for exports. Needless to emphasize, Mr Chairman, frequent droughts over the last decade have been a major cause of the decline in food production in Africa.

While accepting that the developing countries have been partly responsible for the mismatch in policy which has led to the current alarming declines in food production and per capita consumption, Kenya would like to state that the international community, especially the developed north, could play a more effective role in mitigating this emerging catastrophy. Mr Chairman, this is a plea for equitable distribution of global resources for eradication of poverty, malnutrition and ill health. In this regard, we take note that the documentation before the Conference indicates that resource flows from the developed countries have not only declined in absolute terms but that despite the pledges made in the past two UN development decades aimed at reaching 0.7 percent of GNP of developed countries to be devoted to development assistance to developing countries.

This has not been achieved. Both official and private inflow of resources to developing countries have declined for reasons that are neither economic nor humanitarian but political. In sum total, Mr Chairman, the evidence is clear that instead of the presumed inflow of resources from the north to the south, there has been a net outflow from the south to the north.

This brings me to the subject of external debt. The debt crisis is such that repayments alone have risen to over 100 percent of the average foreign exchange earnings from exports or to over 50 percent of GDP for many of the developing countries. For whatever reason these debt obligations were incurred, it has become imperative that in the new economic order we deal with the issue with a great sense of justice and equity.

Whereas we note that attempts have been made to mitigate the negative impact of external debt in terms of cancellations, rescheduling or debt-for-equity arrangements, these efforts have at best been feeble and ineffective. Kenya wishes to add its voice to those in the forum of the group of 77 and the African group in the UN system for the need to re-examine the debt issue.

Regardless of various perceptions and possible future arrangements for debt relief, we must also consider international trade arrangements which appear to influence the outflow of resources from the developing south to the developed north. In this context, it is interesting to observe that while

one of the prescriptions for structural adjustment reforms is liberalization of trade internally and externally, it still remains a fact that the developed economies remain more or less closed to the products from developing countries except for raw materials, which nevertheless are priced below their opportunity cost.

Let me turn now to specific themes on the Conference Agenda. In this respect I will start with the subject of forestry. We are in general agreement with a wider view about the role of forests in the preservation of terrestrial ecosystems, species and genetic diversity. In this regard, we would urge FAO to review its priority programme in the following areas. First, FAO should continue research into more efficient utilization of forest resources, especially in using such resources to meet the energy needs of the rural poor. Second, FAO should take measures to encourage afforestation programmes with specific aims of preventing soil erosion and protecting water catchment areas through community and household agroforestry and enhance the role of women in this process. Thirdly, to examine ways of promoting forest habitats for various animal species that are of current and future potential to life-supporting systems. Fourth, through the development of bio-technology, FAO should encourage the preservation and use of the traditional edible plants by local communities, and redouble their efforts in the preservation of plant species and genetic biological diversity both in situ and ex situ.

Mr Chairman, I will now turn to the fisheries sector. Several concerns about fisheries have begun to emerge. First, through indistrialization and expansions in human settlements, pollution in marine and inland waters is threatening the fishing industry worldwide. Secondly, over-exploitation of certain species is becoming increasingly evident to the extent that such species are becoming extinct or are in the category of being endangered. We therefore urge FAO to provide guidelines and codes of conduct for responsible fishing to achieve a sustainable fishery industry and to preserve species diversity.

As already observed in the documentation before this session of the Conference the global food situation is not secure, especially so long as the per capita food production in Africa is lagging far behind demand as determined by population growth. In our view this situation though intractable can be reversed. The opportunities available of course hinge on correct domestic policies of the individual countries but as we have said before, it also relies on international cooperation. The promotion of increased agricultural production and productivity today requires new technologies through research and development. The key to this process lies in the development of both plant and animal species that are drought, pest and disease resistant and higher yielding. It also depends on the use of agrochemicals. In Kenya, like in other developing countries, the opportunities for increased agricultural production from the use of these technologies is still largely untapped, especially in small scale farming areas. However, the use of agrochemicals presents us with a new paradox in terms of long-term environmental sustainable agriculture, as between the use of organic and inorganic inputs. While there seems, however, in spite of the need to develop new environmentally friendly agricultural systems, the key question still remains with the need to increase investment in agricultural sector in the form of access to credit, better distribution and pricing of agricultural inputs and development of appropriate farm technology. In this regard, we would once again express our concern with the continued decline in aid assistance to developing countries, especially to the agricultural sector.

My statement would be incomplete without mentioning the enormous contributions that Kenyan women have made in the development process in Kenya. Indeed, women are the major producers of food commodities let alone their unique role in traditional family support activities. You will recall Mr Chairman the UN Women's Conference took place in Nairobi in 1985. In that Conference, a Women's Charter was evolved. In this respect Kenya has prepared an elaborate plan of action for integrating women in the main-stream of the development process.

With regard to the role of NGOs we recognize that in many countries the relations between government authorities and NGOs have not always been cordial. Kenya has learnt the vital role NGOs can play and have played in mobilizing community efforts and resources for the promotion of the welfare of the rural and urban poor. We therefore believe that the NGOs are a vital link between the government and rural and urban communities.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, Kenya recognises that FAO is entering a new era faced with new challenges. With admission of new members we see a new sense of dynamism and participation. We congratulate most sincerely the new members that have just joined us during this session of the Conference and hope their contribution will enrich the work of the Organization. Meanwhile, Kenya, like many other Member States would like to reaffirm continued support of FAO so that the Organization can deal effectively with the challenges ahead.

Thomas Brothy FARATI A (Vanuatu) : Chairman of the 27th Session of the FAO Conference, distinguished delegates, Director-General, representatives of international organizations, ladies and gentlemen, greetings from the people and Government of the Republic of Vanuatu. I should like to compliment the Director-General and his staff on the excellent arrangements under which the business of the current session of the Conference is being conducted. A special thank you to the Italian people and Government for the warm hospitality which is evident all around us in this beautiful, historical city.