LE PRESIDENT: Je déclare ouverte la 8ème séance plénière.
L. HOLIE (Guinée): Vous nous permettrez Monsieur le Président, avant tout d'adresser à cette auguste Assemblée les salutations du Peuple de Guinée, de son Parti-Etat et du Camarade Président Ahmed Sekou Toure, Responsable Suprême de la Révolution.
En vous élisant à l'unanimité pour présider les travaux de la 19è session de la conférence générale de cette Organisation, les Représentants des Etats Membres ont voulu, Monsieur le Président, rendre un hommage mérité à votre pays dont nul n'ignore la constante et efficace contribution aux activités de la FAO. Mais leur choix est également dû à vos qualités personnelles, à votre engagement, à votre détermination démontrée en maintes occasions à servir la cause des pays en développement et des masses laborieuses.
La délégation guinéenne est donc convaincue que les travaux de cette session ne pourront que connaître un éclatant succès sous votre présidence, assisté dans votre tâche par les trois Vice-présidents, à qui elle tient à adresser ses chaleureuses félicitations.
Nous voudrions également, avant d'aborder le thème essentiel de cette session, réaffirmer au Directeur général de la FAO, Monsieur Edouard Saouma, au nom de notre Peuple et du chef de l'Etat guineen, notre confiance totale, et l'assurer de la sympathie et du ferme appui du Gouvernement guiñeen pour l'oeuvre de rénovation et de dynamisation qu'il a su donner à notre Organisation.
Grâce à vous, Monsieur le Directeur général, la FAO vient de vivre deux années intenses d'activités, deux années empreintes de votre sceau, deux années au cours desquelles nous avons tous senti un souffle nouveau parcourir l'Organisation.
Nous manquerions à notre devoir si nous ne rendions ici un hommage mérité au Président indépendant sortant du Conseil, Monsieur Gonzalo Bula Hoyos. Les délégués guinéens qui ont participé aux travaux des sessions de la Conférence générale et du Conseil, ou d'autres Comités, n'ont pu que se féliciter d'avoir eu à collaborer avec lui. Pour la Délégation guinéenne, parler de M. Bula Hoyos, c'est parler d'un homme qui a toujours su allier à la passion de servir les pays en développement, le fier souci de coordonner, dans l'intérêt de tous, les points de vue des différents membres du Conseil en vue de parvenir à un accord général, ou tout au moins à un consensus. Qu'il trouve ici l'expression de notre gratitude et de notre amitié.
Au digne fils de l'Amérique latine, va succéder un homme profondément enraciné dans son Afrique - cette Afrique qui sort à peine d'une période tragique de destruction, commencée il y a plus de quatre siècles et qui souffre encore, dans certaines régions, de la domination, du racisme, de l'apartheid. La Délégation guinéenne voudrait saisir dès maintenant l'occasion pour exprimer au Dr. Bukar Shaib les sincères félicitations du Gouvernement Guiñeen et son soutien dans la noble tâche que cette Conférence va bientôt lui confier.
Enfin, notre Délégation tient à saluer l'admission de la République Populaire d'Angola, de la République Populaire du Mozambique, des Républiques de Sao Tomé-et-Principe, des Seychelles, de Djibouti, de l'Etat Comorien, de la Namibie, de la République Populaire et Démocratique de Corée. La présence de sept nouveaux Etats Membres Africains au sein de cette Organisation est la manifestation de la ferme volonté des Peuples africains de se libérer de la domination colonialiste et de toute forme d'exploitation
L'admission de la Namibie, territoire africain illégalement occupé par le régime raciste de Pretoria, est une grande victoire pour les peuples épris de paix et de justice.
Notre Délégation entend renouveler de façon énergique la solidarité militante du peuple de Guinée aux mouvements de libération en Afrique du Sud, au Front patriotique du Zimbabwe, au Swapo de la Namibie, et à l'Organisation pour la libération de la Palestine. Notre conviction profonde est que la juste lutte que ces Mouvements de libération mènent en Afrique Australe et au Proche-Orient surmontera tous les obstacles pour que leurs Peuples jouissent pleinement de leur indépendance.
Les récentes crises aiguës que certaines parties du monde ont connues nous montrent que nous sommes loin d'avoir résolu ce problème fondamental, à savoir nourrir nos populations. Si aujourd'hui, nous en avons une conscience aiguë, c'est que les lois régissant les rapports entre les Etats, et tout particulièrement dans le domaine économique, font que se crée une solidarité d'intérêts inévitable entre les divers pays du monde. Cependant, ce qui est à déplorer, c'est que cette prise de conscience se limite souvent aux périodes de calamités. C'est donc à juste raison que le Directeur général pose en termes clairs le problème de l'investissement dans le secteur de la production agricole. Voilà pourquoi notre délégation salue très chaleureusement la création du Fonds international de développement agricole, unique en son genre parmi les institutions internationales financières, et se félicite très sincèrement de la réunion, le mois prochain, de la première session de ses organes statutaires. Organisation née de la volonté de pays en développement et de pays développés en vue d'apporter une aide à des pays en développement à de meilleures conditions, le FIDA n'aura une portée concrète que si son action devait se poursuivre dans le temps et que si le Fonds établissait une coopération privilégiée avec la FAO au service des pays en développement.
Notre attention reste attirée sur un problème que nous avons toujours considéré comme un problème-clé pour conférer à l'assistance une portée permanente au-delà du séjour des experts que la FAO pourrait mettre à notre disposition.
Nous pensons en effet que sur le plan du développement de l'agriculture, l'assistance doit tendre à la formation des cadres. Il ne s'agit pas seulement de la formation dans le cadre des projets existants et pour lesquels des experts qui viennent ont des homologues auxquels sur le plan de la technologie ils peuvent laisser une partie de leur savoir. Il ne s'agit pas de cela seulement. Nous, nous pensons à une formule mieux adaptée à nos yeux aux exigences de développement: la possibilité d'ouvrir sur place un Centre de formation des cadres nationaux, 6 mois de cours dispensés aux cadres nationaux par 3 à 5 experts dans les différentes disciplines et munis de tout l'outillage nécessaire en vue de les familiariser avec telle ou telle technique, avec tel ou tel courant de la pensée agronomique par exemple, laisserait dans le pays une empreinte permanente, plus profonde et plus efficace que l'envoi d'un bataillon d'experts opérant sur le tas. Quelle que soit la durée du séjour d'un expert dans notre pays il faut quand même qu'il rentre. Le national lui, reste.
Nous pensons que la FAO pourrait s'adapter à cette nécessité, pour aider les pays à disposer de cadres nationaux valables ayant acquis" la maitrise de la conduite des activités qui, jusqu'ici, étaient confiées à des experts étrangers. C'est d'ailleurs la formule que nous retenons de l'aide, à savoir que nous ne devons accepter une aide que dans la mesure où elle nous aiderait à nous passer de l'aide.
Monsieur le Président, nous croyons pouvoir dire que ces idées ont largement été développées déjà par notre guide éclairé le Président Ahmed Sekou Toure à l'attention de Monsieur le Directeur général de la FAO lors de sa visite dans notre pays.
Cependant, il revient aux pays en développement de prendre les mesures requises pour un changement radical des structures d'accueil. Ce qui suppose l'existence au niveau national d'une certaine volonté politique. Aucune innovation technique ne peut. être efficace si les conditions de son application ne sont pas d'abord instaurées. C'est pourquoi, il ne suffit pas de considérer le problème alimentaire dans les pays en développement, seulement en fonction des paramètres technologiques. La transformation de la productivité agricole et l'accroissement de la production qui concernent d'importantes masses humaines sont inévitablement liés aux problèmes politiques et socio-économiques.
Il faut donc substituer à l'ordre de la faim un ordre libérant les masses paysannes, les masses les plus déshéritées.
Certes, certains éléments nouveaux ont, depuis quelques années, justifié un optimisme modéré, mais les espoirs ne se matérialiseront que si les pays intéressés prennent les mesures adéquates qui comportent des décisions sur le plan politique, de profondes transformation de la société et d'importants investissements. Nous savons maintenant que la "Révolution verte" n'est pas la solution facile que l'on avait cru trouver aux problèmes de pénurie alimentaire et n'écartera pas aussi aisément qu'on l'avait espéré les risques de la famine.
S'agissant de nos efforts nationaux de développement, nous pouvons dire que l'agriculture est déjà choisie comme le point d'appui essentiel. En effet, près de 50 pour cent du budget de notre plan quinquennal en cours d'exécution depuis 1973 sont consacrés à ce secteur et, pour la seule campagne agricole 1976, il a été investi plus de 350 000 000 de Sylis, soit plus de 15 000 000 de dollars des Etats-Unis. Nous avons transformé chaque village en Pouvoir Révolutionnaire Local (P. R. L. ), chaque arrondissement en Pouvoir Révolutionnaire d'Arrondissement (P. R. A. ), chaque Région en Pouvoir Révolutionnaire Régional (P. R. R. ) et la Nation elle-même en Pouvoir Révolutionnaire Central (P. R. C. ).
Toutes les institutions, tous les services d'Etat, tous les moyens collectifs sont organisés de manière à ce que le peuple les assume et gère directement, à chaque échelon, en vue d'atteindre les objectifs qu'il se sera lui-même fixés. Dans cette action populaire l'émulation est organisée entre les différentes unités du Parti-Etat pour que le développement ne soit pas différentiel et que la solidarité s'organise de manière à maintenir l'harmonie.
Le Pouvoir Révolutionnaire Local est actuellement axé sur l'aménagement du territoire et sur l'exploitation des richesses naturelles grâce aux brigades de génie rural crées un peu partout dans le pays.
Nous avons déjà mis sur pied 2. 300 brigades dont 1. 500 brigades mécanisées de production (B. M. P. ) et 800 brigades altelées de production (B. A. P. ) au sein des mêmes P. R. L. pour une production agricole diversifiée.
Notre première méthode, c'est la culture extensive qui est à la portée du paysan. Il faut que les superficies à mettre en valeur soient telles que les problèmes économiques nationaux relatifs à l'alimentation du peuple puissent être résolus.
La deuxième phase c'est la culture intensive que nous abordons à présent. Nous nous sommes adaptés aux exigences de la première phase. Pour vous donner une idée, nous venons de créer 27 facultés d'Agronomie et 75 pour cent des bourses d'Enseignement supérieur sont alloués au secteur agro-pastoral.
C'est pour vous dire, Monsieur le Président, ce que nous faisons pour développer les ressources agropastorales.
Notre conception de lier l'Ecole à la Vie est une réalité. Et dans ce domaine notre plan est fait. Nous voulons que dans 5 ans au plus tard, il n'y ait aucun village qui ne soit doté de 3 ou 4 ingénieurs du profil agro-pastoral en plus des cadres moyens qui sont déjà en formation dans les écoles professionnelles. Ces dispositions visent à dynamiser le développement agro-pastoral de chaque village et tous les projets que nous avions élaborés, dont certains, pour être accélérés dans leur exécution, exigeraient l'aide de la coopération internationale.
Le problème d'engrais se posera pour la phase nouvelle de la production intensive, celui de l'aménagement hydro-agricole des terres également.
Pour l'élevage, nous avons décidé la construction d'un parc collectif dans chaque village afin de pouvoir mieux assurer la protection de la santé du cheptel guineen, de développer l'action de nos fermes actuelles et de passer à la phase d'insémination artificielle. Ce programme vise non seulement la protection du bétail mais aussi la multiplication du cheptel.
Dans le domaine de la pêche, un vaste programme est aussi établi. Nous voudrions organiser sur des bases rationnelles aussi bien la pêche maritime que la pêche fluviale et la pisciculture.
