CHAIRMAN: We now complete our work relating to Agenda Item 2, namely the election of three Vice-Chairmen and the members of the Drafting Committee. You will recall yesterday we elected two Vice-Chairmen, Mr. S. Hasan Ahmad of Bangladesh and Sra. M. Ivankovich de Arosemena of Panama. We also elected the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Mr. A.G. Ngongi Namanga of Cameroon.
I am happy to report we now have the other members of the Drafting Committee. The countries which will be represented on the Drafting Committee are: Lesotho, Philippines, France, Cuba, Egypt, USA, New Zealand, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Ngongi Namanga of Cameroon.
I hope the chairmen and members will get together and decide on the schedules of their meetings.
I now wish to give the floor to the delegate of France to make a statement on behalf of the developed countries regarding the remaining position of Vice-Chairman.
A. FEQUANT (France): Au nom de ma délégation je propose le représentant de la République fédérale d'Allemagne, M. W.A.F. Grabisch, pour cette vice-présidence.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. If there are no further nominations, we welcome Mr. Grabisch, the Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany, as the Third Vice-Chairman. I want to congratulate him and I hope you will join me.
Applause
Applaudissements
Aplausos
W.A.F. GRABISCH (Germany, Federal Republic of): I should like to thank the Council for the great confidence which it has shown in me and the honour it has shown to my delegation in electing me as Vice-Chairman I can assure you that I will try, as in the past, to be helpful whenever necessary. I am glad to serve the Council under your guidance, Mr. Chairman, together with Señora Ivankovich de Arosemena from Panama, and Mr. Hasan Ahmad from Bangladesh.
CHAIRMAN: I would also once again draw your attention to the announcement on the reverse side of the Order of the Day regarding the election of five members of the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes of the UN/FAO World Food Programme. We will be electing the five members, and all the members of the Council have been requested to send their nominations by 17.30 hours on Thursday, 25 November 1982. Nomination forms should be delivered to the Secretary-General of the Council at Room B-201.
CHAIRMAN: We will continue the discussion of Item 4, which was introduced yesterday by Mr. N. Islam.
KONG CAN DONG (China) (original language Chinese): Before I speak on the subject, please allow me to congratulate you and express our pleasure to see you in the Chair to guide our deliberations. We also wish to offer our congratulations to Mr. Ahmad and Mme. Ivankovich de Arosemena on their election as Vice-Chairmen.
Yesterday afternoon we heard the Director-General Dr. Saouma's important speech at the opening Session of our Council, for which we would like to express our appreciation. After the Director-General's speech Professor Islam made a lucid introduction of the current state of world food and agriculture. We have learned from his introduction and the documents that world food and agricultural production this year is fairly satisfactory. Food supply and food prices tend to be normal. This is indeed gratifying. However, on the one hand, some major exporting countries hold large stocks of surplus grain to be brought to the market while on the other hand, many developing countries, being seriously affected by the economic crisis shifted onto them by certain developed countries, still can not guarantee sufficient food supply for their people. Food remains a problem in the world today. And in some regions it is becoming more acute. In addition, the developing countries face unfavourable conditions in obtaining access to the world market and fair prices for their farm produce. Their balance of international payments is deteriorating drastically, and their burden of foreign debts is getting more and more heavy. Therefore the world economic situation as a whole is bleak. All these factors have made us understand the crucial importance and urgency to establish a just, rational, new international economic order.
In order to realize the goal to establish the new international economic order, in our view, there are two major accomplishments to be achieved in the field of food and agriculture: to speed up food and agricultural production in the developing countries and to improve the terms of inter-national trade of farm produce. Now I would like to speak mainly on food and agricultural production.
Recently the World Bank in its World Development Report 1982 analyzed world economic development over the past 30 years. It points out that a country where agriculture registers rapid development is sure to have a fast-developing national economy. The conclusion of the report is: The fast growth of agriculture is indeed a necessary condition for an overall transformation of economic structure and the realization of industrialization. Agriculture is the key link in economic development. In fact, if food and agricultural production is fully developed in developing countries, it not only can meet the needs of their own people, promote the development of their national economy, but can be beneficial to the economic development of the developed countries.
Last year the co-chairmen of Cancun Summit pointed out in their summary statement: "Sustained and long-term internal efforts on the part of the developing countries to attain increasing self-sufficiency in food production is the basic element to attaining a real answer to the problem of hunger. Nevertheless, this effort requires timely and sufficient international technical and financial support in coordination with internal policies and strategies". We think this conclusion has been drawn from facts and we share this view. However, the multilateral concessional funding provided by the international community has been declining. As is pointed out in Para 8 of Document CL 82/2, there are still many obstacles in the transfer of technology and assistance. We consider this trend of development does not meet the eager desire of the developing countries for development, and at the same time it runs against the long-term interests of the developed countries.
Since 1978, in accordance with the actual conditions of our rural economy, our country has carried out agricultural readjustment and a series of management policies conducive to enhancing the peasants' enthusiasm for production. At present, most of the peasants are practising the system of production responsibility, a system under the unified leadership and management of production teams, but with every household assuming the responsibility of farm operations. Practice has proved that such a system combines in a better way the advantages of the cooperative economy and the initiative of the peasants for management. After 1979, the government raised the procurement prices of 18 major farm products by 20 percent - 30 percent, reduced or abolished agricultural taxes in some areas, and put into effect a system of providing subsidies in selling chemical fertilizers, pesticides, agro-machinery and fuel to the peasants. The state spends 30 billion Chinese Yuan a year on agriculture, which accounts for one third of the total national expenditure of 1980. Besides, we have taken measures to improve rural commerce and enliven rural fairs. As a result of these policies, agricultural production has been developing rapidly, rural economy is becoming stronger and peasants' life has improved tremendously.
Our principle in agricultural readjustment is: "Spare no effort in developing food production while encouraging a diversified economy". The implementation of this principle has brought about remarkable achievements in all sectors of agriculture. Compared with 1978, grain output in 1981 increased by 6.6 percent, cotton 36 percent, oil-bearing crops 95 percent, sugar 51 percent, meat 47 percent, output value of agro-business 56 percent. The total output value reached 172 billion Yuan, with an annual progressive increase of 5.1 percent as against 1978. In spite of floods and droughts in some provinces, good harvest has been reported this year. And the output of grain will surpass that of last year. Cotton, oil-bearing crops and other cash crops production also have recorded increase.
The outcome of the recent census shows that China's population is over 1 031.88 million. With limited areas of arable land, the problem of man-land ratio now stands out more conspicuously. We noticed that Document CL 82/2 described at length the utilization of resources for agricultural production. We attach great importance to this question for it has important bearing on the future development of agriculture.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much, Delegate of China, for this very encouraging report on the progress in China.
G. BULA HOYOS (Colombia): Cada dos años en este período de sesiones del Consejo acostumbramos iniciar nuestras discusiones con este tema: el estado mundial de la agricultura y de la alimentación; y en cada una de esas ocasiones nos sentimos verdaderamente desalentados y deprimidos porque siempre esa situación es grave y dramática.
La cooperación internacional para el desarrollo atraviesa uno de sus períodos más sombríos, dice textualmente el párrafo 1 de la Evaluación General del documento 2 básico para este tema. Y el mismo párrafo 1 del suplemento 2 agrega que las principales dificultades que tiene que afrontar la economía mundial no han disminuido.
La delegación de Colombia piensa que a fin de que la discusión de este tema en nuestras reuniones del Consejo no se convierta en un rito vacío de contenido se impone una doble acción: por un lado, las opiniones de los representantes de los gobiernos que debemos preocuparnos porque en la parte de nuestros informes sobre este asunto se consignen claramente lo que piensan los representantes de los gobiernos, y así tratará de hacerlo nuestra delegación; y por la otra, la función de la FAO; consideramos que es una función esencial que viene cumpliendo adecuadamente nuestra Organización, pero que deberá seguir realizando con mayor firmeza, sin vacilación y con la máxima claridad posible.
Respecto a las políticas comerciales de los países desarrollados, la delegación de Colombia piensa que nuestra Organización tiene un papel fundamental en el deber de señalar esas políticas y sus consecuencias funestas a los gobiernos. Tenemos un grato recuerdo de la UNCTAD V, de Manila, cuando el Director General afirmó acertadamente que era cinismo por parte de los países desarrollados apli-car el proteccionismo y pretender a la vez el mejoramiento de las economías de los países en desarrollo,
El fondo de ese lamentable estado de cosas es un problema de voluntad política, ha declarado recientemente en la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas el Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Colombia. Si bien es cierto que los resultados de la producción agrícola y alimentaria en 1981 han sido relativamente mejores que en los dos últimos años del decenio, esto no debe hacernos sentir tranquilos, sino más bien preocupados porque los incrementos de la producción alimentaria y agrícola no fueron repartidos equitativamente, como se afirma en el párrafo 3.
Igual cosa sucede con las reservas. Las existencias de cereales en 1982 se encuentran a un nivel razonablemente satisfactorio, pero sigue existiendo el desequilibrio en su composición y distribución, pues esas reservas se hallan intensamente concentradas, progresivamente concentradas, en algunos pocos importantes países desarrollados, productores y exportadores. La circunstancia de esa concen-tración de reservas, tal como lo ha venido anotando repetidamente la delegación de Colombia, es peligrosa, injusta, y desvirtúa de todo contenido la seguridad alimentaria mundial. Así lo han demostrado hechos en el pasado.
El nuevo gobierno de Colombia ha declarado enfáticamente, y aquí queremos repetirlo, que Colombia se opondrá siempre a que los alimentos se usen como arma política al ser distribuidos a la luz de preferencias ideológicas y no del amplio sentido de las necesidades. No hacemos con esta afirmación referencia específica a ningún país, sino a ese concepto que ya ha sido consagrado en el Consejo Mundial de la Alimentación, que fue aceptado en la reciente Conferencia Regional de America Latina y el Caribe, celebrada en septiembre pasado en Nicaragua, y que debe imponerse también en la FAO, en el PMA, en el FIDA y en todos los organismos que se ocupan de la agricultura y de la alimentación.
