Ould Mohamed AHID TOURAD (Mauritanie): M. le Président, Mesdames et Messieurs, permettez-moi de porter à votre connaissance et à l'attention des pays participant à cette session ce qui suit:
Mon pays, la Mauritanie, a été victime cette année d'une invasion caractérisée de criquets pèlerins frôlant la catastrophe nationale.
Cette situation, qui a débuté déjà début juillet à la veille des premières précipitations pluviales, a continué à s'aggraver jusqu'au point le plus alarmant, en détruisant toutes les récoltes, malgré l'effort particulier des paysans qui s'étaient donnés comme objectif une production céréalière record, vu l'abondance des pluies.
L'espoir et l'enthousiasme de nos agriculteurs ont été anéantis par cette calamité qui risque de durer longtemps.
Mon pays a mis en place tous les moyens matériels et humains dont il dispose dès la première alerte. Cet effort, nous continuons à le faire jusqu'au plus haut niveau de nos instances.
C'est ainsi qu'un comité de crise, présidé par notre Chef d'Etat, Son Excellence M. Maouya Oul Sid'Ahmed Taya, suit d'une façon quotidienne cette situation. Une véritable marée de criquets ravage, au moment où je vous parle, toute l'étendue de notre pays où agriculture et pastoralisme subissent la loi de ce ravageur. Je lance ici un appel pressant aux gouvernements ici représentés et aux organisations internationales ainsi qu'à tous les donateurs de venir en aide à mon pays pour enrayer ce fléau ou tout au moins alléger les souffrances de nos agriculteurs désarmés.
Nous profitons d'être ici, dans cette salle, pour remercier la FAO qui n'a cessé de nous appuyer et les pays amis qui nous ont déjà aidés à poursuivre la lutte sans répit et aujourd'hui encore sur le terrain.
Je demeure convaincu que notre appel sera entendu.
CHAIRMAN (Original language German): I thank the distinguished delegate of Mauritania. We are all very moved by your appeal. I should remind you that this morning we did decide that after the conclusion of the discussion of Item 6.1 we would then deal specifically with the problem of locusts. I hope that all the donor countries have taken note of your appeal. I think
it would be useful if we could discuss this matter tomorrow, or, if possible, at the end of our debate today.
David CLAYTON (United Kingdom): The United Kingdom delegation is indeed grateful for the work of the Secretariat in producing this paper on the State of Food and Agriculture and for the helpful analyses which itcontains. My delegation would like to comment on some of the key contents.
The global economy and food and farming in particular will clearly gain from a successful conclusion to the Uruguay Round. There are significant and wide-ranging changes now taking place in agriculture and trade in, for example, Asia. The need for open markets and the development of trade within a clear framework of international rules to sustain these changes is apparent. The United Kingdom is therefore strongly committed to doing all that we can to help achieve a conclusion.
The United Kingdom has also noted the detailed information provided on forestry. This helpfully draws together much of the material prepared earlier by FAO and represents a very useful summary of the various current issues.
Fisheries has always been a high priority subject for the United Kingdom. We fully support the current international initiatives to control activities of vessels fishing on the high seas with the aim of conserving and managing fish stocks. In addition we endorse the aims and objectives of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Species.
The United Kingdom shares the view that the use of modern biotechnology, or genetic modification, shows great potential. However, the commercial production of genetically modified crops or animals is still to come. The paper suggests that many of the developments are in or near commercial production, but it is important not to over-state developments as this can raise unfounded expectations.
As a novel technology, genetic modification raises significant concerns, centering on human and environmental safety, and from an early stage practitioners were keen to ensure that development was accompanied by suitable safeguards. However, it soon became apparent, and was confirmed by the OECD, that genetic modification was not, in itself, hazardous and that any hazard related to the genetically modified organism (GMO).
There have been controls in the United Kingdom on genetic modification for some years, now within the framework of two EC Directives. United Kingdom regulations are built on the system of risk assessment and notification, with general duties to prevent environmental damage and human health and safety requirements.
However, it is for each country or trading bloc such as the EC to determine the level of controls that are needed for GMOs. These must be appropriate for the country concerned and must balance any burden on industry with the need to reassure the public and provide effective safety controls. In this regard follow-up work is being undertaken as a result of the Biodiversity Convention and Agenda 21. The development of a Code of Conduct for Biotechnology could result in duplication of effort, overlap of guidance and possibly conflicting advice. In addition, we have been using many facets of biotechnology, for example in brewing, for many years and have seen no need for such codes to be developed. We should await developments
from the follow-up work on the Biodiversity Convention and Agenda 21 rather than produce independent guidance.
The paper raises other issues of concern. Intellectual property rights are clearly an important matter, and discussions are continuing in the GATT. That is the appropriate forum for such a discussion, but I would observe that without a strong private sector and proper protection of their investment by an effective IPR system the development of biotechnology would have been far slower than it has been to date, to the disadvantage of both developed and less developed countries.
We welcome, however, FAO's work in enabling countries to use biotechnology as adjuncts to conventional technologies for applications that are needed. This is clearly the right way to proceed and will enable all countries to reap the real benefits that the new technology will bring. In this respect it is important to say that biotechnology as such will have no negative effects as the paper concludes but, like any technology, it depends on what we make of it.
Finally, the paper gives a good overview of the reforms that are taking place in the economies in transition in Central and Eastern Europe. The United Kingdom supports the efforts being made to secure democratic market-based economies. Clearly aid and assistance is being provided to the agriculture and related sectors and coordination work is being undertaken by others. I am sure that FAO, in devising its forward plans, will avoid duplication of work already being done. We look forward to seeing reports of activities in more detail in due course.
Mrs Amalia GARCIA-THÂRN (Sweden) : I should like to make some specific comments on the document and then come to more general matters.
We note that, with a few exceptions, agricultural production of major cereals and other commodities has increased in the last two years. At the same time, we note that the GNP and food production on a per capita basis have been stagnant or declining for many developing countries. Population growth is still a matter of concern.
The fact that the production of some of the traditional export commodities has declined severely affects the economy of some of the developing countries, this being worsened by the decline of prices which emphasizes the need for production diversification.
It is still a matter of great concern that food shortages and emergencies are due to civil strife in more than 50 percent of the cases. Needless to say that responsible governments and the international community should together be engaged in a serious effort to solve the situation of civil strife which means tragedy and misery for millions of people. Food insecurity and political development are interlinked.
We notice that external assistance to agriculture has tended to decline. However, the decline might not be as alarming as it might sound at first sight. The decline can be explained by a number of reasons. One is the common feeling of what has been considered a large number of failures of traditional agricultural projects, thus reducing investments. This judgement might be unfair in some cases but, in general, we would like to recognize that many of the investments donors made to agriculture were not great successes.
However, the decline has also to do with a new way of thinking in terms of development theory and what we have witnessed of structural change and reform. Reform in many developing countries, as well as Eastern Europe, has brought another view to what governments should and can do, and also what governments should not do. New roles for the public sector vis-à-vis the private sector require new approaches. This could partly explain the decline of external assistance to agriculture measured in financial terms. While capacity-building and institution-building gain relevance, many of the investments made by the public sector and supported by donors are now expected to be carried out by the private sector.
What kind of support should FAO give its member countries in the light of reform and structural change and in the light of UNCED? We have noticed with satisfaction that the agricultural sector is coming back into the spotlight, and we fully support the fact that the agricultural sector has to get more attention in the future to stimulate general economic growth, to eradicate poverty and malnutrition in developing countries, and to promote a more sustainable production pattern in developed countries as well.
However, the question to be answered is what type of action is needed in the specific country case and the specific agriculture sector and type of sub-sector at the moment of consideration.
FAO should have the capacity to give adequate advice to all Member Countries in order to answer these questions.
We have seen the World Bank growing strong in policy matters and becoming the main actor in most of the agricultural sector strategy and policy formulation during the last decade. We believe that other partners such as FAO and, more importantly, the developing countries themselves, should be equally strong. We would like to see FAO play an important role in this field.
I should like to refer here to what the Minister of Agriculture of El Salvador said this morning on this point.
There are a few suggestions for improvement in this valuable document. Firstly, we would like to see a fair regional balance. Presently the countries responsible for 75 percent of global output get little attention in the regional review. Secondly, we would like to see much clearer evidence that the Secretariat is closely following the implications of the results of UNCED.
Finally, we would like to reiterate our earlier proposals for better coverage of the food security situation by analysing the factors determining food access, employment, food prices, etc.
David SHERWOOD (Canada): Mr Chairman, this delegation extends congratulations to yourself and the Vice-chairmen on your appointments, and our appreciation to the Deputy Director-General for his clear and concise introduction.
The Report of the State of Food and Agriculture, document C 93/2, is a valuable device for monitoring world agricultural output progress and consumer well-being. We consider it to be a very important activity of FAO and we are very supportive of its work. We would like to compliment the
Secretariat warmly on an informative, well-prepared and balanced report. In future, we would suggest the report include Canadian agricultural policies in the regional sector, as our experience in these policies related to safety nets for farmers, supply management and our experience in bulk transportation may also be useful to other countries.
The economic growth being experienced by some developing countries in 1993 provides reason for hope. While slow growth is experienced by most developed countries, there may well be an improved decade for economic growth overall, in view of the continued expansion of world trade. In line with improvements in growth in North America, Canada is experiencing a modest recovery in 1993, and realizes that it is important to maintain economic policies to limit both inflation and budget deficits to ensure sustainable growth.
Nevertheless, world economic prospects differ widely on a regional basis. The stability in the debt-to-GNP ratio in 1992 in a number of growth regions is generally a positive sign. Unfortunately, the growth has been uneven, and regions such as Africa have experienced only limited increases, but improvements expected in 1993 and 1994 have to be balanced against population. Considerable concerns remain about the prospects for sub-Saharan African countries.
We note that in document C 93/2-Sup. 1 estimates of agricultural production for crop and livestock in 1992 were revised slightly upwards. However, these crop increases in 1992 are still insufficient to compensate for population increases. Whilst production data for 1993 are still incomplete, first estimates point to a drop of 0.5 percent in world production. Regional disparities in food production are a continued cause for grave concern. Among developing country regions, only the Near East achieved some per capita gain.