Nous avons prévu pour les Eaux et Forêts également une vaste action à la dimension même des villages et une loi est votée concernant le seul reboisement. C'est la loi dite ''Loi Fria" qui stipule que désormais, à chaque naissance, mariage, anniversaire du Parti ou de fêtes religieuses, un certain nombre d'arbres fruitiers soient plantés par les familles dans le verger du P. R. L. Ces contraintes morales viennent en plus de l'action générale déclenchée, par laquelle, annuellement, chaque village reboise un hectare. Les pépinières à créer au niveau de chacun de nos villages, la protection de la forêt, l'élevage, l'apiculture, l'aviculture, l'artisanat, toutes ces activités rurales sont à l'échelle des masses et font l'objet d'un programme général et d'un programme particulier, adaptés à chaque village ou quartier appelé P. R. L., à chaque Arrondissement, à chaque Région.
Monsieur le Président, voilà donc brièvement exposées quelques idées sur nos options.
En guise de conclusion, vous nous permettrez de vous présenter cette citation tirée de l'allocution du Camarade Président Ahmed Sekou Toure, Responsable Suprême de la Révolution, lors de la visite officielle de M. le Directeur général Edouard Saouma, en novembre 19 76 dans notre pays;
''Le Peuple qui veut se développer, doit élaborer, à partir de ses moyens propres, son programme d' autodeveloppement et s'engager résolument à le réaliser. Ainsi, si ceux qui ont acquis un niveau supérieur et qui ont une vision à dimension universelle de l'assistance, de la coopération, de l'amitié fraternelle entre les Peuples interviennent en faveur du pays, alors, cette assistance viendrait accélérer le rythme de développement prévu sur une base nationale''.
A. SENGHOR (Senegal): Monsieur le President, Monsieur le Directeur general, Honorables délégués, la tradition africaine veut qu'un hommage particulier soit rendu à ceux qui ont pour tâche d'assurer la conduite de toute action humaine destinée à l'amélioration de la condition des peuples.
C'est pourquoi, Monsieur le Président, avant toute chose, je voudrais vous adresser, au nom de la Délégation sénégalaise et en mon nom personnel, mes sincères félicitations pour votre élection à la présidence de la 19e session de notre Conférence.
Cette élection consacre la confiance unanime que les Etats membres placent en vos eminentes qualités d'homme d'Etat et de culture, et l'intérêt avec lequel ils suivent l'expérience originale et si prometteuse de votre pays, dans le domaine de son développement agricole.
Je suis convaincu, pour ma part, que votre mérite personnel et vos qualités humaines sauront marquer de leur empreinte la tâche, combien exhaltante, qui vient de vous être confiée.
Vous me permettrez, Monsieur le Président, d'exprimer aussi les félicitations du Gouvernement de la République du Sénégal, à l'adresse des Etats nouvellement admis en qualité de membres de notre Organisation, plus particulièrement à l'adresse des Etats frères africains de l'Angola, des Comores, de Djibouti, du Mozambique, de la Namibie et des Seychelles.
Nul doute que ces nouveaux membres vont élargir notre représentation régionale et contribuer à renforcer le caractère d'universalité de notre Organisation. Nous espérons sincèrement qu'ils auront à coeur d'oeuvrer avec nous pour gagner la bataille contre la faim partout dans le monde, le seul combat qui ne connaît ni frontières ni idéologies.
Vous me permettrez aussi, Monsieur le Président, de saisir cette opportunité pour présenter à Monsieur Bula Hoyos mes félicitations les plus sincères pour l'esprit constructif avec lequel il a su mener, ces quatre dernières années, les travaux de notre Conseil.
Que le futur président indépendant de cet organe, y trouve également ici l'expression de-mes chaleureuses félicitations et l'assurance de mon pays de lui apporter, dans la mesure de ses moyens, tout son appui. Je veux parler, et j'ose espérer qu'il s'agira du Docteur Bukar Shaib du Nigeria.
Monsieur le Président, il me plait de souligner que l'élargissement de notre représentation régionale et le renforcement de la foi des pays pauvres en l'Organisation trouvent leur application fondamentale dans l'orientation nouvelle que s'est attaché à mettre en oeuvre son Directeur général, Monsieur Edouard Saouma, qui a su tenir compte des recommandations de nos Etats lors de la précédente Conférence.
C'est pourquoi, mon Gouvernement tient particulièrement à lui réitérer ses félicitations etles espoirs que l'Afrique et les pays du Tiers Monde placent en lui dans la défense de leurs intérêts légitimes pour promouvoir un développement économique et social harmonieux.
Connaissant l'homme de par sa longue et brillante carrière au sein de l'Organisation, et convaincus qu'en sa qualité de ressortissant du Tiers Monde, il réaménagerait la FAÓ pour une plus grande efficacité, nos pays n'ont pas douté, à ce titre, que les actions futures seraient menées conformément aux intérêts de la plus grande majorité.
Monsieur le Président, nous pouvons affirmer aujourd'hui et sans risque de nous tromper, que notre Directeur général a posé les jalons de ce qu'il convient d'appeler une organisation résolument tournée vers le développement.
Notre attitude favorable à la politique de décentralisation n'avait certes pas suffi à dissiper toutes les craintes de l'installation au niveau régional de "FAO miniatures", craintes qui ne sont que le reflet du centralisme bureaucratique tant déploré.
A l'heure du bilan de ce biennium que l'on pourrait appeler "du changement", il m'est d'un agréable. devoir de renouveler toutes nos gratitudes au Directeur général et particulièrement pour toutes les dispositions qu'il a prises en accordant une plus grande priorité aux investissements, en instituant un programme rationnel de coopération technique, en menant une véritable politique de décentralisation au niveau des pays, et en proposant la création d'un Fonds spécial pour la réduction des pertes après récoltes.
Nous voudrions dire, que mon Gouvernement attache le plus haut intérêt à ces formes nouvelles d'action concrète, et qu'il estime qu'elles doivent être poursuivies de manière permanente.
Le programme de coopération technique, par delà les actions ponctuelles, limitées ou passagères au gré des contingences d'ordre de toute sorte, constitue avant tout, pour nos pays en voie de développement, l'amorce, voire l'incitation à des actions de plus grande envergure dans le domaine des investissements dans l'agriculture pour augmenter la production alimentaire.
Nos pays qui en sont conscients n'ont pas hésité, malgré les maigres ressources dont ils disposent, à contribuer financièrement et matériellement à la mise en place du Programme et à son développement. C'est dire à quel point ils entendent qu'il soit maintenu et poursuivi.
Quant au Fonds spécial pour la réduction des pertes après récoltes, c'est la réponse à ce que nous appellions déjà de nos voeux, il y a deux ans, au cours de la 18e Conférence générale.
Nous disions alors, qu'il faudrait que des mesures adéquates d'assistance soient prises pour venir à bout des sinistres causés dans nos régions par les ennemis des cultures, et qui ont nom: rats des champs, sautériaux, ciseaux granivores, chenilles des épis du mil. Nous demandions alors à la FAO de s'atteler à résoudre, de concert avec les Etats concernés, les problèmes posés par ces éléments entravant le développement, et nous lui demandions aussi de soutenir efficacement les organisations régionales et sous-régionales de lutte contre tous les prédateurs, ceci en songeant notamment à des organisations comme l'OCLALAV et l'OICMA.
Noue nous réjouissons de ce que la FAO ait répondu à cet appel en créant un Fonds spécial qui va démarrer avec les dix millions de dollars réalisés au titre des bénéfices de change sur les cotisations des Etats Menéres.
Noue sommes surs que l'ensemble des Etats Membres approuvent cette louable initiative qui s'inscrit dans le cadre des objectifs que nous nous sommes fixés dans notre lutte contre la faim. A ceux qui s'y opposent au nom des principes, nous voudrions leur demander d'accepter d'augmenter le budget d'une somme équivalente et de nous aider exceptionnellement à couvrir la dépense.
Mais ces mesures, pour importantes qu'elles soient, ne sauraient évidemment pas constituer une panacée et il reste encore beaucoup à faire pour que d'importants investissements soient faite dans l'agriculture des pays en développement, investissements qui constituent un des éléments de base de la solution du problème alimentaire mondial si préoccupant en cette fin de siècle.
A cet égard, mon Gouvernement a entrepris la réalisation d'un vaste programme d'investissements pour la production alimentaire dont l'objectif est d'atteindre notre autosuffisance en 1990, en tenant compte de la bonne croissance démographique constatée.
Le plan alimentaire sénégalais a été soumis à l'examen du Groupe consultatif pour la production alimentaire et l'investissement, au cours de sa dernière réunion tenue en septembre 1977. Il a suscité un grand intérêt.
Qu'il nous soit donc permis de souhaiter que la recommandation du Groupe consultatif concernant le plan sénégalais soit suivie d'effets concrets et à ce sujet nous lançons un appel solennel à toute la communauté internationale ici réunie pour faire de ce plan un test de sa bonne volonté, test qui se traduirait en actes et pas seulement en paroles, et servirait d'exemple pour d'autres pays déficitaires, comme le notre, dans le domaine de la production alimentaire.
Nous pensons en particulier, parce que les connaissant-mieux, aux pays regroupés dans le Comité interEtats de lutte contre la sécheresse (CILSS), premier groupement sous-régional en Afrique de l'Ouest, qui a décidé la mise en commun des moyens de ces pays en vue de lutter et de sortir d'une situation qui leur est commune.
C'est ainsi que nos pays ont défini, avec la collaboration des membres du "Club du Sahel", une stratégie largement partagée, devant aboutir à la réalisation de l'objectif d'autosuffisance alimentaire.
Un programme dit de "première génération", évalué à 9 milliards de dollars E. U. a été élaboré, faisant apparaître d'ores et déjà un certain nombre d'actions susceptibles d'exécution immédiate.
Certes, l'autosuffisance alimentaire que nos pays se sont assignée n'est pas une fin en soi, mais elle est considérée comme une sécurité alimentaire qui devra avant tout être garantie par les ressources propres du Sahel, et dans le cadre d'un développement autonome de la région.
Dans ce domaine qui offre un exemple de la coopération technique entre pays en voie de développement, mon Gouvernement reste fidèle à sa conception de l'unité globale, dont la réalisation passe par des stades secondaires, eux-mêmes constitués par des regroupements sous-régionaux et régionaux selon la
théorie des cercles concentriques pronée par notre Chef d'Etat, laquelle théorie est maintenant unanimement admise et appliquée. Ainsi, la Sénégambie, l'OMVS, la CEAO, la CEAO ont-elles été instituées dans ce sens en faveur d'un nouvel ordre économique international.
Monsieur le Président, revenant à ce que le CILSS entend réaliser, nous demandons à la FAO de lancer un appel à toute la Communauté internationale pour qu'au-delà des pays de l'OCDE, la coopération s'élargisse, et que d'autres pays et organismes internationaux appuient le "Club du Sahel" et contribuent, concrètement, à l'action de sauvetage de notre sous région menacée par la désertification.
Monsieur le Président, je vous ferai grâce de longs développements sur ce que nous avons fait au Sénégal et continuons de faire, dans les secteurs de l'agriculture, de la pêche et de l'élevage. Notre action dans ces secteurs, épaulée par nos paysans, nos pêcheurs et nos pasteurs, qui ont la sollicitude constante de mon Gouvernement, est suffisamment connue, et elle a été suffisamment soulignée par les media. Cependant, rappelons-là brièvement, pour mieux prendre la mesure de ce qui va suivre.
Notre agriculture a connu, au début du biennium 1975-77, des progrès encourageants. Les réalisations de la campagne agricole 1976/1977, quoique sujettes à une pluviosité peu favorable, ont été d'un niveau suffisant eu égard aux objectifs de production fixés.
Ainsi, la culture principale, l'arachide, a atteint des rendements encourageants et la production enregistrée s'est élevée à 1 181 591 tonnes. Des progrès significatifs ont été également réalisée dans les cultures du riz (112 260 t), du mil et du sorgho (553 780 t).
Les acquis dont a bénéficié le Sénégal dans la dominante arachidière ont autorisé une action plus étendue en ce qui concerne notre politique de diversification.
Un accent particulier a été mis sur la culture du maïs, l'extension des superficies et les rendements
à ce niveau ont été fonction des progress réalisés grace à la traction bovine et à l'association de la fumure minérale, auxquelles cette culture est particulièrement sensible.