Seguimos con atención la interesante declaración que hizo nuestro distinguido colega y vecino de la izquierda i, el representante de China, y estamos plenamente de acuerdo con el representante de esa gran nación en el sentido de que a la base de la preocupante situación alimentaria mundial está el proteccionismo, el aumento de las barreras, las prácticas comerciales, los subsidios a las exportaciones. El proteccionismo se ha apoderado de los grandes mercados con sus consecuencias obvias en el intercambio, ha declarado Colombia recientemente en la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas. En su declaración de ayer, el señor Director General de la FAO, se refirió al caso del azúcar; sobre el azúcar, Colombia dijo en las Naciones Unidas que la situación del mercado se debe especialmente a las políticas irresponsables - y son palabras de un Ministro colombiano - a las políticas irresponsables, egoístas y catastróficas de grupos de países desarrollados que, como en el caso del azúcar, han llegado a precios verdaderamente irrisorios.
No es posible, agregó nuestro Ministro, que los países abanderados de esta política azucarera de subsidios de aumento artificial en la producción y de imposición de cuotas, aspiren a nuestro agradecimiento.
En opinión de la delegación de Colombia, debemos incluir en nuestro informe una afirmación categórica en el sentido de que a la base de esta preocupante situación se encuentra el hecho de que esas polí-ticas comerciales, esos subsidios a las exportaciones, impiden a los países que están en condiciones de aumentar su producción, una planificación adecuada porque carecen de mercados con volúmenes esta-bles de exportación y precios remunerativos.
Estas son las consideraciones de orden general que quería expresar la delegación de Colombia sobre este tema, respecto al cual creemos también que se debe agregar que la demostrada e irreversible dependencia de las economías nacionales no permitirá que ningún país o grupo de países solucionen aisladamente sus problemas comerciales. Creo que en la discusión de este tema tiene actualidad esta referencia al comercio, que además está incluido en los documentos, porque como todos sabemos, a partir de mañana se inicia en Ginebra la sesión ministerial del GATT, y es un hecho evidente que los problemas agrícolas están a la. base de esa importante reunión.
W.A.F. GRABISCH (German/, Federal Republic of): As in the past the Secretariat has submitted a comprehensive and clear report on the State of Food and Agriculture. In this respect my delegation particularly welcomes the fact that this year's report for the first time gives a survey of resource use of agricultural production. There is no special need to emphasize the importance of the input related questions in view of increasingly scarce funds, energy problems and more and more ecological awareness. We should therefore like to suggest that in future the report should also deal with resources and inputs.
With regard to food production we can note with satisfaction that in a year which was marked by an unfavourable overall economic development world food production distinguishably rose by 2.9 percent compared with the preceding year. In this respect it is gratifying to note that the developing countries as a whole substantially exceeded the developed countries with an increase in production of 4.4 percent. In three years it is the first time that per capita food production also rose in the developing countries by a notable 2.3 percent.
Another important positive statement in the report is that a total carry-over of stocks of cereals increased to about 18 percent of world grain consumption and thus reached the volume estimated by the FAO secretariat as the minimum level of world food security. Behind this positive development in terms of sober figures there are the untiring great efforts and also often privations of millions of farmers and of the active agricultural population all over the world. All our thanks go. to them. They have proved, as highlighted yesterday by the Director-General, that they are capable to produce more food, but governments, and to a certain extent also, international organizations, must spare no efforts in creating generally favourable conditions for production increases. A crucial issue in this context is without any doubt an appropiate agricultural price policy by which producers are given incentives. My delegation welcomes the statement of the Director-General to carry out a study on the impact of price policies to farmers and their production output.
The results achieved so far, that is our hope, should encourage farmers all over the world to continue with these efforts they have shown during the last year.
In view of the world-wide relatively more favourable production development in agriculture in 1982, it should, however, also, not be ignored how unfavourable the general economic development is with growing unemployment, increasing public indebtedness and minimum growth or stagnation of the national product also in the developed countries. This cannot be without repercussions on the agricultural sector of the states concerned, especially since it is increasingly integrated in the overall economy.
Declining producer prices with simultaneously higher costs of inputs and financial burdens led in a number of developed countries to lower incomes in agriculture.
Another unsatisfactory factor of the present world food situation is,as rightly pointed out in the document before us, the inadequate distribution of food production between industrialized and developing countries. This applies particularly to Africa where despite an increase in production per capita production also declined last year by 0.4 percent as against the preceding year. The number of African countries with an inadequate food supply is still too large. Also the geographic distribution of world grain stocks is unfavourable. Only about 20 percent are held in developing countries, of which only about 1 percent are in Africa, where about 11 percent of the world population lives.
The fact that a solution of the world food problems was given high priority on the agendas of international meetings demonstrates the increased consciousness that more must be achieved above all in Africa. This attitude has been reflected increasingly in national and international political decisions to which the delegate of China already referred this morning. For my country this problem is a focal point for our development policy efforts.
Prior to the Eighth Session of the World Food Council in Mexico this June, fruitful consultation was held in Kenya among African Ministers of Agriculture. At present the United Nations General Assembly is discussing possibilities of supporting measures to improve the food and agriculture situation in africa.
The fish catches in 1981 rose, as stated in document CL 82/2, by 2.2 percent compared with the preceding year, and that mainly in developing countries. Undoubtedly this result is to be welcomed, just as the fact that the developing countries should increase their share of trade in fish products.
The statements in the document before us concerning forestry correspond more or less to our own assessment of the situation. The measures to be taken in general to improve the world food situation are also outlined in FAO's study "Agriculture: Toward 2000", in particular to give high priority to the promotion of agriculture in the developing countries, in particular to small farms; to give preference to labour intensive technologies in these countries over capital intensive technologies; to establish more favourable conditions for agriculture in developing countries, like raising the agricultural price level as an incentive to production, and in a number of countries redistribution of land to create jobs for agricultural employees; to avoid, with increasing cropping intensity and use of the unutilised resources, the destruction of the natural productivity of fertile sites and of the ecological balance. With regard to the international commodity agreements and international trade negotiations we can generally agree with the analysis given by the FAO-Secretariat.
All existing international commodity agreements are faced with more or less great difficulties. This is also due, apart from the recessive world economic general situation, to the choice of in-struments and their applications. We regret in particular that efforts were not yet successful to negotiate a new international wheat agreement which could make a substantial contribution to market stabilization and to world food security. The modest progress within the framework of the integrated Commodity Programme of UNCTAD shows how difficult it is to cover the diverse interests within the framework of the international commodity agreements. On the one hand there are the producers, sometimes having difficulties among themselves to agree on a special type of agreement or, however, have no or little interest in the negotiations. On the other hand there are the problems between producers and consumers to conclude reasonable compromises with regard to the instruments and price fixing.
Of the ministerial meeting of GATT we expect a strengthening of the multilateral open trade system as an important contribution to overcoming the global economic problems. This also includes, in our opinion, improvements in the agricultural trade system.
S.P. MUKERJI (India): Let me first of all congratulate the Director-General on his excellent statement which puts in proper perspective the current world situation of the explosive problem of world hunger. His clarion call inviting both the developed and more especially the developing countries . to meet the situation could not be more timely or more urgent. Let us all in this august world body wholeheartedly endorse his appeal and heed his warning before we are overtaken by the ruthless and devastating march of hunger, malnutrition and deaths. It is given to very few of our kind to tirelessly and courageously voice the problems of the hungry and the poor because those who are hungry and poor cannot reward their advocates except through the gratitude of their tears and their blessings.
I, representing the great country of India, which has more than one-seventh of mankind within its boundaries, take this opportunity to say that the Director-General has earned the gratitude and blessings of millions of those hungry and poor men, women and children whose cause he has so sincerely, so assiduously, so nobly and so ceaselessly espoused.
It is a matter of unique and fortunate coincidence that when the tide of production, distribution and trade of agricultural and cereal production seems to be turning against the developing countries we have in the Director-General a person whose unbounded sympathy for the hungry and concern for world food security makes all countries, developed and developing, sit up and do something about it before it is too late.
About a year ago in this very building the Prime Minister of India in her McDougall memorial lecture gave us the message of achieving self-reliance through collective and collaborative action. She pointed out that if India with 683 million people could attain self-sufficiency in food the challenge of hunger cannot be insurmountable. She also said that only a 3 percent increase in world food production will eliminate world hunger immediately. She also indicated that even if the present daily expenditure of $1.3 billion on armaments is frozen at that level money for hunger can easily be found.
My delegation believes that we have now come to a stage when any attitude of confrontation between the developed and developing, between the donors and the takers, between the north and the south, will be meaningless, counterproductive and self-defeating. An atmosphere of mutual understanding and of constructive action by and between the north and north, action by and between the south and south, and action by and between the north and south will be very necessary.
Let this Council meeting be the beginning of a new chapter of international understanding and cooperation for a campaign against hunger, poverty and for collective self-reliance.
My delegation strongly believes and agrees with the Director-General that the developing countries themselves will ultimately have to undertake the responsibility of solving their food problems. Others can only help them financially, technologically and materially to attain self-sufficiency. In that context my delegation would urge: a) AID should help in creating durable assets and productive infrastructure like forests, irrigation, land development, etc. In that respect the policy and programmes of the World Food Programme of giving food partly in lieu of wages and that too for construction of productive infrastructure is very commendable, b) agricultural inputs, like ferti-lizers and pesticides, should be made available to the developing countries at stable and subsidized prices, even if necessary by creating an international fund; c) concessional bilateral and multilateral assistance, including that given by the World Bank, IMF and IDA, should be stepped up for increasing the yield and productivity of land, man and water in the developing countries; d) transfer of technology relevant to the social conditions should be encouraged. Collective action among the developing countries would be very useful; e) people's participation in programmes of agriculture and rural development will be necessary; f) developed countries can assist a lot by encouraging developing countries to export raw, semi-processed and processed agricultural goods.
I will say a few words about the state of agriculture in India, but I shall try to be as brief as possible. India has only 10 percent of the world's cropped area but it has to sustain 14 percent of the world's population, and if I am not mistaken about 40 percent of the world's poorest people. This year unfortunately there has been widespread drought and floods in many parts of the country, as a result of which 20 million people have been affected by drought and about 26 million hectares of land in cropped areas has been affected. By floods, about 4 million to 5 million people have been affected and more than 1 000 deaths of human beings have occurred, about 30 000 to 40 000 cattle have perished and about 1 million houses have been damaged or destroyed. In spite of all these handicaps and rising population, shortage of land, under the great leadership of our Prime Minister, Mrs. Gandhi, and our Agricultural Minister, who is himself a farmer, record food production and other achievements in the year 1981/82 have been achieved. During that year we achieved a record food grain production of 133 million tons as against 51 million tons in 1950, shortly after we attained independence. During 1981/82 we achieved a record oilseeds production of 12 million tons as against 9.4 million tons during the previous year. We also produced a record level of 8.4 million bales of jute. We achieved a record sugar-beet production of 180 million tons and this year by producing 8.5 million tons of sugar we have become the largest sugar-producing country in the world. We have achieved a record fertilizer consumption of 6 million tons as agaisnt only 0.7 million tons in 1950. We have covered about 47 million hectares which is the highest the world achieved under crops of high-yielding varieties. Under the impetus given by the Prime Minister herself personally, we planted 1 320 million seedlings for our forestation programme last year, and this year during the first six months or so we have planted more than 1.7 billion saplings in the country.