Nevertheless, we are optimistic that improved agricultural trade performance will occur this year and also in 1994 as a result of improving world prospects for economic growth. This is occurring despite the many difficulties in world agricultural markets, with widespread restrictions of trade. The prospect for commodity prices remains mixed. Cereal prices remain low because of continuing distortions brought about by domestic and export subsidies. As a major exporter of farm products, Canada is well aware that these subsidies and unfair trade practices continue to hurt export earnings, particularly for the agricultural sector in developing countries. We consider that an agreement at the GATT is imperative to improve world prices and ensure incomes in the agricultural sector come from the market place, not from government treasuries, and to encourage that production and trade be based on market-economy factors.
We share the concern about the drop in the commitments and disbursements of external lending to agriculture in 1990 versus 1989. While there is severe pressure to restrain government budget deficits in most developed countries, the problems faced by developing countries have not diminished. Canada continues strongly to support the food aid programme.
The task of transforming the economies in Eastern Europe and the former USSR to a more market-oriented approach is both complex and daunting as the Report notes. Furthermore, the decline in food and non-food agricultural production in 1991 has severely strained the commitment to reform. Canada is committed to providing assistance through loans and credit guarantees in
this region. Production of crops improved in 1992 in the former Soviet Union. We expect increased cereal production in 1993 in Eastern Europe.
In summary, this Report provides us with a number of important reminders.
First, it is important to the improvement of the agricultural sectors, mainly in developing countries, that there be a rapid and successful completion to the Uruguay Round of the GATT negotiations. This should be an impetus to strengthen and stabilize world commodity prices. More importantly, it will complement the structural adjustment reforms now ongoing in many countries. In this way, investment decisions could be more closely linked to improved international market prices determined by market forces and not by national treasuries.
Second, while progress has been made in recent years in some countries to increase the availability and distribution of basic food supplies, there are serious problems remaining in many others. Thus, there is an urgent requirement for the continuation of the types of programmes sponsored by FAO to provide economic information, planning advice and technical assistance.
Third, despite the period of restraint in government spending in many developed countries, the report emphasizes the need for all countries to continue to provide assistance and develop more innovative and creative means to increase food production in the world's most undernourished countries.
Finally, we are starting to see the results of the structural reforms undertaken in Latin America. These successes we hope can be repeated in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It is important that the developed countries show leadership in the reform of markets, including the agricultural sector.
A few concluding words on biotechnology: We would like to compliment the FAO Secretariat on the section on biotechnology as there is much clarity in the document. However, we have a few specific comments in paragraph 147 concerning intellectual property rights.
It would be more appropriate to use the word "encourage" instead of "force" as developing countries may consider it prudent to improve their intellectual property rights in order to ensure adequate protection for their technologies and to facilitate the transfer of technologies to their countries.
Secondly, it seems that paragraph 148 concerning the absorption of new technologies by developing countries may be unduly pessimistic. Specifically, the possibility should be mentioned of developing countries building strategic alliances and well-focused collaborative efforts to permit access to new technologies.
Finally, on the biosafety issue, as mentioned in paragraph 149, the Rio Convention supported the development of an international code to address safety issues and the transport and release of biotechnology products internationally. We are committed to supporting that process.
Finally regarding the selected issues on the question of the International Conference on Nutrition follow-up, pages 37 to 71, we will have a more
detailed statement to make under the agenda item that deals with the Food Security and Nutrition Status Report.
Adol EL-SARKI (Egypt) (Original language Arabic): We congratulate the Chairman on his election as Chairman of this Commission. We are confident that with your experience our meeting will be a success and we will reach recommendations and proposals on the issues under discussion.
My delegation has studied this report carefully, document C 93/2. I would like, first of all, to thank the Secretariat for this document because it contains important information which gives a clear picture on crop and livestock product ion.
I would also like to congratulate Mr Hjort on his excellent introduction to this document.
We feel satisfaction at what was said on pages 2 and 3 on agricultural production that recovered by 1 percent in the Near East Region. It has recovered considerably in North America. Something concerns us. I refer to page 4 where it states that two-thirds of developing countries in general and Africa in particular have stagnant or declining levels.
Pages 16 to 19 refer to external assistance to agriculture. We read carefully what was said. We would like to express our concern at the decline in the multilateral commitments and the food aid flows during 1992-93.
Having studied pages 29 and 30 on the external debt of developing countries, my delegation welcomes what has been said in paragraph 2 on page 29 regarding the debt to export ratio which is projected to decline. We also welcome what has been said in paragraph 7 on page 30 on the expected increase of private capital flows.
My delegation, having studied paragraphs 37-71, which dealt with achieving the objectives of the ICN, would like to say that it has taken part in that Conference and sent a high-level delegation. We have also set up a high-level committee to follow up the Conference.
Having studied paragraphs 122-157 on biotechnology, we would like to stress the importance that should be given by FAO to biotechnology and its programmes of action.
Paragraphs 372-395 give an overview of the agricultural production in the Near East and North Africa. I would like to talk briefly about the successes we have had in Egypt and mention pages 392-395. I would also like to express our satisfaction, because this document also refers to the agricultural strategy in the 1990s.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Vice-chairmen on their election.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi CHOUDHURY (Bangladesh): Let me at the outset congratulate you on behalf of the Bangladesh delegation on your election as Chairman. We also congratulate the Vice-chairmen. Let me assure you that we will try our best to support you and see that this particular Commission is able to deliver the responsibilities which have been imposed upon it.
The report presented by FAO is very informative and instructive but, as we look at the number, the prospects for agriculture in the near term as well as those in 1992, they are, to say the least, not very reassuring.
The increase in agriculture was about one percent whereas some countries in fact experienced a decline in agricultural production. If you look at cereal production, although the aggregate rose by 4.2 percent the utilization was only 2.3 percent with an increase in carry-over stock internationally. This should be seen in the context of a decline or stagnant production in two-thirds of developing countries. There is very stark irony here. This is a mismatch between production, consumption and distribution globally. I am trying to equal the anguish of the Italian President who said, "Why should there be hunger in the midst of abundance?" To say the least, this is because the question of access to food domestically and the distribution of food among families creates much more complex issues which will have to be addressed. At least at national and at international levels, can we not put our heads together to improve distribution and access to food through improved trade, aid and humanitarian assistance?
In the medium term, as the experience of many of the countries shows, macro-economic stability will remain the first order of conditions for sustaining growth in any other sectors. Agricultural policy will have to be designed in the context of a stable macro-economic framework. As we have seen in the past, some countries have emphasized cereal production too much, while others have emphasized it too little. In fact, we in Bangladesh found that although we were at the point of achieving self-sufficiency in food, we had paid too little attention to other aspects of agriculture. It would be worthwhile for countries who are planning to improve their food production to take note of the need for diversity in agricultural production.
Here another point needs to be addressed, the question of the demand side. We have too often neglected the demand side of food and concentrated merely on increasing the availability. I will come back to this point later. We would like to emphasize that we should continue to redefine the role of the government and explore new ways of involving the private sector in both input and output distribution and eliminate distortions in the economy. We have done so in our case. We expect other countries would benefit from improving the operation of the market.
Here I would like to make a short comment on food aid. I do agree that countries in need of humanitarian assistance would have to show compelling reasons in the short run. For those of us who are gradually moving into self-sufficiency in food, food aid will have to be more flexible so that it does not distort farmers' incentives but at the same time it is able to provide assistance to the target groups. This would require us to be more innovative in designing food and assistance, particularly to those countries which are about to become self-sufficient in food.
I would like to touch on biotechnology and biogenetic engineering. I am told that some scientists, possibly from France, have given as a gift the genetic map to the United Nations. That is very good news for all of us but should we depend on the benevolence of scientists and not have some mechanism of ensuring that the benefits of biotechnology and genetic engineering are available to humanity at large so we are able to reap the benefit? That will require us to find innovative ways whereby we do not have a disincentive for scientific innovation but at the same time have
some mechanism to have access to new science and technology for the whole of humanity.
I mention the question of the GATT talks next. The deadline is 15 December. I am sure that all of us would like to see these talks come to fruition. As we have heard, food subsidy issues are the main stumbling block. We, as poor countries, while doing away with subsidies in this sector, would expect that the developed countries would not dig in and stand in the way of the successful implementation of the GATT talks.
I would ask this Commission and the delegates to send appropriate signals to the relevant agencies so that they feel we are also insisting on the completion of the GATT talks by the given deadline. I am sure delegates and the Drafting Committee will be able to draw up something to lay before the relevant governments on the urgency of settling the disputes.
Last but not least, a statistical error has crept into the Exhibit 2 where it showed that the per capita food production in Bangladesh declined. I can assure you that is not true because in 1992 per capita food production not only increased but we nearly had a collapse of prices, much to our concern.
Let me share in this last moment some of the benefits of the fall in the price of rice. Between 1991 and 1992 rice prices fell by about 20 percent but the survey conducted shows the fall in rice prices led to increased food intake by the poorer groups in society and the newer protein intake meant the nutritional level improved by 12 percent among the poorest group. Ten percent of the population rose above the poverty line owing to the decline in rice prices.
That may be very shortly, but at least this also shows that the demand-side can do a lot more than can other efforts.
Abdul-Razzak AL-HASSAN (Syria) (Original language Arabic): I would like to begin by thanking you, Mr Chairman, for having given me the opportunity to speak at this Session of Commission I. Let me congratulate you on your election to the Chair of the Commission where we are discussing very vital but rather sensitive issues. My delegation will do whatever it can to help you in the accomplishment of your tasks. We are certain that under your very wise leadership we shall be successful, thanks also to the contributions of the delegations, particularly as regards our study of this important item on our agenda
I would also like to congratulate the Vice-chairmen and pay tribute to the excellent introduction to this Item that was made by Mr Hjort, the Deputy Director-General
I have listened very carefully to the comments that have been made as well as going through it very carefully myself. This is an excellent document which provides us with a wealth of information. It is the draft of a document which will be further detailed. We must thank the Secretariat for the efforts they have made in preparing this for us.
It is obvious to a reader, when looking through the document that describes for us the world food situation, that the year 1992 has been on the whole a bad year as regards agricultural production except for North America and the Near East. Improved production and some surplus production are, in most cases, limited only to developed countries.
As regards the production levels of developing countries, we see that there has been a chronic deficit although certain developing countries are beginning to show a slight increase in their production figures. Unfortunately, these improvements are insufficient in the light of the many years of underproduction and drought which have existed over previous years, so developing countries as a whole, I am afraid, have been faced with a drop in their production per capita. In certain areas, such as Africa and elsewhere, I think we can say that 1992 was practically a tragedy.
