LE PRESIDENT: Honorables délégués, nous reprenons le cours de nos travaux. Le programme de notre séance a éte ainsi organisé par le Secrétariat: l'achèvement de l'étude du point 4: Situation mondiale de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture; puis la discussion du point 5: Rapport de la treizième session du Comité de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale; et dans toute la mesure possible le point 6 sur la neuvième session du Comité des forêts.
C'est un programme très chargé, et pour respecter le calendrier provisoire, il est proposé au Conseil de travailler de la manière suivante. Nous terminerons d'abord l'étude du point 4 (18 orateurs inscrits), puis nous aurons la séance spéciale sur l'invasion acrldlenne; il est suggéré dans toute la mesure possible que les délégués tiennent compte de la contrainte de temps afin que nous puissions avancer dans nos discussions. Et nous envisageons, avec votre autorisation, de faire ce soir une séance prolongée afin, en tout cas de terminer le point 4 et le point 5 dans leur intégralité.
Nous suggérons à Messieurs les délégués de prendre toutes leurs dispositions pour une séance prolongée jusque vers 19 h 30 - 20 h.
Ainsi, nous espérons pouvoir respecter le calendrier car comme vous le savez des questions très importantes nous attendent sur la réforme du Comité financier, la réforme du Comité du programme et, bien que cette année le Conseil dure une journée de moins que d'habitude, nous voudrions, dans toute la mesure possible, respecter le calendrier provisoire.
Stanley Munkindia GUANTAI (Kenya): My delegation wishes to convey its appreciation of the secretariat documents which are exhaustive and detailed.Their presentation of the subject yesterday was very clear, well presented and augmented the opening remarks of the Director-General.
The world economic scenario, which in the short term is shown to be expanding moderately, shows optimistic anticipation.However, as indicated in the supplementary documents, the developing countries continue to face deteriorating economies.The commodity prices are shown to be improving. However while this is a welcome development for the exporting countries, unfortunately it is a source of major concern for the importing countries which are predominantly the food deficit developing countries, particularly as the commodities involved are mainly grain food crops. The traditional export commodities from the developing countries - primarily coffee, cocoa, tea, sugar and fibre crops - are unfortunately experiencing deteriorating prices resulting in reduced export earning capacity which consequently reduces purchasing power for food items and imports needed to expand food supply and increase productivity.
In contrast the inputs (including fertilizers) are highly-priced and at times not affordable by the average farmer in developing countries.With the prevailing world grain economy the emphasis on attaining quick recovery of productivity and stocks should be directed to the developing countries, many of which offer comparative advantages in agricultural production.
Furthermore, increased assistance needs to be intensified in order to support domestic production efforts to achieve higher levels of food self-sufficiency so as to overcome the continued external situation affecting developing countries.
Hunger and poverty continue to rear their heads in many developing countries, particularly in Africa where food self-sufficiency has become elusive. The factors responsible are many, including inadequate institutional and infrestructural framework, fragile and deteriorating environment, and declining potential agricultural land along with a limited alternative on which to seek a livelihood. These factors have been compounded by adverse natural disasters, such as droughts, floods and now the locust plague. In view of these factors my delegation believes balanced attention must be given both to the micro- as well as the macro- factors. Institutional and technological development and also research are important ingredients to revitalize agriculture in the developing countries.
In Africa the Programme of Action on agriculture and economic recovery adopted by the United Nations was expected to accelerate recovery and reverse declining trends. While some progress is reported significant recovery is still far from a realization. It is necessary, therefore, to remove the remaining constraints and increase efforts to ensure that the action programme achieves its objectives.A number of the constraints include the prevailing trade balance, declining commodity prices, for the traditional export crops from the tropics, worsening external debt and debt servicing, increasing high prices, machinery and other inputs and also policy guidelines that are not always geared to accelerating the agricultural sector.A number of developments including steps being taken by the World Bank, the GATT negotiations, and the recent Summits in Toronto, Venice and Berlin give some hope and are welcome.We urge that they be accelerated in recognition of the worsening situation and increasing number of poor and under-nourished in the world.
In trying to achieve better policies, many developing countries have adopted structural adjustment programmes, which, in the short term, have had traumatic effects in some countries.We urge that these shortcomings should be recognized and provision for contingencies to assist countries experiencing such difficulties should be adopted.We agree that there is merit in cooperating with FAO whenever appropriate to facilitate the Organization's wide expertise to help the-countries undertake structural adjustment programmes.
The decline in per capita food production in many countries is a cause for serious concern.Steps to alleviate this trend should be adopted by the individual member countries as well as the international community.
In Kenya our focus on agricultural and rural development has helped the country to recover quickly from the recent drought.Since then considerable expension in food production has been achieved which has helped the country to remain broadly self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs notwithstanding the high population growth rate. We have now an effective National Population Control Programme which has already started to show results.
Due to scarce potential of agricultural land we will need to continue to import wheat and rice despite increasing domestic production.The per capita production for calorie and protein requirements as per WHO recommended dally allowance shows Kenya's ratios of production at 1.21 and 1.67 for calories and protein respectively.While there are distribution problems in some areas of the country, the country has surplus exportable commodities in coarse,grains and the forecast for 1989 indicates another record crop.This situation shows positive growth and a foreseeable domestic food supply. In our case, and indeed in many other developing countries, storage facilities, rural roads and handling facilities continue to be a constraint.
The Executive Director of the World Food Council introduced the Cyprus Initiative which was adopted during the last Ministers' Council held in Nicosia.The principal of the initiative is a very important development which should be welcomed to expand efforts aimed at the elimination of world poverty and hunger. In addition to the initiative, my delegation wishes to underline the continued requirement and important role of food aid and in particular the necessary services of the World Food Programme.We urge that the appeal made by the Director-General during his opening remarks be heeded and more food aid commodities be supplied.My delegation maintains that diversification of food aid resources, including monetization will play a significant role in increasing the development resources required by many developing countries.
Looking at the documents prepared by the Secretariat my delegation is quite happy with the detailed information available, particularly concerning grains.However, we feel that further analysis of livestock and livestock input contribution would enrich the document. We would also welcome the inclusion of some of the traditional staple foods and their contributions in the analysis.
Datuk Puvanarajah THIAGARAJAH (Malaysia): The Malaysian delegation wishes to express its delight in seeing you in the chair again. We also wish to congratulate the three Vice-Chairman on their election. In the same breath we wish to compliment the Secretariat for the excellent document on the subject, and the lucid and erudite presentation by Mr. Hjort.We are generally in agreement with the findings of the study and with the various comments made by the previous speakers. I do not wish to repeat the findings of the study except to highlight certain points.
The progress that has been made in the field of agriculture and food worldwide has been somewhat stultified.Vagaries of nature aside, and the reasons behind these are mainly man-made.The food supply situation in developing countries was severely affected by adverse external economic factors, namely, restriction to market access, trade protectionism, heavy external debt servicing, low prices, deterioration in terms of trade, food substitutes and the like.
Allow me to elaborate on one important point which is in line with the points raised on page 22 of document CL 94/2· In the overall global trading regime, agriculture remains the most serious and urgent area in need of reform. It is presently characterized by a proliferation of protectionistic and trade distorting policies. Malaysia, as a member of the Cairns Group, is in full agreement with the call for an early action to be taken at the GATT Ministerial Mid-term Review of the Uruguay Round in December in Montreal. Such progress would contribute to the momentum of trade liberalization and would slow down the further decline into protectionism. We must aim for agricultural reform where trade distorting influences will be progressively reduced and eventually eliminated. Needless to say we subscribe to the idea of standstill and rollback.
The global benefits of trade liberalization are too well known. A recent study revealed that comprehensive agricultural liberalization in the major industrialized countries would benefit both agricultural exporting and importing countries.First, liberalization would increase income in developing countries by some US$26 billion. Secondly, for every US$1 worth of liberalization the benefit to developing countries is equal to US$2 of aid. Thirdly, in low income developing countries this benefit is equivalent to US$6 worth of conventional aid. The Cairns Group, as well as others such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the World Bank, can however act only as catalyst for progress towards liberalization. Meaningful agreement in the multilateral trade round will require flexibility on the part of the participants particularly the industrial majors. They should adopt a more flexible and enlightened approach to agriculture with tangible efforts in the dismantling of trade barriers and disarmament of farm subsidies. We fall to comprehend why some industrial majors persist in protectionism.Food assistance programmes, export subsidies and import restrictions whilst enriching farmers nevertheless drain the financial resources of even rich majors. The OECD estimated that in 1981 alone these protectionist programmes of rich majors represented 3 percent of GDP of almost all of these countries and yet protectionism which places a tourniquet on agricultural prosperity worldwide still persists.
May I now turn to the points raised in paragraphs 24 and 25 in document CL 94/2 with respect to the external debt situation in some developing countries. Although there has been some relief from the long-term rescheduling by the Paris Club, more resources inflow through the IMF structural adjustment facility, special programmes of the World Bank and relief agreed at the Toronto Summit, nevertheless the recent upward pressure on interest rates in industrial majors does not augur well for a reduction in the servicing of external debts.
May I now reiterate what my delegation suggested at the last Conference - and I quote. "The problem of debts faced by some developing countries is because of fixed interest obligations regardless of performance." Perhaps it is time that a study be undertaken, say by FAO, on the implementation of venture risk sharing between developed and developing nations. This of course will be in addition to the structural adjustment policies which have been instituted to avoid any recessive implication. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your attention.
Omer ZEYTINOGLU (Turquie): Je voudrais commencer en exprimant notre appréciation du document CL 94/2 préparé par le Secrétariat. Dans son ensemble, ce document brosse un tableau clair et met l'accent sur les points saillants de la situation de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture en 1988 et contient des observations qui touchent au développement économique mondial et au commerce agricole. Je remercie en même temps M. Hjort de son excellent exposé introductif·
Parmi les observations contenues dans le document en question, j'ai l'impression que celles qui sont négatives l'emportent sur celles qui sont positives. Malgré un certain nombre de récents développements encourageants, nos préoccupations relatives à l'environnement économique international restent au fond les mêmes.
Il est vrai que le pire que l'on attendait après la crise boursière d'octobre 1987 ne s'est pas produit. L'économie mondiale a évolué d'une façon normale et les marchés monétaires et financiers sont restés calmes. Mais les problèmes essentiels profonds sont toujours là, à savoir les tendances persistantes au protectionnisme, le problème de l'endettement, les taux de change incertains, etc.
Les perspectives d'avenir ne sont donc pas très encourageantes. Le commerce agricole est inévitablement affecté par cette situation. De plus, les problèmes qui lui sont propres ne sont pas de nature à lui faciliter les choses, à savoir le recours dans une large mesure aux subventions et les prix des produits de base qui ne reflètent d'ailleurs pas les prix de revient malgré certains signes de redressement qui restent bas.
Nous croyons que le commerce est l'élément essentiel de la croissance économique et joue un rôle Important dans le développement. Nous sommes aussi d'avis que les exportations, en particulier celles des produits agricoles, constituent un moyen de premier ordre pour les pays en développement d'assurer leur croissance. Ces pays doivent prendre les mesures nécessaires pour réaliser leur développement. Dans ce contexte, le rôle qui incombe aux pays développés, au nom de l'interdépendance, c'est d'agir de façon à faciliter les efforts des pays en question. Nous avons la
ferme conviction que l'on ne peut arriver à une solution, face aux problèmes que posent le développement et la croissance, sans une action concertée de tous les membres de la communauté Internationale.
La production agricole en Turquie a enregistré, les cinq dernières années consécutives, un taux de croissance relativement élevé, de l'ordre de 4% en moyenne, ce qui a contribué à relever davantage encore le niveau d'autosuffisance alimentaire. Il apparaît que cette tendance à la hausse de la production agricole deviendra plus prononcée dans un très proche avenir. Lorsque les projections en cours seront terminées, des terres d'une superficie d'1,7 million d'hectares pourront être irriguées. Par conséquent, la production agricole accroîtra. Alors se posera la question de trouver des débouchés à la production excédentaire. De ce fait, nous attachons une grande importance à l'accès aux marchés. Nous pensons qu'il convient de recourir aux mesures nécessaires pour créer un marché agricole prévisible. Cela nous permettra, d'autre part, de planifier à long terme les modalités de la production.
De ce point de vue, les négociations commerciales multilatérales de l'Uruguay Round revêtent une importance particulière. On qualifie ces négociations des plus ambitieuses jamais entreprises jusqu'à présent pour la simple raison, peut-être, que la libéralisation du commerce des produits agricoles fait pour la première fois l'objet de négociations dans une instance internationale. Nous souhaitons que ces négociations aboutissent à des solutions concrètes pour une plus large libéralisation du commerce international, et plus particulièrement du commerce agricole.
Sumiji NAKAZAWA (Japan): I listened with special interest and relief to the excellent introduction given yesterday by Mr. Hjort on the current world food and agricultural situation, which was also touched upon by the Director-General in his opening statement.
According to document CL 94/2 world cereal stocka at the end of 1988/89 are forecast to fall to the level of 16 percent of world consumption volume which is less than the minimum level volume indicated by FAO. This means that the world food supply and demand situation has changed from being excessive.