We have achieved a record milk production of 33 million tons, record egg production of 13 billion eggs and a record fish production of 2.6 million tons during 1981/82.
But having given you all those figures, our total picture in agriculture leaves yet much to be desired. Our average yield of cereals is still below the average yield of cereals per hectare so far as the world is concerned. Our average production is 1 350 kilograms per hectare as against the world average of 2 100 kilograms per hectare. We are very much concerned about the regional imbalance in agricultural development in the country. We have at one end of the spectrum a province like Punjab, which is producing 2 700 kilograms of wheat and 2 900 kilograms of rice per hectare, whereas other states are producing hardly 600 to 700 kilograms of wheat or rice per hectare. In Punjab our fertilizer consumption:is 120 kilograms per hectare, whereas in the north-eastern state of Nagaland the fertilizer consumption is only 0.5 kilograms per hectare.
Even now 40 percent of the population, according to certain economists, are living below the poverty line. That comes to about 250 million people who are not having even 2 200 calories per head per day.
Seventy percent of our land is rainfed and when we say rainfed in India, it means 80 percent of the rains fall in three months, as a result of which for the remaining nine months, most of the 70 percent of the land is dry, and for the three months of the rainy season, most areas are under floods.
We are adding a population to our country every year which will need additional production of 1 million tons of food grains every 126 days of the year. Our employment also poses a great problem, 6.7 million people are added to the working population every year, and of them, 5.3 million people will have to be absorbed in agriculture. Especially our Prime Minister is very much concerned about the ecological peril which pressure of population on land may be posing, and we are taking all possible steps to save our forests. You will be glad to know, Mr. Chairman, that as a result of central intervention and central legislation we have reduced diversion of forest area from 150 thousand hectares per year in the past to only 3 to 4 thousand hectares per year at the present.
How have we achieved these encouraging performances? The first is the planned outlay that the government is devoting to agricultural and rural development. Of the total planned public outlay during the Sixth Plan of 950 billion rupees, 25 percent of that has been devoted to irrigation and agriculture. But the core of the success lies in our agricultural research infrastructure, Mr. Chairman, of which you have been one of the architects and of which we are very justly proud. We have 22 agriculture universities, 34 national institutes of agricultural research and 57 all-India coordinated research projects of various crops in various regions. We are very much concerned that the fruits of agricultural research are made available to the farmers as early as possible through laboratory to land programmes, through national demonstration, through transfer of technology centers. We have got farmers' and village level workers training centers where the latest methods of farm management are imparted to the farmers and the village level workers. Our Prime Minister has declared 1982 as the productivity year in all sectors, including agriculture. In her new 20-point programme, agriculture has received a pride of place, and she is particularly concerned about development agriculturally and economically of the backward areas of the country, especially the weakest sections of the people and the small and marginal farmers. In the new 20-point programme emphasis has been given to increase the productivity of our dry land areas, which I had stated constitute 70 percent of the total crop area, emphasis on increasing production and productivity of pulses and oil seeds has been placed, social foresty and our afforestation programme have been taken up on a massive scale, villages nave been adopted for agricultural development, additional sale points for fertilizers have been opened, free distribution of high-yielding varieties of seeds has been taken up, new agricultural implements of cheaper varieties and which can be manually handled or bullock driven, are being designed and made available to the farmers with subsidy and loan.
We are one of the biggest countries with irrigation potential. We are adding 2.5 million hectares of irrigated area every year, and we are very much concerned that every drop of water is properly used by an efficient system, by having a scientific cropping program and rationing of water to the farmers.
We are also very proud of the agricultural cooperatives which have developed marvellously in our country. We have about 100 thousand primary agricultural credit societies with 60 million members covering about 300 million of population. 46 percent of our fertilisers are distributed through cooperatives, 56 percent of sugar is produced by the cooperatives and 70 percent of the agricultural credit is contributed through the credit societies. Out of 300 thousand fair price shops, 81 thousand shops are run by the cooperative sector. In order to give incentive to the farmers, we have got a system of fixing support prices for the farmers every year depending upon the cost of production and cooperative and other organizations including the Food Corporation of India are harnessed to purchase food grains from the farmers at the support prices.
I will close by stating, Mr. Chairman, what you have been saying while you were in India, that Indian agriculture has got four E's in their strategy. I have added another E; now I say there are five E's: the first E is for efficiency, that is efficient use of agricultural inputs, like fertilizers, seeds, water, pesticides; second E is on ecological balance. The third is economics of agriculture by giving incentive price, and arranging marketing for the farmers; the fourth is energy, use of commercial as well as bio-energy, and fifth E is of employment.
As I have said,, agriculture has to absorb 5.3 million people every year. India remains the largest democracy in the world and agriculture remains the largest private sector enterprise in my country. To attain such a quick pace of progress in a democratic and private sector set-up is an achievement of no mean importance. We assure people's participation, and there is no compulsion or regimentation in the agriculture sector or any other sector. We are grateful to the countries who have helped and have been helping India's agriculture. This is a difficult challenge but we are facing it with hope and determination. India's story of success in the field of agriculture is a story of hope, story of progress through freedom of man, story of science in the service of man. I have narrated this story in brief so that it becomes a reality in other areas of the world, so that the success is sustained by all-out efforts and understanding between man and man in all lands, in all climates and in all times.
A.F.M. de FREITAS (Brazil): The Secretariat prepared an extensive and detailed study on the State of Food and Agriculture, 1982, and my delegation wishes to thank it for this fruitful accomplishment. The overall picture of the current world food and agriculture activities seems positive, although some signs of danger are registered here and there. Production and stocks have increased in the developed areas of the world. The document points out that for the first time in three years, per capita food production in the developing world as a whole registered also an increase in 1981, but it immediately tells us that neither Africa nor the Near East have made any progress in this respect over the past five years, and the document specifies that Africa is significantly worse off than at the beginning of the seventies. This sobering fact should be enough to prevent any complacency on the part of this Organization and of its member countries. My delegation believes that the document presents a realistic and balanced view of the question of food shortages in the years 1981-82• They are less critical than in previous years but still widespread.
As regards another important element in the evaluation of the food situation, we are informed that the dietary energy supplies are still unsatisfactory in Africa and the Near East. This is a particularly disturbing situation in a period of relative abundance in the world supply of food. This abundance unfortunately is not equally shared by all countries. Even more regrettably, those who have more do not seem much inclined to share their plenty with those who have less than enough. Witness the unreached targets approved for the IEFR.
The document under consideration is rich in data and factual analysis. There are several points of particular interest, especially Chapter III dealing with the question of resources for agricultural production, Chapter IV which discusses external assistance to agriculture, Chapter V on agricultural trade.
I would like to make some brief comments on three selected topics: agricultural research, environmental issues and agricultural trade. As regards agricultural research, my delegation agree entirely with the description contained in paragraph 82 regarding the role of research as a link between "stock" resources, on the one hand,and technological inputs on the other. The document emphasizes the importance of planned and organized research and its normal beneficial results in many developing countries.
Paragraph 87 of the document says very clearly - and I quote - that "despite the high economic payoffs that may be derived from expenditure on agricultural research, such expenditure in developing countries remains comparatively low". My delegation would like to point out the role that is incumbent on FAO in this area. Research, together with training, should be a privileged area of interest to our organization, and should be given a high priority in its Programme of Work and Budget.
Paragraph 88 underlines the fact that a number of developing countries lack the necessary research infrastructure and manpower to develop their own agricultural research systems. Others are poorly organized and managed in this field, and many countries are too small to justify a national research programme.
My delegation wishes to call the attention of the Council to the question of agricultural research in developing countries, and ask it to reserve a high place for this question for the definition of high priorities in our organization. My delegation would like the Council to indicate to the Director General and his colleagues in the Secretariat, who must soon prepare the Programme of Work and Budget, the particular importance it attaches to that question.
The next point on which my delegation wishes to comment refers to environmental issues. The Brazilian Government is particularly concerned with that problem. This topic involves different aspects, and environmental issues arise from a number of different causes, as is beautifully described in the document. Although due emphasis is placed on the question of Africa, the Latin American continent is also subjected to different forms of environmental degradation. In my country, concern for this paramount issue has caused the government to create the Federal Office for the Environment, which has the duty to coordinate and to monitor practical solutions to all questions relating to the environment, not only in urban areas but also in rural areas, particularly the zone of the Brazilian tropical forests. This is a broad field of activity which deserves the attention of the Council.
My delegation is happy to notice that the document we are discussing shows a clear understanding of the situation. The document rightly stresses the need for continually monitoring and assessing the environmental situation. We do believe these problems are becoming more and more present in the concern of our countries. My delegation would like to see these concerns developed into priorities and programmes for the Organization. We believe FAO can assist these developing countries to control problems of environmental degradation, and we express the desire to see it increase its role in this field.
Finally, at this time my delegation would like to express its views on a further topic which refers to agricultural trade. This is a short chapter in the document under discussion. My delegation understands that the Secretariat could not possibly deal with the subject in a deeper way; for instance, agricultural trade of developed and developing countries are discussed together. This does not allow for an easy understanding of the radically different pictures that arise from the situation in agricultural trade in both developed and developing nations.
If exports of cereals, which are mainly exported from developed countries, have declined slightly, foodstuffs and agricultural raw materials exported by developing countries were lowered by as much as 16.5 percent and 12.5 percent in current dollars compared with 1980.
Moreover, coffee, cocoa, sugar and rubber, the main items on the export list of most developing countries experienced marked price declines. The case of sugar may well overrun with a decline of about 50 percent in its price by June of this year. On the other hand, the document points out that as a consequence of the general strengthening of the US dollar, the cost of food importing is higher for many importing countries - especially for developing importing countries.