We must realize that drought is not the only cause of limitation to production in the developing countries. It is a question of three elements really. There have been problems of instability, civil strife, wars and conflicts, and certainly the time has now come for this blood-letting to end. It is time for a just peace to be established throughout the world. The international community should make a sincere contribution to establishing peace throughout the world so that all conflicts can be solved peacefully so that mankind, wherever they may be, will finally be able to live in a dignified fashion.
We hope that standards of living can be improved thoughout the world and that the resources that were used in the past for arms and weaponry will now be used for increasing production throughout the world.
The second factor that has to be considered is the deficit of financial and technical resources in developing countries. This is where the FAO and industrialized countries have an important role to play to try and overcome these deficits as well as the problem of the burden of external debt. This is a burden that these countries must bear where the payment of debt-servicing often takes up their available foreign currencies, etc. Something must be done to try to alleviate their burden. We have welcomed initiatives or suggestions which would lead to a lightening of their debt burden, whether this be within the Club of Paris or the Toronto Agreement. Whatever measures there may be, something must be done to try and cut these debts and encourage foreign investment in foreign countries.
Here I would like to refer to the law that was recently promulgated which helped to increase investments over the past few years, which have led to an increase of some US$2 million in foreign and internal investments. We have tried to eliminate certain barriers to trade and investment. We have tried to improve our training and information for all levels of the population as well.
The state has also adopted a development programme which is using an integrated approach and we have decided upon our main targets. On the one hand, we are trying to establish food self-sufficiency within our country so that we are less dependent on foreign exports which represented some 20 to 30 percent of our total imports during the 80s. For this target to be reached the state budget which is earmarked for agriculture now represents about 25 percent of our total budget.
Our second target or goal is to strenghthen exports and improve the trade of our export products themselves.
In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to the development of irrigation in Syria. Here we are presently facing a very serious challenge. We must realize that our water resources have unfortunately been decreasing and it is now necessary for us to use new techniques or technologies in our
irrigation. We obviously need foreign investment for such major operations to be undertaken, in addition to the training which will be necessary for the implementation of new techniques.
Another of the problems that we are facing in irrigation is the use of water in industry or for domestic purposes. There has been an increase in the need for water and therefore of pollution, downstream shall we say.
The third element which must also be considered is that of the existing system, shall we say, which tends to lean towards the industrialized and developed countries rather than developing in terms of trade, favouring one side vis-à-vis the other, and if something is not done to overcome this then the developing countries will continue to face these barriers to their increased agricultural production and development.
We are certain that if we were able to find two viable ways of solving these problems we would be helping to improve agricultural production in general in developing countries, and we would quickly see an improvement in the struggle against poverty, hunger and malnutrition, thanks to sincere cooperation at the international level. It is not that we are asking simply the rich countries to contribute to our development efforts. We are also called upon to make better use of this aid and assistance which is received, with proper planning and programming. This could also, and must also, be done by training of our own cadre and management staff who will then be involved in project and programme implementation in keeping with our development strategies.
It is therefore the developing countries themselves who must restructure their administration so that we can better serve our social development goals.
The Syrian economy has remarkably improved over recent years and our GNP has increased by about 5 percent over the past five years, with the final figures being for 1992. The statistics show that this growth will continue according to our present forecasts.
This is also true for our per capita income. It is necessary for us to adopt preventive measures which can avoid further problems in the future. This obviously means that the international community will be able to give us further support in the future.
Jozef ZEGAR (Poland): First of all, I would like to join previous speakers in congratulating you, Mr Chairman, and the Vice-chairmen on your election.
This year's report on the State of Food and Agriculture was worked out professionally, like those prepared in previous years. It is wise to stress the fact that the report is produced on current and fundamental problems which world agriculture faces now, and it is very informative.
In my contribution, I would like to tackle some questions discussed in the chapter of the report concerning the group of countries of Central and Eastern Europe which are in the process of transition from a centrally-planned economy to a free-market one. It is very true that there is a great difference in the pace of economic activity between those countries. Poland is a country where some symptoms of economic recovery have been recorded. In 1992 Poland reached the 1 percent rate of GDP growth. It is estimated that in 1993 the growth rate will account for
4 percent, mainly thanks to an increase in industrial production by 7 percent consistent with agricultural production. However, one cannot fully agree with the statement that the decrease in agricultural production recorded in Central and Eastern European countries in 1992 or in previous years resulted mainly from adverse weather conditions as well as an adverse short-term reform effort.
They are the results of the structural adjustment processes, lower demand, lack of market institutions, cost of privatization, etc. The problem we face today is the fact that the economic recovery in 1992 and 1993 in non-agricultural sectors will not result in an increase in personal real income. The process of privatization and economic restructuring failed in efficiency; on the other hand there was an increase in the employment rate up to 15 percent. This was accompanied by an increase in the share of income spent on utilities and on total household expenditure. At the same time, other spending including that on food products has decreased considerably. Further decreases in purchasing power and demand for agricultural products seem to be the main factors determining income inefficiency and a decrease in the utilization of production capacity of the agricultural sector.
Poland has accomplished a lot in the field of liberalization of the food economy, in demonopolization, privatization and restructuring. The majority of the State-owned farms are being privatized and new private economic units are being established in the service sector providing services for agriculture.
A new market infrastructure is being set up. It is very important in terms of building a new environment and in stimulating development and competition, although it does not change the fact that the future of Polish agriculture within the next few years will mainly depend on the demand for agricultural products. Production capacity of our agriculture for many years will exceed the domestic market needs. Therefore, an improvement in its economic performance will be determined by an opportunity to expand the export of agricultural products. This will be possible if access to foreign markets is eased, but the various undertakings to accomplish this goal are at present viewed with some reluctance by our partners. Our products sold in traditional markets like the EEC countries meet a lot of different barriers. I think that similar phenomena will appear in the other countries in transition.
Kiyoshi SAWADA (Japan): My delegation wishes to express our congratulations to you, Mr Chairman, on your election. We also compliment Mr Hjort on his clear introduction. My Government is highly appreciative of the initiatives taken by FAO to resolve the world food and agriculture problems.
Since Japan is the largest net food importing country in the world, we always have strong interest in the balance of world food supply and demand. If we look at the actual food situation, according to the estimates of FAO, 786 million people suffer from malnutrition, which is one-fifth of the total population of the developing world. Particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, one-third of the population is malnourished and the situation continues to deterioriate as the years go by.
Although this food problem seems to be considered as an imbalance in the distribution of food to the people of the world and mathematically seems to be solved by world food distribution through trade or food aid, my country
has recognized that from the point of view of long-term stability in food security, trade measures alone are not enough to achieve it. We have repeatedly advocated the importance of agricultural development in food-deficit countries. The promotion of agriculture in these countries would provide predominantly rural people with food as well as employment, and it would then be possible to formulate a social basis for sound economic development as a whole.
Now we can see the evidence of it in the progress of economic development in the Eastern Asian countries. We request FAO to carefully monitor the agricultural development of food-deficit countries, and to provide them with appropriate advice so that these countries can achieve sound agricultural development without being adversely affected by food aid, structural adjustment, and trade factors. My country is committed to continue to support the self effort of developing countries to promote their own agriculture.
With regard to fisheries, excessive environmental conservation is becoming a big problem for the staple food supply to an increasing population. Recently the Convention for Threatened and Endangered Species, namely CITES, has examined the possibility of controlling even fish and shellfish in a world which are the food for endangered species. If this movement is realized, the food supply from the fisheries sector would be seriously damaged. We suggest that FAO, as the organization aiming at a staple food supply to the people of the world, should not overlook this problem.
My Government proposes to hold an International Conference on Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security. My delegation notes with pleasure that this proposal received broad support at the Council meeting last week.
This year, my country was affected by an extremely abnormal natural disaster, consisted of low temperature and sunshine deficit. Thus, the rice harvest was reduced by 25 percent compared to a normal year. Accordingly, this situation greatly influences the balance of domestic rice supply and demand in this harvest year, as well as the world food market. We are analysing the mechanism by which rice is damaged so seriously, and examining ways to overcome this problem in the future. We will continue our efforts to produce staple food in our country. As a matter of fact, natural disasters cannot be foreseen, and the occurence of them indicates a risk of excessive food reliance on a few exporting countries.
Finally, the population issue is closely linked with the food issue. In this regard, my delegation would like to know the validation of the contribution of FAO to the International Conference on Population and Development which will be held in Cairo next year.
Mrs Hedwig WÖGERBAUER (Austria) (Original language German) : Mr Chairman, I would like to congratulate you on your election to the Chair of Commission I and I give my sincer congratulations to the two Vice-chairmen. I would like to thank Mr Hjort for the introduction he gave us to Document C93/2.
With regard to this document I would mention that the tables which appear in the document clearly show the changes which have taken place in agricultural production. However, we have noted with concern the trends in recent years in agricultural production, but we do welcome the fact that in
Part II of the document there is a comparison between developing and developed countries.
With regard to Part II, relating to developing country regions and economies in transition in Central and Eastern Europe, I would mention that we have studied this text with particular interest, and Austria furthermore welcomes the fact that there is a section on OECD countries. Austria has viewed with great interest the points made about the countries whose economies are being reconstructed. I would mention that within the framework of OECD, a very interesting country study was done in Hungary. As far as I know, other country studies - in this case Poland and the Czech Republic - are being prepared. In our opinion, it would be useful to include these country studies in future reports on the status of nutrition.
Now I would like to refer to the OECD publication, "Agriculture Policies, Markets, Trade, Manufacturing and Outlook, 1993". Allow me to say one or two things about the situation of nutrition in my own country.
The international scenario for economic development in Austria considerably worsened during 1992. In Europe, there was an increase in the trend to recession and this unfavourable economic situation is a contrast to the successes of the integration process politically - that is, in Europe. In these unfavourable circumstances the Austrian economy in 1992 could only develop moderately; the growth in GDP was only 1.5 percent. However, this was somewhat better than the general European trend.
In 1992, industry was pulled down into the general recession and the employment situation worsened; the unemployment rate increased slightly to 5.9 percent, the rate of inflation increased further and in: 1992 reached 4.1 percent.