Under these circumstances the measures for crop production increase, already implemented by several countries, are considered appropriate from the viewpoint of the stabilization of the cereal market next year. While for the world supply and demand of cereals it is recognized that in recent years the structural overproduction and export with subsidy by main exporting countries have decreased the export share of developing countries and that although international crises of staple foods are favourable for import by the developing countries in the short term, they counteract efforts for self-sufficiency and food production increase of such countries in the medium and long terms, eventually heightening instability when the goal is that of food security.
Japan at this stage anticipates flexible measures should be taken reflecting the world supply and demand situation, so that the short-term production increase programme is only for the recovery of world cereal stocks to the necessary level and does not bring about structural surplus on a medium-to long-term basis. My country recognizes the need for monitoring the various aspects of world food supply and demand as there are uncertain factors such as policy changes in main producing and consumer countries, fluctuation of production owing to changes in climate, increase in demand in developing countries due to a rise in the population and/or income. From this viewpoint we anticipate that related fora in FAO, such as Commodity Committees and the Committee on World Food Security, will complement with each other and carry out their roles efficiently and effectively.
For the purpose of helping resolve the food and agricultural issues in developing countries we consider it most important that food-deficient developing countries should give top priority to food and agriculture in every respect and make self-supporting efforts. We also consider it the role of International societies to assist such self-supporting efforts. My country has been promoting through bilateral and multilateral cooperation the financial and technical assistance with this end in mind.
As to the Uruguay Round negotiations, my country considers that this will take on a very Important role in resolving agricultural trade issues, bearing in mind that overproduction and exports by main exporting countries have lowered international prices, that along with low economic development it causes serious problems in international agricultural trade and that it similarly affects the economic development of many developing countries depending in considerable part on foreign income and food security.
My delegation apprehends that African food and agricultural production in 1986/87 decreased in comparison with the average of 1980 to 1985. Moreover, it is pointed out that food production is deteriorating in comparison with non-food production. It should be reviewed case by case whether the exporting crop production should be promoted to increase the export income or staple
food crop production should be promoted for self-sufficiency in food considering the food production and supply situation in each country. In the food-deficient developing countries, production increase of their own staple food would appear to be desirable to achieve self-sufficiency as much as possible, considering that strengthening the dependence of import food or leaving the situation unchanged is problematic from the viewpoint of food security. My country considers that in the UN-PAAERD years ahead countries concerned should be reminded of the philosophy and give top priority to food and agriculture in their policies for development, looking to economic and social development on a medium- to long-term basis.
Finally, my delegation highly appreciates the activity of FAO on their food and agriculture information service and early-warning system, and also anticipates the prompt and continuous distribution of Information.Thank you, sir.
Danilo VALLE (Nicaragua): El documento sobre El Estado Mundial de la Alimentación y la Agricultura 1988 constituye para nuestra Delegación un trabajo de gran contenido analítico que nos permite una vision global de los distintos aspectos políticos y económicos que tienen relación directa con la producción alimentaria y agrícola. Después de varios años de discusión sobre el tema que nos ocupa, la situación de nuestros países continua igual o peor a pesar de haberse discutido en reuniones anteriores las causas que la provocan y haberse enunciado las medidas y acciones necesarias de tomar para buscar cómo remediarlas.
Vemos nosotros cómo la crisis internacional continua afectando nuestras economías al disminuirse los flujos financieros disponibles para el desarrollo, al incremento de las tasas de interés por los préstamos otorgados y a las pérdidas significativas por el deterioro de la relación de precios de intercambio, incidiendo a su vez en la expansión de la deuda externa. El año de 1988 no ha sido nada bueno ni positivo para los países en desarrollo, ni tampoco por el momento, se ven perspectivas de solución. En este sentido, vemos con preocupación la percepción de la mayoría de los países desarrollados sobre el problema los cuales pretenden vendernos la idea de que sólo mediante un mayor crecimiento de ellos mismos podrán progresar los países en desarrollo y contradictoriamente así salir de la crisis. Nada mas absurdo ni mas alejado de la verdad. Esta posición debe ser rechazada enérgicamente pues mientras los países desarrollados y poderosos se vuelven más ricos a costa de los más pobres, más crecerán los ricos y más pobres seremos nosotros. Pobreza cuantitativa en materia de ingresos nacionales y pobreza cualitativa en materia de atrasos y derechos a la tecnología.
Ante esta situación de crisis creciente y sin un futuro muy halagador, según lo refleja cori bastante objetividad el documento objeto de nuestra discusión, deseo retomar hoy lo planteado por el Ministro de Agricultura Jaime Wheelock Román ante la 20a Conferencia Regional de la FAO en Recife, Brasil, en el mes de octubre pasado, en el sentido de comenzar acciones concretas en busca de la solución:
1. Cesar el pago de la deuda externa.
2. Condicionar el no pago definitivo de la deuda a la adopción de instrumentos de concertación comercial que establezcan un equilibrio de los términos de intercambio entre el norte y el sur porque aun cuando hubiera condonación de la deuda, si el desequilibrio en los países continúa, muy pronto estaremos nuevamente endeudados.
3. Solicitar a los países desarrollados y a los Organismos Internacionales impulsar una efectiva seguridad alimentaria regional.
4. Trato preferencial a las exportaciones agropecuarias de los países pobres.
5. Suspensión de los subsidios a los productos que han constituido rubros de exportación tradicional como el azúcar, la carne, etc.
6. El establecimiento de un programa integral de financiamiento concesional para fomentar el riego, desarrollo agroindustrial, y en general la producción de alimentos básicos.
7. La adopción de acciones multilaterales y bilaterales para socorrer a miles de campesinos y productores agropecuarios desplazados por las acciones bélicas y que carecen de medio de trabajo, techo, semillas, alimentos y medicinas para sobrevivir.
Nuestro país, Nicaragua, ha sido víctima de un sistema de opresión impuesto por más de cincuenta años de la dictatura somocista. Hemos sufrido un terremoto en 1972 que destruyó nuestra ciudad capital con más de veinte mil muertos y millones de dólares en pérdidas. Hemos sufrido los destrozos causados por nuestra guerra de liberación con un alto costo económico y en vidas humanas. Hemos vivido y vivimos una guerra de agresión por más de ocho años, guerra cruel, injusta, ilegal e inmoral, impuesta unllateralmente por el Gobierno norteamericano que nos ha dejado hasta el momento
más de cincuenta mil muertos y pérdidas por más de 12.000 millones de dolares, la cual reclamamos que cese, por el derecho de todos los pueblos sobre la tierra a la paz y a la vida.
Ultimamente hemos sufrido los daños y la destrucción en nuestras ciudades y en el campo, del huracán Joan que nos ha dejado a más de veintidós mil familias campesinas sin vivienda y sin enseres domésticos, que además de las pérdidas de sus cultivos perdieron herramientas, semillas y animales de patio para su alimentación. Otras cuarenta mil familias fueron afectadas en otras zonas en menor grado que las anteriores. El huracán se presenté en el momento en que nuestra agricultura era más vulnerable. La cosecha de primera de maíz, frijol, sorgo y arroz secano estaba en proceso de recolección. El ciclo de siembra de postrera estaba en período de preparación y los cultivos de exportación, especialmente el café, estaba entrando en su período de maduración.
A solicitud de nuestro Gobierno, una Misión Conjunta FAO/PMA y otra de CEPAL, apoyadas por técnicos nacionales, están evaluando los daños directos en el sector agropecuario estimándose prelimlnarmente en 124.5 millones de dólares.
Nuestra red vial fue afectada en más de 600 km. de caminos troncales y en 1.500 km. en caminos internos, y más de 36 puentes inutilizados. El daño ocasionado en los recursos naturales al romperse el equilibrio ecológico es incalculable en pérdidas. En Selaya sur, al Atlántico de Nicaragua, se aprecia una extensión de más de 6.000 km . de bosques arrasados, estimándose pérdidas en más de 40 millones de m . de madera. Unos 280.000 quintales de café corren el riesgo de perderse debido a la destrucción de los puentes y caminos. Las pérdidas del café se estiman en unos 14 millones de dólares. En el banano, las pérdidas se estiman en unos 8 millones de dólares. En el azúcar, hay pérdidas por más de 2.7 millones de dólares. En el maíz, las pérdidas ascienden a los 5.6 millones de dólares. En el frijol se contabilizan pérdidas por 373.000 quintales equivalentes a casi cuatro meses de consumo con un valor aproximado de 6.7 millones de dólares.
Un aspecto importante ha sido la pérdida total de la semilla de siembra en poder de los agricultores y en las bodegas estatales. En el sorgo se estiman pérdidas de más de 150.000 quintales equivalentes a un mes de consumo por valor de 150.000 dólares. Del arroz se perdieron 2.800 quintales de semilla. Del maíz se perdieron 14.700 quintales de semilla. De frijol se perdieron 40.000 quintales de semilla y del aceite se espera un déficit de 140.000 quintales para el año entrante. De cacao se perdieron más de 350 hectáreas correspondientes a 5.300 quintales. El plátano fue de los alimentos de producción campesina más afectado. Las pérdidas se estiman en más de 68 millones de unidades con un valor de 6.3 millones de dólares. En el coco hubo pérdidas en alrededor de 1.820 hectáreas con una pérdida actual de 1.3 millones de dólares y futuras pérdidas estimadas en 3.3 millonee de dólares. Las pérdidas en ganadería fueron de más de 15.000 cabezas.
El valor de las pérdidas totales se estima en 7.6 millones de dólares. En porcino se perdieron unas 10.000 cabezas y algunas infraestucturas por un valor de 1.3 millones de dólares. Las pérdidas en aves ascienden a la suma de 1.6 millones de dólares. El impacto socioeconómico del huracán en el sector campesino es de sesenta y dos mil familias campesinas con pérdidas totales o parciales de viviendas y bienes de producción y consumo por un valor estimado de 22 millones de dólares. La producción agrícola disminuirá el 13 % en este ciclo mientras la producción de consumo disminuirá en 22% su valor bruto y 7% la de exportación.
La capacidad productiva se vió afectada en 40 millones de dólares. Las pérdidas del sector agropecuario son aproximadamente de 124.5 millones de dólares y se calcula que el daño causado a toda la economía es equivalente a cuatro veces el daño causado por el terremoto de Managua en 1972. Es decir, alrededor de unos 3.200 millones de dólares.
Como han podido apreciar, la guerra y el bloqueo económico injusto e ilegal impuestos a nuestro pueblo por el Gobierno Norteamericano han contrarrestado todos los esfuerzos de nuestro Gobierno para proporcionar una verdadera y digna seguridad alimentaria. Por los efectos del huracán Joan se acrecienta aun más el déficit alimentario y torna aun más crítica la posibilidad de superar esta situación con nuestra propia producción.
Necesitamos el apoyo y la solidaridad internacional para hacerle frente a esta dura situación; solidaridad y apoyo con el cual siempre hemos contado, y estamos seguros que seguiremos contando.
Para concluir, deseo dejar a criterio de este honorable Consejo se considere la posibilidad de crear bancos de reservas de alimentos en varios países del mundo ante la eventual ocurrencia de nuevos desastres naturales como huracanes, maremotos, terremotos, etc., pudiéndose de esta manera socorrer con ayuda en menor tiempo a los países que sufran estos fenómenos.
Ε. Wayne DENNEY (United States of America):Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Having heard the Government of Nicaragua refer to political pressures from the US and other references to American action which they did not deem appropriate, we do not really want to get into a detailed discussion of political items at this meeting. We feel it is not appropriate for FAO to be discussing them. We would urge that we try to get on with the agenda items and not have political items become dominant in discussion of things that are so valuable to our deliberations here. We would ask the Chairman to caution those who want continued support of FAO not to continually put pressure on the Govenment of the United States for behaving in matters which are discussed elsewhere. Thank you very much.
LE PRESIDENT: Comme je l'ai déjà dit hier matin je souhaiterais que nous puissions préserver dans cette enceinte un climat qui nous permette de concentrer nos efforts sur la FAO et d'aboutir à des conclusion constructives.
Danilo VALUE (Nicaragua): El Gobierno de Nicaragua se dirige al Gobierno de los Estados Unidos cuando estos Gobiernos utilizan grupos paramilitares y utilizan las armas para destruir estructuras productivas, almacenes de alimentos, unidades de producción y el asesinato masivo de familias campesinas dedicadas a la siembra, a la producción y a la seguridad alimentaria. Nosotros continuaremos denunciándolos en todos los foros internacionales y condenando ese proceder y pidiendo que cese la agresión contra Nicaragua porque queremos vivir en paz y tenemos derecho a la vida.
LE PRESIDENT: J'insiste à nouveau pour que notre enceinte puisse vivre dans un climat de détente.
Muhammad Saleem KHAN (Pakistan): Mr. Chairman, thank you for allowing me the floor. As usual, FAO has presented us with a well prepared, informative and balanced document on this agenda item as well. Laying bare the harsh truths and projecting an even-handed picture of the world economy and agriculture and food situation, the document not only warns us about the impending realities, but also offers us a chance to take ameliorative measures. The onus now lies with us, the Member States, and members of the international community as a whole.