So we face a tragic situation imposed on the developing countries by an unjust international economic order. They are losers at both ends of the commercial flow. They earn much less when they sell their agricultural products, but at the same time the developing countries have to pay much more when they buy needed foodstuffs.
My delegation is not: even going to mention imported manufactured goods, but document CL 82/2 indi-cates clearly the marked deterioration of the terms of trade between agricultural exports and the import of manufactured goods.
To conclude my intervention I would like to recall a few points raised by the President of Brazil when he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations when it began its current session last September. He says: "The solution of the present crisis should lead towards cooperation among nations instead of being subject only to the uncertainties of the market. A restructuring of the international economic order should be considered within a reasonable period of time." Then he adds: "It is urgent that there be an increase in the availability of resources controlled by the international financial organizations. Only thus will the international community, particularly the developing countries, be delivered from the strait-jacket resulting from the simultaneous contraction of trade and official financial flows."
My delegation believes that FAO has a relevant role to perform in the field of agricultural trade, not only through its individual agricultural groups in different commodities of the Commodities Committee, but also as an important forum where developing countries have an opportunity to coordinate their positions and to examine together with the developed nations the best means to make international trade a valid and powerful tool to foster agricultural development.
R.B. RYANGA (Kenya): The document before us accurately describes, and Professor Islam's introduc-tion ably amplifies, the food position today. The Director-General also gave a sobering address which gave us all food for thought.
Globally there is food, cereal supplies have risen, and stocks have also increased. But this increased production and this increased stockholding has occurred primarily in the developed countries. Meanwhile, 23 countries still face food shortages.
The first emergencies are poor growing conditions for crops. This is particularly so in Southern Africa where nine countries are reported as experiencing drought. But Southern Africa actually has only nine countries. and therefore the whole of that region is under pressure. This is all the more alarming because among the nine countries concerned one is Zimbabwe, which we had thought would assist in contributing to our self-sufficiency in the continent.
It should also be remembered that among these 23 countries we should include the countries of the Sahel and also probably one or two in Eastern Africa. This raises the number of countries experiencing difficult conditions in Africa to 17 out of 23 and that is 74 percent.
The African Regional Conference at Algiers in September recognised this and therefore passed a resolution on the Sahel. In fact, had we known at that time about the position in Southern Africa we would also have added that region to our resolution. The African food paper of the World Food Council also ably describes the difficult position being faced by African countries.
This document also reiterates the fact that the inequalities in international trade militate against the ability of food deficit countries to purchase food. Therefore, this talk about giving farmers incentive prices, would appear to us to be difficult because if the prices of the world markets are depressed it would be impossible for countries to provide incentive prices for their farmers, and consequently this would reduce the ability of those people to procure food for themselves.
The document also raises questions of environmental degradation as a result of intensified production. This is a very important issue to which the Council should give its attention, but this document appears to us to be somewhat incomplete. It would appear to be incomplete because it imposed certain references: for example, this document does not say why the number of countries fell from 31 last year to 23 this year - those countries that are now experiencing food difficulties. After all, it may well be that the number of countries and of food shortages decline because of the programmes of FAO. If, in fact, that were to be the case we would like to know. We would also, of course, encourage FAO to continue to do the things they did to obtain this result.
If on the other hand the number of deficit countries fell because of the effect of improved weather in some countries, then we are back to square one because nobody knows what the weather will be next year. Therefore we have no protection, no insurance, we have no security.
Secondly, this document does not say what concrete programmes FAO may have in mind which are intended to eradicate this current problem of food problems in those 23 or 31 or maybe even 50 coun-tries, most of them in Africa. There is no statement or reference to any action that the Council is required to take in respect of this. This document very rightly outlines some of the reasons for the poor food position. It talks about inputs and Africa is at the bottom in the use of fertilizers, the use of tractors, the use of oil inputs. Africa is also at the bottom in the availability of manpower at all levels.
The African Regional Conference in Algiers in September passed a resolution regarding manpower development - high-level manpower development - in Africa. The document also, of course, talks about international trade and its effects on developing countries. But what comes out as the common denominator or the factor that goes through the problems of all these countries referred to here, is drought, the lack of water. And in spite of the potential of Africa for food production, this would appear to be one area which will require attention. It therefore seems logical that our effort should start with the eradication of drought or its effects. We need to counteract the effects of drought by an intensive programme of irrigation and also dry farming techniques; specifically the FAO should select a few countries is a convenient setting such as, for example, the Sahel area or perhaps the Southern African sub-continent, in the SADET grouping, and develop with them complete programmes for food production in the teeth of an unreliable rainfall regime.
I do not intend to go into the details or such a programme which was, in any case, proposed at our May Committee on World Food Security and will no doubt crop up again under the very next item on the agenda. I would, however, like to suggest that the document The State of Food and Agriculture should in the future contain also a brief description of: (i) specific measures being taken to combat the position that the document describes, partiularly in respect of those food deficit countries in Africa; (ii) a brief description of the results of earlier efforts to improve the situation. The document will also contain proposals for future action.
We are aware that the FAO is very much present in Africa and has got very many programmes there, but we believe that because of the special nature of the problem facing those 17 countries in Africa now, and the others which are in the other continents, we now need a special, specific programme directed at improving the food position of those countries, because our efforts now are concerned about general development - and they are appreciated - but they would appear to lack that specific direction at the improvement -of the food positions of those countries which we know will recurrently be coming back with food problems.
K. MATSUSHITA (Japan): First of all I should like to thank Dr. Islam for the excellent presentation of the State of Food and Agriculture 1982.
World cereal production in 1982 is expected to be over 1.5 billion tons, which is larger than the bumper crop in 1981, despite considerably poor crops in some countries. Consequently, at the end of 1982/83, world cereal stocks are estimated to be 307 million tons, representing 20 percent of annual world cereal consumption, more than the secure level equivalent to 17 or 18 percent of annual world consumption. In the long run, we have to admit the possibility that cereal supply-demand situation gradually will become tighter mainly due to a rapid increase of cereal consumption in developing countries, resulting from both their high population growth and improving food consumption level.
Thus the following two points are most fundamental and indispensable for ensuring future world food security:
Firstly, low-income food-deficit countries should make the best effort to raise their cereal self-sufficiency ration through domestic production expansion.
Secondly, main cereal exporting developed countries should increase their cereal production stably and constantly corresponding to the world cereal import demand.
Agriculture is the most important sector in the economy of developing countries which account for about 60 percent of their total employment. Yet these countries, in aggregate, are heavily dependent on food import. Particularly the total amount of cereal import of low-income food-deficit countries have been increasing rapidly. Such cereal imports require a great amount of foreign exchange resources. These resources, if diverted into a more productive purpose for development, would accelerate a great deal the economic growth of these countries.
Recognizing such difficulties of developing countries, the Japanese Government places the highest priority upon the area of food production and welfare of rural people within its wide-ranging international cooperation efforts. If our country reviews the international cooperation including both technical and financial assistance in the field of agricultural and rural development in 1981, it amounts to over 1 billion dollars. This is about 30 percent of the total bilateral ODA,equivalent to 3.4 billion dollars.
In relation to the international efforts towards world food security, it is most important to collect, to analyze, and to disseminate the world-wide comprehensive food and agriculture information. In this regard, we highly appreciate FAO's activities in the field of information service, particularly the Early Warning System.
Allow me to refer to the current Japanese agricultural situation. According to the 1982 crop forecast, the yield index of paddy is estimated at 97 percent; therefore, Japanese agriculture experienced a poor crop of paddy for three consecutive years. Although the amount of rice production this year is a little less than that of consumption, Japan will almost be able to do without rice import by making use of carry-over stock of 400 thousand tons of rice. For the purpose of contributing to both domestic and international food security, Japan continues its production adjustment policy to keep the amount of rice production just corresponding to that of the domestic consumption.
When it comes to the FAO activities in the field of fisheries development, we would like to express high appreciation of the fact that FAO has been promoting fisheries development in developing countries, as the fisheries play an important role in solving the world food problem. Japan hopes that FAO will continue to play an active role in efficient utilization of resources for fisheries within the 200-mile zones of developing countries in harmony with effective conservation of these marine resources.
Finally, the Secretariat document touches duly on environmental issues such as soil degradation, deforestation, and so on. Japan has a serious concern over soil degradation caused by erosion, salinization, etc. as well as deforestation which leads to the destruction of the living environment for human beings. We appreciate that FAO will tackle these problems more actively.
N. DIMITRIU (Roumanie) : Faisant suite aux déclarations particulièrement intéressantes de notre distingue Directeur général, M. Edouard Saouma présentées ici et lors de la treizième Conférence régionale pour l'Europe, concernant la situation agricole et alimentaire mondiale, il m'est particulièrement agréable de soutenir les opinions et les propositions exposées, en vous assurant que la délégation roumaine fera de son mieux pour que les travaux de cette session du Conseil soient couronnés de succès.
Notre session s'inscrit dans le cadre de manifestations de grande envergure, dues à l'initiative des Nations Unies, et consacrées à l'analyse des problèmes essentiels pour l'existence et le progrès de l'humanité.
La Roumanie prête une importance particulière aux questions faisant l'objet des débats de notre session et à la solution de l'un des plus importants problèmes de l'époque contemporaine : l’eradication du sous-développement et l'édification d'un Nouvel ordre économique international basé sur l'égalité complète et l'équité entre les Etats.
Comme il résulte des documents qui nous sont soumis et des déclarations de Son Excellence Monsieur Edouard Saouma la récolte de céréales a augmenté ces deux dernières années et dans certains pays d'Europe on a même réalisé une production record. Cela permettra de compléter les stocks et d'assurer une consommation plus judicieuse de produits alimentaires.
Il faut quand même tenir compte du fait que cette augmentation de la récolte ne se situe pas au même niveau dans tous les pays, que beaucoup de pays en développement souffrent de la faim, qu'ils sont atteints par des calamités naturelles et que la situation reste toujours difficile dans certaines zones du monde.
Il est en outre inquiétant que les aides octroyées par les pays développés diminuent chaque année. Les disponibilités de certaines organisations internationales (FIDA, PNUD) se réduisent. Le Programme alimentaire mondial ne peut pas atteindre l'objectif fixé, tandis que les Réserves alimentaires internationales d'urgence arrivent seulement à 80 pour cent de l'objectif minimum établi.
Selon notre expérience et celle des autres pays, pour parvenir à cet objectif il faut un effort constant de la part de chaque pays en développement, la mobilisation au maximum des ressources matérielles et humaines, l'élaboration et la mise en pratique de stratégies concrètes de développement de l'agriculture.