As far as agriculture and forestry are concerned, it should be noted that the interlinking of the agricultural sector is ever more intense and is in very close connection with economic, regional, social, planning and environmental policies. In 1992 the contribution of agriculture and forestry remained more or less at the same level as in the preceding year.
Drought, falling agricultural prices and problems in the timber market were the main factors for agriculture. The present goals and concerns of agricultural policy in Austria are now laid down in the main agricultural laws. The main purpose is to improve or create where necessary the frameworks to make it possible for agriculture and forestry to produce high quality foodstuffs and raw materials for industry and the production of energy, all this at reasonable prices in order to provide income for family farms.
With regard to the low level of prices on the world market, Austrian farmers are in unfavourable circumstances and are not competitive as far as grain and meat are concerned. Also surplus production had to be exported to a great extent and so internal market regulations have the main goal of adapting the level of production to national consumption requirements. By means of ecologically favourable adaptation - that is to say, alternative production, and sometimes restrictions on production - it has been possible, partly on a voluntary basis and partly on a legal basis, to stabilize or even reduce production. Also, within the framework of the 1992 policies, it has been possible to make special payments to mountain areas in order to offset the difficult and disadvantageous circumstances obtaining in those regions.
With regard to processing and marketing, high priority is given to increasing competitiveness. Quality of production is a central aim. Furthermore, ecological considerations are playing an increasing role, because agricultural production can only be guaranteed in the longer term if environmental considerations are taken into account. In order to keep production up in the long run, agriculture and forestry must conserve vital resources by means of environment-friendly policies. We believe that in the area of the environment FAO should pay particular attention to this in its Programme of Work.
We have been extremely successful in the area of nutrition. Our policy is intended to provide the population with reasonably priced, quality products. Increasing health awareness, changing eating habits and increased demand for quality and branded products are important developments for the Austrian food sector.
Mario NUPIO GAMERO (Honduras): Permítame en primer lugar, señor Presidente, en nombre de la Delegación de mi país felicitarle por la designación como Presidente de esta Comisión y, en segundo lugar, felicitar al señor Hjort por la magnífica presentación del documento, el Estado Mundial de la Alimentación y la Agricultura, 1993, donde hay párrafos importantes sobre lo que ha pasado a este respecto en Honduras. La seguridad alimentaria es de las más altas prioridades para nuestro Gobierno y por ello se han hecho enormes transformaciones en estos últimos cuatro años, en este importante sector de nuestra economía.
Permítame, señor Presidente, expresarle a continuación algunos aspectos muy importantes del sector agrícola de Honduras. Honduras es un país dedicado principalmente a la actividad agropecuaria y forestal, por esta razón se considera que su economía es fundamentalmente de base agrícola, ya que este sector genera aproximadamente el 23 por ciento del producto interno bruto a precios corrientes, emplea alrededor del 60 por ciento de la fuerza de trabajo y es responsable de más de un 80 por ciento de las exportaciones sectoriales.
A fin de lograr una mayor participación de este sector en la producción nacional, en los últimos cuatro años se ha producido un período de relevantes transformaciones en el campo de la seguridad alimentaria y modernización sectorial. Este proceso se sustenta básicamente en un programa de ajuste estructural macroeconómico, medio que ha servido de base a las iniciativas que en el orden sectorial, el Gobierno con la participación activa de la empresa privada ha impulsado decididamente en los últimos cuatro años. De esta forma el país se ha perfilado con un programa de apertura económica que le permitirá una mayor dinamización de los sectores productivos a efecto de cumplir con los compromisos que ha contraído a nivel regional e internacional con la puesta en marcha de los tratados bilaterales y multilaterales de intercambio comercial, los cuales nos llevan gradualmente a la inserción de la economía hondureña en el mercado internacional.
El nuevo esquema estructural de la economía se fundamenta en la aplicación de una gama de medidas de políticas relacionadas con la liberalización de la economía, mediante la eliminación de controles reguladores, una política comercial más abierta a través de la degradación arancelaria, la supresión de incentivos fiscales, la puesta en vigencia de una tasa de cambio real, competitiva, estable y un ajuste en el sistema tributario y en las tarifas de los servicios del sector público. Todo ello como base para entrar
exitosamente en el marco de apertura comercial y dar los pasos necesarios para la promoción de las exportaciones de la región y buscar los medios a través de los cuales los productores agropecuarios y agroindustriales logren niveles efectivos de competitividad, que permita asegurar al flujo de bienes y servicios que le sean más favorables.
En el ámbito sectorial se ha impulsado un vigoroso proceso de renovación del agro. Para este propósito se diseñó un programa de políticas de fomento al desarrollo agropecuario y forestal, que se concretizó a través de la aprobación de la ley para la modernización y desarrollo del sector agrícola, tal como lo expresa este documento de la FAO, instrumento jurídico cuya aprobación llevó un proceso de concertación entre los entes públicos y privados interesados, como nunca lo ha tenido ninguna otra iniciativa legislativa en nuestro país.
La concertación no sólo generó en un beneficio a la ley misma, sino que también en un mayor entendimiento entre productores independientes, empresarios del campo y organizaciones campesinas que durante muchos años habían observado muy tensas relaciones.
La nueva política de apoyo al sector agrícola se fundamenta en criterios de eficiencia económica que benefician a todos los participantes en la actividad agropecuaria, siendo los objetivos operativos de la política, crear fuentes de empleo, elevar el poder adquisitivo a las familias más pobres, y generar divisas mediante el aumento sostenido de la agroexportación.
Entre las políticas de fomento al desarrollo agropecuario, tenemos la política de producción, de comercialización, de precios, definanciamientos, de tenencia de la tierra, de generación y transferencia de tecnología, aspectos forestales, y de los cuales se destacan los siguientes mecanismos de aplicación: libre comercio interno y externo de productos agropecuarios, - una apertura total -; libre acción de precios de productos agropecuarios; bonificación de las donaciones y subsidios localizados; sistemas de información de precios de mercado; certificación de depósitos y bonos de prenda; formalización de organizaciones mercantiles para importar insumos agropecuarios; liberalizacion de los impuestos a la importación de agroquímicos; saneamiento de la cartera de crédito del Banco de Desarrollo Agrícola del país; líneas de redescuento para la producción y comercialización agropecuaria, financiamiento del capital; establecimiento de un fondo para la compraventa de tierras, promoción de nuevas alternativas de inversión como la coinversión y el arrendamiento con los pequeños agricultores, particularmente con los beneficiarios de la reforma agraria, funcionamiento de cajas privadas rurales de crédito, de ahorro; reconversión de empresas campesinas, principalmente en el sector público, reducción del tamaño del sector público agrícola.
Algunos de estos instrumentos operativos que comprende la nueva ley de modernización y desarrollo del sector agrícola, comprende destacar el masivo programa de titulación de más de 200 000 hectáreas de tierras que han beneficiado a más de 12 000 familias que carecían de este recurso y que no podrían antes acceder al crédito.
El bono de capital con 5 millones de dólares; el sistema de cajas de crédito rural, cuya legislación ha sido recientemente aprobada por el Soberano Congreso Nacional, y que son bancos regionales de propiedad de los pequeños agricultores; el fondo de tierras que se ha creado con un fondo
inicial de 5 millones de dólares, también privadamente, propiedad de los pequeños productores.
En materia de comercialización de productos alimenticios, se han implementado certificados de depósito, con el fin de que el productor ofrezca su producción como garantía ante la banca, permitiéndole una mejor capacidad de negociación, entre otros agentes de la cadena de comercialización.
En materia de sustantibilidades, los recursos naturales se ha promovido una nueva legislación en materia del manejo del recurso agua, del recurso pesca, del manejo de agroquímicos, además de coadyuvar a los esfuerzos de reforestación que se emprenden a través de diversas entidades públicas y privadas.
Conviene indicar que el programa de ajuste macro-economico tuvo en sus inicios un efecto contraccionista en la economía, que redujo la capacidad de algunos alimentos entre los estratos desfavorecidos de la población. Con el objeto de paliar esta situación se establecieron programas de subsidios localizados, como son los bonos materno-infant i les y los bonos de la madre sola. Estas compensaciones monetarias han tenido un gran impacto nutricional y educativo en forma indirecta, ya que estimula las visitas periódicas a los centros de salud y además coadyuvan la presencia y permanencia de los niños en los centros escolares.
Comprendemos que la tarea de combatir el hambre y la desnutrición continuará siendo la tarea principal de los gobiernos de los países menos desarrollados, tal como se expresó en la Conferencia Internacional sobre Nutrición, realizada en esta misma Sede hace casi un año.
Por esta razón, en Honduras los programas de salud y los alimentarios han recibido un fuerte impulso en los últimos años y se ha hecho evidente en la práctica la necesidad de un adecuado sistema de vigilancia alimentaria y nutricional, dado que la focalización de las ayudas ante la disminución progresiva de los recursos, es cada día más apremiante.
No hay duda que las medidas proteccionistas del mercado externo, como las recientemente adoptadas en los países de la Comunidad Económica Europea en relación al banano, tienen un impacto en las inversiones y el empleo, y, por ende, en la alimentación de nuestros pueblos.
Nosotros nos hemos abierto, y otros países se han cerrado con su proteccionismo. Los enormes adelantos que en pocos años hemos logrado en productos no tradicionales, se han visto opacados por la continua disminución de los precios de intercambio y en la demanda de los productos tradicionales como el banano y el café. Esta tendencia no podría continuar si deseamos que los efectos del programa de modernización y desarrollo del sector agrícola hondureño se reviertan favorablemente en la generalidad de la población.
El Gobierno de Honduras continúa con denuedo impulsando este programa, y, como es comprensible, en su aplicación se han presentado limitantes que ha sido necesario afrontar, destacándose entre ellas los aspectos de comercialización externa de productos tradicionales. El financiamiento y la lenta adaptibilidad del productor nacional a una economía de libre mercado carente del tradicional proteccionismo estatal.
Realmente, señor Presidente, Honduras y los países centroamericanos, nos hemos abierto al mercado regional y mundial.
Finalmente, deseamos expresar que este programa renovador de la actividad del sector agrícola en Honduras, requiere aunar los esfuerzos internos de empleo de recursos con la asistencia técnica y financiera externa, debido a que los cambios en las políticas y las instituciones son profundas. Asimismo, los aportes y sacrificios son de gran mangnitud. Naturalmente, se visualiza al futuro una perspectiva real de crecimiento de la actividad productiva nacional y mejoramiento del bienestar de la población hondureña que en mayor grado está radicada en el campo.