If we remain complacent and confined to our respective regional interests, but posterity may never forgive us.
No doubt there are signs of optimism in the increasing growth rates, volumes of trade and values of exports for some of the developing countries. Encouragement can also be perceived from the proceedings of negotiations under the Uruguay Round, the Toronto Summit and the measures adopted by the Paris Club. However, these need to be viewed with a degree of circumspect and as Doc. CL 94/2 rightly points out against a background of unstable market conditions, protectionism, trade imbalances, problems of external debts, climatic inconsistencies and regional disparities.
We cannot be ecstatic when confronted by the reality of a bleak agricultural and food situation. The global cereals production which fell by 4.4 percent in 1987 is forecasted to go down by another 3.2 percent in 1988. The agricultural production in 1987 is said to have fallen to its lowest level in the 1980s. Cereals stocks in 1988 and 1989 are forecasted to deplete to 319 million tons, the minimum level the FAO considers necessary to safeguard food security. Further disconcerting is the mention of the serious drop in the share of the developing countries in the total world cereal stocks which is said to have fallen from 44 percent of the total in 1983/84 to a mere 28 percent in 1987/88. The general economic picture in developing countries also does not give rise to much hope. To quote a few instances, outstanding debts of developing countries rose by 8.5 percent in 1987 and are expected to rise further in 1988. Terms of trade continue to be skewed against developing countries. Their national currencies continued to depreciate in 1987 and the real effective value is said to have declined by 31 percent over a three-year period. Interest in middle-income highly indebted countries, during 1987, rose faster than receipts. Increases in minimum wage rate have lagged behind. Rises in food prices in countries undergoing demand restricting changes and with increasing international prices of cereals due to supply shortages developing countries already facing serious foreign exchange constraints will find it extremely difficult to import the cereal requirements at the requisite levels. To compound further the situation it is not heartening to learn that multilateral commitments in 1987 at constant 1980 prices were 21 percent
lower than 1986, whereas disbursements of multilateral loans are estimated to have fallen by 8 percent in 1987 at current prices.
We all recognize too well that agricultural and food situations are inextricably tied to the economic health of the country. However, the economic situation in developing countries is being compounded by unfavourable terms of trade, coupled with protectionism, tariff and non-tariff barriers and the subsidization of exports by the developed countries. Since developing countries are deeply indebted, debt charges alone take, if not all, almost all, of their export earnings. The document under review identifies external debt as the main obstacle to satisfactory economic growth in most developing countries. If we have the larger interest of humanity before us, these trends have to be reversed. The assessment of the Group of 24 that industrialized countries have to step up debt relief and reverse the perverse flow of resources from developing countries to developed countries cannot but be more emphasized upon.
There is no doubt that developing countries have the capacity and ability to produce more food for themselves and for export as has been demonstrated by the commendable results which have been achieved by some of them. Pakistan itself has been one such fortunate country, to have achieved a reasonable degree of success. Yet we can do more. I have before me interesting data on the yield gap in crop production compiled by the Pakistan National Agricultural Commission. A comparison has been carried out between potential yields of major crops under controlled conditions on research farms and the national average.I quote a few instances. These are figures for 1986/87 and the potential as determined on the research farms under controlled conditions, wheat gave a yield of 6 425 kgs. per hectare, whereas the actual national average production for this year was 1 559, or 24 percent of the potential, leaving a yield gap of 76 percent; likewise paddy, a potential of 9 489 kgs. per hectare was proved, whereas actual yield production was 2 532 kgs. per hectare, that is 27 percent of the potential leaving a yield gap of 73 percent. To quote another example, potatoes gave a potential yield 38 128 kgs. per hectare, whereas its actual average production was 9 823 kgs. per hectare or 40 percent of the potential leaving a yield gap of 60 percent. I have examples of other crops but I think the ones I quoted suffice to prove my point. This is a fair indicator of how much more we can achieve as can so many of our other brethren developing countries. Even if 50 percent of the yield potential can be achieved, we can raise enough food for a further several million people.
We understand that policy reforms, structural adjustment programmes and the adoption of national food strategies are the major steps to reviving agricultural and economic health in the developing countries. However, without adequate finance and human and technical backing, this cannot be possible. We feel there is no sense in producing in developed countries products at high costs when these can be produced more cheaply in developing countries. Not only would such production increase the income of developing countries enabling them to support their own economies but also enhance their capacity to import more manufactured goods from the developed countries. We would not be wrong in saying that the developed and the developing countries need each other and need to work as partners in the developing process.
Before I end, being the representative of a country whose Minister for Food and Agriculture is a Vice-President on the Bureau of the World Food Council representing the Asian Pacific Region, on behalf of my delegation, I take this opportunity to endorse and support the Cyprus Initiative on which the Executive Director of the World Food Council spoke at length yesterday.
Namkolo MUTKUTU (Zambia): Please allow me at the outset to commend the Secretariat for the excellent introduction and high quality of the document on the State of Food and Agriculture for 1988. This document is well written and balanced in approach to the issues discussed in it. My delegation welcomes the recent favourable development in commodity prices for some agricultural produce. We sincerely hope that many more agricultural commodities will soon register higher than average prices in the international markets and thus raise the incomes of many developing countries from their exports of agricultural raw materials. We know, however, that the increases in the prices of these agricultural commodities have been caused by the low level stocks in the developed countries. The permanent solution to stabilize prices on the international scene lies in the liberalization of trade by. the developed north.
While it is widely recognized that the key to the rehabilitation and the revamping of the agricultural production in the Third World lies mainly in the commitment and willingness to reform policies, my delegation believes that more attention should be given to small-scale farmers in line with their huge numbers. In our view, they deserve all the support in their efforts to primarily derive a living through the land. In this regard, it is therefore imperative that programmes designed to mobilize smallholder farmers be devised so as to enhance their production capacity and increase their contribution to employment and wealth generation.
Although priority should be given to production of food crops we believe that cash crops should by no means be neglected. This is because, as we all know, they provide not only income for the rural populous that grow them but also serve as a foreign exchange earner. The real issue however lies in the provision of adequate production incentives to farmers including remunerative or realistic producer prices. Recent experience has proved this point in the case of Zambia where there have been tremendous response from farmers to increase agricultural production, particularly of crops such as maize, cotton, sunflowers and rice, to mention only a few.
Given the recurrent droughts which in recent years have severely affected agricultural production in many developing countries, especially in Africa, my delegation believes that irrigation holds the key to successful production, thus the area of agricultural development needs special and urgent attention. In this regard, we call upon multilateral and bilateral agencies to give more support to the development of irrigation infrastructure.
In the field of fisheries, Zambia, like other developing countries, gives a lot of emphasis to the development of this subsector. Much effort is presently being put into the development of the artisenal fisheries as this produces more than 75 percent of the fish consumed in the country.
Fish production in Africa has not been developed rapidly, unlike in other third world countries. This stagnation may be attributed to adverse economic conditions affecting Africa. Most fishermen do not have adequate fishing equipment to exploit fish resources in the fisheries. There is further need to develop programmes which would enable fishermen at both artisenal and commercial levels to acquire better and effective fishing equipment so that they can increase fish growth.
Paul R. BRYDEN (Australia): I would like to complement the Secretariat on providing us with excellent papers for our discussion on this important item. I propose to focus my remarks on an aspect of the situation covered in the documents of particular importance to my country namely the need for improvement in agricultural trade policies, liberalization of domestic agricultural policies.
I also have some detailed comments on the Secretariat documents including updated information on the food outlook in my country which I will pass directly to the Secretariat in order to save the time of council.
Australian agriculture has developed over the past 200 years as a mainspring of our economic development.
While the proportion of exports contributed by the rural sector has declined from around 80 percent just after the Second World War, to about 40 percent today, both the volume and the value of these exports have continued to increase.
Australia presently accounts for 60 percent of the world's trade in wool, we are the second largest beef exporter, the third largest sugar exporter and we are in the top five wheat exporters.
It is quite obvious from this that agriculture has been and still is, vital for Australia's well-being.
Yet the trading conditions facing Australian agriculture have been stacked against us especially in the past few decades.
The world's production potential has grown enormously since the second world war, stimulated by high levels of protection in most developed countries. This growth has been compounded by continuing developments in technology and productivity growth.
By 1986 the result was a massive collapse in world markets and the build-up of stocks to record levels.Since then, we have seen some recovery in prices and reduced stock levels through the effects of improved demand, the quitting of stocks at all costs and the severe drought in North America. Policy adjustments that have already been put in place can take some of the credit for this improvement over the past two years, but this certainly does not mean that the crisis is over and that we can all relax again. It is clear that a slowing of demand and a return to more normal seasonal conditions in the United States would lead to a down-turn as large, if not larger, than in 1986. The market remains fragile and export subsidies and other distorting protectionist practices remain rife. However, international awareness of the problem has grown and there have been moves in some countries to reform their agricultural policies. Under considerable international pressure, Japan has undertaken to commence a positive if partial reform process, and this has been most welcome.
The EEC took some steps in February of this year to put a ceiling on agricultural budgets. Promising as these moves may have been, they represent only a start. What is needed now is for countries to come together with a determination and resolve to consolidate and extend the reform process. When countries agree to act in. concert, the possibilities for substantive action are greatly enhanced.
In the first instance, the political decisions are easier to make.Farmers in each country can see that the burden of adjustment will fall on support policies in all countries. Secondly, the actual short-term pain of reductions in income is minimized and ean more easily be seen to be offset by trading opportunities in the future.
While the improvement in commodity markets over the last year or so may only be cyclical, it does provide us with the opportunity to begin the important and critical process of agricultural reform. For the past two years, negotiations on agriculture have been carried out in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. The mandate under the Uruguay Round calls for the greater liberalization of agricultural trade through the reduction of both import barriers and direct and indirect subsidies on the production and export of agricultural commodities and the minimizing of non-tariff barriers.
In Montreal in three weeks' time, a Ministerial level mid-term review of the Uruguay Round will be held.Agreement upon a substantive interim result on agriculture will be a key if not the key indicator of the success or failure of this meeting. Failure in this area would severely prejudice the chances of a successful result from the Round as a whole. Trade tensions and the level of international disputation would remain high. Such a result would place serious pressure on future economic growth and would add to international tensions in general.
In Budapest last weekend, the Cairns Group of Ministers met to discuss progress to date and to determine the position that they would take at the mid-term review. The message of the Cairns Group is clear: progress on agriculture at the mid-term review is vital, and the majors have a responsibility to come to Montreal with negotiating positions which will enable such progress to be made.Australia's Minister for Trade Negotiations, as Coordinator and Spokesman for the Group, put the position succinctly in his opening statement to the meeting. He said that it is vital that we get the direction and pace of negotiations right at Montreal. This can only be done if the two major agricultural traders engage seriously and realistically in concerted agricultural reform. Yet to date we have not seen any evidence of negotiating flexibility on the part of the majors. For progress to be made, the US must drop its precondition that all countries agree to the complete removal of all trade-distorting agricultural support.
For its part, the Community must come forward with a proposal which explicitly incorporates a commitment to the long-term reform of agriculture and the phasing down of agricultural support. It is clear that the negotiating proposal tabled by the Cairns Group in Geneva in July - which includes recognition of special and differential treatment for developing countries - still represents the best chance of finding common ground between both these positions. The EEC, the US and Japan need to consider carefully all aspects of the Cairns Group proposal. This proposal, in my delegation's view, represents the best chance for substantive agreement. It offers the best way to begin the concerted move to agricultural reform to which the majors have pledged themselves at the last two economic summits.
At the centre of the Cairns Group proposal is the proposition that changes to agricultural policies are needed. Where reform programmes have already been started they must be consolidated, bound and extended. This process must be supported by changes to the GATT rules and disciplines covering agricultural trade and subsidized agricultural production. Cairns Group countries are not interested in purported solutions to the problem of world agriculture which simply entrench the very policies which have led world agriculture to its current state. Australia believes that agricultural trade reform is vital. It is not only vital to Australia and to other members of the Cairns Group, but to all countries which have benefited, and can benefit, from the creation and operation of a liberal multilateral trading system.
Agricultural trade reform is necessary. The next few weeks will show just how sincere the majors -the United States, the EEC and Japan - are prepared to be to commence and entrench the trade reform process.It is our hope that Council will call on all participants in the MTR to grasp the opportunity to make real progress.
Mr. Chairman, we also hope that our own debates in this place will maintain their constructive spirit leaving detailed criticism of members' trade practices to more appropriate fora. The representative of the European Commission has, inter alia, invited other countries to reduce support for agriculture. The Australian Government announced in May, 1988 major reforms to agricultural policies. These reforms included across-the-board reductions in tariffs for agricultural and manufacturing products, removal of the embargo on imports of sugar, a measure that
had, incidentally, been in place for over 50 years;the removal of subsidies on fertilizers; phasing down government support for underwriting prices for agricultural products; and increased emphasis on natural resource management, exotic disease preparedness and agricultural research.