La Roumanie, pays socialiste en développement, a fait et fera toujours de grands efforts en vue de développer selon un rythme constant toutes les branches de l'économie et réaliser une agriculture moderne. Selon les données dont nous disposons, on estime que la récolte de céréales sera supérieure cette année à, celle enregistrée l'année passée; il en va de même pour les plantes techniques, les légumes, les fruits et les raisins.
Dans le domaine de l'élevage et du bétail, on a obtenu des surplus remarquables dans la production de viande et autres produits et on a assuré des fourrages nécessaires en vue d'une alimentation normale des animaux pendant l'hiver.
Tout ce qui vient d'être mentionné permet d'approvisionner la population en produits alimentaires de manière satisfaisante et de répondre aux besoins de l'économie nationale en matières premières agricoles,tout en ayant quelques surplus pour l'exportation.
Dans le cadre de la coopération internationale, la Roumanie a bénéficié et entend jouir encore de l'assistance de la FAO, afin d'accroître la production agricole, végétale et animale, et moder-niser les entreprises pour la transformation et la mise en valeur de ces produits,.
En même temps, la Roumanie entretient des rapports avec plus de 100 pays en développement, résoud avec succès les problèmes résultant de 100 accords commerciaux et de coopération technologique, réalisant avec ces pays 80 objectifs économiques importants, dont 29 dans le domaine de l'agriculture,.d'autres initiatives étant encore en discussion.
Comme nous l'avons fait noter lors d'autres sessions du Conseil, dans le but de couvrir les besoins de consommation d'un certain nombre de pays en développement, l'agriculture doit participer et s'intégrer intensément aux actions entreprises dans le cadre du Nouvel ordre économique inter-national, qui a pour but de mettre les pays en développement en mesure de mettre mieux en valeur leurs propres ressources, et leur domner la possibilité de participer à l'échange mondial de produits et de valeurs matérielles.
En ce sens, nous retenons qu'il est nécessaire de consacrer nos efforts à la création dans ces pays de grandes entreprises économiques ayant un caractère complexe pour la production et la recherche, munies d'équipements satisfaisants pour assurer une puissante base technique et matérielle qui permette l’autofinancement et attirer des moyens financiers internes et étrangers en vue de l'accroissement de leur propre production agro-alimentaire.
Afin de résoudre ces problèmes, la délégation roumaine tient à rappeler les propositions qu'elle a présentées lors d'autres réunions, en particulier que sous l'égide de la FAO on élabore un programme spécial à long terme concernant l'essor de l'agriculture des pays en développement, qui comprenne également les recommandations mentionnées dans la déclaration de principes et dans le programme d'action adoptés par la Conférence mondiale pour la réforme agraire et le développement rural, ainsi que dans les documents finaux de la Conférence des Nations Unies pour les problèmes des pays les moins développés.
Selon la conception de la Roumanie, un tel programme devrait constituer le cadre des activités de la FAO à court et à moyen terme.
En ce qui concerne l'importance du commerce international des produits alimentaires, la Roumanie, retient qu'il est nécessaire de prendre des mesures en vue d'une plus large libéralisation, la diminution substantielle des obstacles tarifaires et non tarifaires. En même temps, la Roumanie se prononce pour la conclusion des accords sur les produits, pour la reprise des négociations concernant l'Accord sur le blé et la réalisation de consultations périodiques entre les Etats sur ces problèmes.
Monsieur le Président, participant de manière active à la vie internationale, la Roumanie désire contribuer à l'instauration de rapports nouveaux entre tous les Etats, au développement de la coopération entre toutes les nations, à l'édification d'un monde meilleur et plus juste sur notre planète.
S.G. LODWICK (United States of America): My delegation has studied the documents on the state of food and agriculture before us very carefully, and we listened with special interest yesterday to the statement by the distinguished Director-General of FAO. We consider it particularly important that the state of food and agriculture in the world be reviewed on a regular basis in this important forum. While we recognize that the agricultural outlook must always be viewed with caution, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that a great deal of progress has, in fact, been made. Many nations that are members of this Organization have broken through the barriers of insufficiency and are moving toward self-reliance. Notwithstanding the problems and difficulties of the past few decades, we have seen that agriculture can be transformed by research, technology and effective economic incentives. For these achievements, much is owed to this great Organization, to its Director-General, Dr. Saouma, and to his distinguished predecessors.
But much remains to be done. Some of the issues we face today are similar to those we faced when FAO was founded. All the purposes of FAO remain the same - improving nutrition and the standards of living in member nations, fostering rural development and making the production and distribution of food more efficient. But the dimensions and complexities of the problems have changed, as indicated in the document under discussion. Hunger and malnutrition still afflict many nations, but now we are confronted with new problems that complicate our task and are of a different order. Inflation has eaten into the budgets of our governments and of international organizations. A dangerous drift towards protectionism is undermining agricultural trade and development, and a worldwide recession has reduced earnings for all and threatens our effort to strengthen agriculture in the developing world. I would like to share with you the views of the United States on a number of these issues and to offer some ideas as to how we can work together to address them.
Turning first to the current agricultural situation and outlook, the productivity of U.S. farmers has given the United States unparalleled agricultural abundance - an abundance that is perhaps especially apparent this year. We have recognized the obligation to share our agricultural productivity with those who are less fortunate and always have used our abundance with great regard for the rest of the world. This attitude will continue to guide our policies. Since 1954 the United States has carried out the world's largest bilateral food aid programme. Begun by President Eisenhower, the "Food for Peace" Programme has already topped $40 billion, more than the aid given by all other donor countries combined. As a supplement to this ongoing programme, the Reagan Administration began a new initiative just last month which will make available additional U.S. Government stocks of food stuffs for donation both to other governments and public and private organizations that assist needy people in other nations,
But our bilateral programmes are only part of the picture. We have also given strong support to multilateral organizations such as the World Food Programme, UNICEF and private voluntary organizations. Our Government announced a record pledge to the World Food Programme in October as a mark of the high regard we have for the work of that Organization. Our pledge of $250 million for 1983-84 represents a substantial increase of 14 percent over our pledge for 1981-82. It demonstrates our confidence in the World Food Programme.
We agree with the importance of agricultural research and are a major contributor to the interna-tional agricultural research system which focuses on the needs of the Third World. But I would want to stress the need for more effective dissemination of research findings from that system for application by national research and extension services. My Government has worked both bilaterally and with international organisations such as FAO to share the benefits of U.S. agricultural research and technical expertise. The United States now has technical assistance projects in over 75 different countries and some 239 cooperative international research projects. Working with FAO and AID, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided training for over 70 000 agricul-turists from developing countries. And we now have scientific and technical exchanges with more than 30 developing and developed nations to share our knowledge and experience in agriculture.
We are pleased by FAO's activities in animal and plant pest control in Africa and Latin America. My Government has joined with FAO in the design of an animal health programme in East Africa and is funding an integrated pest management programme in the Sahel. We welcome the role FAO plays in effective management of forest resources and hope FAO will continue to emphasize this important area in the future. There is also growing appreciation of the vital role that forest conservation plays in agricultural development, particularly in the tropical countries. Better forest management not only improves agricultural production, but also creates jobs, builds fuelwood supplies and helps contain the spread of serious soil erosion.
Turning next to the question of agricultural trade, we share the concerns that were expressed over the drop in trade that has occurred. United States domestic agricultural production and policies are linked to international trade. Farmers in the United States now export about half of their soybean production, two-thirds of their wheat, and one-third of their corn. The situation is similar for a number of other commodities.
The United States is pursuing international, trade policies in agriculture that will be in the long-run interests of all nations - developed and developing. One step taken recently should be of particular benefit to developing countries. Secretary Block recently announced a new blended credit programme which is directed primarily at helping developing countries to purchase more of the agri-cultural products they need by lowering interest costs. The programme will eventually make $1.5 billion available and should enable developing nations to buy United States food for current use or for building their food security reserves at lower costs.
We are also working on the broader goal of liberalizing world trade in agriculture. I will be taking part in the GATT ministerials in Geneva later this week. The United States has taken the. position that agricultural trade must fall under the same GATT rules that govern trade in manufactured products. Export subsidies and trade barriers must become the exception and not the rule in international agricultural trade. We believe that developing nations share our concern about how the routine use of export subsidies and trade barriers disrupts world agricultural trade and lessens the incentives for production. For our part, we do not view agricultural trade as a one-way street. The United States is the single largest market for the agricultural exports of the developing coun-tries in spite of our large domestic production.
With respect to the problem of world food security, the United States is firmly committed to FAO's Plan of Action with its emphasis on national food reserves. Our Stocks of grain, now at record levels, serve as the primary food security reserve in the world. Moreover, we are mainly carrying the cost of holding that reserve. We believe that other large grain producing and exporting coun-tries have an obligation to begin to share that responsibility with us by maintaining stocks as well and we urge them to move in this direction. As I said yesterday, we believe the best way to achieve food security is to build a strong and viable agricultural sector with emphasis on increasing and sustaining the rate of growth of food production. At the same time, we strongly support the establishment and maintenance of national food reserves as a part of effective food security systems.
Finally, let me turn briefly to the world-wide economic crisis with which we are all trying to cope. This is a problem that we did not seek or make, but which stems from basic asymmetries that must be brought back into line in order for balanced growth in the world economy to begin again. In the meantime, it severely limits the resources available for many worthwhile tasks that we would normally like to undertake. The United States has made substantial cuts in domestic programmes in an effort to rebuild its economy on a firmer, non-inflationary base. One of the reasons that we have done this has been to refuel our economy as an engine of growth that will enable us to assist others in their efforts to build their economies. In the meantime we believe that FAO must also work hard to control expenditures and see that its funds are well spent. Director-General Saouma recently raised this issue at the FAO regional conferences, and we appreciate the steps he has already taken. All of us must work together to help FAO focus its resources on high priority areas and control adminis-trative costs so its work will continue to be as effective as possible.
Great strides have been made in agricultural development in many nations -India, Pakistan, Brazil, the Philippines, Niger, China- to name only a few. But there is much more to do before we can lay claim to winning the battle against hunger and malnutrition. If we are ever to make that claim, we must wage the battle together. We must appreciate each other's strengths and limitations. In that way, the progress we have made so far can encourage us to work for even greater achievements in the future.