Les cultures maraîchères ont été par rapport aux précédentes campagnes en nette progression, et l'objectif d'exportation de 15 000 tonnes de produits de premier choix a été entièrement atteint en 1976/77.
L'une des solutions appliquées en accompagnement de la politique de diversification, a consisté en l'encouragement des actions d'intensification caractérisées notamment par l'emploi d'engrais, la généralisation de la traction bovine, le phosphatage de fonds et les labours profonds.
Il a également paru urgent d'accélérer le processus de recherche et de diffusion de la mécanisation agricole adaptée.
Pour une meilleure assise de cette dernière, mon Gouvernement envisage la création d'un Centre National de Machinisme Agricole. A cet effet, il a été mis en place dès cette année, dans le cadre du programme agricole, un "Comité du Machinisme Agricole", qui a pour mission de définir une politique d'équipement du monde rural, de sélectionner les types de matériels adéquats, d'en contrôler la fabrication en exigeant des producteurs le service après-vente et la mise en place de stocks de pièces de rechange au niveau des régions.
La mise en oeuvre d'une politique de développement agricole ne saurait être pertinente en se suffisant d'une seule action dans le domaine de l'équipement. La productivité en agriculture supposant une bonne organisation foncière, mon pays a élaboré une loi dite du "Domaine national" consacrant la nationalisation des terres dans la perspective d'une utilisation rationnelle par le monde rural. Aussi est-il méritoire de la part du Directeur général de la FAO d'avoir si bien compris le caractère apolitique de la question pour proposer sur ce thème une Conférence mondiale sur la Réforme agraire et le Développement rural prévue en 1979 sous les auspices de l'ONU, proposition que mon Gouvernement appuis vigoureusement.
S'agissant de l'élevage, la Campagne 1976/77 a temaaerl l'intégration progressive de ce sous-secteur à l'agriculture. Outre l'utilisation du travail animal, l'embauche paysanne a été systématisée par l'introduction d'un élevage de rapport. Selon les sones concernees, un volet élevage sera inclus dans chaque grand projet agricole dans le sens des orientations définies en la matière.
Notons enfin que dans le cadre de la relance du mouvement coopératif, le Gouvernement a redéfini un système du crédit d'équipement et d'approvisionaement amant des coopératives d'éleveurs, système qui devra incessamment être mis en application.
En ce qui concerne les forêts, la rationalisation. de l'exploitation forestière se poursuit, de même que les actions de reboisement qui, parallèlement à l'action continue des services, sont intégrées dans les activités des populations rurales et des sociétés d'intervention. Il importe de se rappeler à tout moment que nous sommes menacés par la désertification; désertification a laquelle l'homme aura beaucoup contribué par la dégradation du milieu naturel.
Le controle des activités de chasse s'est renforcé et quatre nouvelles zones d'intérêt cynégétiques viennent d'etre créées afin de mieux sauvegarder la faune.
S'agissant de la pêche maritime, le développement de la pêche artisanale a été encouragé du point de vue de la modernisation des techniques et méthodes de production. Un projet d'armement traditionnel placé sous la responsabilité du Centre d'assistance a la Motorisation des Pirogues a permis la mise en place de 3 750 moteurs auprès des pêcheurs. Le remarquable succès du programme de motorisation permet d'envisager dans un futur immédiat la gestion directe de l'armement par les coopératives de pêcheurs.
Enfin, la sénêgalisation du secteur industriel se poursuit en grande partie avec les contre-parties résultant des accords de pêche passés avec quelques pays amis. A ce sujet, nous rappelons que notre pays a toujours plaidé pour l'adoption par tous les Etats de la zone économique de 200 milles marins.
Monsieur le Président, au regard des objectifs que mon pays s'est assignés dans le domaine du développement rural, les résultats dégagés témoignent de la priorité accordée au secteur primaire ainsi que la prise de conscience de plus en plus marquée des populations concernées pour les méthodes modernes d'exploitation en rapport avec le milieu.
Le niveau de développement relativement satisfaisant du secteur est redevable au volume important des investissements qui y est injecté chaque année.
Ainsi, les subventions accordées par l'Etat dans le cadre du programme agricole sont passées entre 1973/74 et 1976/77 de 1 062 milliards à 4 921 milliards. Par ailleurs, d'importants moyens financiers d'origines diverses ont été mis en oeuvre à l'occasion de l'exécution de notre quatrième Plan de développement économique et social qui vient de s'achever.
Du point de vue de l'exécution du Plan, sur un total engagé de 276, 3 milliards de francs CFA, le secteur primaire a absorbé 60, 2 milliards soit 21, 8 pour cent du volume des investissements. En détaillant le flux des ressources engagées jusqu'au niveau du sous-secteur, il apparaît que les activités ou les crédits mis en place s'avèrent les plus importants sont dans l'ordre décroissant: l'agriculture (39 milliards), les industries (33 milliards), les infrastructures routières (27 milliards), la recherche (23 milliards), l'habitat et l'assainissement (22 milliards).
Les moyens financiers injectés dans le secteur agricole ont permis à celui-ci de fournir 25 pour cent des recettes d'exportation du pays, déduction faite du coût des inputs importés, et de contribuer pour 29 pour cent aux recettes budgétaires de l'Etat.
Vous comprendrez, Monsieur le Président, que cette volonté de privilégier le secteur agricole trouve sa justification dans la vocation naturelle du pays et dans le role que joue l'agriculture au niveau de l'économie. Comme vous le savez, 70 pour cent de la population sénégalaise est constituée de ruraux.
Cependant, les mécanismes des relations économiques internationales jouant négativement, mon pays est encore victime du phénomène de la détérioration des termes de l'échange, situation qui renforce le caractère extraverti de nos efforts d'investissements.
En un mot, le bilan des productions agricoles au cours de ce biennium écoulé a montré, encore une fois, que notre agriculture sera caractérisée par une forte dépendance aux conditions climatiques, une domination du système arachide-mil et un déficit vivrier encore important, car nous sommes tributaires des pluies pour 96 pour cent de notre agriculture.
Il reste qu'en cette année 1977, la situation agricole ne laisse pas d'être préoccupante, à cause de l'insuffisance de la pluviosité dans toute la zone sahélienne qui englobe bien sûr le Sénégal.
En effet, le sort a encore voulu que cette année, nos efforts poursuivis en vue d'asseoir une auto-suffisance alimentaire soient neutralisés par l'installation d'une situation météorologique et hydrologique inquiétante qui rappelle, à bien des égards, les dures années de sécheresse qui ont frappé le Sahel, et dont ni l'assistance consistante de la FAO et de la communauté internationale, ni la lutte économique menée par nos gouvernements, ne sont parvenus à venir à bout de toutes les conséquences.
Les facteurs limitants induits par l'effet multiplicateur des aléas climatiques nous ramènent, toute comparaison faite, au contexte de la sécheresse des années 1973.
Mon pays, comme bien d'autres, cette année a subi l'implacabilité de ces faits qui se traduisent, au plan national, par un lourd déficit céréalier de 180 000 tonnes, correspondant aux besoins alimentaires d'urgence nécessaires à la survie des seules populations rurales. La baisse également notable des productions de rente aura une incidence très marquée sur la conjoncture économique et la capacité de travail des hommes.
Les facteurs négatifs découlant des caprices climatiques de la zone sahélienne militent, une fois de plus et encore plus que jamais, en faveur de l'instauration d'un véritable système de sécurité alimentaire mondiale, dont il faut bien constater, hélas pour le déplorer, qu'il n'a pas encore atteint le niveau minimum souhaitable et souhaité par les pays en voie de développement.
Monsieur le Président, les actions d'intervention ponctuelles essentiellement occasionnées par des perturbations naturelles sont certes nécessaires, mais ne suffisent pas à régler le problème de fond qui nous a valu réellement cette identification de ''pays en voie de développement".
Monsieur le Président, nous précisons et ne cesserons de le redire, trois actions principales doivent être menées, simultanément et sans discontinuité, pour assurer une véritable sécurité alimentaire:
- l'aménagement des grands bassins fluviaux et lacustres;
- la modernisation des méthodes culturales;
- l'amélioration du matériel végétal, et bien sûr la protection des récoltes.
On ne saurait que trop recommander la première de ces priorités à nos économies sahêliennes, dont les ressources en eau sont, plus qu'ailleurs, êpuisàbles et vulnérables. Une maîtrise complète de l'eau est est la seule garantie d'un développement optimum du monde rural, à cet égard, nous souscrivons aux conclusions de la Conférence mondiale sur l'Eau de Mar del Plata.
Aucun pays au monde n'a pu résoudre ses problèmes agricoles sans maîtrise de l'eau: il faudrait desbarrages, des lacs artificiels et des forages sans lesquels l'agriculture de nos pays sera irrémé-diablement condamnée, la désertification s'accélérera, et aucune opération de reboisement, si impor-tante soit-elle, ne pourra arrêter ce phénomène d'autant plus que les pluies se font de plus en plusrares.
Monsieur le Président, la problématique de la maîtrise de l'eau constitue actuellement l'une des préoccupations essentielles de nos Etats au sein de l'OMVS. Une solution à cette question assurera à nos pays, et singulièrement au Sénégal, une sécurisation de la production et un développement économique certain.
Je me réjouis du fait que la FAO ait pris conscience de cette situation et qu'elle se soit consacrée ce biennium durant, à la recherche de ressources indispensables au financement de nos projets. Nos "pays souhaitent vivement que la FAO poursuive ses actions dans ce sens, et qu'elle soit notre interprète auprès de la Communauté internationale et de toutes les organisations internationales, pour leur réitérer notre appel pour la lutte contre le sous-développement.
Cette lutte désormais revêt pour nous une forme caractérisée par la recherche de financements. Celle-ci constitue une démarche permanente, hélas souvent entravée par l'opposition constante de critères classiques de rentabilité, inconciliables avec les réalités économiques de nos pays.
A ce propos, je demande à ceux qui voudraient, face à ce milieu sahêlien où l'on meurt du fait de la sécheresse, nous opposer l'aridité des calculs économiques, je leur demande, dis-je, de réfléchir sur la valeur d'un verre d'eau dans le désert.
Se référer à des critères "arithmétiques" pour apporter un financement aux pays sous-développés, c'est enlever sa portée à l'assistance et à la coopération qui devraient, avant tout, être guidées par une profonde éthique du développement, s'appuyant sur des choix multicritères tenant compte le plus possible de facteurs inhérents aux économies en voie de développement.
Par ailleurs, nous pensons également qu'une prise en considération des charges récurrentes qu'implique la mise en oeuvre de nos projets de développement, s'avère le moyen le plus adéquat d'accorder à l'assistance toute sa signification.
Il convient à ce propos et à l'instar des gouvernements canadien et suédois, que les pays nantis envisagent l'application de mesures, sinon susceptibles d'épongerles dettes des pays en développement, du moins propres a différer dans des limites s'accordant aux capacités financières de ces pays, les termes de remboursement de fonds alloués au titre du développement et notamment du développement agricole, dans la lutte contre la fai.
Notre Organisation recele des possibilités de tous ordres, et cette constatation nous suffit à espérer qu'à travers le fonctionnement prochain du Fonds international pour le développement agricole, un exemple d'assouplissement de l'assistance financière sera démontré; il est à souhaiter que les pays développés suivent cet exemple dans leur programme de coopération avec les pays économiquement faibles.
Monsieur le président, malgré les lenteurs injustifiées mises pour la dotation initiale du FIDA, mon pays a toujours ses espoirs tournés vers celui-ci, et estime que des instruments de coopération de cette nature doivent être multipliés par les pays développés et les pays nantis.
En effet, la difficulté majeure de nos économies réside dans nos moyens financiers limités; cette constatation est d'autant plus vraie qu'en l'absence d'un tel obstacle, mon pays connaîtrait, dans le cadre de la coopération sous-régionale établie au niveau de l'OMVS et du CILSS un développement économique certain et plus particulièrement en matière agricole.