These reforms represent a significant redirection of agricultural policies, and a major reduction in subsidies on trade barriers for agriculture in Australia. They demonstrate our commitment to agricultural trade policy reform, not tinkering at the margins.
Mr. Chairman, Australia is aware of the problems of world under-production during this season at least, and of declining stocks. As a non-stockholding country, Australia is concerned for developing countries in need of food aid or assistance with structural adjustment, and would wish to see careful consideration given to these issues in the renegotiation of the Food Aid Convention due for renewal in 1989. Australia considers that the optimal solution for the problems of developing countries, such as those in Africa, is still the long-term reform of protectionist policies in the major trading powers through the Uruguay Round. As mentioned by the delegation of Malaysia, a recent study coordinated by the Centre for International Economics in Australia has revealed that comprehensive agricultural liberalization in the major industrialized countries would substantially benefit both agricultural exporting and importing developing countries.
The study estimates that, firstly, such liberalization would increase real income in the developing countries by US$ 26 billion. Secondly, one dollar's worth of liberalization would deliver benefits to developing countries equal to at least two dollars' worth of aid. Thirdly, in the case of the low-income developing countries, benefits would be equivalent to six dollars' worth of conventional aid.
Other Australian research indicates that developing countries would derive the greatest benefit from agricultural trade liberalization if they were to adjust their own agricultural programmes in phase with liberalization in the major industrialized countries. This could involve adjustment by those developing countries which tax their own agricultural production (direct taxes on exports or by holding down domestic prices). This was concluded by the World Bank in its 1986 World Development Report.
In conclusion, I commend this research to Council and in particular to the delegation of Nicaragua who may find the results of this research of interest in the light of their concern with the process of economic development as set out in their earlier intervention.
Víctor Eduardo MACHINEA (Argentina): Nuestra delegación quisiera en primer término agradecer la documentación preparada por la Secretaría sobre el Estado Mundial de la Alimentación y la Agricultura en 1988, documentos CL 94/2 Sup. 1 y 2. Ellos nos informan del panorama agrícola alimentario, tema que parece estar bajo el tratamiento político de todas las Naciones.
Nuestra delegación, Sr. Presidente, quisiera destacar algunos conceptos con el fin de ilustrar claramente la posición asumida por la República Argentina en los distintos foros internacionales.
La reducción del ritmo de crecimiento de la demanda mundial de cereales se debe a la limitada capacidad financiera de los países en desarrollo. Ese factor es el que se debe atacar; ese es el punto que define la capacidad cierta de los países de mantener un nivel de ingesta mínimo de supervivencia.
Resulta claro, Sr. Presidente, que la problemática del incremento de la desnutrición en el mundo no pasa por el riesgo del alza en el precio de los cereales, sino que tiene raíces mucho más profundas como lo son la incidencia de la carga de la deuda externa sobre las economías de los países en desarrollo, la falta de voluntad política efectiva en la eliminación de los subsidios a la producción y el comercio, y de las barreras a la comercialización de los países desarrollados; y la disminución de la asistencia a los organismos de cooperación multilateral, a los que algunos países de altos ingresos quitan su apoyo político y financiero.
Por todo ello, creemos firmemente que el incremento de producción deseado para el futuro debe obtenerse mediante sistemas productivos libres de proteccionismo, distorsiones y subsidios; es decir que deben ser producto de la eficiencia.
Sr. Presidente, el proceso de deterioro y de descapitalización del campo en los países en desarrollo es ya tan profundo que lo ha dejado sin posibilidad de luchar con métodos modernos por alguna pequeña porción del mercado. De allí nuestra necesidad de que la pautas para el crecimiento de la producción sean lo más transparente posible. Los productores tradicionales que sigan utilizando-procedimientos más o menos anticuados, o que no realicen un severo esfuerzo para mejorar la calidad de sus explotaciones, seguirán perdiendo terreno en el mercado internacional. Esos cambios necesarios en los métodos de producción no podrán realizarse en un medio industrial atrasado. El
avance de los países industrializados en la producción de bienes primarios se ha debido no sólo a la disponibilidad de fondos para financiar el cambio, sino, fundamentalmente, a la posesión de tecnologías de punta. De tal forma, Sr. Presidente, los futuros movimientos de oferta y precios no dependen únicamente de las políticas comerciales de los grandes países, sino de la propia transformación técnica de las producciones primarias. Por eso mismo para aspirar a la mejora de la producción del campo, es necesario pensar en el avance de las ramas industriales y de la investigación técnica que debe impulsar el sector primario.
Nuestra delegación quiere resaltar este hecho y solicitar expresamente a la FAO que realice las investigaciones necesarias para evaluar la incidencia de las transformaciones tecnológicas en los mercados agrícolas futuros. El producto de este análisis, seguramente, hará replantear los objetivos de la planificación política agrícola de muchos países en desarrollo.
Estimamos útil que tan pronto como sea posible los órganos intergubernamentales pertinentes analicen esta cuestión.
Coincidimos, Sr. Presidente, con la presentación de la Secretaría en el sentido de que una cuestión importante de política es la relacionada con la liberalización del comercio y coincidimos también, a este respecto, con el diagnóstico de sus efectos, efectuado por el Sr. Hjort y cito: "aparte de su efecto adverso en el comercio, las actuales políticas agrícolas de la mayoría de los países industrializados están teniendo un impacto negativo en el crecimiento económico mundial y en el comercio global de mercancías"·
Con referencia a la situación de las negociaciones de la Ronda Uruguay del GATT, cabe consignar que nuestro país participó en la última reunión del Grupo CAIRNS a la que se han referido ya varias delegaciones, acontecida en Budapest entre el 10 y el 12 de noviembre próximo pasado. Asistieron los Ministros de Agricultura de los países miembros y observadores como la Comunidad Económica Europea, Estados Unidos y Japón. En esta reunión, los Ministros identificaron los objetivos que persigue el Grupo para la próxima reunión de Revisión de Mediano Plazo que se realizará en Montreal en los primeros días de diciembre, estimando esta oportunidad de fundamental importancia para obtener avances substantivos en la negociación agrícola. La reafirmación de los conceptos ya expresados por el Grupo CAIRNS no hace más que ratificar la unidad del Grupo en el reclamo para la obtención del Congelamiento y la Reducción de los Apoyos y Distorsiones al Comercio Agrícola en 1989 y 1990, que debe ser acompañada por avances en las negociaciones sobre medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias. La reunión del Grupo CAIRNS en Budapest también lamentó que los principales responsables de las distorsiones ya descritas, como la Comunidad Económica Europea y los Estados Unidos no hayan hecho honor a lo acordado en Punta del Este sobre Congelamiento y Desmantelamiento Progresivo. El grupo expresó su desacuerdo con el enfoque que da la Comunidad a los acuerdos de largo plzao y recibió con agrado las inciativas de Japón en la liberalización de algunas áreas de su régimen agrícola, y su rol más activo en las negociaciones sobre la agricultura en el GATT.
En la última reunión del Comité de Agricultura del GATT, que tuvo lugar esta semana en Ginebra, la India presentó una propuesta para el trato especial y diferenciado que debe darse a los países en desarrollo. Este documento define una serie de medidas que, sin incidir en el comercio, beneficiarían a los países que se esfuerzan por desarrollarse.
También los Estados Unidos, la Comunidad y otros países han distribuido documentos que intentan acercar posiciones para la Reunión de Montreal, aunque de todas formas estamos lejos de un acuerdo generalizado. En fin, Sr. Presidente, sobre esta temática podríamos hablar horas porque sabemos que el futuro del desarrollo equilibrado del mundo pasa por una eliminación de las distorsiones al comercio y la producción.
Nos preocupan, Sr. Presidente, que como consecuencia de la situación que viven los mercados de granos y específicamente el del trigo, con esta buenaventura en los precios, absolutamente transitoria, se produzca cierto relajamiento en los negociadores y en los plazos de la negociación.
Esto es preocupante para los países en desarrollo por las siguientes razones: un retardo en las negociaciones impediría la estabilidad de los mercados y como consecuencia perjudicaría la planificación comercial; provocaría asimismo cierta incertidumbre en la seguridad alimentaria de los países en desarrollo importadores netos.
La República Argentina desea destacar que una indecisión hoy en la puesta en marcha de las reformas nos llevará a una profundización de la crisis. Tenemos la esperanza que la razón prevalecerá sobre el egoísmo.
Con referencia, Sr. Presidente, a las acciones del Programa de Acción Forestal en los Trópicos, la República Argentina tiene el agrado de invitar por parte de su Gobierno a todos los Estados Miembros interesados a participar en las Jornadas para el Desarrollo Forestal Argentino, que se realizarán en
la ciudad de Corrientes, capital de la provincia del mismo nombre entre los días 18 y 30 de noviembre de 1988·
Asimismo, solicitamos a todas las autoridades competentes darle la más amplia difusión en medios oficiales y privados del sector. Desde ya agradecemos a la FAO y, particularmente la colaboración de su Departamento de Montes de este organismo que tanto apoyo nos ha brindado en su organización.
En la concisa y aguda presentación que realizó el Sr. Hjort, hizo especial referencia a la difícil situación económica de los países de América Latina y el Caribe, que desgraciadamente no podemos sino compartir en su totalidad. Estimamos conveniente, por lo tanto, que en nuestro informe final se incluyan los párrafos pertinentes de dicha intervención.
La información presentada sobre la situación que atraviesa América Latina y el Caribe, no hace más que confirmar la problemática que debieron afrontar los Ministros de Agricultura reunidos en la vigésima Conferencia Regional de la FAO en Recife (Brasil), en los primeros días de octubre próximo pasado.
Es de esperar, Sr. Presidente, que los deseos expresados por nuestros Ministros puedan ser concretados al pie de la letra y que se cumplan las reformas y medidas necesarias para erradicar la pobreza, el hambre y la desnutrición de nuestros países, promover el desarrollo con equidad de nuestras economías, fortalecer los procesos de democratización, respetar los derechos fundamentales de nuestros habitantes, de modo particular el derecho a la alimentación, que es la base del derecho a la vida, y renovar el empeño en preservar la paz.
Antoine ESSOME (Cameroun): Monsieur le Président, je voudrais à mon tour, au nom de la délégation du Cameroun, féliciter le Secrétariat pour la qualité du document présenté à l'appui de ce point de l'ordre du jour. Son mérite, entre autres, est d'avoir mis en évidence l'impasse dans laquelle se trouvent les économies des pays en développement et la marge de manoeuvre très étroite de nos gouvernements littéralement coincés entre les exigences d'un développement économique qu'appelle une démographie galopante, d'une part, et le service d'une dette étouffante, d'autre part.
Il faut également reconnaître à ce document d'avoir su regrouper sous une forme accessible une abondante Information sur divers aspects de la situation mondiale de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture. Malheureusement, les contraintes de temps ne me permettent pas de leur consacrer tous les développements qu'ils appellent.
Au demeurant, nombre d'orateurs qui m'ont précédé ont insisté avec bonheur sur certains aspects de cette situation liés, notamment, à la production, aux tensions de l'offre des céréales et leurs conséquences, au protectionnisme, aux phénomènes monétaires, aux subventions à l'exportation, etc., et je m'en voudrais d'y revenir.
En revanche, je centrerai mon propos sur deux aspects que ma délégation juge essentiels dans l'analyse de cette situation. Il s'agit notamment du commerce de certains produits de base et de l'endettement. Comme s'ils étalent frappés d'Interdits, le cacao, le café, le coton, la vanille, le thé et d'autres produits africains ont vu leurs cours déprimés pendant que ceux du blé, du maïs, du riz et du soja s'envolaient littéralement; et le phénomène dure encore.
En dépit des espoirs suscités par leur mécanisme, les accords internationaux sur ces produits sont loin d'atteindre leur but; nombre d'entre eux sont en veilleuse. Dès lors, comment est-il possible de relancer l'investissement si les maigres ressources d'exportation doivent être consacrées soit au service d'une dette de plus en plus pesante, soit à l'importation de produits alimentaires parce que, localement, la sécheresse, les criquets, les inondations et d'autres calamités en ont compromis les récoltes ? Le service de la dette absorbait 26% des recettes d'exportation en 1984 et 43% en 1987 en Afrique subsaharienne (paragraphe 98 du document) et, pour 22 pays de la région, la totalité des recettes d'exportation n'y suffira pas dans les trois prochaines années, situation que le rapport qualifie, sans doute par euphémisme, de sombre.
Comment concilier à terme la baisse du produit intérieur brut dans la région et l'explosion démographique observée par ailleurs ? Comme s'il fallait les énumérer, ces calamités compromettent les possibilités de développement de nos pays: augmentation rapide du volume des importations; stagnation, voire baisse, des exportations sur tous les produits agricoles, donc dégradation des taux de couverture des importations par les exportations; augmentation plus importante des flux financiers dans le sens sud-nord comparés à ceux du sens nord-sud au cours de la période. Toutes choses qui signifient une perte de substance et un appauvrissement accentués.