Sra. M. IVANKOVICH DE AROSEMENA (Panamá): Al referirnos al documento sobre el Estado Mundial de la Agricultura y la Alimentación que, como siempre, presenta la Secretaría a este Consejo, deseamos expresar que contiene la información necesaria para el conocimiento y la discusión de este importante tema por parte de los Estados Miembros y que se ajusta a los objetivos de la Organización.
Al analizar el contenido del documento: "el Estado Mundial de la Agricultura y la Alimentación en 1982", la delegación de Panamá considera oportuno hacer algunos comentarios tanto de carácter general como específico. Como apreciación general sobre su contenido podemos puntualizar que en su totalidad confluye con lo señalado en el párrafo 16, capítulo primero, que expresa que el primer objetivo de la Comunidad Internacional consiste en aplicar un programa alimentario a nivel mundial, que integre el aumento de la producción en el mejoramiento de la distribución, el fortalecimiento de la seguridad alimentaria y la expansión del comercio y la asistencia externa.
Por otra parte, Sr. Presidente, cualquier alivio que pueda producir el hecho que la producción mundial de alimentos aumentó en 2,9 por ciento en 1981 en relación con 1980, viene a ser anulado o contrarrestado, debido a que los incrementos, tanto de la producción alimentaria como de la producción agrícola, no llegan a repartirse equitativamente, uniéndose esto al desequilibrio existente, tanto en la composición como en la distribución de las existencias de cereales, las cuales se vienen a concentrar en algunos importantes países productores y exportadores desarrollados, concretamente Canadá y Estados Unidos, países éstos, que de acuerdo con lo señalado en el Cuadro 3 del documento CL 82/2, éstos mantendrán para 1982 más del 70 por ciento de los remanentes totales y estimados de cereales.
La delegación de Panamá no puede dejar de subrayar lo expresado en el documento CL 82/2, en el sentido de que la relación de intercambio agrícola para la economía de mercado en desarrollo, se redujo en una sexta parte en 1981, y que todo hace indicar que este deterioro se ha venido acentuando en el presente año 1982. Señalándose la disminución en los precios de muchos productos de exportación muy importantes para los países en vías de desarrollo, como es el caso del azúcar que arrojó una expansión de su producción mundial, pero que, paralelamente a mediados de 1982 los precios internacionales se habían reducido en prácticamente un 50 por ciento. Este hecho pesa negativamente en las economías exportadoras de muchos países, dentro de los cuales se encuentra Panamá.
Para añadir algo más a esta situación de injusticias y explotaciones internacionales, tenemos que a la vez que los países desarrollados aumentarán sus exportaciones en cereales en 5 millones de tone-ladas, más del 4 por ciento, las importaciones de cereales de los países en desarrollo desminuirán en 2 millones de toneladas. Además de estos hechos negativos para la situación mundial en general y en particular para los países en vías de desarrollo, podríamos señalar otros de igual o mayor importancia que recogen este documento sobre el estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación en 1982; pero creemos oportuno y conveniente formular algunas consideraciones sobre el problema de la asistencia externa a la agricultura y al comercio agrícola, aspectos ástos recogidos en los Capítulos IV y V del documento en discusión.
Conviene hacer hincapié en este Consejo de la FAO que la asistencia financiera en general y la asis-tencia a la agricultura en particular, obedecen en los actuales momentos a intereses de una estrechez egoísta de las fuentes de financiación debido a que según sus estrategias globales, determinados países han saturado sus cuotas, no respondiendo esta saturación a las necesidades de los países en vías de desarrollo, sino a los criterios de compromisos económicos y políticos que están en función de intereses hegemónicos.
Esto debe obligar a nuestros países a la formulación de cambios acompañados de transformaciones independentistas de los vínculos económicos en todos sus aspectos; es decir en el campo financiero, comercial, monetario, tecnológico e integracionista. Estos cambios deberán orientarse a la amplia-ción y diversificación de nuestras exportaciones, acompañadas de la participación en nuevos mercados, A su vez la diversificación de los mercados de importación y exportación. Todo esto podría permitir un libre comercio exterior y obtener los beneficios de un rejuego que de él se deriva cuando se participa sin demasiadas ataduras.
Para el logro de esto, es imprescindible el fortalecimiento de organismos regionales de países exportadores de aquellos bienes que conforman nuestras principales exportaciones, a fin de buscar medidas más proporcionadas de estabilidad y beneficio en los precios internacionales. Tal es el caso de organismos como la Unión de Países Exportadores de Banano y el Grupo de Países Americanos y del Caribe, Exportadores de Azúcar. Paralelamente igual importancia revisten las experiencias integra-cionistas regionales como, por ejemplo, las del Pacto Andino, ya que sobre instrumentos que pueden resultar muy eficaces para la consecución de cambios favorables en las estructuras del comercio exterior en los países en desarrollo. Sobre este particular, Sr. Presidente, la recién pasada decimoséptima Conferencia Regional de la FAO para América Latina, celebrada hace más de dos meses en Managua (Nicaragua), se manifestó sobre la formulación de posiciones y estrategias de los países de la Región respecto al comercio interregional como medio de profundización de la cooperación regional que facilite la expansión del comercio agrícola.
Igualmente instó a denunciar el creciente reforzamiento de las medidas proteccionistas que aplican muchos de los países desarrollados a su producción agrícola y a los aspectos negativos de esas políticas en la producción y la comercialización de los productos de interés para los países en vías de desarrollo, especialmente a los países de las regiones de América Latina y del Caribe. Asimismo censuró los efectos de la política agraria de la CEE sobre nuestras economías, especialmente en los rubros relativos al azúcar, la carne y productos lácteos. Aceptó, asimismo, la mencionada Conferencia Regional de la FAO, que por sus finalidades, composición y estructura, el sistema económico latinoamericano SELA, es el organismo regional apropiado para llevar a cabo las coordinaciones y acciones conjuntas que consideren adecuadas los gobiernos a los intereses legítimos y comunes de la Región sobre temas económicos y sociales frente a terceros países.
Comentarios especiales nos merece el aspecto referente a las fuerzas motrices que aparecen en el Capítulo III: Utilización de recursos para la producción agrícola, y dentro de este aspecto resaltamos el referente a las medidas que deben fomentarse para el empleo de la fuerza motriz animal y mecánica como complemento o sustituto del trabajo humano. Señalamos esto porque es cada vez más clara y notoria la preocupación por hallar respuestas concretas a los problemas que plantean actualmente el uso de la fuerza motriz animal en reemplazo de la mecánica y humana. De ahí que venga interesando cada vez más el uso de los animales de tiro, que a la vez que prestan este uso ofrecen otros, como ocurre con el caso del búfalo, animal éste que se ha comprobado que tiene excelentes resultados en áreas marginales especialmente del trópico húmedo y con equilibrios ecológicos muy precarios,
Señalamientos en este sentido se hicieron en el reciente Congreso Internacional sobre Crianza de Búfalos celebrado hace un mes en Caserta (Italia). Por otra parte tenemos que señalar como motivo de gran preocupación el hecho de que la RAIE todavía no ha logrado su carácter multilateral, ni está libremente a disposición del PMA, al igual que siga sin responder a los problemas de la insuficiencia y la estabilidad de los recursos de la RAIE.
En torno al importante problema de la investigación agrícola que, según la información del párrafo 87, el gasto en la misma asciende a menos del 0,5 por ciento del PIB agrícola en los países en desarrollo, deseamos que este Consejo se pronuncie a fin de que prevalezca este tipo de investigación que viene señalado en el párrafo 84, como "innovadora", y "de mantenimiento" y que, en esencia, den respuestas concretas a situaciones muy localizadas y de fácil aceptación por parte de los diferentes productores agrícolas.
Finalmente, Sr. Presidente sobre el tema de la ayuda alimentaria expuesto en el Capítulo 4 del documento CL 82/2 haremos nuestros comentarios durante la discusión del documento CL 82/15, que recoge el informe anual del Comité de Políticas y Programas de Ayuda Alimentaria.
A.H. EL SARKI (Egypt) (Original language Arabic): This document CL 82/2 gives us a view of the world situation of food and agriculture in 1982. What worries us is that there is no balance between food production and agricultural production, especially between developed and developing countries, and that there has been a sharp drop in foreign aid allocations to agriculture. That is why we must ask the developing countries to concentrate more on food production and on agricultural production pro-grammes, and to give a higher priority to development programmes. Investments must be made for this field, a sound research system established, while farmers must be provided with incentives and with your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like to urge the developed countries to make available to the developing countries all the technological potential and to provide developing countries with the financial and technical support provided for in bilateral and multilateral agreements. We hope that negotiations on agricultural trade will be successful.
In Egypt, we know how important agriculture is as a source of livelihood for more than one-half of our population. It is the foundation for the achievement of food security. For this reason we have harnessed our resources and drawn up the necessary economic and social policies to increase the role of agriculture in achieving our goals.
Agriculture in our country has made progress. The increase of production is a very considerable one: from more than 4 776 million pounds in 1981 to 5 040 million in 1982. National income has gone up from 3 363 000 in 1980 to 3 569 million in 1981. We have also increased our production of fruit and vegetables due to the introduction of high yield varieties with sound genetic resources. These have enabled us to achieve a better agricultural output. This is also a result of the introduction of improved plant protection policies and the implementation of a crop rotation system that takes due account of the appropriate climatic conditions.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we would like to reaffirm our belief that FAO shall continue its pioneering role in solving problems of food and agriculture in the world.
A.J.M. ISSA (México): En primer lugar, permítame, señor Presidente, felicitar ahora a los tres vice-presidente que seguramente colaborarán eficientemente con usted en la tarea de llevar a feliz término este 82° período de sesiones del Consejo de la FAO.
Se nos ha informado que la producción mundial de cereales tuvo un aumento importante en 1981; que las existencias en 1982 se encuentran a niveles satisfactorios; sin embargo, se nos informa que la distribución de la producción sigue constituyendo un problema básico para la seguridad alimentaria; existen riesgos de que esta circunstancia se agrave a causa de políticas que están implementando algunos países exportadores. La adopción de políticas orientadas a subsidiar la exportación de cereales aunque pareciera ventajosa en el corto plazo para los importadores, para los países exportadores en desarrollo tiene consecuencias que ocasionan mayores presiones a las ya existentes sobre los programas nacionales para aumentar sus producciones.