S'agissant enfin du budget de l'Organisation, mon Gouvernement est favorable à son adoption et. compte sur le Directeur général de la FAO pour faire encore les économies qui s'avéreraient nécessaires. De plus, mon Gouvernement ne peut qu'insister une fois encore pour la mise en oeuvre du Fonds spécial pour la réduction des pertes après récoltes.
Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Directeur général, Honorables Délégués, je"vais maintenant terminer, car il faut savoir conclure, tout en étant conscient de n'avoir pas épuisé tout le propos.
Si, devant leur inquiétude quasi permanente, les pays en voie de développement ont été souvent conduits à sous-estimer les résultats obtenus par la FAO, il n'en demeure pas moins que ces pays reconnaissent en l'institution l'un des meilleurs instruments susceptibles d'apporter des changements significatifs à leur condition.
Leur volonté d'oeuvrer à la construction d'une société plus humanitaire, plus juste et de plus en plus égalitaire ne fait aucun doute.
L'établissement d'un nouvel ordre économique international régulateur des échanges et des fortes disparités de niveau de développement dépend d'abord du courage et de la volonté des pays nantis, mais aussi de la permanence de combat des pays en développement.
Je souhaite que la 19ème session de notre Conférence soit l'occasion de décisions franches et courageuses, guidées par le souci constant d'assurer à la grande majorité des populations de notre planète des conditions de vie meilleures.
Puissent les résultats de nos travaux se mesurer à la confiance et à la foi que nous attachons a notre Organisation.
O. OKSNES (Norway) (interpretation from Norwegian): This is the first occasion I have the honour and pleasure of leading a Norwegian Delegation to a Conference of the FAO. I should like to take this opportunity of expressing my Government's full support for FAO's activities.
The FAO was originally established as a purely specialized organization for food and agriculture, and in the course of these years it has achieved results which are truly impressive. During more recent years, FAO has gained added importance as the principal international organization providing technical assistance to the developing countries in its own specialized field. This represents a development to which we in Norway have given full support.
In view of the important role also played by the FAO as an international development assistance organization, it is essential to see this aspect of the organization's activities as an important element in the endeavours, both inside and outside the UN system, to create a new and more equitable international economic order. We therefore consider it an important point that the activities of FAO are carried out in accordance with the guidelines drawn up by the UN General Assembly and the political conferences arranged by the UN.
The main guidelines for the nutrition and food sectors were drawn up in the resolutions adopted by the World Food Conference and the Sixth and Seventh Special Sessions of the UN General Assembly. The work to Implement the objectives drawn up in these resolutions is still in progress. The priorities and the work programme of FAO will in the years to come be strongly influenced by the decisions adopted at this conference.
The most important "visible" results of the World Food Conference are perhaps the establishment of the World Food Council and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
As regards the World Food Council we in Norway are happy to note that this seems to be taking on its intended shape. The Manila session has thus made significant progress compared to the two preceding sessions. It was of particular satisfaction to note that agreement was reached on a comprehensive Programme of Action designed to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. My Government regards the Manila Communiqué as a good basis for the further work to be done in this field and it urges all countries to do their utmost to follow up the recommendations contained in the Programme of Action.
No less important is the fact that the requisite conditions for the entry into force of the IFAD Agreement now seem to be fulfiled, so that the first meeting of IFAD's Governing Council may take place in December. In Norway we see the establishment of IFAD as an important milestone in the efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition and I would particularly draw attention to the role of IFAD with respect to increasing food production and improving the nutritional standards for the poorest groups of the population in the world's poorest countries.
My Government does not feel that there should necessarily be any duplication or conflict in the functions of the World Food Council, the FAO and the IFAD. All three are entrusted with important functions and they supplement one another.
In our opinion, the World Food Council is, and should only be, a purely political organ without any executive functions, in which the main general guidelines for the nutrition and food sectors are drawn up for subsequent approval by ECOSOC and the General Assembly. FAO will continue to be the main executive organ responsible for implementing these guidelines, while IFAD will, when it is geared into full activity, play the central role assigned to it as a financing institution for investments in agricultural development. It is both natural and necessary with close cooperation between these three organizations.
My Government is impressed by the endeavours by the Director-General to reorganize and decentralize FAO's activities and make it a more effective and powerful organization for technical assistance for developing countries. We support this development and share the Director-General's view with regard to greater emphasis on the field work. However, we hope that the decentralization of FAO's activities i. e. through the establishment of special FAO resident representatives in the receiving countries should not lead to coordination problems with UNDP and thus contribute to the so-called centrifugal tendencies within the UN system.
In order to avoid this and to secure maximum use of the funds available for technical assistance, it is of vital importance with close contact and cooperation between FAO and UNDP, both at headquarters level and at country level. In accordance with Consensus of 1970, UNDP's resident representative should be "the leader of the team" and thus be responsible for the coordination of all technical assistance from the UN system in close cooperation with the other representatives for the various UN organs and the recipient country's own authorities whose priorities always must be decisive.
Norway regards FAO's role as an organization for development assistance, not as a substitute for, but as an important and supplementary addition to FAO's work in the technical field of agriculture, forestry fisheries and nutrition for the benefit of all member countries - developed as well as developing countries. This work, which is of vital importance, not least for a small country like Norway, must therefore continue and be strengthened.
Agriculture and fisheries will in the future, as they have in the past, together constitute the mainbasic element for all food production. The biological processes contributing towards the productionof food must be conserved and developed for the benefit of all peoples and population groups. Thiswill require investments and an order of priorities - often at the expense of other objectives andsectors. Shortage of capital is a problem both for Norwegian agriculture as for agriculture in anumber of other countries and it is therefore a question of political will to channel capital resourcesinto agriculture so that the problem of food production may be solved in a more effective manner. Sucha political will is in my view necessary in all countries, but it is especially necessary in countriesunable to feed their own population to an adequate degree, through domestic food production. However, let me also add that it is equally important to create the economic prerequisites enabling everybody, to purchase the foodstuffs they need.
The Norwegian Government has, in line with the recommendations adopted by the World Food Conference and with due regard to the interests of the developing countries, decided to intensify the utilization of agricultural resources in such a manner that we can increase our degree of self sufficiency in agricultural ρratete from 32 percent in 1975 to 44 percent in 1990. In addition we can add 7. 5 percent from fish and With products. Even this does not represent a high degree of self sufficiency, but it does make it Beceseary to utilize the available resources more effectively, which again will mean higher investments, espacially in remote regions and for small holdings.
The investments in Norwegian agriculture, coordinated with general rural development, shall serve to maintain and develop a production structure directed towards a desired settlement pattern and the promotion of economic activities in rural areas which will again lead to a more rational utilization of all resources.
On this basis it seems natural for me to stress the importance of FAO's efforts in the work for agrarian reforms and an integrated rural development. My Government therefore look forward to the planned World Conference on Agrarian Reform, and Rural Development which will focus on the problems of the rural communities. In political terms this is a difficult issue, but nevertheless it is an important prerequisite for solving the problems in respect of food production and nutrition.
In order to develop the economy in rural areas it is necessary to view the resource situation in an overall context - not least in agriculture and forestry. In my country this is natural because a greater part of the forest areas are operated in combination with agriculture. This is also the most practical solution in a country such as Norway, which has, and will continue to have, relatively small farm units. The combination agriculture-forestry contributes furthermore towards a more efficient use of local manpower and machinery, thereby reducing the investment requirements in forestry. In order to ensure adequate investments in sylviculture, etc. - which under our climatic conditions is a very long-term affair - 10 percent of the sales value of all timber is withheld as a form of ''tax'' which will be released when investments are taking place. This arrangement is functioning well, but let me also add that the total investments are substantially higher than this figure.
Extensive forest areas have been and are being laid waste on account of shifts in cultivation, which is common in many countries. The need to switch forest areas to agriculture will of course be necessary, but it is important that this is done in such a manner that over-exploitation is prevented and that agricultural land is conserved for agricultural purposes. It is, and it will continue to be, an important task for the FAO to conserve and increase forestry resources for future generations. In this connexion I am also thinking of the great importance forestry has in preventing soil erosion and the expansion of arid areas.
An important part of the efforts to create a new international economic order is concerned with the question of an integrated commodity programme. While UNCTAD has been made chiefly responsible for these negotiations, FAO has also an important part to play as far as agricultural commodities are concerned. It is of the greatest importance that UNCTAD should be able to draw upon the valuable source of knowledge and experience which FAO represents in this field. We are, therefore, very pleased to note that the Director-General has given FAO clear instructions to cooperate closely with UNCTAD in this matter.
In this connexion I would also like to point to the significance of the ongoing negotiations in London on a new wheat agreement aimed at inter alia building up national stocks coordinated at the international level. We consider it important that-FAO closely follows and gives its support to these negotiations. The long-term solutions resulting from these negotiations should benefit both developing and developed countries. An important aspect in this connexion will in our opinion be the need to secure for the importing developing countries necessary supplies at reasonable prices.
Closely connected with the new wheat agreement there is also the question of a new convention on food aid which is also expected to be on the agenda of the London negotiations. Norway has adopted a positive attitude to a new food aid convention which should possibly also be seen in relation to the emergency stock of grain of 500 000 tons administered by the World Food Programme.
In 1977 Norway's total contribution to the World Food Programme amounted to over Nkr. 100 million (about US $19 million). Thus Norway is one of the major contributors to the Programme and we support the overall contribution target of US $950 million as recommended by the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes for the period 1979-80. By far the greatest proportion of Norway's food aid consists of fish and fish products which are channelled through the World Food Programme.
The living resources in the sea represent an altogether crucial factor as a source of nutrition for the world's population. We are therefore faced with the vital task to secure sound and efficient management of these food resources. In the first place, this means that the exploitation of the living resources of the sea must be made subject to effective control and regulatory measures.
With the establishment of economic zones, the coastal state has been made responsible for the management of the living resources within its own zone. But it is necessary that individual national management measures are formulated and implemented with due regard to the claims and expectations prevailing in the world community at large.
In the exploitation of the living resources of the sea, we must in future place decisive emphasis on giving priority to the development of fish products for human consumption. Today valuable research is carried out aimed at^ developing new products which may contribute towards fulfilling those resources - and nutritional-policy objectives for fisheries, in respect of which there is a general agreement. In Norway we have noted with satisfaction the increased interest now being shown for the newly developed fish protein concentrate in the form of fish meal FPC type B. In this connexion I would also refer to a seminar under FAO auspices which Norway had the honour to arrange (the Svanoy seminar) where scientists and research workers from a number of countries discussed the prospects and ways and means for a better exploitation of the total fish resources.
The fisheries in different parts of the world find themselves at different level of development. Many countries now face an era where the national fisheries will be developed, based on the country's own fish resources. FAO should in future engage itself more actively in this work. Decisive emphasis should be placed on ensuring that local advantages are characteristic features should form the guiding principle for the cooperative measures implemented.
The development of fisheries in the developing countries both through international development agencies and on the basis of bilateral cooperation, has formed an important part of Norway's engagement in development assistance. This is a policy which Norway intends to pursue further.
Mr. President, in Norway we have, as we reported during the last FAO Conference, presented a Report to the Storting on future Norwegian policy in respect of nutrition and food supplies. From document C 77/20 I note with great satisfaction that several developing countries are well underway with such planning. FAO should give priority to the task of assisting those countries requesting such aid to strengthen their capacity in this field. However, it is necessary that sufficient funds are appropriated for this purpose. The programme and budget proposal for 1978/79, which we now. have before us, does not in my opinion give sufficiently high priority to an active nutrition policy, and I would like to stress the need for strengthening FAO's future engagement in this sector.
Mr. President, the right to a life free from suffering due to hunger and undernourishment" is not only a basic need, but a fundamental human fight. All of us - both developed and developing countries - have therefore a common responsibility with respect to fulfilling the resolutions from the World Food Conference for ''eliminating hunger and malnutrition".
As the most important executive body in the food sector, the FAO has a particularly vital role to play. I feel convinced that the Organization, under Director-General Saouma's dynamic leadership, will live up to the great expectations we all have in respect of FAO's efforts in the struggle to eliminate hunger and undernourishment.