CHAIRMAN (Original language German):Because of other obligations elsewhere, the distinguished delegate from Nigeria is unfortunately not in a position to make his statement here. He has given me his statement in written form and asked that it be included in the minutes. The country statement of Nigeria will therefore be included in full in the verbatim report.
Mrs Hannelore A.H. BENJAMIN (Dominica) Mr Chairman, my delegation would like to congratulate you and the two Vice-Chairmen for chairing this most important Commission. My delegation is very impressed by the documents before us and wishes to thank the Secretariat for the hard work it has put in, although my delegation would have liked to see a less packed agenda. Our agenda is filled with so many important items, which means that we must address them all. If each delegate speaks for about eight or ten minutes on each item, I shall soon retire as a speechless delegate. Therefore my delegation will try to address the agenda before us more generally and will only come back if we talk bananas!
The ICN outcome is still not clear, due to financial resources. The same applies to UNCED, although UNCED had a major discussion on biodiversity and the Earth Summit approved the proposed Global Environment and Development Programme. The last Commission on Plant Genetic Resources proposed a global initiative for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources, and we need to make certain that, while we need to increase the food supply in developing countries, where more than ever people suffer from malnutrition and under-nourishment, the global agenda is well addressed and well understood. Either we need to increase the rate of food production through high input farming methods, which are very costly but would help small farmers to increase agricultural productivity, or under more challenging environmental circumstances, greater attention must be paid to enhancing production of low-input farmers by improving farming practices such as cropping patterns and spacing.
The outcome of the Uruguay Round is still under discussion and can only be completed successfully if it regards with fairness a speedy liberalization of international trade for all countries, as this would help the developing countries to have freedom of trade and to promote job creation in order to reduce unemployment.
Developing countries could finally also have a flexible labour market. The Uruguay Round must be based on mutual stabilization and must have structural reform. Global challenges are mounting, mass poverty prevails in a large part of the developing world. Natural and man-made disasters are
proliferating and call for the need for further humanitarian and external assistance.
My delegation would like to point out that it is not enough to tell small farmers and small developing countries such as Dominica, "You must diversify." Diversification is the least of our problems. The realistic problem is that the farmers want to be assured that they have a market for their commodities. Diversification often takes one year before the commodities can be harvested.
How can a government in the Caribbean which already struggles with a deficit budget, handle the diversification from one crop to another? There have been occasions when Dominica has diversified into a crop that looked promising, but then the market fell away and the grower felt let down. The small farmer cannot understand that a government cannot control the market. It means that market data and assessments change quickly. Often small countries feel they have a good market, when along comes another country which can produce the same crop at a lower rate or is keen to win markets and is willing to trade at a loss. Dominica cannot do this because our farming is small peasant farming and the farmers cannot afford to take a loss of any kind. It is known that inflation in some industrial countries remains subdued, adding to a further price stability for developing countries.
Therefore, what the developing countries need are far better opportunities. They need trade recognition for the commodities and new responsibilities created through globalization. This would help to solve the problem in a framework of global, economic and agricultural cooperation, while the international trade market needs to be strengthened through a mutual financial system which gives the developing countries full cooperation and opportunities to liberalize multilateral trade and exchange arrangements. Until now the Uruguay Round is still imposing restraints on the developing countries' policies, as well as on trade regimes and exchange rates. Failure to reach agreement may affect more than world growth, in particular since the Uruguay Round's success will add more than US$120 billion to world income, as was stated recently at the annual World Bank and IMF meeting.
Uruguay Round and GATT agreements are essential for the proper functioning of our economy and our agriculture. This means that the failure of the Uruguay Round would mark the decline of the multilateral trade system for everybody.
My delegation feels that, with FAO guidance and financial help we may be able to overcome the existing complex problems by promoting international cooperation and agricultural development. How?
Firstly, on a global scale, because of fundamental importance is equal free trade for all countries. Secondly, through GATT, by establishing clear and enforceable rules leading to increased trade and prosperity for all nations in agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Thirdly, new development in the international economy by increasing global integration, rapid technology innovations and greater independence among the various regions of the world. Fourth, in the Caribbean FAO needs to focus even more closely on bio-technology in agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
My delegation feels that the biotechnology in increasing food production is vital for all our Caribbean islands. The fisheries sector plays an
important social and economic role in small coastal states like Dominica and its neighbours. It contributes to food security and is of help in our effort to increase employment and development in our rural coummunity. It will help our women in rural development. Our forestry is also of great importance and its impact is most forceful when we come to understand that we are at a time of many changes and challenges.
Therefore, my delegation would like to stress that FAO make every effort in promoting sustainable development of small islands development through a framework for sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development.
Mr Chairman, you have your heart in our countries. Please, do help us.
Carlos BASCO (Argentina): Me permito felicitarle, señor Presidente, por la forma en que está llevando las sesiones y también al señor Hjort por el documento presentado.
A continuación haré algunas consideraciones que me gustaría compartir con los otros delegados presentes.
A pesar del alentador crecimiento observado por los países en desarrollo durante 1992 frente a la recesión económica observada en los países desarrollados, las condiciones de la situación agrícola en muchos países en desarrollo siguen siendo preocupantes, y el comercio internacional de productos agropecuarios continúa seriamente distorsionado por las prácticas desleales de la mayoría de los países desarrollados.
Las perspectivas de crecimiento y comercio de los países en desarrollo continúan dependiendo del grado de recuperación económica general y de los países desarrollados en especial. Sin embargo, parece que no podemos ser demasiado optimistas. Se observa con preocupación la falta de liderazgo en buena parte de los responsables de la política económica para tomar las decisiones clave a los fines de dar impulso al crecimiento económico global y dejar de lado políticas proteccionistas que lo dificultan. Esta falta de liderazgo se expresa en las dificultades observadas en la Ronda Uruguay del GATT, que después de siete años tiene todavía dificultades para ser completada y cuyos resultados finales posibles ya son mucho menos ambiciosos que los previstos al inicio de la misma.
Los productos agrícolas representan sólo alrededor del 10 por ciento del comercio mundial pero constituyen una proporción significativamente mayor de los ingresos de exportación de muchos países en desarrollo y una proporción poco significativa de los ingresos de exportación de los países desarrollados. Sin embargo, la mayoría de estos últimos continúa resistiéndose a la liberalización del comercio internacional de los mismos.
Los precios de los productos agropecuarios continúan descendiendo durante los últimos años. Las variaciones de signo contrario entre los precios de los productos agropecuarios y los de las manufacturas han afectado negativamente más a los países en desarrollo que a los países desarrollados. En muchos casos, este deterioro de los precios y de las relaciones de intercambio se ha tratado de neutralizar con aumentos de la productividad y de la producción. Sin embargo, en muchos casos, esta respuesta puede poner en peligro el desarrollo sostenible a largo plazo.
Simultáneamente al panorama desalentador en los países en desarrollo, los incentivos para la producción agrícola de los países desarrollados superaron en la mayoría de los casos los existentes en el mercado internacional. Continúan la política tradicional de aislar casi totalmente las decisiones de producción de los precios que rigen el mercado internacional. Estamos observando consternados una suerte de planificación de la producción agropecuaria en algunos países desarrollados que compite mano a mano con los mejores tiempos de la planificación centralizada de países que la han abandonado. Algunos países desarrollados después de haber criticado durante 70 años la planificación económica, la aplican con el mayor desparpajo a la producción agrícola, distorsionando la toma de decisiones eficientes y el comercio internacional de productos agrícolas.
Con respecto al punto mencionado del documento respecto de los acuerdos internacionales sobre productos agropecuarios, esta delegación opina que generalmente no son los mejores instrumentos para asegurar buenos precios y no cree que valga la pena insistir demasiado en ese tipo de instrumentos.
El Gobierno de mi país ha priorizado su compromiso en todos los foros internacionales vinculados con los temas agrícolas, siendo estos los correspondientes a la producción, al comercio, a la tecnología, a la sostenibilidad o a la ayuda alimentaria. En todos ellos busca destacar la importancia de la agricultura para los países en desarrollo y la experiencia negativa de las políticas agrícolas de algunos países industrializados. En este último caso nos preocupan especialmente las prácticas tendientes a lograr el aumento de la productividad sin importar el costo ni monetario ni ambiental. La agricultura es una de las actividades más estratégicas y nobles, no sólo por su condición de principal fuente de alimentos, sino por las oportunidades de empleo que brinda a una parte sustancial de la población mundial. Es asimismo una de las alternativas básicas para el crecimiento de las naciones, especialmente aquellas en desarrollo.
Con este convencimiento, Argentina ha puesto en práctica una política de apertura y desregulación de su economía. Durante los últimos tres años hemos duplicado ampliamente nuestras importaciones. Sin embargo, hemos tenido dificultades para aumentar las exportaciones agropecuarias. Una de las principales causas han sido las prácticas restrictivas que llevan a cabo algunos países industrializados.
El proceso de desregulación señalado se ha verificado a través de la eliminación de una serie de reglamentaciones que operaban para beneficio de unos pocos. Por ejemplo, las innecesarias regulaciones al comercio exterior, al acceso de algunos mercados, a la comercialización, así como también los controles de precios y de producción.
Nos falta aún asegurar que los beneficios de la desregulación que hemos llevado a cabo lleguen efectivamente a los productores agropecuarios y no sean absorbidos por etapas ulteriores de las cadenas de comercialización y transformación. Sin embargo, estamos persuadidos de que las reglas de juego simples y transparentes son las únicas aptas para la actividad agropecuaria y la manera más idónea para asegurar un empleo eficiente de los recursos productivos. Aumentar la eficiencia en el uso de los recursos es la base para asegurar incrementos de la productividad y la competitividad de la producción agrícola. Para ello es fundamental que el productor responda a la señales de precios de los mercados, que es la mejor manera de lograr dicha asignación eficiente de los recursos. Sin embargo, muchas veces dichas señales no operan como deberían hacerlo. Las instrucciones observadas en los mercados agrícolas, resultado de prácticas
proteccionistas y de subsidios a la producción y exportación, envían señales al mercado que poco tienen que ver con la asignación óptima de los recursos.