C'est le lieu de rendre un hommage mérité aux initiatives canadiennes visant à l'allégement de la dette des pays en développement de même que les efforts inlassables de la France et d'autres pays dans la recherche de solutions appropriées à ce douloureux problème.
Un délégué saluait hier les mesures courageuses prises par les gouvernements en développement dans le cadre des réformes entreprises dans certains secteurs, surtout quand ces réformes répondent aux exigences des plans d'ajustement structurel comme c'est souvent le cas. La plupart d'entre elles entraînent des situations inconciliables et parfois des contradictions difficiles à gérer. Ceci est nettement indiqué dans les paragraphes 106, 107 et 108, et c'est avec vigueur qu'il faut dénoncer ces situations.
La dégradation de la position financière de l'Afrique semble avoir atteint sa cote d'alerte et mérite des solutions urgentes. Certes, ce n'est pas le lieu ici de discuter de cette question vitale, mais le lien évident entre les perspectives de développement, notamment dans l'agriculture, secteur-clé de nos économies, oblige en l'évoquant de mettre en relief les perspectives particulièrement sombres de la région. Dans ces conditions, assurer et conforter le processus de développement, moderniser l'agriculture et les techniques culturales dans nos pays, deviennent une véritable gageure.
Nous nous refusons cependant à considérer comme une fatalité cette évolution de la situation et des choses. Nous sommes convaincus que les efforts actuellement déployés au plan de la coopération internationale, notamment pour soutenir les politiques de redressement économique engagées par nos gouvernements, porteront des fruits. C'est le cas du plan d'action des Nations Unies dont nous attendons l'évaluation des premiers impacts à mi-parcours. C'est le cas aussi du plan d'action forestier tropical, qui, par une approche originale, vise une implication plus marquée des populations qui vivent de la forêt pour leur permettre, non seulement de tirer le meilleur parti de ce patrimoine économique, mais aussi d'en assurer la pérennité. C'est enfin le cas des négociations commerciales multilatérales, dont il faut espérer qu'elles aboutiront à une maîtrise des marchés internationaux, condition indispensable pour des échanges plus équilibrés.
Mais, ici comme ailleurs, seule une volonté commune permettrait des solutions viables pour arrêter la dégradation de la situation, si l'on veut espérer une relance économique dans les pays en développement, et avec elle la perspective de consolider la sécurité alimentaire.
En fin de compte, M. le Président, l'Interdépendance des économies est une donnée incontournable. Elle appelle une coopération étroite pour une réforme plus large, réforme dont les objectifs bien ciblés devraient répondre aux aspirations légitimes des pays qui souhaitent un ordre plus juste, une meilleure répartition des activités et des échanges dont les résultats seraient une juste rémunération des efforts des uns et des autres dans le cadre d'un partenariat bien compris.
Roger PASQUIER (Suisse): La situation mondiale de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation présente des problèmes dont notre Conseil doit s'occuper afin qu'ensemble les Etats Membres progressent vers des solutions. C'est aussi ces problèmes que la FAO doit avoir en vue lorsqu'elle oriente son assistance technique.
Je ne veux pas passer en revue tous ces problèmes. Je vais me concentrer sur deux aspects.
D'abord les politiques agricoles, et parmi elles la politique de sécurité alimentaire.
Le Directeur général a évoqué dans sa déclaration d'avant hier le rôle accru qu'il voulait voir jouer à la FAO en matière de politiques agricoles, par rapport à d'autres institutions multilatérales, et en collaboration avec elles, notamment à l'occasion des ajustements structurels. Nous en sommes heureux, et ferons part ultérieurement au cours de cette session d'idées et propositions à ce sujet.
Pour ce qui est de la sécurité alimentaire dans son concept élargi, nous regrettons en passant que le document que le Secrétariat a préparé pour ce débat ne comporte pas des estimations chiffrées de la population sous-alimentée par pays, et qu'il nous faille aller chercher ces estimations dans un document de la Banque mondiale. Le Secrétariat de la FAO fait preuve, à notre avis, de prudence excessive à ce sujet.
Mais passons à un fait positif, en relevant que par ailleurs le Secrétariat de la FAO a joué un rôle très valable dans l'examen à mi-parcours de la mise en oeuvre du programme pour le redressement économique en Afrique, en contribuant au rapport du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies préparé pour le récent débat à ce sujet aux Nations Unies à New York.
En relation avec cet examen à mi-parcours, nous nous réjouissons par ailleurs de constater que bien des pays africains ont modifié leur politique de développement agricole en tenant compte de l'expérience passée, et que des effets positifs sont déjà observables, comme l'a souligné notamment le délégué de la France hier.
Nous savons en outre que dans le cas du Sénégal, le Secrétariat de la FAO a pu fournir pleinement sa contribution au volet agricole de l'ajustement structurel, mais ce type de contribution est jusqu'ici trop rare.
Dans l'examen de la situation par région que comporte le document que nous examinons, à part l'Afrique que je viens d'évoquer, il vaut la peine de mettre en évidence, comme le fait le document dans ses paragraphes 151 et 152, la place relativement plus importante qu'a reconquis l'agriculture en Amérique latine suite aux ajustements entrepris des politiques économiques nationales. Il y a là, nous semble-t-il, une conjoncture qui devrait conduire les pays concernés à recourir aux services de conseil de notre Organisation, la FAO, et en retirer des avantages.
Mon second point touche à la pérennité du développement. Pour que le développement soit durable il faut bien sûr, comme on le sait, conserver et développer les ressources naturelles, et il faut que l'évolution démographique soit adéquate.
Pour ce qui est des ressources naturelles, on néglige trop le fait que le succès durable passe obligatoirement par une responsabilisation accrue de la population rurale ou, comme vient de le dire l'Honorable Délégué du Cameroun, par une implication plus marquée de la population concernée. Nous reviendrons sur cette question au point pertinent de l'ordre du jour.
Pour le moment nous faisons encore cette proposition pratique à propos du chapitre spécial sur la pérennité du développement qui est prévu dans le document de l'an prochain sur la situation mondiale de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation pour la période 1988-1989. Ce chapitre spécial, que M. Hjort a appelé d'une manière un peu différente "volume spécial", nous dit au paragraphe 77 que le Secrétariat devrait notamment analyser les changements requis pour traduire le concept de pérennité dans la pratique et examiner comment la FAO pourrait contribuer davantage à ces changements.
Dans ce chapitre spécial ma délégation voudrait que soit développé l'aspect de la responsabilisation accrue de la population que je viens de mentionner. Il serait très important de le faire pour faciliter le débat de nos organes directeurs sur ce sujet.
E. Wayne DENNEY (United States of Aeerica): The United States believes that the documents prepared for this agenda item do a good job of characterizing global agricultural and economic conditions. We have come to expect a high quality paper on the State of Food and Agriculture and once again FAO has delivered. The United States considers the collection and evaluation of agricultural Information amongst the most important functions that FAO performs. The inclusion of policy documents is a welcome addition to this year's documents, and expanded coverage of policy issues in future reviews would also be welcomed.
We look forward to the new SOFA format presenting Information on a more timely basis, as noted by Mr. Hjort yesterday.
As indicated in the documents and in the introduction by Mr. Hjort, food supplies for the developing world increased somewhat in 1988 while overall American grain output plummeted. As a major grain producer the United States fully recognizes the impact of its production and stock changes on world totals. Just a year ago United States grain stocks were quite large which alarmed many countries. Now they have dwindled and the global community is appropriately questioning the impact of this rapid turnaround. Let me assure you that there is little cause for alarm. Although the percentage drop in grain stocks is quite startling, the United States has the grain supplies necessary to meet its food aid and commercial export commitments of 1988/89. Policy decisions dealing with restrictions of planted area, coupled with stronger grain prices, should lead to significant expansion of grain output next year.
During 1988 some 78 million acres of United States farmland were idled through various programmes. As much as two-thirds of this acreage, or about 50 million acres, may be put back into production during the next crop cycle.
The United States established a four million tonne food security wheat reserve in 1981 to ensure that ample wheat supplies would be available to meet urgent humanitarian food needs in developing countries·
On 26 October 1988 President Reagan authorized the release of up to 1.5 million tonnes for programming during fiscal year 1988/89. Not surprisingly the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations has
received considerable attention from Council members. Those concerned about trade protectionism and its devastation on agricultural and economic growth in developing countries are making progress towards an agreement. It is a slow time-consuming and delicate process, but a worthwhile one. The United States tabled its original proposal in July 1987 and since that time has amplified it with respect to food security and special and differential treatment for developing countries.
On 7 November the United States submitted to the agricultural negotiating group of GATT a framework calling for commitments by all participants to agree to agricultural trade reform objectives and processes during the mid-term review in Montreal. We remain optimistic that the mid-term review will achieve meaningful results. To maximize the probability of significant results in Montreal maintaining a spirit of cooperation is essential. We question whether the denunciation of country trade practices would contribute to that spirit. We associate ourselves with comments made by Australia in this regard.
In regard to the debt issue we recognize the burden that heavy debt places on any country, whether it be a developing country or a developed one like our own. It is an issue we have dealt with recently in the Toronto Summit, at the UN Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development, at UNCTAD and at other fora our positions on this matter have been enunciated. However, as we have frequently stated before, the appropriate fora negotiating debt issues include the IMF, World Bank and Paris Club but not FAO.
In the Director-General's opening address a number of interesting observations were made about FAO's activities in relation to structural adjustment. We heard yesterday some suggestions, such as those made by the delegates of Zambia, Lesotho, Cuba and others. This is an important question. As this matter relates to FAO's role as a member of the UN system, my delegation intends to comment on it further under discussions of agenda item 10.
The United States joins others in thanking the Executive Director of the World Food Council for his participation in this Session. We reaffirm our support for the Cyprus initiative and plan to participate in the consultative group.
Finally, in response to the Colombian query of yesterday, regarding United States agricultural input data, we are unable to immediately confirm the paragraphs in question and would ask the Secretary to respond, though it appears to be sending somewhat conflicting signals.
John Redman GOLDSACK (United Kingdom): We welcome the report and congratulate the authors on producing a succinct overview of developments in world agriculture. We note that the figures quoted in Table 1 of Annex 1 for the growth in 1988 of output of industrial countries reflects the IMF's forecast which was produced relatively early in the year and that later forecasts produced by other forecasters such as OECD and the World Bank reflect higher rates of growth. However, in 1989 all forecasters expect growth in the developing countries to slow. The expected upturn in output in Africa referred to in paragraph 9 is indeed welcome. We note that most forecasters do not expect a continued sustained recovery in commodity prices. This, coupled with the fact that international interest rates have risen sharply and that there is unlikely to be a sustained recovery in financial flows of developing countries, means that the prospect of maintaining even this level of output of increase in Africa in subsequent years is not good.
We note with concern the declining output per capita in food production in Africa and in other parts of the developing world referred to in Annexes 2 and 3 and paragraphs 37 to 39. Clearly unless there is a significant change in output of food production in the developing world food deficits are likely to grow in the forthcoming years.
We note the dramatic fall in external private lending to agriculture during the 1980s. It is vital that developing countries review their domestic policies with regard to foreign investment in order to encourage such flows for vital investment projects.
We agree that export prices and demand for food and agricultural products are important factors in affecting the future prospects for developing country agriculture, but it is equally important that domestic policies in developing countries towards their agricultural sector are appropriate, providing adequate incentives for producers.
On forestry matters, we continue to urge FAO to put the Tropical Forestry Action Plan high on its agenda·
The statement in paragraph 60 that wood contributes 20 percent of energy consumed in developing countries, looks to us like an understatement when we know that for rural communities 80-90 percent is the quoted figure. The important role of forestries in land use deserves increased emphasis in this report with regard to soil and water conservation and agro-forestry. In the fisheries sector the substantial changes in major fish catches are noted. There was not a warning that the present total world production may not be sustained indefinitely. Renewed efforts to understand and forecast environmental change are essential. Greater flexibility of end-usage of species to take advantage of widely varying availability of different kinds of fish so as to sustain total consumption should be encouraged. In particular, any improvement in the usage of fish for direct human consumption rather than for conversion to fishmeal should also be encouraged.
Mr. Chairman, we feel that the increasing importance of acquaculture to total world production should have been stressed more firmly. Increased international trading in fish and fish products potentially of great benefit to developing countries must be monitored and, where possible and appropriate, encouraged.
Mr. Chairman, we feel that the paper ignores the very substantial amount of evidence suggesting that major climatic change is occurring and will continue. Long-term planning for the effect on fish and fisheries should be undertaken vigorously.
The United Kingdom sees FAO's primary role in fisheries as that of collecting, analysing and disseminating fishery information for development purposes.A secondary role is to maintain an effective and efficient system for the delivery of technical assistance for development and research in all fishery subjects. In the last ten years FAO's capacity in this regard has declined. This seems to be due to the difficulty of recruiting and training suitably qualified staff. This problem should be tackled vigorously by the Director-General who, we feel sure, is well aware of the reasons for it·
We regret the dramatically reduced support for the FAO fisheries' library system and trust that support for it will be restored as soon as possible.