Third Report of the General Committee
Troisième Rapport du Bureau
Tercer Informe del Comité General
LE PRESIDENT: Je voudrais revenir sur le premier point inscrit à l'ordre du jour de cet après-midi et que nous n'avons pas encore pu considérer, à savoir, l'adoption du troisième rapport du Bureau.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Ce document, qui vous a été distribué, porte la référence C 77/LIM/30. La première section concerne le droit de vote du Congo.
LE PRESIDENT: S'il n'y a pas de commentaires ou d'objections à cette section du rapport et à la résolution y afférente, je considère qu'elle est approuvée.
Approved
Approuvé
Aprobado
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: La Section 2 concerne la nomination des Vice-Présidents des trois commissions.
La Conférence se souviendra qu'elle avait invité un certain nombre de délégations à désigner l'un de leurs membres à la vice-présidence des trois commissions. Ces noms ont été communiqués et le Bureau en a pris connaissance ce matin. Comme le demandait le deuxième rapport, le Président de la Conférence a été informé que les personnes suivantes ont été désignées par leurs délégations pour assumer la vice-présidence des trois commissions. COMMISSION I; Australie - T. J. KELLY; Irak - S. A. H. AL SHAKIR; Maroc - Najem BEN MOHAMED; Népal - Shiva B. NEPALI. COMMISSION II: Canada - Frank SHEFRIN; Iran - B. MANSURI; Kenya - A. I. MACHAYO; Thaïlande - P. LAOWHAPHAN, COMMISSION III; Philippines - Carlos J. VALUES; Syrie - Mousbab EL DALATI; Royaume-Uni - A. A. W. LANDYMORE; Venezuela - Luis LA CORTE.
LE PRESIDENT: S'il n'y pas de commentaires ou d'objections à cette section du rapport, je considère qu'elle est approuvée.
Approved
Approuvé
Aprobado
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: La troisième section concerne le Comité des résolutions de la Conférence.
LE PRESIDENT: S'il n'y a pas de commentaires ou d'objections à cette section du rapport, je considère qu'elle est approuvée par la Conférence.
Approved
Approuvé
Aprobado
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: La quatrième section concerne des demandes d'intervention dans le débat général.
LE PRESIDENT: S'il n'y a pas de commentaires ou d'objections a cette section du rapport, je considère qu'elle est approuvée par la Conférence.
Approved
Approuvé
Aprobado
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: La dernière section concerne l'hommage a la mémoire des fonctionnaires de la FAO décédés depuis la 18ème section.
Il est entendu que cet hommage sera rendu non pas maintenant, mais au moment de l'adoption du paragraphe correspondant en séance plénière de la Conférence.
LE PRESIDENT: S'il n'y a pas de commentaires ou d'objections sur cette section du rapport, je considère qu'elle est approuvée par la Conférence.
Approved
Approuvé
Aprobado
F. M. RABAGO (Mexico): Muy honroso es para mi Gobierno participar en este trascendental foro, donde desde ayer hemos recibido ocho naciones hermanas, más}lo que nos brinda una excelente ocasión de abordar asuntos de profundo interés para la humanidad.
Mexico apoya las políticas rectoras de la FAO, orientadas hacia la resolución de los problemas alimentarios que padece el mundo. La esposa del Presidente encabeza a la mujer mexicana a través de un grupo de promotores voluntarios que realizan trabajos con los ejidos y comunidades para mejorar la alimentación de la niñez y mujeres gestantes, y promueven el desarrollo rural en las comunidades marginadas, 'incluyendo la reforestación en las áreas degradadas, Dentro de los programas productivos se encuentran proyectos para la producción de aminoácidos esenciales, los cuales se utilizarán en la alimentación humana.
Es encomiable la misión que des'arrolla la organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación. Desde que se fundó, hace 32 años, ha mantenido una lucha permanente contra la pobreza, la desnutrición y el hambre que flagelan a más de la tercera parte de los seres humanos.
No obstante esta positiva cruzada, cabe recordar las palabras del doctor Edouard Saouma, en su reciente visita a mi país, en el sentido de que "FAO pertenece a los Gobiernos y su éxito o fracaso depende en altísimo grado de su apoyo".
Esta advertencia da margen a que los países que formamos parte de la Organización redoblemos nuestros esfuerzos solidarios para hacer frente, con mejores resultados, a estos graves problemas que afectarían a una población creciente, cuya cifra se estima se incrementará, a fines del presente siglo, a siete mil millones.
Resulta imperioso atender el problema que plantea la escasa nutrición que afecta a casi 500 millones de personas, dentro de los cuales" se cuentan los grupos marginados de mi país.
La mal nutrición no podrá combatirse eficazmente a menos que la demanda de alimentos vaya acompañada de la suficiente producción y la capacidad adquisitiva. El contraste es definitivo: Mientras en los paíse desarrollados los suministros alimentarios exceden con mucho sus necesidades, en las naciones en desarrollo, estos son insuficientes.
Nos satisface saber que la producción mundial de alimentos de los dos últimos años fue significativa, sin embargo, este hecho no debe ser razón válida para la conformidad y la despreocupación. El problema alimentario de la humanidad seguirá siendo un reto al espíritu solidario de la comunidad internacional.
A pesar de que las perspectivas futuras se contemplan difíciles como resultado del incremento mundial de la población, no debemos doblegarnos. Tenemos que afrontarlas desde ahora, porque el problema está latente.
Los países en vías de desarrollo estamos urgidos de auxilios de toda índole, pero principalmente de cooperación técnica y financiera para el desarrollo de nuestra agricultura, ganadería y silvicultura.
La producción de alimentos no podrá incrementarse si no establecemos la infraestructura necesaria, tanto en áreas de riego como en las de temporal, que sirva de apoyo para introducir la tecnología moderna y la capacitación y organización de los trabajadores del campo.
México se encuentra en el umbral de un sistema político reformador y renovador. El Presidente de los Estados Unidos, José López Portillo, ha emprendido una reforma político-administrativa que llevará a nuestra Nación por los rumbos del progreso y del bienestar.
Comprende la reorientación del sector agropecuario mediante la fusión de la Secretaría de Agricultura y Ganadería, que se encargaba de las políticas de producción agropecuaria y forestal y la Secretaría de Recursos Hidráulicos, que por su parte atendía la construcción de obras de riego y la operación de las mismas en una sola, que actúa como cabetza del sector y que, por lo tanto, coordina todas las entidades y agencias que concurren en la producción agropecuaria; todo, con el propósito de unificar las políticas de acción en el campo y evitar la duplicación de funciones y el desperdicio de recursos hu-tinos y económicos.
La canalización cada vez mayor de recursos financieros, pero aún insuficientes, por la vía del crédito que otorgan las instituciones bancarias gubernamentales y particulares, tanto para el gasto corriente de las empresas agrícolas y ganaderas, como para la adquisición de bienes de capital y mejoras permanentes que traigan consigo el aumento de la productividad.
La creación de los distritos de temporal cuyas áreas dependen en exclusiva de la precipitación fluvial, en general escasa y aleatoria.
Esta medida tiene especial significado de justicia social y es objetivo primordial de los programas gubernamentales de mi país. Con la organización de los distritos de temporal, los agricultores recibirán en mayor medida y dentro de las posibilidades económicas de México, los beneficios de la asistencia técnica, del crédito y del abastecimiento de otros insumos.
El Gobierno del Presidente José Lopez Portillo está empeñado en conjuntar el esfuerzo de todos los sectores en una alianza para la producción, destinando una parte muy importante de su esfuerzo a través del convencimiento y utilizando medidas democráticas, en reducir el índice de crecimiento demográfico, que en la actualidad es del 3, 2 al 2, 5 por ciento en 1982, y de seguir este ritmo llegará al 1 por ciento en el año 2000.
La injusta situación de intercambio entre países compradores y vendedores de productos agropecuarios es necesario que se corrija y tenemos fundadas esperanzas de que así acontecerá en un futuro inmediato, evitando los "dumpings'' provocados deliberadamente para abatir los precios internacionales en beneficio exclusivo de los intermediarios y compradores, por lo que desde esta alta tribuna México propone a la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación que examine la posibilidad de que se establezcan precios de garantía a nivel internacional para el comercio de productos agropecuarios, cuya meta es asegurar un mínimo de subsistencia a millones de campesinos que viven en una angustia permanente, en comparación con la tranquilidad de los países compradores de alimentos y materias primas.
Además de los precios de garantía para los productos del campo, debe existir un sistema internacional de comercialización y almacenamiento, evitando pérdidas poscosecha y que permita conservar y distribuir los excedentes que generan algunos países en años de condiciones climatológicas buenas, a efecto de auxiliar a los países que lo requieran y prever, por otra parte, la escasez de años desfavorables.
Nuestro país no está libre de estos problemas deficitarios, ya que una alta proporción de sus tierras agrícolas está sujeta a las precipitaciones pluviales y existen diferencias internas notables en distintos grupos con diferentes posibilidades productivas, tanto en la población rural como en la urbana. Debemos estar conscientes de que se presentan condiciones cíclicas de escasez de lluvias y, por lo tanto, es imprescindible la cooperación internacional, aprovechando al máximo las áreas agrícolas en los años de buenas condiciones climatológicas, a efecto de crear reservas que permitan equilibrar las deficiencias de los malos años.
Estamos seguros de que la reunión recibirá con beneplácito los informes que se presentarán sobre los esfuerzos desplegados por la Organización.
Nos satisface constatar que después del examen del Programa, las estructuras y las políticas que presentó el señor Director General y de acuerdo con sus declaraciones al tomar posesión de su elevado y honroso cargo, en esta nueva etapa se canalizarán los esfuerzos y los recursos de la Organización hacia cuatro finalidades principales, dirigidas todas ellas a conceder mayor impulso a los países en desarrollo mediante la asistencia que se les suministra y que son:
1) Otorgar mayor énfasis a las inversiones en la agricultura y la alimentación.
2) Establecer un programa de cooperación técnica, financiado directamente con fondos de la Institución.
3) Promover una mayor descentralización de las actividades de la Organización, llevándolas hacia los países para establecer lazos más estrechos con los Estados Miembros, incluyendo la transferencia progresiva del personal, así como su asignación a tareas específicas; y
4) Otorgar preferencia a los programas prácticos, en lugar de los estudios teóricos a largo plazo.
Nuestro mejor deseo es que al desarrollar los importantes temas previstos en el programa, se constaten apreciables avances y que, además, se adopten decisiones viables que transformen los deseos y propósitos en verdaderos compromisos de cooperación internacional. En particular, la FAO debe estrechar su colaboración con el Consejo Mundial de la Alimentación, a fin de dar cumplimiento a los importantes programas que éste tiene planteados, como el de poner ya en marcha el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola.
Asimismo, se deben encontrar fórmulas para intensificar la cooperación técnica en materia de agricultura y alimentación para lograr los objetivos del Programa Mundial de Alimentos, patrocinado por las Naciones Unidas, la'propia FAO y la Organización Mundial de la Salud.
México está consciente de que, si bien la ayuda de la FAO es valiosa, ésta debe ser correspondida por su propio esfuerzo y por ello pone gran empeño en producir el requerimiento de alimentos básicos que demanda su población.
Con este interés, México celebro un Convenio con la Dirección General de la FAO que culminó en el establecimiento de una Oficina con la representación personal del Director y que facilitará el desarrollo de los programas de asistencia y cooperación,
En relación con la próxima reunión mundial de reforma agraria, México participará aportando sus expe-riendas de su propio proceso de desarrollo.
Finalmente, dejamos este elevado foro, con nuestros votos para que el esfuerzo de todos los países que aquí concurren, a los que transmito un cordial saludo, se transforme en lo que todos esperamos: alimento para los necesitados y paz permanente dentro del progreso para todos los pueblos de la tierra.