También le otorgamos prioridad a incentivar la transformación de la producción agropecuaria. Agregar valor resulta clave para aumentar el ingreso del productor agropecuario. Estos enfrentan día a día mayores exigencias tanto por parte de los consumidores como por parte de las etapas posteriores de transformación. Estas últimas, desde la selección y empaque, hasta su procesamiento con destino al consumo final constituyen hoy en día simples etapas de una sola producción, la agrícola. Actualmente resulta imposible pensar en la actividad agropecuaria sólo como una producción de carácter primario. La agroindustria y, especialmente, la industria de la alimentación, son agricultura.
Esta concepción integral de la actividad colabora también para que el productor agropecuario tenga bien claro que produce para un mercado que exige calidades y características específicas y abandone las antiguas prácticas de producir sin interesarse por saber para quién lo está haciendo.
Sin embargo, la puesta en práctica de esta política se ve muchas veces dificultada y hasta impedida por las políticas de escalamiento tarifario implementadas por muchos países industrializados para proteger a sus ineficientes producciones.
Respecto de la Ronda Uruguay del GATT, la Delegación Argentina manifiesta su satisfacción por el reciente relanzamiento del proceso negociador a nivel multilateral tras dos años de escasos progresos.
La conclusión exitosa de la Ronda Uruguay es condición indispensable para superar la difícil coyuntura por la cual atraviesan actualmente la economía y el comercio internacional.
Reiteramos nuestro compromiso de desplegar todos los esfuerzos necesarios para mantener el dinamismo del proceso negociador durante el brevísimo plazo que resta, e instamos a todos los participantes a respetar los objetivos y principios establecidos en la Declaración de Punta del Este y los acuerdos alcanzados en la revisión de mediano plazo.
En consonancia con los objetivos de la Ronda Uruguay, muchos países en desarrollo, entre ellos la Argentina, han liberalizado en forma autónoma y significativa el acceso a sus mercados. Los demás participantes de la Ronda Uruguay, sobre todo los de mayor peso comercial, se han beneficiado con esta apertura. Sin embargo, los países en desarrollo no han sido objeto de reciprocidad; por el contrario, han visto agravada su situación por la violación de los compromisos de statu quo, la adopción de nuevas medidas proteccionistas y el no acatamiento de las recomendaciones de los Grupos Especiales del GATT. Una conclusión equilibrada de la Ronda requiere resultados satisfactorios en el área de acceso de mercados. Constatamos con inquietud que la situación continúa siendo insatisfactoria en sectores prioritarios para nuestros países, como lo son la agricultura, los textiles, los productos tropicales y los productos derivados de la explotación de los recursos naturales. Al mismo tiempo se formulan propuestas cero por cero que, si bien pueden ser beneficiosas para los países industrializados, no constituyen respuestas adecuadas a los requerimientos de los países en desarrollo. El sector agrícola es clave y prioritario para los intereses de nuestros países.
Para el éxito de la Ronda Uruguay y la consecuente adaptación de los resultados de un paquete final es imprescindible que se logren resultados significativos en este campo. Estos deben asegurar una liberalización sustancial del acceso a los mercados, la reducción del sostén interno y de los subsidios a la exportación y la instrumentación de medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias sobre el avance de las disposiciones y disciplinas establecidas en el Proyecto de Acta Final.
Es indispensable que los grandes países comerciales adopten ya las decisiones políticas necesarias para concluir las negociaciones con resultados que, contemplando equilibradamente los diversos intereses, promuevan la liberalización, la expansión del comercio mundial, eviten la discriminación y fortalezcan el sistema multilateral.
Winston RUDDER (Trinidad and Tobago): May I at the outset commend you and the Bureau on the responsibilities entrusted to you to guide the affairs of this important Commission. I wish to thank the delegates who have spoken before us in this debate for the excellence of their contributions, the tone that they have set and the clarity with which they have expressed themselves. I think the mature debate bodes well for what will emerge as a package of recommendations from Commission I. This is, no doubt, due largely to the balanced nature and the objectivity of the report that has been laid before us, facilitated in great measure by Mr Hjort's introduction.
The SOFA Report is the first in a trilogy which we will deal with tomorrow and in the next couple of days, focusing on the world food and agricultural situation and outlook.
Having listened so far, it serves as an aperitif to what is going to be a rich menu of debate over the next few days, setting the stage, I am sure, for providing the green light out of the Green Room to many a debate in the Red Room on FAO's Programme of Work and Budget.
What does the report say as we look beyond and behind the figures, the charts and the data? It is quite clear that stagnating economies in developed and industrialized countries put limitations on the scope of market opportunities of primary commodities from the developing world. Constraints are also being placed on the availability of resources for development assistance. On the other hand, we know that in some developing countries there has been a bit of sunlight in that there has been progress in agriculture and economies have been developing. In that regard the food situation is improving, contributing to an alleviation of some of the problems of malnutrition. Likewise, because of the importance of agriculture to these economies and the rate of progress of agricultural development, incomes and employment rates are rising in some of these economies. On balance, the fact remains that poverty and hunger exist among millions and malnutrition abounds. We cannot afford to be complacent. That is why this Commission has to take due note of the contribution of the distinguished delegate of Dominica who gave a poignant cry from the heart on behalf of all small-island and resource-poor states, whether they be from the Caribbean, the South Pacific or the Indian Ocean.
I trust that that contribution is closely noted and the implications arising therefrom find some place in the recommendations of Commission I.
The problem that we face as we view the state of food and agriculture in this Commission is how to separate out for consideration and treatment in a
balanced way the urgent and the important, for in the nature of things the urgent always seem to dominate leaving scarce time and resources for focusing on the important.
What do we mean? We mean yes, this organization, the nations of the world, must continue with urgency to address the growing problems of hunger and poverty by emergency actions, by food aid. We must continue to treat the problems of degradation of natural resources by special action in terms of dealing with our watersheds and dealing with the pollution of our rivers. We must continue to develop and implement projects for the maintenance and construction, where necessary, of access roads and bridges into areas of agricultural development.
These are all urgent and are needed. But we must find time to focus on the important. In the context of agricultural development, the important has to do with policy reforms - policy reforms at the global, international level, and policy reforms at the national local level. For the technical solutions we will find to deal with agricultural problems will be reduced to nought if we do not work assidously to deal with the deficiences and the distortions in the policy framework. How do we go about it? I suggest that we need to forge strategic alliances amongst the countries of the world, the developed and the developing, the large and the small, the continental land masses and the small island states as our respected colleague has said.
The policies that must be addressed at the level of the countries of the world in the global and international context have to do with agricultural trade, some of which are being considered currently, hopefully to be resolved by December 15, but in a very serious way, taking into account those special and differential circumstances that attend the developing countries, that attend the least able, the small, the least resourceful, so that as we focus on free trade we also take account of fair trade. At the global and international level we also must deal with policies that have to do with access to technology. In this regard, the observations made in respect of biotechnology must be addressed urgently. These issues are on the policy agenda.
May I come full square in support of the observations made by El Salvador, France and Sweden. I thought that they treated the subject quite adequately but strategic alliances must also be sought and forged amongst the international and multilateral organizations which our governments have established and in which we have strong voices, and where we serve on governing bodies, to ensure that they collaborate, cooperate and reduce duplication of effort in dealing with these issue we have described, so that it is not only the nations but the organizations which are important also.
Within countries, governments and people must strike the strategic alliance if we are to give substance to the improvement of rural welfare, if we are to give some substance to policies that deal with population growth, if we are to give substance to policies that deal with education, land reform, agrarian reform. So that it is a mix of strategic alliances at the global and national level focusing on dealing with the déficiences on the policy agenda side by side as we deal with the urgent matters of getting the technical aspects correct. That is what, in my humble submission, will lead us out of the dilemma.
In that regard, as I close, I suggest it also dictates and identifies the agenda for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. I
am saying, as we have said elsewhere in the Council, that it is critical and it is urgent for FA to seize the high-ground of policy studies, the policy analysis, the policy support, in order to prepare and enable us and empower us, the small island states, to grapple with and deal more adequately with these important issues on our policy agenda.
Dixon NILAWEERA (Sri Lanka): Mr Chairman, let me also congratulate you on your election as the Chairman as we debate this most important question that is being examined today. Let me also congratulate the Secretariat and the Director-General for presenting an excellent review of the States of Food and Agriculture in 1993. The Director-General, in his presentation yesterday, emphasized the basic issues which inhibit growth in this particular sector, a wide range of issues that are faced by the developing countries.
As Chairman, you are no doubt aware that practically all countries have taken conscious attempts to develop their agricultural programmes. These programmes have been strongly guided by the political will of the countries concerned and their commitments to agriculture. In countries such as Sri Lanka, production comes from the small farm sector. Some of the countries are now in the process of becoming newly industrialized countries. However, they have not relegated to the background the concept of increasing agricultural productivity. Unfortunately, such attempts are often stymied and hamstrung by outside forces which are beyond our control.
There are both agronomic and non-agronomic problems which have led to insufficient growth in this particular sector. We are now confronted with a major problem concerning crop production, namely yield stagnation. Our rice yields have been plateauing for the past several years, despite all efforts to organize the inputs and organize the farmers. We have not been able to achieve a break-through in yield stagnation which appears to be a common phenomenon in most of the Asian region.
In Sri Lanka, 80 percent of the rice are high-yielding varieties. Although there has been an initial drop in fertilizer usage, resulting from the withdrawal of the fertilizer subsidy, it crept up to acceptable levels. Access to resources have been organized in a satisfactory manner. Nevertheless, yield stagnation continues to be a factor to be reckoned with. Perhaps one way would be to consider increasing the use of better quality seeds.
We observe certain clear views being expressed in this document on biotechnology. Whilst the focus of the FAO is on the necessity of using biotechnology, the associated dangers are also recognized. It has become increasingly clear that biotechnology perhaps lends greater support to breaking yield stagnation which has retarded the increase in crop production efforts.
In this respect, there is an urgent need for intervention by the international organizations such as the FAO. Research efforts should be coordinated in a manner which would consciously address its mind to breaking the impass of this particular problem, yield stagnation. Biotechnology may be one way by which steps in this direction could be taken. Of course, we recognize that it should be done consciously so that there would be no adverse effect on the total production system. FAO should supplement the efforts of the countries concerned by providing both technical and non-technical support.
