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e) Economics, marketing, and statistics

The Conference

(1) PROGRAM OF DIVISION'S WORK

Recommends  

(a) that the Director-General circulate to all member governments at convenient intervals a list of important new task which the division has been asked to undertake and invite the opinion of governments regarding the relative importance of these various proposals,

(b) that member governments when they receive such communications should reply to the Director-General as rapidly as possible, and

(c) that the Director-General, when he receives these replies, should consider them in consultation, if time permits, with the most appropriate authority in the Organization and decide which of these new tasks, if any, the division is in a position to undertake within the limits of available funds.

 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF STATISTICS Recommends  

(a) that the Conference call on member governments to develop and improve their statistical services in respect of food and agriculture so as to meet the minimum needs as developed in the FAO program for statistical information.

(b) that FAO proceed at once to develop and secure agreement on standard procedures in the statistics of food and agriculture for example through such action as the preparation and distribution of outlines of methods for constructing food balance sheets, and for preparing indexes of production and prices.

(c) that FAO take steps to assist governments to develop and improve their statistical services by co-operating with them in making available the assistance of staff members on request and by assisting governments to secure the services of qualified experts as needed.

(d) that FAO and member governments at the subsequent Conference report on steps taken and the progress achieved toward improvement of statistics on food and agriculture.

 (3) CURRENT REPORTING Recommends  

(a) that all printed and other publications issued by government services and official agriculture be organizations in the field of food and agriculture be sent regularly to FAO;

(b) that governments also send to FAO advance copies of publications related to food and agriculture as they become available for distribution.

(c) that FAO develop and communicate to governments a timetable of the information needed at various periods during the year, and periodically send to governments detailed questionnaires calling for such information.

(d) that the inquiries made by FAO be transmitted to governments as far in advance of the reporting date as feasible, and that insofar as possible they be distributed throughout the year with a view to facilitating the task of government services.

(e) that FAO give careful study to ways of expediting the transmission of information from governments without asking governments to assume unreasonable expenditures. It would seem particularly desirable to examine the possibilities of setting up a code system (similar to that established by UN) for current and regularly forthcoming statistical information.

(f) that FAO insofar as possible disseminate the information it receives and the results of its studies particularly concerning changes in production, trade and prices.

 (4) ESTABLISHMENT OF PRODUCTION TARGETS Recommends  

(a) that the Conference urge all member governments to establish production targets or firm estimates of production as rapidly as possible as a basis for planning the organization of production and as a guide to intelligent international consultation and action.

(b) that the targets be in line with the nutritional requirements, the national and international market outlook, and the conservation and efficient use of land and other agricultural resources of each country, as envisaged in Resolution XV of the Hot Springs Conference.

(c) that the targets include not only the objectives of production, acreage, and livestock numbers, but also the desired improvement in preservation of the nutritive value of foods, and that they indicate the means required for reaching them.

(d) that as rapidly as budget and personnel permit, FAO collaborate with member governments in the development of such targets and work out with them the most effective and consistent methods for formulating and reporting them.

 f) World Census 1950

The Conference

(1) CONSULTATION OF SPECIALISTS

Recommends  

(a) that further consultation with technicians which is contemplated, should be taken at an early date, for it is of the utmost importance that the definitive program be in the hands of governments not later than the end of 1947; and

(b) that FAO proceed at the earliest possible date to examine the proposed program with experts familiar with the problems of conducting censuses in underdeveloped areas.

 (2) TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR CENSUS STATISTICIANS Recommends  

(a) that insofar as possible training facilities in agricultural statistics be developed by FAO in the regions in which the technicians are to work and be based on the conditions actually prevailing; and

(b) that information concerning available facilities for such training be communicated to governments as soon as possible.

 (3) PARTICIPATION IN 1950 WORLD CENSUS Recommends that FAO again call the 1950 World Census of Agriculture to the attention of member and nonmember governments which have not yet responded, urging them to take the necessary preliminary measures for their participation. g) Rural welfare

The Conference

(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF A RURAL WELFARE DIVISION

- Approves the initial steps taken to carry out the recommendation of the Second Session of the Conference that a Rural Welfare Division should be established, and

- Considers the projects proposed to be of the type that should be undertaken.

 [See Report of Commission II]

4. Constitutional, administrative, and financial questions

a) Diplomatic privileges and immunities
b) Relations with ICEF
c) Relations with United Nations
d) Relations with specialized agencies
e) Relations with international nongovernmental organizations
f) Regional offices
g) Accounts of the organization
h) Payment of contributions
i) Scale of contributions
j) Currency of contributions
k) Supplementary budget estimates
l) Staff salaries
m) Contingencies
n) Adoption of the budget
o) Report of the committee on financial control
p) Permanent site

a) Diplomatic privileges and immunities

The Conference

Recognizing that maximum uniformity is desirable in the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the United Nations and FAO,

Requests the Director-General to accept any invitation which the UN to attend a conference of specialized agencies and their member nations to consider privileges and immunities for such agencies and to instruct his representative to seek to ensure that the particular requirements of FAO will be met, whatever form the eventual convention may take.

 b) Relations with ICEF

The Conference

Welcomes the creation of the International Children' Emergency Fund by he United Nations and urges all members of FAO to support its activities and co-operate in its work.