Es un hecho reconocido en la última reunión del Comité de Seguridad Alimentaria Mundial que el aumento sostenido en la producción de alimentos es la única base perdurable para solucionar el problema de la seguridad alimentaria. Este reconocimiento político importante y cierto tiene, a la luz de los hechos, un sinnúmero de dificultades en el campo internacional para su apropiada implementación. La lucha por los mercados, en el caso de los alimentos, rebasa su propio contexto, no sólo se ubica entre quienes exportan, sino que abarca a todos los que producen; no sólo son los alimentos, sino que éstos forman parte de un proyecto amplio de estrategias.
Se sabe cómo producir suficiente; se tiene con qué; pero simplemente no se logra que todos se ali-menten, menos aún que se nutran adecuadamente. Se conoce que es indispensable la voluntad política por parte de los países deficitarios para producir alimentos; se requiere, sin embargo, que en el campo internacional existan condiciones que faciliten estos intentos: eliminación de obstáculos al comercio de productos provenientes de estos países, evitar políticas cuyos resultados sean el encarecimiento del capital, la disminución de los precios de los productos exportados, y alza de aquéllos que se importan. Características todas estas de la llamada crisis económica mundial que vivimos actualmente.
Se observa que los alimentos, y particularmente los cereales, se han abaratado en términos de dólares, pero encarecidos en términos de monedas nacionales, afectando a los que producen como a los que consumen, evidentemente, en forma desigual, como desiguales son las economías entre y dentro de los Estados; las formas de producir los cereales se diferencia cada vez más; por una parte hay productores que tienen mejores disponibilidades de recursos, tierra en condiciones favorables para producir, capital financiero a coste relativamente económico y facilidad en la utilización de la avanzada tecnología moderna. Por otra parte, se tiene a aquellos que, aunque cuentan con la tierra, no tienen acceso a insumos modernos, por lo que se establecen diferencias en los niveles de ingresos, así como en las posibilidades de alimentarse. Se establece, además, el enriquecimiento y su primacía de unos sobre otros, el empobrecimiento masivo de muchos y el abandono de las actividades agrícolas por otros•
Es necesario una reordenación en la forma de producción que evite estos procesos de concentración y empobrecimiento masivo; es importante que el proceso de modernización de la agricultura sea ordenado, que se desarrolle una tecnología más apropiada, es decir, menos sustitutiva de empleos sin ser ineficiente en términos de productividad. A la diferencia en las disponibilidades de recursos se agre-gan políticas de subsidios para la exportación que hacen que las desigualdades se agraven.
Muchos agricultores actualmente en los países en desarrollo tienen como única fuente de sustento sus actividades agrícolas, es lo que saben hacer y lo que han hecho toda su vida; cambiar de actividad para ellos no es fácil ni rápido, y el costo de creación de empleos sustitutivos es alto. Si a es-tos agricultores se les diera acceso a recursos financieros y tecnología avanzada, seguramente aumen-tarían la producción en estas regiones, el consumo mejoraría y se contribuiría al mejoramiento en general de la distribución de productos de alimentos y de ingresos.
A lo anterior se agrega la tendencia preocupante a la disminución de recursos disponibles para prés-tamos en condiciones de favor en los organismos financieros multilaterales.
Las relaciones de intercambio en el comercio internacional en el pasado reciente han sido aun más desfavorables para los países en desarrollo, dificultando la obtención de divisas necesarias para fi-nanciar su desarrollo, y en particular su desarrollo agrícola.
El avance de la tecnología y las comunicaciones han hecho que el mundo parezca que se empequeñece. Todos los países son susceptibles a los acontecimientos externos; el caso de los alimentos es un ejemplo.
Los grandes productores de cereales tienen dificultades para la venta de granos por falta de capaci-dad de consumo de los importadores; sin embargo, esta insuficiencia tiene, entre sus causas, políticas promovidas por los mismos países productores tanto como los consumidores, que se exige por parte de ambos seguridad para producir y el abastecimiento de los alimentos.
En el caso de la situación agrícola y productiva de mi país, es alentador observar que ante estímulos dados al agricultor su oferta es altamente elástica; la autosuficiencia descansa en dos hechos: uno de origen natural, condiciones climáticas favorables; otro es la posibilidad de seguir enviando señales de estímulo al campo. Esta posibilidad depende de que las condiciones del sector externo de nuestra economía mejoren situaciones que, a su vez, dependen,no sólo de nuestra voluntad por mejorar y solucionar los problemas externos, sino también de la conciencia y de la capacidad que tengan los países del norte por visualizar y tomar conciencia de las necesidades de un reordenamiento económico internacional.
Ante un creciente abandono y una mayor pobreza el Director General de la FAO ha expresado ayer de manera contundente y elocuente la irracionalidad que se desarrolla y que conlleva a situaciones que no son aceptables para ninguna de las dos partes, tanto para países desarrollados como para países en desarrollo; creemos, con el Director General de la FAO, que la situación debe solucionarse en beneficio de toda la humanidad.
O. AWOYEMI (Nigeria): The Nigerian delegation congratulates all office-holders at this august conference and particularly the Vice-Chairmen and the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
We must also congratulate the Director-General for his comprehensive statement on the activities of FAO, and commend his tenacity in fostering the principle of a global food programme under which food would move from areas of surplus to food-deficit areas, especially those with environmental problems, with greater facility to the mutual advantage of both sides.
My delegation would like to commend FAO for the prompt action taken with regard to the study on the production of a composite flour programme for Nigeria, even though the agreement to undertake this study was taken only a few weeks ago. The study team is already in Nigeria.
The efforts of the Nigerian government to increase food production, which received a big boost two years ago, are beginning to yield encouraging results. Food production increases have been recorded in 1981 and 1982, particularly with regard to rice and maize. However, we are learning from experience that the attack on hunger must adopt a comprehensive approach. Whereas it takes a relatively short time to attain a production increase the introduction of modern processing and storage facilities takes time, and the training of necessary man power to handle the facilities takes even more time. Here I wish to record with gratitude the assistance of the governments of India and the Republic of Korea in training Nigerian agricultural engineers in grain processing.
I now wish to comment on the world food and agricultural situation. It is rather disturbing that while the world food situation has improved slightly in 1981 and 1982, agriculture is bearing the brunt of world-wide economic depression. In order to cushion the farmers against the very harsh agricultural terms of trade, African governments are having to pay huge sums in subsidy for export produce. It is our hope that the current meeting of GATT will make substantial progress in resolving agricultural trading problems.
In these times of world-wide economic depression it is very important that a long-term view of agriculture be taken by international organizations, development agencies, and indeed national governments, otherwise some decisions and actions taken in the face of economic difficulties might inflict long-lasting adverse effects on agricultural development.
We are informed, for instance, that assistance to agriculture has declined over the past two years, and that bilateral commitments in particular declined by 15 percent in 1981. Prices of agricultural exports have declined much more drastically.
If the laudable aims of this organization with regard to global food self-sufficiency are to be realised, external assistance to agriculture must increase rather than decrease during the current decade so that the agricultural economies of developing countries can be self-sustaining in the decades ahead.
P.H. GRUE (Norway): At the outset let me congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on your election, as Chairman to this important function - Chairman of the FAO Council. My congratulations also include the Vice-Chairmen.
My delegation has studied the report on the state of food and agriculture, 1982, with great interest. As mentioned in the introduction to the report, the food and agricultural production in 1981 provides some relief in an otherwise bleak picture.
The figures for 1982 are indeed far from encouraging, especially in Africa. It is with great concern that my delegation notes that the food production in Africa is not keeping pace with the population figures.
I would like to make some specific comments on the section on agricultural research. In our view, agricultural research is of vital importance with regard to production increases of a certain product as well as to making the different crops more pest-resistant. This will, again, lead to economies and better utilisation of limited resources. It is therefore important that the developing countries give greater priority to agricultural research. Many developing countries do not have the infra-structure in order that the resources can establish independent research activities. Increased assistance from international organizations and institutions is therefore necessary.
In this connection, I would like to emphasise the necessity for increased and improved coordination between activities on the international and national levels. Furthermore, it is in our view important for national agricultural research to give priority to crops that are essential for the individual countries' food security. In this respect, I would like also to refer to the section on research in the WCARRD programme of action. Norway has long been a supporter of the consultative group on international agricultural research, and has increased its contribution to this group considerably.
The Director-General stressed that there is a need for a global food programme. There is a broad agreement that increased investment in agriculture and fisheries is the most important measure in the fight against hunger. This was most recently laid down in the United Nations Strategy for the Third Development Decade.
A number of international fora of recent date have explicitly stressed the importance of agriculture. Norway and other Nordic countries have pointed to the study of Agriculture towards the Year 2000 as a basis for assessing the importance the agricultural sector should have in the development strategy in the various countries and in development assistance policy. However, at the same time I would draw attention to the need for carrying out more in-depth analyses. In our view, it is from analyses, studies and research that it is possible to discover relationships, underlying causes of the lack of progress, and what this means in terms of priorities, projects and changes. There is a need for a sectoral analysis such as 1980-2000, but in more depth to clarify the significance of agriculture in a wider context.
Furthermore, it is necessary to compare plans of action to state priorities in the various sectors of international strategy. There is also a need for studies of a similar type at the national level. We think there is a need to build up models and statistical material. It is necessary for the developing countries themselves to take a leading role from the planning stage of such work which should also draw upon the expertise of the UN system at the central level.
We think it is of great importance to develop the study 1980-2000 further. This would help to clarify the place that agriculture should have in the development strategy and thus help the advance to eliminating misery and poverty in the world. We have a general economic recession, and it is important to clarify more specifically the place that agriculture should have as an active motor in the strategy.
We feel a study of the various policies as mentioned by the Director-General in his opening statement can be an important part of this work.
Z. GROCHOWSKI (Poland): The world economy is now at one of its most difficult periods after World
War II. The economic difficulties mentioned in the first paragraph under discussion and in yesterday's statement of the Director-General are experienced by many developed and developing countries. They have not spared Poland either. The extent of the crisis is confirmed by all basic economic indices, decrease of the Gross National Product, inflation, and indebtedness which exceeded the admissible level. The poor economic performance has adversely affected the availability of production needs of industrial origin for agricultural production. At the same time it shows the importance of agricultural production for the functioning of the whole economy, in particular in this difficult period of time and the importance of balanced development of industry and of agriculture. Not sufficient attention given to agriculture, especially to intensification of planned production, resulted in a growing dependence on grain and feedstuff imports. In the years 1981-82 an evident growth of agricultural planned production occurred in comparison with the disastrous year 1980. This growth proves only that the Polish agriculture is fairly resistant to recession phenomena in the economy and has a consi-derable strength for internal development. This resistance, however, should not be overestimated. The level of agricultural production depends on the high degree of supplies of production means. The inflow of these means has been declining in recent years and that is why fears arise that we shall not manage to overcome the stagnation of agricultural production during the next coming two to three years.