On sustainable natural resources development, we urge that positive steps should be taken by FAO to support the concept of the integration of environmental policies and development strategies as recommended by the World Commission on Environment and Development.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to make some observations on the Uruguay Round. The disagreement between developed and developing countries over the aims of the Round is unnecessary.The growing body of evidence shows that all must liberalize if the greatest benefits are to accrue. Reform by development countries would improve prices, and access for developing country exports.Even net importing developing countries would benefit. But developing countries must also reform. Higher prices and lower taxes on commodities would improve domestic output and investment.We appreciate the needs of developing countries to promote development, but special and differential treatment should not be used to promote self-sufficiency at all costs. Such policies are costly and ineffective.
In the view of the United Kingdom, the mid-term meeting in Montreal in December should build on OECD and Group of 77 commitments to seeking a framework approach to agriculture with both long-term and short-term elements. We would like to see agreement reached in Montreal to a framework approach with commitments in the short-term to a freeze, and possible further reductions in support, combined with commitments in principle to substantial reductions to support in the long-term. Both these elements would be facilitated by the use of an aggregate measure.
We are aware of developing countries' suspicions of a producer-subsidy element, but we feel it offers vital flexibility to policy commitments in the reform process. The United Kingdom hopes for substantial progress at the mid-term review on tropical products on which the EC has tabled a significant offer. We now need to break the deadlock in liberalising in the interests of all, and it is our view that developing countries are not being asked to do more than is appropriate to their development. Thank you, Chairman.
Earl W. WEYBRECHT (Canada): Let me begin by thanking the Secretariat for providing the Council with a very good synopsis of the global economy in general, and of developments in the agricultural sector in particular. The documents on the state of food and agriculture in 1988 provide members with an assessment of the impact of current macro-economic and other factors on agricultural and food production, farm incomes, food consumption and agricultural trade.They bring together a number of important elements, ranging from the rapid change in world cereal stock levels, multilateral efforts affecting the agricultural sector, along with developments on a regional basis, including the reference that in 58 of 108 developing countries food production has failed to increase in per capita terms in 1988.
Mr. Chairman, we are pleased with the indication that the document State of Food and Agriculture in 1988/89 will devote a special chapter to key issues related to natural resource management for sustainable agriculture and rural development.
Canada has been working closely with members of the Cairns Group to achieve, within the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations, a substantial reduction in protectionism and trade-distorting support measures in the agricultural sector. These negotiations are important for both developing and developed countries to achieve a more stable situation in world agricultural trade and to improve the world economic environment in this sector. It will be criticial, therefore, that the GATT Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in Montreal in December, provide the political direction to bring the Round to a substantial conclusion.
Concrete steps and a common approach were approved this year at the Toronto Economic Summit to reduce the debt burden of the poorest countries. This initiative will provide significant debt relief for the poorest nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.The Canadian Government had earlier indicated, during the Quebec Summit Fraco-Phone Countries and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Vancouver, its plan to give approximately 700 million Canadian dollars of official development assistance loans.
Mr. Chairman, on the question of stocks, information provided in document CL 94/2 Supplementary 1, indicates that by the end of 1988/89 crop years cereal stocks are expected to fall to a level that would be below the minimum level the FAO considers necessary for world food security. We note the question of world cereal stocks was discussed in the meeting that took place last week in FAO of the Inter-Governmental Group on Grains.The Group recognized the need to increase production in the next crop year to ensure adequate supplies, noting the fine balance between a situation of short supplies and excess supplies.
One further point, Mr. Chairman, on the documents.We would ask that paragraph no. 204 of the main document be rephrased to reflect the fact that the free trade agreement between Canada and the United States has not yet been ratified by the two countries.The wording could be along the lines that in 1987 the conclusion of the negotiation of a free trade agreement between Canada and the United States was a major step towards a more liberalised trade between the two countries. In 1988 the necessary steps were taken to ensure that both countries would be in a position to implement the agreement once ratified by each party.The Canadian Parliament has not yet ratified the agreement. On the basis of this agreement all tariffs and some non-tariffs barriers would be eliminated by the year 2000. Mr. Chairman, we thank the Executive Director of the World Food Council for providing this Council with a report on action taken to date by the World Food Council to implement the Cyprus Initiative. Within the framework of the Cyprus Initiative we look to the consultative group just established by the World Food Council to consider practical ways and means of improving food availability for consideration by ministers in Cairo in 1989.
Taghi SHAMEKI (Iran, République islamique d'): Au nom d'Allah, la délégation de la République islamique d'Iran souhaite plein succès au Président compte tenu de son talent et de sa compétence. Je félicite M. le Directeur général pour sa déclaration claire et courageuse qui a mis en évidence la situation mondiale de l'agriculture de la FAO, et ses problèmes.
L'examen de la situation de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation nous montre malheureusement que l'atmosphère est sombre, et plusieurs honorables délégations se sont exprimées dans ce sens, et le document C 94/2 et ses suppléments, bien travaillé et présenté par le directeur de la Division de l'analyse politique, nous le démontre. Les réalités lourdes qui pèsent sur nous ne nous permettent pas un optimisme facile.
Et j'énumèreral simplement les faits suivants: diminution particulière de la production céréalière, accroissement rapide des prix des céréales, le fait que dans 78 pays en développement sur 108 la production vivrière par habitant diminue, accroissement des dettes des pays en développement, le fait que les prix de la plupart des productions agricoles importées par les pays en développement sont en augmentation, tandis que lorsque les pays en développement exportent, ces prix diminuent or stagnent; en général, 11 faut noter que le flux des ressources s'écoule encore de la part des pays en développement vers les pays développés et il faut ajouter enfin le problème très important de la destruction de l'environnement dans ces pays, destruction qui prend une vitesse excessive.
Ce sont des réalités lourdes et amères qui ont pesé et pèsent sur le dos de ces pays, et l'on peut dire que pendant des décennies ces réalités, avec des hauts et des bas, ont subsisté et malheureusement au cours des années cela s'est détérioré. C'est un point très important.
Nous sommes à présent face aux propositions et aux réformes soutenues dans le document dont nous discutons en vue d'améliorer cet état de choses. Je tiens à préciser que nous pensons qu'avec de telles réformes et dans un tel cadre d'activité, les pays en développement ne pourront pas se sortir de cette situation, car les problèmes ne seront pas résolus. Ce genre de mesure a été approuvé et applaudi maintes fois dans différents points du monde. Nous pensons que la quasi totalité des mécanismes qui régnent sur les échanges entre les pays développés et les pays en développement jouent contre ces derniers et doivent être changés, bouleversés; et les créateurs de ces mécanismes doivent les réviser et les réformer.
Voilà une réforme, voilà de nouveaux paramètres et une nouvelle dimension qu'il faut ajouter à ce qui se dit et se répète partout et tout le temps.
Nous pensons que la révision de ce principe ne pourra être appliquée que si la morale internationale est bouleversée - je dis bien la morale internationale - que si les créateurs de ces mécanismes, les programmateurs et les managers de ces relations s'éloignent de plus en plus des pensées mercantilistes et égoïstes qui régnent sur la plupart de ces relations, et que s'ils prennent en compte de plus en plus le service aux hommes et le bonheur de l'humanité. Les programmateurs soutiennent de plus en plus ce qui se fait au bénéfice de la paix mondiale au lieu de voir l'intérêt de leur groupe ou de leur pays. Enfin, il faut que la spiritualité prenne une place à tous les niveaux.
Nous insistons sur ce principe car nous croyons que ce sera bénéfique pour tous les pays, et que tous les hommes vivront paisiblement côte à côte. Nous demandons aux programmateurs, aux managers, aux riches et aux développés de changer la morale actuelle; nous ne leur demandons pas des dons; non; mais le changement que nous leur demandons est le seul chemin vers un monde plus équitable, plus juste au bénéfice de tous - j'insiste, au bénéfice de tous.
Sinon, 11 y a un principe fondamental qui ne changera pas. Ce principe, c'est que l'homme subit la pauvreté et la faim; il subit les relations bilatérales ou multilatérales inégales. Mais 11 y a un point jusqu'auquel il ne les subira pas dans son âme et son corps. Il y aura alors une réaction dont l'histoire de l'homme est pleine d'exemples. Cette réaction, c'est la révolution. Et la révolution islamique de notre pays en est un exemple. Il serait bon que les grands, les riches, les programmateurs, les développés pensent aux pauvres paysans africains, asiatiques ou latino-américains avant qu'un tel jour n'arrive.
Après ces propos d'ordre général, je voudrais parler un peu de la situation à laquelle on fait face au Proche-Orient et dans mon pays. La plupart des pays en développement sont mis à genoux par le poids de la dette extérieure et n'arrivent pas à investir pour leur développement agricole. Les pays pétroliers et, parmi eux, les pays pétroliers en développement du Proche-Orient faisaient une exception; mais ils sont à l'heure actuelle dans la même situation que les autres. Au cours de ces dernières années, alors que les prix des produits manufacturés et leurs importations ont connu une hausse nette, le prix du pétrole est tombé. En outre, le dollar - l'argent qui leur revient - ne cesse de perdre de sa valeur. Or, d'après les statistiques, le taux d'accroissement démographique de ces pays et le taux d'accroissement de leurs importations vivrières sont les plus hauts parmi les pays en développement. Il faut donc s'attendre à ce que, dans un proche avenir, ces pays rejoignent les rangs des autres pays en développement et perdent leurs capacités d'investissement et donc de développement. La République islamique d'Iran est l'un de ces pays.
Voyons maintenant ce qui s'est passé dans ce pays en matière d'agriculture après sa révolution. Je dois préciser qu'en Iran, outre les problèmes mentionnés ci-dessus, nous nous trouvions dans une situation postrévolutionnaire qui a engendré de nombreux problèmes dont le plus
important est la guerre qui nous a été imposée pendant huit ans, qui a pesé lourdement sur nous et a absorbé beaucoup de nos ressources humaines et matérielles.
Malgré toutes ces difficultés, nous avons connu un accroissement de la production dans le secteur agricole. Pendant les années 1981 à 1987, le taux d'accroissement de 5% du PIB, en valeur stable, a joué un rôle important dans l'économie nationale et a permis de satisfaire les besoins vivriers du pays. L'effet de ce processus, qui est le résultat du travail de 30% de la population active du pays et des services donnés par le gouvernement, se caractérise par une augmentation du volume de la production agricole, de telle sorte qu'actuellement le taux d'accroissement de la production agricole domine le taux d'accroissement démographique et que, pour certains produits, nous sommes arrivés à un surplus des exportations.
Les chiffres nous disent que le volume total de la production agricole, y compris la production animale et la pêche, est passé de 32 millions de tonnes à 42 millions de tonnes pendant les années 1983 à 1987· Cette augmentation comprend 2,9 millions de tonnes pour les céréales, 1,6 million de tonnes pour les betteraves et la canne à sucre, 800 000 tonnes pour la pomme de terre et les oignons et 2,2 millions de tonnes pour les fruits. En dépit de la forte hausse de la population, de l'ordre de 5,5 millions pendant cette période - à l'exception des émigrés afghans et autres dont nous sommes les hôtes - la production vivrière par habitant a augmenté de la façon suivante: pour les céréales, de 205 kg à 237 kg par habitant; pour les pommes de terre et les oignons, de 55 kg à 64 kg par habitant; pour les fruits, de 87 à 105 kg par habitant. Pour différentes causes survenues pendant l'année passée, ce rythme a diminué, mais c'est temporaire. Pendant cette période, nous n'avons pas seulement augmenté la production par habitant mais nous avons fait un pas en avant dans le domaine des exportations agricoles car celles-ci, de 144 000 tonnes en 1985, sont passées à 400 000 en 1987·
Comme je l'ai dit auparavant, toutes ces activités se sont effectuées pendant une guerre sanglante et sans recours aux emprunts extérieurs. Et encore, il nous reste un grand potentiel inexploité. Après la guerre, que nous espérons être définitivement terminée, sur les conseils du Guide de la Révolution quant à l'importance de l'agriculture et en mettant l'accent sur un plus grand travail d'infrastructure et une vulgarisation plus forte, nous pensons parvenir à des résultats plus éclatants et enfin à l’autosuffisance pour ce qui est des matières agricoles et vivrières essentielles.
L'exemple de l'Iran montre qu'il y a dans les pays en développement un grand potentiel et de nombreuses possibilités humaines et matérielles inexploitées, mal connues ou méconnues et que si ces pays décident de se lever au lieu de se mettre à genoux, ils pourront vaincre la faim et la malnutrition malgré des conditions très difficiles comme une guerre non voulue. Si Dieu le veut !
Horacio CARANDANG (Philippines): Developing countries are predominantly agricultural and therefore rely primarily on exports of agricultural commodities for the foreign exchange earnings to finance their own development. Hence the paramount importance of agricultural trade, of trade in agricultural commodities for developing countries. Unfortunately, trade in agricultural commodities today is beset by a great number of problems. One of these problems is the weakness of effective demand, both domestic and external. This is referred to in Doc. CL 94/2 from paras 27-30. According to the document, domestic demand in developing countries is below that of the 1970s because of stagnating incomes in most developing countries. As regards the external demand, however, the sustained, even if slow, economic growth in developed countries since 1982 was expected to stimulate import demand and including that for agricultural products originating from the developing countries but this has not occurred except in the United States and the reason given by the paper is that on the whole import demand for agricultural products in developed countries was extremely depressed in the 1980s, reflecting low population growth, already high per capita consumption levels, protectionist policies or strong support for the domestic agriculture in many of them, para 27 of the said document.