Attaches particular importance to the development of effective schemes for securing rapid expansion of milk consumption by nursing and expectant mothers and young children, for supplementary feeding of children in schools and of adolescents, and regards these measures as the most practical means of improving the nutrition and safeguarding the health of the most vulnerable groups on which the future welfare of the community depends.

 c) Relations with United Nations

The Conference

Takes note of the report of the Director General on the relationship between the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization;

Approves the policy followed so far of developing suitable relations in the technical and administrative fields in a spirit of reciprocal co-operation;

Resolves that in negotiating any supplementary agreement with the United Nations in respect of budgetary and financial questions (as provided in paragraph 2 of Article XIV of the Agreement approved in 1946 and consistent with Article 17, paragraph 3, of the United Nations Charter) the Director-General shall ensure, in consultation with the Committee on Financial Control that an agreement satisfactory to all parties be drafted; and

Requests the Director-General to submit the draft of any such supplementary agreement to a subsequent session of the Conference or consideration prior to ratification.

 d) Relations with specialized agencies

The Conference

Approves the Agreement between the International Labour Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations relating to co-operation between the two agencies;

Requests the Director-General to notify the International Labour Organisation of such approval and to file the Agreement with the United Nations as provided by Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Agreement.

 e) Relations with international nongovernmental organizations

The Conference

Having taken note of the application of the International Chamber of Commerce to be brought into consultative relationship with FAO,

Decides that the privileges to be granted that Organization shall be those of Category I, as defined in the resolution adopted on the matter by the Second Session of the Conference (see Report of the Second Session of the Conference).

 f) Regional offices

The Conference

Authorizes the Director-General to proceed with the work of establishing regional offices;

Instructs him to prepare forthwith, in consultation with member countries and other international bodies, plans for the approval of the council whereby offices may be established in each principal region, and more especially in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East (Near East), and Asia; and in doing so, to take advantage of any regional machinery when planning and carrying out technical missions with a view to attaining the highest possible efficiency at a minimum cost.

 g) Accounts of the organization

The Conference

Approves, in conformity with Financial Regulation XX, paragraph 4, the audited accounts of the first financial year ending 30 June 1946 and the audited accounts for the period 1 July to 31 December 1946. [See Appendix D] h) Payment of contributions

The Conference

Notes with concern (1) that nine member nations have not yet paid, either in whole or in part, their contributions for the first financial year, and (2) that at the end of July 1947 a substantial part of the contributions for the second financial year still remain to be collected;

Urges member nations that have not yet done so to take immediate steps to have their contributions paid at the earliest possible moment and in any case not later than 31 December 1947;

Recalls that under Financial Regulation VIII, paragraph 2, contributions shall be payable in full within 30 days of the receipt of the communication of the Director-General or of the first day of the financial year, whichever is the later; and

Draws the attention of member nations who are in default in respect of the first financial year, to Article III, paragraph 4, of the Constitution whereby a member nation in arrears in the payment of its financial contribution to the Organization shall have no vote in the Conference if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contribution due from it for the preceding two full years.

 i) Scale of contributions

The Conference

(1) Requests the Council to undertake a further study of the scale of contributions the light of the scales at present in force in the United Nations and in the other specialized agencies, and of other relevant factors; furthermore, to include in its report a comparative statement of the contributions in all other United Nations organizations, with a recommendation upon a possible readjustment of the scale of contributions, taking into full account the observations made during the present Session.

(2) Approves the recommendation of the, Committee on Financial Control that the allocation of contributions for the following member nations be temporarily fixed as follows:

 

Austria - 0.05 percent
Finland - 0.10 percent
Siam - 0.30 percent

 and Resolves that such percentages shall apply only to the second and third financial years and shall be subject to revision when consideration is being given to the allocation of contributions for the fourth financial year; Approves the recommendation of the Committee on Financial Control that the liability of these three countries for the second financial year be limited to the amounts which would have been due for the normal calendar year of twelve months ending 31 December 1947.

(3) Approves the recommendation of the Committee on Financial Control that the allocation of contribution for Hungary be temporarily fixed at 0.15 percent, that such allocation shall apply only to the third financial year, and that it be subject to revision when consideration is being given to the allocation of contributions for the fourth financial year.

(4) Agrees that the contribution of Pakistan for the second and third financial years determined by negotiations between India and Pakistan on the understanding that the aggregate amount of the two contributions will not be less than the present assessment of India, and that the arrangement made between the two governments will be reported promptly to the Director-General.