A. P. J. M. M. VAN DER STEE (Netherlands): In considering agriculture and food production in the world, one question constantly recurs: "Are we making progress fast enough?" By and large, events in the past two years have not been unfavourable but there are still acute shortages of basic foodstuffs in certain parts of the world. The Sahel countries are a case in point: they are again threatened by serious drought. My government will assist these countries in the form of food supplies in the next few months. I am not optimistic about the long-term prospects. Unfortunately the chances of permanently eradicating the malnutrition still prevailing in many developing countries are still highly uncertain.
The eradication of malnutrition can only be achieved by increasing productivity in the countries concerned and by a more equitable distribution of the supplies available in such countries. Ensuring adequate supplies of good, inexpensive food that meets local standards of taste is a top priority for every government.
Stimulating greater agricultural production and, in many cases, a greater fishing catch - which is to say, aiding domestic agriculture and fisheries - is in many cases preferable to importing goods. Domestic production promotes higher incomes and employment, frees foreign exchange for the import of goods that cannot be produced locally and, moreover, safeguards food supplies in periods of international tension.
Similar attention is required for forestry, which can make a substantial contribution to agricultural production, to improving infrastructures and to improving the quality of life in developing countries. Forests are also important in the protection of the environment, notably because of their influence on the microclimate. Moreover, forestry can help to meet the often urgent demand for wood products. The establishment of a timber and woodworking industry in developing countries will at the same time promote employment.
FAO should play a very active role in the preparations for a new United Nations development strategy. Activities like the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and the project Agriculture Towards 2000 can be important in this respect.
Speaking in very general terms, I would say that there are two factors which are of fundamental importance for substantially raising production in the developing countries: the human factor, and the financial factor.
By "the human factor" I mean first and foremost the governments of countries and the regional authorities.
They will have to accord high priority to rural and agricultural development and back this up with a body of concrete measures such as the framing of price and import policies for agricultural products, the opening-up and improvement of rural areas and the education and training of specialists, to name but a few. If the small farmer finds his situation improved by such measures he will be prepared to use modern methods and equipment to increase his productivity.
The governments of developed countries will have to take a similar long-term view, for instance as regards a gradual shift of emphasis towards the processing of agricultural products and as regards the provision of expertise and capital for developing countries.
As far as the second factor is concerned the development process cannot proceed at the required pace without extra financial injections, even with the best will in the world. The Director-General was therefore right in according priority to investment in this Program of Work and Budget. Fortunately many development cooperation activities currently in operation fully comply with this view the World Bank has doubled its investment in agricultural projects in recent years: the International Fund for Agricultural Development will get under way here in Rome in a few weeks' time after two years of discussion; and in the past three years the Netherlands has tripled its development assistance commitments for agriculture.
A great deal of this investment is intended to improve the quality of or increase the production of artificial fertilizer and sowing-seed. But much of it is also earmarked for increasing the area of land, whether irrigated or not, under cultivation. Another sector in which more is being invested is the food industry, which has an obvious link with the farmer, and can be established in rural areas, requires
comparatively little in the way of capital, and can further the social diversification of rural communities.
In the past two years the Dutch Government has agreed, to give financial support to a number of FAO programs, including the Food Security Assistance Scheme and the International Scheme for the Coordination of Dairy Development, and in so doing to put its expertise at the disposal of FAO. Further contributions will be dependent on the progress made by the schemes and on future FAO policy, especially with regard to the Food Security Assistance Scheme. Cooperation in the Fertilizer Program is now under way.
My government supports the Program for Reduction of Post Harvest Food Losses. In my feeling, this program should not stop at the loss of agricultural products, but should extend to fisheries and in some cases to forestry as well. If a solution can be found in the matter of the proposed financing method the Netherlands will make a contribution of 2 million U. S. dollars to this fund, on conditions to be worked out.
I consider all of these special FAO programmes to be of immense value in that they focus attention on specific acute problems which require immediate action.
The provision of credit for the small farmer is a point of cardinal importance in the effort to improve agriculture. He often has insufficient collateral fo fully secure the credit he needs. Yet if this credit is not forthcoming his in-put is both inadequate and ineffective and consequently he cannot achieve a satisfactory level of production. Measures to extricate him from this vicious circle are urgently needed, and that is why SACRED - the FAO Scheme for Agriculture Credit - merits our fullest attention.
In the stimulation of domestic production and the raising of productivity the developed countries can, as I have said, give valuable assistance. In recent years the Netherlands Government has spared no effort to provide the maximum and the most effective aid possible. One of the many channels through which aid can flow is the European Economic Community, in which we are endeavouring to do more in the area of multilateral development cooperation - without, of course, this affecting everything the Community is already doing in the bilateral context.
I must say I do like short speeches but these few remarks would not be complete without some reference to food aid. Though not always the ideal form of assistance, it is nevertheless indispensable in bridging the gap between the present and the time when the receiving countries will have raised their production and purchasing power to the level of self-sufficiency.
Everything points to the fact that the ten million tonnes of grain and the sufficient quantities of other products which form the subject of a resolution adopted by the World Food Conference will indeed be needed in the short term. My Government wishes to help to achieve the targets set. The contribution of the Common Market will also be very important here.
The same applies to world food security. During the time of food shortages very definite pronouncements were made and a large number of countries even committed themselves to action in the form of undertakings. Now that we seem to have reached a period in which the supply of agricultural products on the world market is once again more than adequate and prices are dropping to low levels, the time has come to build up the reserve supplies that were considered to be so essential. At the same time, international cooperation will have to be intensified so that, if necessary, additional measures can be taken, to stabilize the world market for major products. Here, too, the Common Market will have an important part to play. The Dutch Government will continue to give full support to all such endeavours.
In conclusion I would like to express the hope that the Food and Agriculture Organization under the eminent guidance of our Director-General, Dr. Saouma succeeds in its aims in the next two years and that it will continue its valuable work in the interests of the world's food, agriculture, forestry
and fisheries. I mention, one name. I wish to express my best wishes for the coming Independent Chairman of the Council, Bukhar Shaib and a lot of thanks to his predecessor, Gonzalo Bula Hoyos. Thank you very much.
J. E. MARTINEZ de GENIQUE (España): Señor Presidente: Con mi gratitud por concederme la palabra, deseo en primer lugar manifestarle la satisfación de la Delegación española, y nuestra felicitación, por haber sido elegido merecidamente para dirigir y encauzar los trabajos de este 19 período de sesiones de la Conferencia de nuestra Organización, así como a los restantes miembros de la Mesa, Comisiones y Comités que hemos elegido.
Mi Delegación desea también dar la más cordial bienvenida a los nuevos Estados Miembros de Angola, Comoras, República Democrática Popular de Corea, Djibouti. Mozambique, Namibia, Santo Tomé y Principe, y Seychelles. Su presencia es una clara prueba de que la FAO continua siendo un Organismo vivo y dinámico, capaz de seguir captando adhesiones de nuevos Estados jóvenes y llenos de generoso ímpetu creador, que confían en la adecuación de este Organismo para plantear y resolver, por la vía multilateral, las principales y delicadas cuestiones mundiales sobre agricultura y alimentación.
Sr. Presidente, con independencia de ulteriores intervenciones de mi Delegación en los trabajos de las Comisiones, deseo resaltar brevemente algunos aspectos que consideramos de singular importancia en el programa de labores que nos presenta el Director General.
Hace dos años, la Delegación española solicitaba de la Secretaría que nuestra Organización intentase conseguir nuevos enfoques y nuevas orientaciones que, aprovechando el conjunto de circunstancias que configuraban el planteamiento del Nuevo Orden Económico internacional, la hiciesen más eficaz y más útil para los Países Miembros, desembarazándose de prácticas rutinarias que habían perdido su eficacia y que tal vez no estaban ya suficientemente justificadas en la concepción, en el planteamiento y en la ejecución de sus Programas. Consideraba también conveniente la Delegación española, que se procediese a una clara delimitación de funciones entre los distintos Organismos del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas implicados en el desarrollo agrario y rural, para que ello permitiese concentrar las actividades de la FAO en proyectos concretos.
Pues bien, nos complace reconocer hoy que en estos dos primeros años de mandato el Director General se ha esforzado, con el beneplácito del Consejo, por encauzar eficazmente las tareas de la Organización, reorientándolas en el sentido de otorgar una mayor prioridad a las operaciones sobre el terreno, disminuyendo la intensidad de otras actividades más teóricas y burocráticas. El trasvase intrapresupuestario de algunos conceptos financiadores de funciones preponderantemente administrativas hacia otros más centrados sobre operaciones de desarrollo, ha permitido a FAO reforzar su su capacidad para preparar proyectos de inversión que ayudarán a mejorar el estado de la agricultura y de la alimentación en los países más necesitados, dando fuerza a la idea de que es preciso acentuar especialmente la capacitación de los pequeños productores, la también llamada formación a ras del suelo, para incrementar la cantidad y la calidad de la producción alimentaria en tales países. Se trata, en definitiva, de dar mayor importancia y contenido a la capacitación en los niveles básicos, a la formación práctica de instructores y a la potenciación de las instituciones nacionales que tienen encomendado este objetivo. Es más, consideramos muy significativo el hecho de que el nuevo Programa Operacional de Cooperación Técnica, haya permitido destinar una parte del Presupuesto Ordinario -aunque relativamente pequeña todavía- a la formulación y ejecución directa de Proyectos en los Estados Miembros con una rapidez poco común, si se compara con otros proyectos financiados extrapresupuestariamente.
También considera positivo mi Delegación, Señor Presidente, el hecho de que se esté consiguiendo la paulatina reducción del cuerpo funcionarial presente en la sede, en beneficio de una descentralización hacia los Estados Miembros, lo que permitirá un contacto directo más intenso con las circunstancias y necesidades reales de los mismos, y exhorta al Director General a que prosiga en esta línea de realismo, por cuanto significa que dispondremos de una Organización mejor equipada para acciones sobre el terreno, evitando el peligro de enquistarse exclusivamente en cometidos teóricos.
En relación con nuestros deseos de delimitación de funciones entre los diversos Organismos encargados de promover el desarrollo agrario y rural de nuestros pueblos, quisiéramos hacer unas consideraciones: El nuevo orden económico internacional comporta una serie de cambios, a veces radicales, en las relaciones entre países desarrollados y países en desarrollo, y significa un avance hacia una mayor confianza de estos iúltimos países en sus. propios medios, como lo muestra el Programa de Cooperación Económica entre países en Desarrollo. Pero conseguir una mejor estabilidad del Sistema Económico Internacional no podrá nunca llegar a ser una realidad mientras centenares de millones de personas sufran hambre y malnutrición, y mientras la seguridad alimentaria del mundo dependa de las aleatoriedades productivas de muy pocas campañas agrarias. Es preciso dejar bien claro que el derecho de los seres humanos a una correcta alimentación debe
ser una premisa fundamental e irrenunciable en todo orden económico internacional nuevo que pretenda ser duradero; y por ello la FAO tiene que contribuir a crear las condiciones necesarias y suficientes especialmente en cuanto a elevar los niveles nutricionales y las condiciones de vida en las zonas rurales de numerosos países en desarrollo, mediante la ejecución de programas concretos, y con resultados tangibles. Ello impone la necesidad de definir claramente las relaciones que deben existir entre la FAO y otros Organismos como el Consejo Mundial de la Alimentación, el PNUD o el FIDA, con objeto de que la actuación de todos ellos redunde en una potenciación real de los instrumentos y medios puestos al servicio del desarrollo económico y social de nuestros pueblos. En tal sentido, mi Gobierno entiende que la FAO debería seguir siendo, sin exclusivismos, la principal Organización del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas para el fomento de las políticas concertadas intergubernamentales sobre temas de agricultura y alimentación, así como para la canalización y prestación de asistencia técnica multilateral en estas materias, debiendo concentrar sus esfuerzos en la adopción de medidas concretas para la producción de alimentos, la ayuda y la seguridad alimentarias, como también en resolver los problemas fundamentales, técnicos y económicos, que dificultan un mejor desarrollo de los recursos agrícolas, ganaderos, forestales y pesqueros en todo el mundo.