An additional factor limiting production possibilities of Polish agriculture is the economic sanctions applied in relation to Poland by some Western countries. For quite some years Poland has been an important importer of feedgrains and high-protein feeds. After the sanctions were introduced, the possibilities of grain purchases on credit are minimal. At the same time the country's balance of payments renders major purchases of grain and feeds for cash impossible.
The recent taking back by the United States of America of the Most Favoured Nation clause further restricts the payment possibilities of Poland. Thus there arose in the feed balance a great gap. There is no chance of doing away with it fast for, in a country which is harvesting about 10 million tons of grain a year, it is not feasible to increase grain production to about 25 million tons from year to year. Therefore a reduction of animal production was necessary so as to adjust it to a lower feed reserve. As a consequence of this, also the consumption of meat has been reduced.
The model of economic ties with foreign countries was developed for years and cannot be changed overnight without bringing about serious economic consequences. Therefore the estimation by FAO of the year 1982 as one of the bleakest periods in international cooperation for development is considered by us to be fully justified. Though this estimation was formulated on the ground of analyzing the cooperation between developed and developing countries, it also applies to analyzing the situation of Poland. The critical situation of the country and the breakdown of equilibrium in many sectors of the food market make it necessary to change the economic priorities and main targets of action hitherto applied. In economic policy formulated for the 80's the insurance of an adequate level of food supplies is considered to be one of the most vital tasks and the food economy one of the basic sectors of the economy. We elaborated a programme of food economy development up to 1990. It is a programme of moderated promises but at the end of this period we should not only achieve food self-sufficiency but also an active balance in food turnover. We want to achieve this goal not by autarchycal policy but through a large participation in the international exchange of agricultural products.
The major groups of measures provided in the Programme are the following: shifting of the national economy in favour of satisfying the needs of the food complex; creating favourable economic conditions for agricultural production; changing of food consumption structure by giving preference to products of a lower production cost. This programme results from the domestic situation of Poland. Simul-taneously, however, it corresponds to the recommendation of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, and it will perform a vital role from the viewpoint of world food security. Poland, which had been during all the 70 s a great grain importer, is oriented to become almost self-sufficient in this respect. Grain imports should be limited only to some quantities of grain which do not thrive in our climate, such as hard wheat and maize.
J.E. MENDES FERRÃO (Portugal) : je félicite Monsieur le Directeur général pour son excellent exposé qui, conjointement au document sur la situation de 1 agriculture et de l’alimentation, nous fait voir, dûment actualisés, des problèmes aussi graves que ceux qui se rapportent à la survivance de l'humanité.
Mon pays est préoccupé par l'existence, encore de nos jours, de nombreuses populations qui traversent des situations de carence alimentaire dues quelquefois à des difficultés internes très diverses, et quelquefois à des causes extérieures que nous avons besoin d'étudier pour proposer des solutions.
Nous pensons, et nous ne sommes sûrement pas les seuls dans la mesure où nous restons des hommes ayant de l'espoir, que le problème du manque d'alimentation qui se rencontre dans certaines régions du monde peut être résolu. Pour cela, il faut certainement intensifier l'aide alimentaire, mais une solution définitive ne sera trouvée que le jour où, grâce à l'aide généralisée des pays les plus riches, les pays pauvres deviendront moins pauvres.
En ce sens, je me permets de souligner l'importance de l'allocution prononcée par Son Excellence le Président de la République du Cap-Vert Aristides Pereira qui, en sa qualité de Président du Comité permanent interétats de lutte contre la sécheresse dans le Sahel, a mis toute son autorité et son prestige dans l'appel adressé à la Communauté internationale pour une aide toujours plus consistante aux pays en développement, surtout à ceux de la sous-région africaine du Sahel.
Il faut que le développement des potentialités existantes devienne une préoccupation constante.
Dans la plupart des cas, dans les pays en développement, la terre n'est pas encore un bien limité et il suffirait d'en augmenter un peu la production unitaire pour résoudre les problèmes les plus sérieux de la carence alimentaire. Cela exige un investissement scientifique et technique que les pays les plus riches pourraient aider à obtenir. L'élargissement des réseaux coopératifs d'investigation aux pays les moins riches me semble être un sujet à étudier pour le futur.
En raison de la différence des habitudes alimentaires et des limitations d'emmagasinage et de circulation des produits, les pays en difficulté ne peuvent pas toujours profiter de la totalité des bénéfices qui leur parviennent sous forme d'aide alimentaire venue de l'extérieur.
Nous soutenons que la solution de fond du problème alimentaire ne sera pas obtenue avec des aides d'urgence malgré leur importance actuelle, sauf dans les pays où elles sont vraiment indispensables. Les pays les moins développés, ou du moins la plupart d'entre eux, doivent être aidés à produire eux-mêmes les aliments dont ils ont besoin.
Nous trouvons que l'aide dans ce domaine doit prendre un caractère prioritaire, mais nous pensons aussi que ces pays ne doivent pas abandonner complètement les cultures industrielles ou d'expor-tation, si nécessaires pour l'acquisition, à l'extérieur, de biens d'équipement sans lesquels le développement sera retardé ou même compromis.
Je rappelle ici la déclaration de M. le Directeur général, au Conseil de 1981, dans laquelle il a attiré notre attention sur la diminution de la valeur relative de certains produits exportés par des pays en voie de développement par rapport à ce qu'ils importent des pays riches. M. le Directeur général a donné comme exemple le cas du thé ou des bananes d'une part, et de l'acier et des engrais de l'autre. Il nous a donné d'autres exemples dans son exposé d'hier, comme par exemple le sucre.
La paix et la sécurité et l'humanité reposent sur l'atténuation des différences économiques entre les peuples, et la solution du problème alimentaire mondial prend un caractère prioritaire. Comment sera-t-il,possible pour les pays riches de trouver des marchés élargis pour leurs produits, si la plus grande partie de l'humanité doit penser encore à la survie alimentaire ?
Considérant en particulier la situation de mon pays, je dois avouer que le pourcentage de la popu-lation agricole au Portugal est d'environ un tiers de la population totale, et ni le secteur secondaire ni le secteur tertiaire ne se sont montrés suffisamment dynamiques pour absorber d'occasionnels excédents de main-d'oeuvre. L'émigration continue à être le destin presque fatal de la population rurale portugaise, en particulier de la jeunesse.
La production agricole dans les dernières décennies s'est montrée insuffisante pour l'approvisionnement interne, et dans des périodes particulières, comme en 1981, quand le pays a souffert de sécheresse prolongée, la production portugaise de biens alimentaires n'a pu satisfaire que 26 pour cent des besoins intérieurs.
Quoique la situation se soit améliorée cette année et que l'on puisse prévoir une année agricole presque normale, nous continuons à importer des quantités notables de maïs et autres céréales, soja et oléagineux, ainsi que des produits d'origine animale, ce qui déséquilibre profondément notre balance d'échanges avec l'extérieur.
L'agriculture portugaise s'est maintenue dans un marasme préoccupant pendant le dernier demi-siècle. Cette situation se doit, entre autres raisons, à une structure agraire défectueuse, à l'inadéquat aménagement du territoire, insuffisante préparation technologique des agriculteurs et manque d'infrastructures de commercialisation.
La production moyenne du blé est aujourd'hui sensiblement la même qu'en 1932, et nous pourrions donner d'autres exemples de la situation agricole portugaise aussi élucidatifs que celui-là.
Ayant comme base l'état des cultures et la prévision des récoltes, il nous est possible de vérifier que dans l'année agricole en cours il y a eu quelques améliorations qui sont plutôt dues à l'année météorologique qu'à l'avance technique de l'agriculture, ce qui ne cache pas la réalité du retard référé ci-dessus.
Pour 1982, on prévoit une production de blé de 444 000 tonnes, laquelle tout en étant 45 pour cent supérieure à celle de 1981, se situe seulement dans la moyenne des dix dernières années. Les pro-ductions d!avoine et d'orge doivent avoir un accroissement de 15 pour cent et 27 pour cent par rapport à 1981, mais seront inférieures de 6 pour cent et 21 pour cent aux moyennes des dix dernières années.
La production de la pomme de terre non irriguée devra constituer, avec ses 467 000 tonnes une augmen-tation de 16 pour cent par rapport à 1981, mais une diminution de 5 pour cent par rapport à la moyenne des années 1972/81. La pomme de terre en culture irriguée doit présenter une augmentation de 27 pour cent par rapport à l’année antérieure. Le maïs devra maintenir les productions des années antérieures. Pour la tomate destinée à l'industrie, la production moyenne par ha a été supérieure d'environ 8 pour cent relativement à l'année antérieure, le concentré obtenu étant d'excellente qualité, la plupart des usines l'ont élaboré très près de leurs capacités maxima.
Le tournesol devra obtenir une augmentation d'environ 22 pour cent. .Dans les domaines de la fructi-culture il faut se référer surtout à l'excellente année de production de la poire qui a eu une augmentation de 27 pour cent relativement à 1981 et de la mangue, accrue de 30 pour cent.
La production de l'huile d'olive devra atteindre cette année, si la récolte des olives est faite normalement, plus de 44 pour cent que l'année précédente, mais malgré cela elle se situera 29 pour cent au-dessous de la moyenne des années 1972/81 .
Etant donné que le Portugal est un grand producteur d'oléagineux, on porte une attention toute particulière à la reconstitution des oliveraies. On prévoit, pour la prochaine année, une recon-version de 20 000 ha. Pour la réalisation de ces travaux mon pays a beaucoup bénéficié, et bénéficie encore, du projet régional d'olivulture de la FAO.
Devant la situation que j'avais présentée, mon pays continuera à avoir besoin d'emprunter des grandes quantités de produits agricoles et nous ne savons pas cambien d'années seront nécessaires pour rééquilibrer, ou seulement réduire, l'importation des produits agricoles.
CHAIRMAN : This closes our debates for this morning. We have heard sixteen members make statements and I am grateful to all of them for being precise and concise.
The meeting rose at 12.40 hours
La séance est levée à 12 h 40
Se levanta la sesión a las 12.40 horas