Carlos DI MOTTOIA BALESTRA (Costa Rica): Quisiera antes de todo, señor Presidente, alegrarme por su elección. Nosotros nos conocemos desde hace muchos años y me da mucha alegría verlo presidir una reunión tan importante. Yo quiero limitar mi intervención a un único punto de los muchos que en este amplio tema interesan a la economía de mi país.
Es un punto de enorme importancia y que por lo tanto quiero subrayar en este foro de trascendencia tan grande, me refiero al cultivo del banano. Como usted sabe, le economía de mi país es esencialmente agrícola y se basa en dos productos principales; el café y el banano. El café es objeto de una crisis profunda desde hace años que todavía no hemos llegado a resolver de ninguna manera. Hay acuerdos recientes, sin embargo los precios no son de ninguna manera remunerativos, o sea, estamos destruyendo el capital nacional.
À estas alturas se agrega una nueva crisis completamente artificial, que es la del banano. Estuvimos trabajando sobre el banano, en el grupo intergubernamental y en los grupos productores desde hace muchísimos años. Yo me acuerdo que desde que yo atiendo a la FAO, y son decenas de años, siempre se ha tratado por parte de la Secretaría y por el fuerte esfuerzo conjunto de los representantes de los países, de integrar sobre las proyecciones futuras de producción del banano y, de lograr entendimientos, por lo menos de hecho, sobre las políticas bananeras de los países adheridos. Siempre en un marco de no limitar de ninguna manera a los mercados, o sea, en un marco de lo que es la filosofía del comercio moderno y de la agricultura moderna. A estas alturas sabemos desde mediados del año pasado que existe la disposición 404/9 de la Comunidad que es una completa violación de todo el bloque que contiene el Acuerdo General.
Es una completa violación porque lleva consigo un aumento rotundo de los aranceles que no está previsto en el Acuerdo General. Lleva consigo una discriminación profunda entre los distintos países productores. En la FAO hemos trabajado años y años estudiando y también proponiendo la misma Secretaría fórmulas para tratar de eliminar las relaciones que habían de división entre el productor. Ahora se crea una disminución artificial, además hay algo también que es una violación al Acuerdo General, y es una limitación de la cantidad. Se atribuye una cantidad máxima a toda la región, calculada no se sabe por qué, favoreciendo a los exportadores de grandes compañías que tengan licencias y se limita a la exportación también, mediante una reglamentación extremadamente estricta y de muchas otras maneras. Yo creo que a estas alturas, antes de hablar de un entendimiento en el GATT, sería oportuno que la Comunidad realizara el acuerdo que yo acabo de mencionar y tratara de adaptarlo a lo que es la filosofía del GATT, y no sólo a la filosofía del GATT sino a la letra del Acuerdo General, porque hay muchos puntos de las circunscripciones que violan completamente la letra del Acuerdo General. Hemos tenido el 15 de junio una reunión que reconoció varios de los puntos que los países, al cual pertenece el mío, habían presentado, y tendremos una próxima reunión en un futuro muy cercano.
Yo espero que ya antes de esto, haya un pensamiento para ayudar a los países que verdaderamente como recursos de vida y recursos económicos tienen su agricultura. Se trata de países como el mío, en los cuales, cuando se habla de agricultura, se habla sólo de dos o tres productos remunerativos que dan trabajo a una cantidad de gente.
Mrs Oülgönül BÜYÜKDORA (Turkey): Mr Chairman, at the outset, I wish to congratulate you on your election to the Chair of Commission I, and also to
the Vice-Chairmen on their election. I am confident that you will guide our deliberations towards a successful outcome.
As we all know, agriculture is still the sector which is seriously affected by diversity in world economic conditions. People dependent on agriculture still carry the heaviest burden of national adjustment policies, yet the world still falls far short of the objectives of freedom from hunger and malnutrition. Human resources in agriculture mean farmers, and we are all representatives of farmers. Through agriculture farmers earn, feed and export their products. In global terms, representing farmers means representing consumers in agriculture. By supporting farmers, consumption is promoted. Therefore collaboration is necessary between member countries for the efficacy of the work aimed towards agricultural development and strengthening cooperation among countries.
The fact that the world produces abundant supplies of food and agricultural products is no relief for most of the food-deficit, low-income countries and their rural populations. The structural imbalances between agricultural output and trade systems perpetrate the situation where there are embarassing supluses of food in some countries, shortages in others, and malnutrition still exists.
Environmental impacts on agriculture are important. We are glad to observe the consciousness of the world with regard to the environment and expect FAO to implement the results of the decision taken at the UNCED Conference. Most of the land suitable for agriculture is degraded by misuse of resources. Erosion of arable land, salinization, desertification and loss of biodiversity should be considered. Larger land is decreased by heritage considerations into unproductive areas. We expect FAO to launch programes to solve the problem. Land reforms will help sustainable agriculture. Research into land consolidation and new measures of land tenure and distribution may be effective for the developing countries, but livestock development and animal health are milestones for food security. International action is even more essential for food security. In this respect, we expect FAO to cooperate with other organizations to eradicate animal diseases. Sound fisheries management is also important. The elaboration of new policies on revision of measures for fisheries are necessary.
Africa is still the continent most seriously affected by food shortage, requiring emergency assistance. Fourteen countries in the Region are currently facing exceptional food emergencies; half of them are also affected by civil strife. Equally, the situation in the Balkans further deteriorated in term of human rights resulting in food shortages and a growth of human suffering. We believe activities for the development of humanitarian assistance are just as important as peace-keeping operations. Turkey has gone to the limit of her budgetary means in contributing and being increasingly active as a donor in the sphere of humanitarian support and solidarity. Since 1992 my government has implemented an economic assistance package amounting to US$900 million to 32 countries in four continents. We are firmly committed to continuing efforts in this domain. To increase efficiency and in terms of coordination we have set up the Turkish International Cooperation Agency. Over the same period 28 countries in three continents who have suffered natural or manmade disasters have shared US$230 million from Turkey in cash or kind, and other various forms of relief and accommodation.
In this context, we propose the strengthening of FAO in order to contribute to economic development. There is potential in this respect, so our aim is
to canalize contributions in the most efficient way. We share the opinion that the best long-term hope for the prosperity of the world as a whole rests on the development of the developing countries. We believe that although developing countries' self-help is essential, stepped-up actions on behalf of the international community, and in particular of the developed nations, are decisive.
Although we are at the close of the twentieth century the economic policies of all countries are converging as never before. The time has come to makea concerted effortto create an international economic environment for sustainable development.
In conclusion I would like to reaffirm my government's unanimous wish toparticipate more actively and effectively in the work of FAO. We believethat agricultural development is an important aspect which will allow us toassume greater responsibility in the activities of FAO.
Ms Ioanna EFSTATHIOU (Greece) : Mr Chairman, as it is the first time I have had the floor, allow me to congratulate you and the two Vice-chairmen on your election.
We fully agree with and support the views expressed on this Item by the representative of the European Community this morning. However, we would like to make some additional remarks which are of particular importance for the Mediterranean countries.
Firstly, we would underline two important aspects related to fisheries management. On the one hand rational management of fisheries resources should be promoted in order to avoid overexploitation. In this sphere the active involvement of the local communities is fully recommended. Local authorities have a better knowledge of the resource characteristics as well as of the traditional fishing practices existing in the region. Consequently, the development of management at local level is of great significance. On the other hand, as environmental concerns gain more and more importance, we believe the protection of the Mediterranean Sea is urgent. Apart from the industrial residues, we have to take into account two other equally significant causes of pollution of the Mediterranean Sea, worsening the already bad situation of this resource. One is maritime transport and the other is urban waste.
The second remark I would like to make concerns forestry management. For the Mediterranean region the degradation of the forestry resource is related mainly, if not exclusively, to fires and drought. We believe there is a need to control and supervise systems to be adopted, otherwise the Mediterranean landscape and its biodiversity could be destroyed.
As far as these two vital issues are concerned we believe multilateral cooperation is indispensable. FAO, with the collaboration of the other competent international and regional organizations, can play a significant role in helping countries to face these acute problems on a sustainable basis.
Elias REYES BRAVO (México): Expresamos, Señor Presidente, nuestro reconocimiento a la Secretaría por el documento sobre la situación de la alimentación y la agricultura en el mundo.
El análisis mundial y regional que se nos presenta, nos ofrece un panorama interesante para el estudio y estimulante para la acción; es decir, para la toma de medidas concretas para dar solución a los problemas de la seguridad alimentaria.
El documento nos enfrenta de nuevo al tema de las subvenciones al campo, que por su magnitud en muchos países desarrollados llevan a una contienda financiera que atenta contra la vocación productiva de lo países, afectando al medio ambiente y distorsionando mercados naturales.
Existe una necesidad inminente de que concluyan favorablemente las negociaciones de la Ronda Uruguay del GATT, así como de que exista una mayor disposición de los distintos bloques comerciales para un comercio equitativo.
En el capítulo por regiones se aborda el caso de México, en relación con el cual mi Delegación desea presentar algunas consideraciones.
Si bien en México, tal como se señala en el documento, no hubo un crecimiento significativo de la producción agrícola durante 1992, sí se alcanzó, sin embargo, la meta de autosuficiencia en algunos productos básicos para la dieta popular.
Por la trascendencia y complementariedad en las reformas que ha asumido el Gobierno de México en materia agraria, mi Delegación destaca que recientemente se puso en marcha un amplio programa dirigido al desarrollo agrícola, llamado PROCAMPO que incluye apoyos y estímulos a los productores.
Contra lo que asevera el documento que nos ocupa, mi Delegación quiere destacar que en México ha habido una cierta recuperación de la agricultura a partir de 1990, en virtud de los apoyos a la producción de maíz y frijoles, los cuales, si bien crearon distorsiones con otros cultivos, a partir de 1993 con el programa de PROCAMPO se busca revertir la distorsión no bajando los precios del maíz y el frijol, sino apoyando a otros cultivos.
El cambio legislativo operado en México en 1992 en materia agraria, tiene una mayor profundidad que sólo la liberalización de los mercados, dado que puede lograr este objetivo sin distorsiones que induzcan a la acomodación del capital. El espíritu de la nueva legislación agraria es dar una mayor libertad a los productores en sus decisiones y relaciones de producción. La nueva legislación también pretende una mayor certidumbre en la tenencia de la tierra y garantiza la inversión en el campo. Es una modificación que le da soberanía al producto sobre la tierra.