Sr. Presidente, a nivel mundial, las dos buenas cosechas sucesivas de cereales han permitido reconstituir las reservas hasta niveles que se consideran satisfactorios para algunos países. Se presenta, pues, para estos países, una excelente oportunidad de constituir una Reserva Internacional de Urgencia, de acuerdo con lo previsto en el 70 Período Extraordinario de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, e incluso relanzar la puesta en marcha de un Compromiso Internacional sobre la Seguridad Alimentaria Mundial, y de aumentar la ayuda alimentaria en cereales, tal como recomendaba la Conferencia Mundial de la Alimentación en 1974.
Conviene destacar también el hecho alentador de que durante la campaña 1976-1977, los países en desarrollo han conseguido mejorar en cerca de un 10 por ciento sus ingresos por exportación de productos básicos agrarios, frenándose así una tendencia que parecía delinearse a largo plazo, y que hubiera significado una progresiva disminución en la proporción que les corresponde en los ingresos procedentes de las exportaciones agrarias mundiales.
Pero esta situación de mejora relativa no debe inducirnos a pensar que podemos continuar indefinidamente importando productos agroalimentarios a precios relativamente bajos. Resulta excesivamente simplista el razonamiento consistente en ligar el abastecimiento nacional a unos niveles bajos en los precios mundiales de productos básicos, porque si el procedimiento se generalizase, crecería desmesuradamente la demanda, anulándose rápidamente las ventajas vía preciosjya que no hay que olvidar que los precios internacionales suelen referirse a cantidades reducidas y a veces marginales en relación con los volúmenes reales de la producción y del consumo. Sin entrar además en el análisis de las consecuencias que comporta el que se perpetúen situaciones de dependencia económica en los países que no tienen suficientemente desarrollados sus procesos productivos.
Ya las perspectivas para 1978 apuntan a una cierta expansión de la demanda de productos agrarios engeneral. Y puesto que está previsto que de aquí a finales de siglo la demanda mundial de alimentos hade duplicarse, parecen seguir vigentes, a medio y largo plazo, las razones y los mecanismos que desencadenaron la crisis alimentaria del bienio 1973-74. Por ello sería ilusorio y arriesgado no otorgar una prioridad elevada para los proyectos que se traduzcan en acciones concretas en favor de los países más seriamente afectados por la pobreza, especialmente aquellos encaminados a aumentar la producción de alimentos. Porque frente al optimismo derivado de haber obtenido unos incrementos medios próximos al 4 por cientoanual en la producción alimentaria del pasado bienio, tasa que corresponde al objetivo fijado al efecto en la Estrategia para el Segundo Decenio para el Desarrollo, hay que contraponer el hecho de que las reservas de cereales disponibles al finalizar la presente campaña cubrirán apenas el nivel mínimo estimado por la FAO para la seguridad alimentaria mundial; y no es a base de mínimos como se puede hacer frente con éxito a las expectativas de una demanda alimentaria creciente en cantidad y calidad. Por otra parte, hay que señalar el hecho preocupante de que el nivel de las capturas de pescado no parece registrar progresos respecto al conseguido en 1976, lo que significa una disminución en términos reales de la disponibilidad "per capita" de estas proteínas animales; aparte de los numerosos problemas socioeconómicos que plantea a muchos países, incluso desarrollados, una recesión en las actividades del sector pesquero. Precisamente por ello, mi Delegación es claramente partidaria de que a nivel internacional se defienda el derecho de acceso a los caladeros tradicionales por las flotas pesqueras de los países que, como España, han venido desarrollando estas actividades desde tiempo inmemorial, como también de que se fomente el aprovechamiento de los recursos pesqueros mundiales a través de la constitución de empresas pesqueras conjuntas.
En relaciön con este tema de la Seguridad Alimentaria, considero que, sin perjuicio de otros medios e instrumentos coadyuvantes, la concertación multilateral de Acuerdos sobre Productos Básicos se revela como uno de los elementos determinantes de aquella política, toda vez que permite un desarrollo más equilibrado y estable del comercio internacional sin que se produzcan oscilaciones extraordinarias en los precios del mercado, que se traducirían en situaciones de desabastecimiento. Se trata, pues, de establecer una serie de compromisos multilaterales de compra y suministro, a precios que pueden oscilar dentro de unas bandas predeterminadas, gracias a la constitución de reservas internacionales de estabilización. En este sentido, considero muy provechosos y dignos de prosecución los trabajos adelantados por los distintos Grupos Intergubernamentales del Comité de Productos Básicos, al objeto de poder elaborar proyectos de Acuerdos que constituyan la base de las negociaciones a celebrar bajo los auspicios de la UNCTAD para la concertación de aquellos Acuerdos Internacionales que responden a la necesidad de que la seguridad alimentaria mundial sea, aún durante muchos años, un objetivo principal para la mayoría de los países.
Señor Presidente, mi gobierno considera que las inversiones para el desarrollo agrario y rural deben enfocarse a la luz de un examen general de las necesidades financieras para el desarrollo. Es preciso subrayar y alentar el acento que la FAO ha pues to recientemente sobre este asunto, puesto que se trata de un desarrollo significativo en momentos en que la andadura del FIDA parece muy próxima. Teniendo en cuenta que, a lo largo de sus buenos treinta años de existencia la FAO ha acumulado experiencia y. personal de contrastada competencia para la formulación y ejecución de proyectos de desarrollo agrario, parece lógico que se halle naturalmente destinada a mantener relaciones preferencia-Íes con el nuevo Fondo Internacional.
En este sentido, me parece razonable la intención de potenciar el Centro de inversiones de la FAO, para que pueda actuar más eficazmente como promotor de una más amplia y continuada inversión en favor del desarrollo agroalimentario.
A la hora de seleccionar prioridades en la política de inversiones para el desarrollo productivo, no puede olvidarse que la llamada "Ley del mínimo" sigue siendo totalmente válida para las producciones agrarias, puesto que éstas se hallan condicionadas por la aportación del factor más escaso, que resulta limitante, entre los que intervienen en el proceso. La variabilidad de las disponibilidades de aquellos factores obliga a que la actividad de la FAO en pro del desarrollo haya de realizarse en el más estrecho contacto con las realidades agrícolas y sociales de los países, obteniendo una valiosa información de éstos a través de los programas regionales y de campo. El desarrollo agrario no puede traducirse únicamente en aumento de producción, sino que comprende aspectos tan importantes como la educación y la sanidad rurales, la industrialización agroalimentaria y la creación de infraestructuras adecuadas. En consecuencia, no cabe duda de que las Oficinas Regionales pueden y deben ofrecer el apoyo técnico necesario a las Oficinas de la Organización ubicadas en los diferentes países, especialmente en aquellas de nueva creación en el marco de la nueva política de cooperación con el PNUD.
Es'preciso subrayar también la importancia que otorga mi Gobierno a la Conferencia sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural, que está prevista se celebre en 1979, ya de cara al Tercer Decenio para el Desarrollo. La tierra es un bien escaso y hay que administrarlo justa y económicamente. Junto al reconocimiento del derecho a la conservación y utilización pública de la Naturaleza y del medio ambiente, el compromiso no puede ser otro que el de favorecer el desarrollo rural integrado, concentrando esfuerzos y recursos en favor de las poblaciones más pobres, que suelen con frecuencia ubicarse en zonas rurales, con objeto de hacerlas partícipes del bienestar y del progreso. En este sentido sigue siendo irrènunciable el objetivo de conseguir una creciente equiparación de las condiciones y calidad de vida del medio rural con las que ya disfruta el medio urbano, para lo cual es preciso completar la política de desarrollo rural propiamente dicha con otras acciones de carácter industrial y de servicios, aplicadas en y para las propias zonas rurales.
Otra importante convocatoria prevista para el próximo bienio es la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo, a la que la FAO ha de suministrar, sin duda, una. importante contribución, derivada de la experiencia con que cuenta en su Centro para Desarrollo dela investigación. Considero que el apoyo multilateral a la investigación agraria debe traducirse entre otras acciones, en un asasoramiento directo a los gobiernos en la formulación de proyectos parafomentar institutos de investigación aplicada y experimental, así como en una eficaz coordinación de la labor desarrollada por las redes de investigación entre instituciones nacionales e internaciona- les. Buen ejemplo de esto último ha sido la reciente celebración, en mi país, en el Centro de Mejora. y Demostración de las Técnicas Oleícolas de Córdoba, de dos consultas de expertos de las redes de investigación relativas a la aceituna y al girasol, completada con otra de representantes de los ocho centros de coordinación establecidos dentro del marco de actividades de la Región Europea, lo cual, es un ejemplo vivo de la cooperación ya iniciada entre diversas Regiones de la ÍFAO, aportando las más evolucionadas su tecnología a otras áreas que la precisen.
En materia de investigación y experimentación todo puede resultar importante, desde la conservación y mejora de recursos fitogenéticos hasta las actividades en curso para el aprovechamiento de la energía solar. Como programa a plazo medio convendría desarrollar investigaciones sobre agroenergéti-ca, destinadas a promover el cultivo industrial en zonas áridas de plantas con alto índice de rendimiento fotosintético, para emplear los productos químicos resultantes como fuente energética alternativa.
Señor Presidente, mi Gobierno considera bien fundados los progresos que están realizándose con el Sistema Mundial de Información y Alerta sobre Agricultura y Alimentación. Es preciso potenciar la realización de estadísticas básicas y los sistemas racionales de información sobre situación y perspectivas de cosecha en muchos países, y muy particularmente en los países en desarrollo, ya que ello constituye hasta ahora una de las más serias limitaciones a la eficacia del sistema. En este sentido, creo que debería prestarse una atención creciente hacia las posibilidades que ofrece la Teledetección, no sólo para el fomento de la utilización de recursos naturales en la agricultura, la pesca y los montes, sino también para la evaluación y difusión prácticamente instantánea del estadio vegetativo en que se encuentran las distintas cosechas y de sus condiciones de resistencia frente a plagas. Los dos cursos internacionales de capacitación en estas modernas técnicas que se han celebrado ya en la sede, siguiendo las recomendaciones de la Comisión de las Naciones Unidas sobre utilización del espacio ultraterrestre con fines pacíficos, constituyen una base cierta para que los Estados Miembros cuenten con personal especializado capaz de interpretar y difundir estas informaciones, perfeccionándose notablemente los mecanismos de alerta agroalimentaria a nivel mundial.
Asimismo, el nuevo programa destinado a reducir las pérdidas alimentarias poscosecha, cuya aprobación viene avalada por el Consejo, representa una iniciativa de la mayor importancia, que la Conferencia Mundial de Alimentación ya había propiciado. Por ello me parece oportuno que se constituya un Fondo para la lucha contra este tipo de pérdidas, para que se logre el triple objetivo de producir más, almacenar mejor y distribuir más justamente nuestros alimentos.
Otro programa digno de apoyo especial, destinado a resolver un problema que obviamente no puede enfocarse a base de intervenciones puntuales, es el relativo al control de la tripanosomiasis del ganado en Africa, sobre una extensión de unos diez millones de kilómetros cuadrados, donde la mosca tsetse actúa como factor limitante para todo desarrollo agrario y rural en zonas muy extensas de más de treinta y cinco países.
Señor Presidente, España, que ha desempeñado un digno papel histórico en asuntos de cooperación internacional, acaba de dar dos importantes pasos en esta senda. Con uno de ellos se ha creado recientemente en Madrid el Centro Iberoamericano de Cooperación, con la misión de potenciar, a título de plena igualdad, las relaciones de todo tipo entre los países de la Comunidad Iberoamericana, y muy particularmente las que afectan a nuestro desarrollo agrario y pesquero.
Y con el otro se ha solicitado la adhesión a las Comunidades Europeas, decisión política de gran trascendencia tomada con el apoyo de todos los partidos políticos de mi país, que llevará a España a integrarse en el futuro, como miembro de pleno derecho, en el importante conjunto político y económico constituido por la Europa Comunitaria.