(5) Agrees that the contribution of Burma for the second and third financial years be determined by negotiations between the United Kingdom and Burma on the understanding that the aggregate amount of the two contributions will not be less than the present assessment of the United Kingdom, and that the arrangement made between the two governments will be reported promptly to the Director-General.

 j) Currency of contributions

The Conference

Request the Council to undertake a comprehensive study of the possibility of developing a general scheme which might enable those member nations which find difficulty in paying their contributions in the currency of the country in which the headquarters of the Organization is situated, in accordance with Financial Regulation VIII, paragraph 3, to pay a proportion of their contribution in some other currency or currencies to be determined,

Requests the Director-General to institute equities forthwith whether a similar study is being undertaken by the United Nations, and if it is being undertaken urges that close cooperation should be secured with a view to co-ordinating such investigation and the solutions that might emerge therefrom,

Reaffirms that if no general scheme can be proposed by the beginning of the third financial year, Regulation VIII, paragraph 3, shall continue to apply for the whole of that period: in any case no contributions already payable, including arrears, shall be affected by the subsequent introduction of any new general scheme.

 k) Supplementary budget estimates

The Conference

(1) Approves: an increase of $25,000 in Budget Chapter I "Sessions of the Conference, Meetings of Committees, and Technical Conferences" in order that the Director General may be in a position to make provision, within the aggregate sum thus provided, for conferences required during 1948, on the basis of such priorities as may be appropriate; this increase in Chapter I to be offset by a corresponding reduction in the appropriation to be provided under Budget Chapter VIII, "Contingencies."

(2) Authorizes that other proposals under this heading be met to the extent possible within the limits of the aggregate budget for 1948, taking into account the general financial situation of the Organization, priorities, and other needs to be met.

 l) Staff salaries

The Conference

Requests the Council after further consideration of the revised scales of the Organization to submit a detailed report to the Conference at its Fourth Session.

m) Contingencies

The Conference

Requests the Council to undertake a study of the regulations covering contingencies examining inter alia the desirability of  

(1) inscribing an item for unforeseen expenses in individual chapters, in addition to the chapter covering expenses of this nature,

(2) setting up financial regulations governing the operation of the contingencies chapter,

(3) authorizing the Director-General under certain conditions to increase during the course of a financial year the amount of the allocation provided for contingencies from the Working Capital Fund.

 n) Adoption of the budget

The Conference

Adopts the Budget for the Third Financial Year approving:  

(1) an amount of $4,524,500 in respect of contribution to be collected from member governments and of miscellaneous receipts;

(2) an amount of $475,500 as an appropriation from the Working Capital Fund;

(3) an amount of $5,000,000 in respect of expenditure estimates

 [See Appendix C]

o) Report of the committee on financial control

The Conference

Takes note of the report of the Committee on Financial Control,

Records its appreciation of the excellent work which the Committee on Financial Control and the Subcommittee on Finance have been able to carry out in the course of the last year, and commends the valuable progress which has been made towards the development of sound budgetary, financial, and accounting procedures, and

Urges the necessity of exercising strict economy in the handling of funds through a system of internal control.

 p) Permanent site

The Conference

Noting the changed circumstances since it decided in 1945 to place the headquarters of the Organization at the headquarters of the United Nations and that the latter has since been established at New York,

Refers the question of the permanent site of FAO to the Council for further examination with reference to all possible sites and a recommendation including, if necessary, an amendment of Rule XXXII, to be made to the next session of the Conference.

 [See Report of Commission III]

C. Amendments

Amendments to the constitution of FAO

The Conference adopts, by 36 votes, no noes, and 6 abstentions, the following amendments to the Constitution of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and decides that they shall become effective 11 September 1947.

Article V (Council of FAO). Substitute for the present article the following:

1. The Conference shall elect a Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization consisting of eighteen member nations, which will each be represented by one member. The Conference shall appoint an independent Chairman of the Council. The tenure and other conditions of office of the members of the Council shall be subject to rules to be made by the Conference.

2. The Conference may delegate to the Council such powers as it may determine, with the exception of powers set forth in paragraph 2 of Article II, paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Article IV, paragraph 1 of Article VII, Article XIII, and Article XX of this Constitution.

3. The Council shall appoint its officers other than the Chairman and, subject to any decisions of the Conference, shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

4. The Council shall establish a Co-ordinating Committee to tender advice on the co-ordination of technical work and the continuity of the activities of the Organization undertaken in accordance with the decisions of the Conference.

 Article VII (The Director-General). Substitute for paragraphs 2 and 3 the following: 2. Subject to the general supervision of the Conference and the Council, the Director General shall have full power and authority to direct the work of the Organization.

3. The Director-General or a representative designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Conference and of the Council and shall formulate for consideration by the Conference and the Council proposals for appropriate action in regard to matters coming before them.

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