93. The Council considered the Ninth Annual Report of the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) of the UN/FAO World Food Programme to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and to the FAO Council 2, which covered the period 16 April 1970 to 6 April 1971. It consisted of a short covering note 3, and of the Reports of the Committee's Eighteenth4 and Nineteenth 5 Sessions.
94. In introducing the report, the Executive Director pointed out that the target of $400 million had been proposed by him in the spirit of UN General Assembly Resolution 2682 (XXV) on multilateral food aid. The feeling of the IGC was that since pledges for 1971–72, for which the target established was $ 300 million, had not yet been reached it was not in a position to recommend a firm target for 1973–74. For this reason the Committee decided to wait for its Twentieth Session in October 1971 before proposing a firm target to the Councils. The Executive Director pointed out the consequences on the future rate of commitments of the Programme of the present unsatisfactory resources situation.
95. The Council welcomed the statement of the Executive Director. All speakers expressed their appreciation for the work of WFP, their full support for it, and the hope that it would soon get out of the present delicate situation. Members of recipient countries of WFP food aid praised the work of the Programme and its great impact on their economies. The Council also praised unanimously the work of the Executive Director. Some members asked the Council to make an appeal to developed countries to increase their contributions to the Programme, which has proved to be a very valuable tool for multilateral food aid. Other indicated that WFP had grown into new dimensions, inspiring more countries to make use of its aid. Some members asked the Council to recommend to donor countries to make forward planning regarding the size and composition of the commodities pledged in order to help WFP in its forward planning. Many members regretted that the 1971–72 target had not yet been reached. The Council appealed to contributors to make every possible effort for the attainment of the $300 million target established by the FAO Conference and the UN General Assembly for the biennium 1971–72. The Council welcomed the decision of the Government of India to increase its current pledge to one million dollars.
96. In connexion with the pledging target for 1973–74, the Council noted that as the Nineteenth Session of the IGC had been unable to make a firm recommendation, the matter had been deferred until the Twentieth Session. The Council noted also that the IGC had indicated that the 1973–74 target should not be less than $300 million nor more than $400 million and, within that range, should be at a level which represented as great an increase as participating countries considered realistic and attainable in the light of the total pledges made for the biennium 1971–72 up to the time of consideration of the matter by ECOSOC and the FAO Council.
97. The Council endorsed the presentation to the FAO Conference of a proposal that the firm target for 1973–74 be based on the above considerations and postponed discussion of this item until after the Twentieth Session of the IGC, scheduled to be held in Rome from 18 to 26 October 1971.
98. The Council took note of the ninth annual report of the Intergovernmental Committee of the World Food Programme.
1 CL 56/PV-10.
2 CL 56/16.
3 WFP/IGC: 19/15.
4 WFP/IGC: 18/18.
5 WFP/IGC: 19/16.