Because of this weak and external demand, prices of agricultural commodities - with a few exceptions - have been depressed.
I quote from the Director-General's speech: "With very few exceptions, there has been a downward trend in real prices for nearly three decades. For most basic commodities, they are lower than in 1960. The decline is particularly marked for agricultural commodities even if a slight temporary rise can be seen here and there as happened recently with cereals, with sugar or again with soya beans because of falling production in the United States and also with vegetable oil".
Let me go back to the causes pointed out by the paper before us for the weakness in external demand. I quote: "Strong support for domestic agriculture, protectionist policies, low population growth and high per caput consumption levels in the developed countries ..." To illustrate how this factor is affecting demand and prices with disastrous consequences for developing countries, let me cite the example of sugar. In 1975, the EEC was importing 1.5 million tonnes of sugar. Now the EEC is exporting 1.5 million tonnes of sugar to the world market at subsidized prices. Import demand also at about that date was high in the United States. Since then, import quotas have dwindled to a few hundred thousand tonnes. As a result of such changes in the demand pattern, the world price of sugar has been kept perpetually at depressed price levels below production costs.
Mr. Chairman, the agricultural experts in this room know what has happened in the intervening period that has caused the drastic changes in the demand pattern and in the price of sugar. First, internal intervention price levels for sugar in the above-mentioned developed countries were raised to a level several times above the world market prices making it attractive for farmers in these developed countries to increase their production. For example, today the EEC intervention price is 22 cents per pound, but world prices - according to the Stock Market quoted by the Financial Times
of 6 November - are about 10 cents per pound. Second, a protective wall is built around the countries concerned by means of variable levies. The exporter is required to pay the difference between the world market price and the internal intervention price. For sugar, for example, if one were to export to the EEC today one would have to pay the levies equivalent to the difference between 22 cents and the world price of about 10 cents. With these kinds of tariffs, only those with preferential treatment can export to the EEC. Third, the surplus generated in the above-mentioned markets, because of high internal intervention prices, is exported to the world markets at subsidized prices.
Because of these policies, as I indicated earlier, the price of sugar in the world market has been kept below the production costs of even the most efficient producers. Due to these practices, more than 400 000 farmers in the Philippines working in the production of sugar cane lost their jobs with severe consequences for their families and social unrest in the country.
The system of quotas and the system of protection in other developed countries have practically closed up the markets in those countries with depressing effects on the world prices. The same thing is happening for oilseeds and oil fats. Because of the oversupply of cereals in the Community, it was decided that a shift had to be made from cereals to oilseeds. Attractive intervention prices for oilseeds in the EEC have been instituted for several years now to induce farmers to make the shift. The policy of generous subsidies has produced more than a ten-fold jump in the EEC production of oilseeds within a decade from 1.4 million tonnes in 1977 to 11.5 million tonnes in 1987. Because of such generous subsidies, there has been a great increase in EEC expenditures, and for this reason several proposals have been made by the EEC Commission to put up a system of protectionist levies on vegetable and marine oils to finance the growing expenditures for subsidies in the oilseeds and oil fats sectors of the EEC. The latest of these was the so-called stabilization mechanism on oils and fats of February 1987. This proposal was of course, met with strong protests from exporters who had bindings in GATT. The EEC Summit of February 1988 did not accept the Commission's proposal. This was indeed a most welcome decision. It is, however, to be regretted that, at the same Summit, the Commission had it recorded that it intended to continue to examine the stabilization mechanism.
Mr. Chairman, the FAO guidelines on international agricultural adjustment stipulate that member countries should, in formulating their own agricultural policies, take into account the effect of such policies on other countries. We live in an interdependent world. If the developing countries cannot export their agricultural produce, they can neither pay for their imports nor service their foreign debts.
To conclude, let me reiterate the FAO Resolution 2/79 which stipulates that no new tariff or non-tariff barriers should be imposed, and the Uruguay Resolutions calling for a roll-back and a stand-still·
Finally, the Philippine delegation would like to express its support for the position put forward by the Cairns Group, particularly as regards preferential treatment for developing countries.
José Ramon LOPEZ-PORTILLO ROMANO (Mexico): La delegación de Mexico ha solicitado el uso de la palabra por segunda vez para hacer el siguiente anuncio: Argentina, Argelia, Colombia, Cuba, España, Nicaragua, Peru, México y otros países que posteriormente se incluirán, están interesados en presentar un proyecto de resolución para el tema 8 de nuestra agenda relativo a: "Plan de Acción para la Integración de la Mujer en el Desarrollo Agrícola y Rural".
Hemos tenido ya contactos con la Secretaría al respecto, y el documento relativo lo estamos enviando en borrador a la Secretaría. Le rogamos tome usted nota para que en el día de mañana en la discusión de dicho tema podamos abarcar este proyecto de resolución.
Tawfik A.H. AL MESH-HEDANI (Iraq) (Original language Arabic): Mr. Chairman, since this is the first occasion on which I have taken the floor, may I express our pleasure at seeing you in the Chair of this Council. I am sure that your chairmanship will make this session a success. Through you, Mr. Chairman, I would like to congratulate the three Vice-Chairmen. We have full confidence in their work.
I should also like to express my satisfaction at seeing the USSR represented here as an Observer. We hope that they will soon become full-fledged members of our Organization.
The Director-General - thanks to customary wisdom - has given us an overview of the state of food and agriculture in 1988 which is most clear. The Secretariat has submitted a document which is comprehensive and clear.
Since all the members of the Council have already spoken and expressed their views on this particular document, I shall try to be very brief in my comments concerning the state of food and agriculture. The positive developments in international markets, especially in the first half of 1988, and the progression of international rates and all its positive impact, are all developments that we take note of with satisfaction without however forgetting the imbalances which still exist in world economy. Therefore, an imbalance in rates, monetary imbalances and economic imbalances are still rampant in world trade - for instance, the burden of the debt servicing and the external debt situation in developing countries. There are some very satisfactory policies but they are not yet enough to help developing countries in their development efforts. Such a climate prevents developing countries from achieving a full development of their agriculture, and limited incomes have an impact on the standard of living. There is a shortage of basic commodities in developing countries, as we read in paragraphs 31 and 32.
There is another point which I would like to touch upon. The delegate from France has spoken about the increase in agricultural commodities. He said that this would increase the foreign currency reserves of developing countries. On the other hand, exporting countries are faced with a tremendous imbalance in trade. The prices of other export commodities, which are not agricultural commodities, have declined.
The document is clear. We have stressed all the different problems which exist at the regional level. We have started up a reform to encourage farmers to a better use of agricultural resources. We have stimulated the research work into the private sector, and, thanks to FAO assistance, we have already made quite a lot of progress. We still have a long way to go, especially because we still have to make great efforts to build up what was destroyed during the war in the hope of a durable peace.
I hope that you will be very successful in your work.
Assefa YILALA (Observer for Ethiopia): This being the first time that we have requested the floor, the delegation of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia joins those delegations who have spoken before us in expressing our pleasure, Mr. Chairman, at seeing you in the Chair. We would also like to congratulate your three Vice-Chairmen upon their election to this important responsibility.
Our delegation will also use this opportunity to thank the FAO Secretariat for the comprehensive document on the State of Food and Agriculture, and thank Mr. Hjort, the Director of Policy Analysis Division, and Mr. Trant, the Executive Director of the World Food Council, for the clear introduction which was provided to us.
We felt that this interpretation provided us with further insight into our understanding of the prevailing food and agricultural situation.We feel sincerely that these combined reports provided adequate coverage of the matter without involving additional dimensions. However, our delegation would like to make some observations not withstanding that some points have already been mentioned by Council Members earlier.We believe it would contribute to the convergence of ideas on this specific deliberation and therefore request your indulgence.
Food production in developed countries appears to respond faster to price fluctuations. This is due to the support and availability of other opportunities for earning income from other sectors of developments when farm income is no longer attractive and hence needs supports of various kinds for it to continue - a remote possibility in developing countries.Leaving aside the drought inflicted damage to spring-sown crops in North America, and a few other examples, most of the decline in food production prior to 1987/88 could be attributed to lower prices in agricultural commodities. Therefore, it could be concluded that the decline is man-made or induced. Hence positive responses to increased food production which is required for global food security could not be considered as an impossible task.
On the other hand, declining food production in developing countries, particularly in Africa, is mainly due to an inability to respond in this way because of either economic or climatic factors which are beyond control.Agricultural commodities were faced with continually declining prices for several years, yet farmers in developing countries continued to produce as long as it was possible to do so. However, farmers are obtaining only a small fraction of what they could have obtained some ten years ago. In most cases these reduced and declining prices were obtained for an increased volume of agricultural outputs. If it were not for the limited opportunities for earning
an income and the need to fulfill obligations to live, food production would have declined even further, especially when we think of the continually declining prices for agricultural commodities on the international market. Farmers were forced to cope with declining prices by increasing production while the income to farmers has deteriorated continually instead of showing signs of improvement. We feel that this matter will require a rational understanding and support for the proposed solutions.
From the statistical analysis shown at paragraphs 34-41 it can be observed that of the 101 countries which experienced a decline in agricultural output in 1987-78 are developing countries which are faced at the same time with a decline in per capita food production. It could also be stated (with minor variations) that this is also the same group of developing countries whose debt servicing ratio has increased from 26 percent in 1984 to 43 percent in 1987 thus absorbing almost half of the exports which are basically agricultural commodities. In the case of Ethiopia this ratio has exceeded even the 50 percent level during the reporting period. Declining per capita food production coupled with the increased volume of agricultural commodity exports to fulfil debt commitments has also affected the availability of food within the developing countries. Food supply prospects, constrained by limited output, have already affected procurement from the international market due to increased prices. This situation creates further shortages of food owing to increasing economic difficulties and inability to pay.
At a time like this when the means for obtaining minimum food requirements are constrained, reduction in the volume of food aid will have a tragic and negative effect on the nutritional intake of people in developing countries, particularly those in the lower income bracket and the rural poor. In fulfilling the basic food needs this is a consideration which puts to the top of the priority list the question of channeling more resources towards agricultural development. This becomes even more questionable due to the limitation of resources and may even endanger the future food security.
Paragraph 24 indicates that external debt still remains the main obstacle to the resumption of satisfactory economic growth. We fully agree with this statement as it reflects the situation in all debt-distressed countries. References were made to the need to avert the negative flow of growing external resources to agriculture in order to provide a solution to trade issues and increase food production.This matter was adequately reflected both in the document and the observations made by Council Members. I will refrain from going into further detail, other than to indicate the similarities between our views and those expressed earlier.However, our delegation would like to reiterate that future global food security will to a large extent, depend on the magnitude to which lasting understanding is established concerning the increase of the external resource flow to agriculture, establishing further genuine debt relief mechanisms to all those that are faced with this crisis, and also finalization of the negotiations on multinational trade agreements·
In this connection we feel that completion of the operational phase of the negotiation in the Uruguay Round, faster than the four years indicated, as per the negotiation objectives set out in declarations of Punta del Este, will have a significant contribution to the global food security problem being faced at present·
With regard to food supply prospects in Ethiopia in 1988/89 an FAO Crop Assessment Mission was scheduled for the present month.As the findings of this mission have yet to be obtained, one is unable to deliver accurate information at this stage. Inadequate rainfall during the small crop season, a delayed start of rain during the main growing season, prolonged heavy rainfall which has caused lodging in the highland crops, and threat of damage due to widespread locust infestations are just some of the occurrences that have prevailed during the period. These are considered to be factors contributing to a decline in food production.This is the first growing season after the 1986/87 shortage and one would expect to see the deficit situation continuing even though accurate Information on the extent and magnitude cannot be given at this stage because of the continuous drought that occurred in the past, and also the natural recovery time that will be required.
Severe conditions faced not long ago have been diverted by the present favourable climatic conditions that we observed in 1988/89. The weather conditions were generally favourable and within the means and limits available, efforts were maximized to make use of the favourable situation that prevailed.
It is the firm belief and commitment of our delegation that the concept of sustainable development (as the process of change) will contribute towards the needs of the present time without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This point is mentioned in paragraph 75 of the document·
The experience of those who have gone through the difficulties of environmental degradation (and the challenge of having to avert its declining trend) has forced it to become a ready-to-launch type of priority programme without having to provide the tremendous resources that would be required.
Most of the present environmental degradation emerges from meeting basic daily needs, rather than a deliberate motive to do so. Therefore, this will require alternative plans to provide resources which are beyond the capabilities of the developing world. Such a provision of additional resources is much beyond those which are presently channelled to the multilaternal institutions.