En relación a la liberalización de los precios, se protegió el maíz y el frijol, toda vez que estos cultivos son los de mayor consumo para los mexicanos y los que producen la mayoría de los agricultores, incluidos los marginales y de autoconsumo.
Para el resto de los granos se mantienen precios concertados que permiten por una parte, ofrecerlos a precio internacional para no distorsionar las cadenas de producción y abasto, y, por otra parte, apoyar con un precio de comercialización a los productores por un tiempo determinado que les permita ajustar sus esquemas productivos para hacerlos competitivos o bien identificar alguna otra actividad de producción que les resulte más rentable.
Los precios de los productos pecuarios están casi todos liberados y los apoyos que se les brinda están orientados hacia los insumos que consumen. El esquema de modernización de la agricultura para la creación de economías de escala, la inversión, y el dinamismo del mercado, no está sustentado en la posibilidad de la venta de tierras, sino más bien en el usufructo de ésta que deberá darse por la organización y asociación productiva.
Mi Delegación, Señor Presidente, sostiene que los esfuerzos que realiza México por su agricultura y su alimentación se inscriben en el ámbito internacional de los esfuerzos que hacen los diversos países para mejorar estos renglones de la vida social de nuestros pueblos.
Sra. Grafila SOTO CARRERO (Cuba): Permítame, Señor Presidente, felicitarlo por su elección, así como agradecer a la Secretaría de la FAO por la preparación del documento C 93/2 y su suplemento, y al Señor Hjort por la clara presentación de los mismos.
La Delegación de Cuba quisiera hacer algunas observaciones en este importante tema referente al estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación.
Hemos apreciado en el análisis del documento C 93/2, que nos ocupa, que la situación alimentaria en términos generales no ha experimentado las mejoras necesarias y esperadas por los países en desarrollo.
La producción alimentaria sigue siendo inferior al incremento de la población y la distribución de los alimentos continúa siendo desigual. La Región de América Latina y del Caribe no está exenta de esta realidad.
A pesar de los ligeros incrementos per cápita, señalados en el documento, la mayoría de los países en desarrollo continúan presentando problemas alimentarios, especialmente en lo referente al acceso a los alimentos, y, por consiguiente en su seguridad alimentaria.
La situación específica de nuestro país fue expuesta por nuestro Ministro de la Industria Alimenticia en su exposición en la Sala Plenaria hace un momento. A todo lo expresado por él podríamos añadir que el deterioro que continúan sufriendo los precios de nuestros principales productos básicos, en los que se incluye el precio del azúcar, y que afecta sobremanera al comercio de nuestras principales fuentes de divisas, es una amenaza constante.
De otra parte, cada día necesitamos más divisas para importar productos de primerísima necesidad. Continúa el injusto intercambio desigual que afecta tan tristemente a las economías de nuestros países. Nuestro país, por razones que ya han sido expresadas, no tiene acceso a las principales fuentes de financiamiento, lo que hace aún más difícil la situación por la que atravesamos.
Quisiera aprovechar esta oportunidad para expresar el agradecimiento de nuestro Gobierno y nustro pueblo a las muestras de solidaridad de otros gobiernos y pueblos, así como de los organismos internacionales, entre los cuales la FAO juega un papel destacado.
Mi Delegación, Señor Presidente, considera que la deuda externa y el pago de sus servicios, el intercambio desigual ya mencionado, y el proteccionismo, continuan siendo flagelos que golpean con más rudeza cada día mayor al mundo en desarrollo.
Las negociaciones de la Ronda Uruguay en el marco de negociaciones del GATT, muy próximos ya a la fecha en que deben concluir, continúan prácticamente estancados. A su alrededor, Señor Presidente, se mueven intereses muy poderosos que pretenden manipular con fines egoístas el comercio de alimentos, lo cual como expresara nuestro Jefe de Delegación en el Plenario, es como comerciar con la vida de los seres humanos. A esto se une la injusta práctica de utilizar los alimentos como arma de presión política, lo cual es condenado nuevamente por nuestra Delegación.
Para concluir, Señor Presidente, la Delegación de Cuba quisiera expresar su esperanza de que las deliberaciones de esta importante Comisión, y de este 27º Período de Sesiones de la Conferencia de la FAO, que estamos celebrando no se conviertan en letra muerta.
Supote DECHATES (Thailand): Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Thai delegation, I wish to welcome you as Chairman of Commission I. I assure you of our cooperation for the successful deliberations and conclusion of this important meeting. Regarding the issue of the state of world food and agriculture 1993, I wish to commend the Secretariat for preparing the relevant documents, C 93/2 and C 93/2-Sup.l, which are very comprehensive, providing us with adequate information on the food situation of all major regions of the world.
Regarding agricultural production, the world has for years seen great variations in its annual output of food and agriculture, despite major efforts by the various international organizations to increase significantly agricultural production, particularly in the developing regions, which in many parts are densely populated and where undernutrition prevails. Of course, the agricultural environment may vary from year to year and from region to region. In the worst scenarios it even creates natural disasters.
We should make investigations and comparisons in normal years to ascertain what factors impede high agricultural productivity in developing regions which are geographically close to more productive countries. When environmental variables have been estimated and statistically discounted, we could examine productivity over time and gain more insight into the level of national/regional production management and farm technology and farm transfer programmes. Recommendations and efforts could then be directed toward those problem developing regions by FAO and related organizations for more efficient and effective measures for the enhancement of food and agricultural production. According to the Secretariat's review, the GDP growth of economies heavily dependent on agricultural exports will accelerate slightly, reaching almost 3 percent in both 1993 and 1994, with agriculture expanding faster than other sectors. However, the overall economy of Thailand, which falls into this group, is expected to grow at about 7.9 percent because of better external conditions, including the expected world economic recovery. World trade volume should expand at a faster rate than last year, but at the same time trade protectionism is likely to be more intense, which may have impacts on Thai exports, particularly tapioca products and textiles. Thailand's agricultural economy is projected to increase by 2.7 percent in 1993 due to a growth in crops, livestock, fishery and agro-industrial processing of 2.7, 3.4, 1.7 and 2.8 percent, respectively, whereas forestry will decrease by 15.1 percent.
With regard to fishery catch and distribution, it appears that world marine fish production declined a little for the third consecutive year, by
0.4 percent, to 81.5 million tonnes. This would seem to suggest that the global exploitation of overall marine resources has not yet resulted in a decrease, at least in the short run. However, we must guard against any widespread under-sustainability which might eventually occur in this regard.
Thailand has now become one of the leading world suppliers of fishery products with its larger catch and aquaculture, especially that of marine prawns and brackish-water fish. The latter type of fishery is regarded as very successful together with marine prawn culture.
On the other hand, although the national village inland fish culture programme has been launched for several years, the total fish intake as a protein source declined somewhat, to 20 kilograms per head per head. To counter this unfavourable nutrition situation, the Government now aims to enhance the nation wide inland fish culture programme to the extent that the local consumption rate will grow to 25 kilograms per head per year.
With regard to export prices of agricultural commodities, the situation has not been better than it was last year. In fact,, prices of agricultural commodities have tended to fall on the international market for at least a decade. The agricultural commodity exporting countries have suffered greatly, especially developing countries.
My delegation wishes for a successful conclusion to the Uruguay Round of GATT, including the agricultural commodity trade, which will be of benefit to developing and developed countries.
Alhaji MAI M.JIR (Nigeria) : I wish to congratulate you, Mr Chairman, and your Vice-chairmen on your election. I wish also to commend the Secretariat and Mr Hjort on the excellent papers.
On reading the documents, one would find it really difficult to say which direction we should take to find a solution. This is particularly so in the case of Africa south of the Sahara.
Consider the debt burden of US$183 billion (1992), debt arrears of US$14 billion, the declining share of exports from 14 percent in 1969-1971 to 9 percent in 1989-91. The increase in multilateral loans which are expected to be rescheduled reduced net transfers and investments and the falling prices of primary commodities and loss or partial loss of access to international markets due to protectionism. One also observes the increase in the export share of developed countries and increase in imports for developing countries.
Other problems faced by the developing countries are well known to all of us. We must endeavour to find solutions.
The question of debt must be as a matter of urgency tackled in the interests of both the debtors and creditors. There is the possibility of the developing countries grinding to a standstill. The consequent chaos, instability and social upheavals would not be palatable to humanity.
The issue of debt forgiveness, cancellation and even possibility of freezing interest on existing loans should be given serious consideration.
On trade we wish the following issues to be addressed:
a) Development of regional and sub-regional trade and markets;
b) Special concessions and a defined quarter for agricultural products from the developing countries at the end of the Uruguay Round.
The statement raised in paragraphs 58 and 59 of the report on forest trade requires the mature consideration of this Commission. It is important that those areas of economic activity where the developing world can engage to improve their lot should not be hamstrung by undue regulation. Discriminating legislation that has been enacted by several consuming countries on timber trade should be reconsidered.
On the developmental efforts, nations, with FAO assistance, should:
a) concentrate an improvement of traditional methods of production and improvement of medium-level technologies; and b) research and development in native plants and animals, etc., and patenting of improvements on nature's gifts.
The rights of farmers and the original owners of seeds and plants must be protected.
Nigeria's modest development is due to the following: a) relatively good weather; b) mobilization of the people on "food first" (25 000 committees formed and 750 Banks formed by these communities); c) less government in production, processing and marketing; d) Nigeria developed a National Agricultural Policy in 1988 which placed agriculture on the doorsteps of the private sector.
Making available production inputs including credit to farmers, developed strategic grain reserve at the federal level, buffer stock facility at the state level and off-farm storage at local levels; development of Women in Agriculture; price deregulation; Nigeria today is self-sufficient in the major staple grains, i.e., sorghum, millet and the largest producer of cassava in the world, while it has adopted a policy of supplementing local production of wheat by imports.
Improving the traditional storage systems; emphasize improving the human resource.
Food is a basic need and it is man's basic right. Access to food is not considered as important as the political right. Politics and political consideration without food would only remain on the papers they are written on. Access to food by all is, therefore, tied directly to human rights and democracy.1
CHAIRMAN: (Original language German): I now close the afternoon's session which shall meet again tomorrow at 9.00 o'clock.
The meeting rose at 17.35.
La séance est levée à 17 h 35.
Se levanta la sesión a las 17.3
___________________
1 Statement inserted in the Verbatim Records on request.