We feel that the FAO programmes outlined in this regard, (and also in document 94/6) will have a positive contribution towards the concept of sustainable development and probably this is all that could be achieved with the limited resources available to the Organization.Therefore, we would like to mention that it is necessary to mobilize more resources, commensurate with the need that is indicated. We feel also that deliberation on this point should give adequate attention to that aspect of the matter rather than trying to obtain resources through changing programmes.
An Integrated Plan of Natural Resources Conservation and Development in my country has been formulated.The whole population of Ethiopia will participate.The Plan is expected to be launched during 1989. However, as this requires both internal and external resources for its implementation, cooperation in this regard will contribute towards sustainable development at the individual country level and subsequently to that of the global concern.
During the last two days when the financial situation has been discussed the secretariat was required to respond to questions raised by Council Members before observers were given a chance to speak. This was due to limitation of time. In this connection, and because of our participation in the Finance Committee and shortage of time, our delegation did not insist on going against your guidance. Now that we have taken the floor we would like to express our deep concern about the serious financial situation (particularly that of 1989) and would like to indicate the similarities of our views to those who pointed out the need to appeal to the largest donor to pay its contribution and arrears, and also that there should be no further programme cuts but a resort to credit facilities as authorized by Conference, if the situation so requires, as indeed it seems to at the present time.
In this connection our delegation would also like to join others who indicated their tribute to Italy for the special contribution which was a relief to the presently constrained budget of the Organization.
Finally, but not least, our delegation would like to welcome the representation of the Soviet Union as observers at this Council Session and hope that this initial start will develop to a stage of full participation which we feel will increase the universality of membership in the Organization.
Ms. Malgorzata PIOTROWSKA (Observer for Poland): Since I would like to take the floor only once as an observer for Poland, I would like to make a few general statments primarily in relation to the matters under discussion.
First I would like to refer to a matter which has been raised by many delegates and strongly brought out at the Sixteenth FAO Regional Conference for Europe in Poland last August. This is a need to strengthen FAO's activities in Europe, not only for the agriculture of the region but also for developing countries.
The second point that I would like to raise is a matter of serious concern which was also discussed and reported on at the last FAO Regional Conference for Europe. This concerns environmental protection and the importance for FAO to use the recommendations contained in the so-called Brundtland Report on our common heritage as a guide in formulating its future programme. Thus any plans for progress and improvement of food and agriculture production should follow the principle of sustainable development. In my country and in many European countries the increasing environmental load caused by industries, traffic and also by agriculture has already resulted in a decline in the vitality of our forests and could in the future affect agricultural productivity if not checked. We realize that an increase in agricultural production while protecting the environment will be very expensive. It is much easier and cheaper to use fertilizer and pesticides. Thus we are of the opinion that future developments of food and agriculture under these circumstances will call for different production methods and different materials. It will call for a considerable increase in research to discover new approaches.
In this context I would like to refer to the rapid developments in agricultural biotechnology with promising applications for both animal and plant production as well as for disease diagnosis and control. We are of the opinion, as the Director-General said in his statement, that FAO has a key role to play to assist and advise Member States, particularly developing countries, on how to incorporate these new technologies into their research and development programmes. We are pleased to note that FAO has already taken some steps in this direction under our inter-departmental working group and task force.
The series of biotechnology meetings being organized by the Division of Animal Production and Health and the forthcoming symposium next year in plant biotechnology represent a significant initiative by FAO. We also feel that the supporting services for research and training provided by the agricultural biotechnology laboratory, jointly operated by FAO and IEEA, have strengthened FAO's programme in this field. In this connection I would like to recall that the new soil and plant biotechnology laboratory wing is equipped with laboratory furniture as a donation by the Polish Government.
In preparing the future programme of work of FAO there is a need to further increase FAO activities in immediately applicable biotechnology and to gradually add to the programme more advanced techniques in the fields of molecular biology and applied microbiology. Many Member States, including Poland, are trying to develop biotechnology particularly as applied to agriculture as rapidly as possible and will look to FAO for information and guidance and for research and training, backstopping and service.
In conclusion, I would like to stress that in view of the various severe economic problems confronting agricultural production and marketing in both East and West Europe it is important for FAO to pay increasing attention to research cooperation, particularly on a regional basis, to study the economic problems and agricultural policies which can affect the whole area. Thank you for your attention.
LE PRESIDENT: Nous avons ainsi clos le débat général et je vais demander à M. Hjort de bien vouloir nous donner quelques éclaircissements ou réponses aux questions posées par Messieurs les délégués.
H.W. HJORT, (Director, Policy Analysis Division): First I wish to express appreciation for the very many compliments on the documents and the introductory statements. Second, we welcome the augmentations, the comments and the interventions that have included specific information from countries and the detailed information from the representative of the European community, as these will be extremely helpful to us in preparing the final version of SOFA. I would also express appreciation in that same regard for the mentions that have been made to the recent Budapest meeting by the Cairns Group, the India documentation that was referenced, the Australian research that has recently been conducted and was referred to. These matters will be taken into account in connection with the revisions of the document.
Turning to some of the specific points, first with respect to the comments made by the delegate of Hungary, that trade deserves more attention, I would point out that the reference was being made to document CL 94/2 and that document has to be distributed at the time that we have the trade estimates for the year of conern. It is because of that problem of needing to get information into the hands of the Member Nations that we have for many years produced a supplement that contains the latest information on trade and a more elaborate explanation of trade as well as the first initial estimate of total production for the year of concern. So there is a difficult one there which we cannot overcome except to table the document that has the latest trade estimates.
With respect to the comment about more elaborate information, with respect to Eastern European reforms and so on, as the delegate is aware, we have been working in the last two or three years to try to improve the quality of our statements for the developing countries generally. We have established very effective working relationships and I think we will all agree that we have made some progress there but we can still continue to improve our performance.
From the delegate of Colombia there were two points. One is that the statements in the documents about the Latin American/Caribbean region did not seem to reflect the study on the potentials for agricultural and rural development in the region. I simply refer in response to that comment to the one from the Ambassador of Brazil where he noted correctly that paragraphs 143 to 158 are an extract from the study. There was a very close parallel there.
There was also the comment about a possible contradiction between what was said in paragraph 29 and in paragraph 31 with respect to imports by the United States. I would point out that paragraph 29 refers to the past. It was a fact that during the period from 1980 to the most recent information available there was an increase in imports by the United States. Paragraph 31 is looking to the future and in the context of the United States trying to bring about a better balance on its trade account, given the decline in the value of the dollar relative to others. It was the belief, and
I think a widely shared belief, that those gains in imports are not likely to be as good as they have been in the past. The main difference is that the one paragraph is referring to the past, the other is doing a bit of speculation on the future.
Several delegates suggested certain additions. Several different delegations were suggesting that we had additional information on fisheries. We take those comments into account, but I would point out that we are limited with a certain number of words in these documents, the members do not like to be overburdened, so when something is added we have to find something else to take out and it is always a balance of trying to get the proper distribution and the proper emphasis on what things are of most importance. I have also noticed in this context the comment from the delegate of Yugoslavia about limited coverage in their case and we take that into account.
The Niger statements expressed the suggestion that we give more complete coverage on prices. I think that is a good suggestion. I think that we have a weakness here and I believe that we should have at least the three years of conern, probably even the longer-term trends, as a background within which one discusses price movements in the year of conern.
There were comments about sectoral meetings and one suggestion seemed to imply that maybe we should add to this document information on projects and programmes of FAO, FAO meetings, and so on. I would point out that there are other documents that are prepared to provide that information to the Council and Conference. There is the Review of the Field Programme. There is the Review of the Regular Programme, and so forth. Up to this point our guidance has been that we stay more with matters that are of direct relevance to the state of food and agriculture.
There was a specific comment about in-land fisheries that seemed to be almost a question. I would assure the delegates that in-land fisheries, the production from aquaculture and from in-land fisheries, are included in the data that are reported on fisheries but I will admit that we do not give many lines of space to that important aspect of the sector.
The suggestion was made by the delegate of Kenya that further analysis of livestock and staple foods would be helpful. The way that statement was made I trust that the delegate understands that when we talk about food production we are not talking only about cereal production - there was a comment made about cereral production - we are including livestock products and all other food products when the document is addressing food production, but we do take into account that specific comment. I note the comments of Argentina about the study of the impact of technology, and it was picked up again in the intevention by Poland.
With respect to the comments from Switzerland, one was a regretting that the under-nourished numbers were not covered in the documents. As I am sure the delegates understand, both FAO and World Bank assessments of the number of under-nourished are done and are published in special publications. It is a very extensive research and analysis of country foods consumption and household survey data that are required for those estimates, and the staff and other resources have not been available, even before the financial problems of the Organization, to prepare such estimates annually. We, of course, do put our estimates of the under-nourished in the World Food Survey documents, and the activities with respect to the sixth World Food Survey are presently underway. In the meantime, as we made reference in paragraph 89, indications can be given and are usually given and will be given, based on dietary energy supply Information.
Another comment was made that, with respect to the special chapter which is under preparation, the delegate from Switzerland would like to see a section on the responsibility of local populations, the involvement of local people; we take note of that.The document is at a fairly advanced state of preparation at the present time.
The United States has encouraged us to include further policy development; we are seeking to do that, and will continue to try to do so.
The delegate from the United Kingdom mentioned forecasts of economic activity and so on; I would point out that, in the basic document that was sent to the delegates, we were relying on estimates as of April 1988. The supplement is based on October of 1988. Over that period of time, as was pointed out, the estimates of world economic growth have continued to rise from about 3% in the Spring up to 3.8%, we say here.There are a few that now are as high as 4% for world economic growth in this year.
Comment also was made: Is paragraph 60 an understatement with respect to total energy consumption, 20%?We have checked with our colleagues in the Forestry Department. They of course were the source for that.They do agree that the figures are highly unreliable, and that, in all probability it is an underestimate of a certain degree.
With respect to the comment from Canada, we will certainly revisit paragraph 204. When we prepared this, we did not realise it would become as important an issue in your election as it is, and we certainly were premature.Thank you.
LE PRESIDENT: Je remercie M. le directeur pour la minutie de ses réponses et je m'associe aux honorables délégués pour lui présenter nos remerciements et nos félicitations pour la qualité de son rapport.
Si je peux me permettre une intervention dans le débat, je voudrais dire que malgré une légère expansion sur la scène économique mondiale, et la prise par les pays développés d'un certain nombre d'initiatives heureuses traduisant une volonté de coopération et de soulagement de la dette des pays en voie de développement, notamment de ceux à plus faible revenu, la situation mondiale de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture n'en demeure pas moins préoccupante. M. le Directeur général a souligné dans sa communication que l'évolution de cette production a diminué pour la seconde année consécutive depuis quarante ans; la frange de la population qui souffre de la faim et de la malnutrition augmente par suite de l'extension malheureuse de la pauvreté, et les stocks de céréales qui ne dépasseront pas 16% de la consommation mondiale tombent au-dessous du seuil défini par la FAO dans le cadre de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale; et je n'inclus pas là-dedans, comme le disait le délégué de la France, la composition et la répartition des stocks qui sont inquiétantes.
Tous ces éléments font que la situation mondiale de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture reste préoccupante.
J'ai compris que, dans sa majorité, le Conseil estime que, dès lors qu'il y a interdépendance économique entre pays développés et pays en développement, sans une réduction substantielle de la dette telle qu'indiquée dans le rapport et une amélioration rapide du climat économique mondial, et notamment la libéralisation progressive du commerce des produits agricoles ainsi que la suppression progressive du protectionnisme et d'autres pratiques analogues telles que les subventions à l'exportation, il sera très difficile sinon impossible de relancer la croissance économique et d'inverser le flux actuel de capitaux dans le sens nord-sud.
Il a été signalé qu'une action préférentielle devrait par ailleurs être engagée au profit des pays en développement à faible revenu et à déficit vivrier. Bien entendu, je crois que tout le monde est d'accord pour dire que la priorité devra être accordée, dans les pays en développement, aux problèmes agricoles, compte tenu des marges considérables qui subsistent dans ces pays.
J'ai noté également - et j'espère que cela est exact - qu'un grand nombre de délégués considèrent que la réalisation des programmes d'ajustement structurel agricoles doit tenir compte des composantes sociales et de l'adoption de mesures d'accompagnement appropriées. On sait que ces programmes d'ajustement structurels ont une incidence sociale dont il faut tenir compte et je crois que la suggestion du Directeur général relative à la possibilité d'intervention de la FAO dans le cadre de la définition et de l'élaboration de ces programmes est à retenir car cela permettrait de tempérer le caractère strictement technocrate desdits programmes.
Voilà les quelques réflexions que je me permets de faire à la fin de ce débat. J'ai été personnellement très heureux d'entendre les interventions très fournies de 40 représentants d'Etats Membres. Cela démontre qu'il s'agit d'une question primordiale qui mérite toute l'attention des délégués·
Je vous remercie de votre attention et je lève la séance en vous priant d'être présents à 14 h 30 pour examiner la deuxième partie de la question qui est relative à l'Invasion acridienne.
The meeting rose at 13.00 hours.
La séance est levée à 13 heures.
Se levanta la sesión a las 13 horas.