Uno de los grandes objetivos que se plantean, pues, a la agricultura española, es el de conseguir una armonización productiva y una conciliación de intereses, no siempre convergentes a corto plazo, con otras agricultura, para llevar adelante el proceso de construcción comunitaria europea. España está muy lejos de propiciar con ello una política agresiva de exportaciones agrarias, pero entiende que puede contribuir a mejorar el equilibrio alimentario y nutricional de otros pueblos -y no solamente europeos- sobre la base de una razonable complementariedad productiva. Porque una política de solidaridad inteligente puede potenciar en buena medida la influencia de todos los elementos que la integran, para el logro de más avanzados niveles de bienestar.
Para terminar, Señor Presidente, permítame reiterar el espíritu constructivo con que la delegación española participa en el actual período de sesiones de la Conferencia de FAO. Poco significarían los índices económicos que reflejan la disparidad entre los grados de desarrollo de nuestros países, si no nos impulsasen moralmente a que prevalezca el espíritu de cooperación sobre el de la confrontación egoísta. Porque bajo ningún concepto resulta deseable que continúen persistiendo islotes de creciente pobreza relativa en el seno de cualquier comunidad humana, convencidos como estamos de que el desarrollo de un país, o de un grupo de países, está inevitablemente condicionado por el nivel de prosperidad de los demás.
Ε. F. WHELAN (Canada): Mr. Chairman, I wish to join those who have spoken before me to congratulate you on your election to preside over this Nineteenth FAO Conference. You bring to your high office a range of experience that will help direct our deliberations to a fruitful end. I listened and read with great interest your valuable statement outlining the current food situation and proposed future action. I am also very pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this Conference being held in this ancient city of Rome, in a year when many countries have had a bountiful harvest. I am also pleased to congratulate and welcome all the new countries into our midst.
I have aways emphasised the contribution of the land and the role of the farmer. I remember attending; my first meeting at the FAO. Most people referred to those who produced foods as peasants. We hardly hear that at this Conference at all and that makes me happy. I have always emphasised the importance of the farmer and the fisherman in food production. I am a farmer first and a Minister of Agriculture second. It is gratifying to see more farmers at this Conference as Ministers of Agriculture than ever before. At the first meeting I attended on agriculture there was one other member and myself who were farmers and Ministers of Agriculture. That is not true today.
International conferences by themselves, no matter how good, will not solve the food problem. Technical and financial assistance, no matter how large by themselves, will not solve the food problem. Slogans and speeches are sterile without action. We have the land, we have the people to cultivate the land. But in each country must be the political will to bring together the land and the people because in past history those who have been associated with the production of food have always been treated on a lower basis, and still are in many parts of the world treated differently on an economic level. That their living standards should be below those in any other location is something that I cannot accept or understand. The bureaucrats must be dedicated to the cause of agriculture and the people who farm. Politicians and bureaucrats must reduce the pieces of paper that tend often to retard rather than facilitate agricultural production. I witnessed last night in this building a huge cart of paper going out ahead of me and I thought what a dreadful way to practice conservation. They must not allow fertile land to be idle beyond good agricultural practices. I like the proposal for a corps of volunteers who should work on the land and come from both developed and developing countries.
This year in Canada our farmers experienced considerable difficulty in harvesting their crops, but I am pleased to report that while the rain may have lowered the quality of grain produced, the bulk of the grain has been harvested practically 100 per cent. We expect the total production of wheat to approach 18 million tons. Taking into account last year's carry-over of 13. 2 million tons of wheat and 4. 7 million tons of feed grains, we have adequate grain supplies to meet our international and national commitments. It should be borne in mind that this production was attained despite the drop in world wheat prices. I should point out that Canadian farmers carry a substantial portion of the wheat stocks in the world. At one time Canadian farmers held in their own granaries 30 percent of the total grain reserves of the world without any compensation from anyone, neither from my Government nor from any other organization. In these cases these farmers did not even have enough money to decently educate or clothe their families. They will not return to that again. Our total feed grain production is expected to equal last year's crop of 21 million tons. Our feed grain reserves at the beginning of this year were about 5 million tons.
But what about those countries who have not been so fortunate? While the longer-term opportunities for expanding food production in food priority countries are great, in the short term, recognising the slow process of agricultural development, we know there are a number of countries in which diets are inadequate, where rapid improvements in agricultural production cannot be expected, and where there is a lack of foreign exchange. For these countries, the provision of food aid is an immediate means of overcoming hunger. Canada has long been a major provider of food aid and will remain so as long as the need persists. We are reviewing our whole food aid programme, both bilateral and multilateral, in order to determine how well it is meeting national objectives and the needs of developing countries. What I am saying is what the people of Canada want. The people of our country have backed us solidly on our food aid programmes and our participation in food aid programmes. We will continue to adapt our programmes in a constructive fashion as part of a sustained effort to further world agricultural development. The international community has learned that food aid can be a valuable development tool.
Canada supports the target of $950 million as proposed by the Executive Director of the World Food Programme for the two years 1979/80. We are proud that a Canadian, Mr. Gerry Vogel, the former Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Wheat Board, has been appointed to this challenging position. New donors are needed and many of the current donors will have to increase their contribution if we are to reach the 1979/80 target.
We will continue to play our part. Canada's commitment to the World Food Programme in fiscal year 1977/78 is 400 000 tons of food grain which forms a portion of our one million ton food grain commitment for this year, together with $13 million of non-grain food and $10 million cash.
Canada has also announced its intention, subject to Parliamentary approval, to contribute $7. 5 million to the 500 000 ton International Emergency Food Reserve. 3 I trust that many other countries will be able to take part in this worthwhile programme. We are also contributing $33 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development as an expression of our continuing interest in investing in. International agricultural development.
The theme proposed by the Director-General for this year's Conference "Investment in Agriculture" is very very timely. It is now three years since we met here in Rome at the 1974 World Food Conference and discussed measures to be taken to expand the world's food supplies. To me as a farmer three years is a long time to get a programme off the ground. If we farmers took that long to make decisions not many of us would be here at this meeting, we would have starved to death a long time ago.
Progress since 1974, while slower than we would wish, has been positive; for example, the formation of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the current consultations on a Common Fund, advanced discussions and proposals towards a new international grains agreement, additional investments in agriculture by governments and international agencies, and encouraging signs towards liberalization of agricultural trade through the GATT negotiations. I intend to return to that shortly. Canada believes that efficient producers should not be hampered by trade restrictions. Furthermore producers’ incomes should not be threatened by unfair dumping practices. Each country should develop the agricultural products where they have a comparative advantage. The positive role of the World Food Council should be emphasised, especially in the light of the Manila Communiqué which expresses more clearly suggested action to eradicate hunger and malnutrition.
Following the recently held FAO Credit Conference, the international community in the future will have to give greater attention to the credit needs of farmers, particularly those small-scale farmers who make up the bulk of the world's producers. In Canada 95 percent of our farms are operated by the people who own them.
A farm owner in Canada actually does the work on his farm. He is not an absentee farmer who has a villa or two and a summer home. He lives full time on his farm and operates the farm and works with his family.
This is part of Canada's heritage of the settlers who broke the sod and who cleared the land by hand. These are the people whose independent spirit built the Canadian democracy. It was not for people who came to that new part of the world at that time for mineral richness to rob the land of its timber and its furs: it was the ones who came there to cultivate the land to become farmers who built the democracy that we know in Canada. I am astounded when I go to parts of the developing world to see the outstanding high interest rates that these poor farmers have to pay. Some say it is better than before for them, because they paid much higher interest rates than before. It is appalling when we see them paying 14 percent, 15 percent, 16 percent and even higher than 20 percent interest rates. If we charged our farmers that interest rate in Canada we would have a revolt. They would not put up with it for five minutes.
Thus in Canada farmers make their own investment decisions based on their assessment of the short and medium-term situation. The governments, both federal and provincial, help to realise this decisionmaking process by providing the institutional framework and a healthy economic environment, including stabilization programmes, marketing boards run by farmers, not by the Government, and a crop insurance programme.
Our own - that is the Federal Government's - Farm Credit Corporation loaned over 70 percent of all money loaned to farmers for purchase of land and other capital improvements on their farms. This is an interest rate that is set by the Government from time to time concerning the interest charged to the Department by the International Bank. I think that private institutions world-wide should be doing a much better job than they are as far as financing farmers - especially the small farmers - of the world. When I see the international banking institutions who have established, even some from my own country, and from other countries of the world, I think to myself: what a way to make money off these poor people In most instances they are not even earning $1 000 a year take-home pay.
During the past few years, the Canadian Government has placed increased emphasis on developing and implementing stabilisation and supply management policies in order to provide the long-term economic stability necessary to encourage farmers to make full use of their investment in machinery, fertilizers, livestock and buildings. Canadian agriculture is particularly exposed to fluctuations in the international commodity markets. About 40 percent of the gross income of Canadian farmers is derived from international trade. Over 70 percent of our cereal grains that we produce in Canada is exported. we import a lot of food also and it may be of interest to some people from tropical and semi-tropical countries that the food that we imported from you with no tariff whatsoever increased last year to 49 percent. If the food that we have under our supply management programme is accepted within our own
country, if we had been solely dependent on that, an increase in food prices in our own countries would have been practically static for the last year, but some of you, maybe most of you, did not get the benefit from those tremendous increases in those foods that we have bought from those tropical countries. We know you did not; we know the foods that we have to import are those that were subject to every kind of whim and fancy of the import/export organization that was in the world. This is not fair either, I do not think.
We are understandably concerned over the slow progress in GATT. Canada is one of the most open markets in the world for agricultural products from all parts of the world. We have removed practically every tariff on those products that we do not produce in our own country. At the same time our exports to many countries are restricted to what they call sophisticated trade barriers. I find it appalling when we try to sell products, sometimes to developing countries, sometimes to developed countries. We look at the tariff rates, we cannot find them, there is not supposed to be any tariff on those products but then we find the non-tariff barriers that are even greater than the tariff barriers because you must sell through an agent and if you do not treat him properly you are not going to sell your product. I say to those people who are counting on GATT being the answer to your problems: unless GATT can get to the bottom of those non-tariff barriers that are greater than the known tariff barriers, it will be a complete failure. And again I. say: I am appalled and shocked, and to the developing countries: you have learned well from your overlords of before on how to take advantage of the systems of appointing agents to handle your product in your country. For what reason I do not know because many of the people who are buying that product that we sell to you are very poor people indeed and some of those people who are those agents, that I call, the non-tariff barriers, they are the ones that are making more money than any processor or any farmer in the developed part of the world. Don't you ever forget that: they make it by signing with a stroke of the pen, something that I again do not condone, but it is becoming more prevalent in the world as time goes on. We hear many wordy statements made about removing the tariffs in free trade. Some of the countries making those" statements have the most protectionist trade barriers and non-trade barriers in the world. We are emphasizing the GATT negotiations. We think they are great, in Canada; we think they are a step in the right direction, but I as a member of the Government personally do not think they are going to answer all the questions that many of us think they are going to answer, especially when over half the people of the world will not be represented in the GATT. The great country of China, the USSR, are not going to be represented at GATT, and there are many of you in this hall today that trade with both of those countries. We do, but they trade direct to you. Canada does not belong to any huge economic trading block whatsoever. We are not a huge economic power either and we find it very difficult to trade in some parts of the world, especially when you think our country is one in the northern hemisphere, and one of the most productive agricultural entities in the whole world; but we have difficulty trading in the world because we do not - and I emphasize that again: we do not - belong to any huge power trading block, or political block or anything. We are an independent, sovereign nation and hope to be able to maintain that status for a long time. We believe in the international commodity agreements which involve both producing and consuming countries. This is demonstrated in our active participation in the international wheat, sugar, coffee and cocoa agreements. I believe it was the Minister from Zambia this morning who pointed out the failure in the copper mining industries in the world. The head of one of the large copper mining industries in our country said: we must have a better supply/management system in copper mining in the world or we are going to destroy ourselves; yet when I suggest the same thing for agriculture procedures in my country and suggest that we have more of these things in the world, some of them immediately charge forward and say: you are going to destroy the free market system. The head of one of our farmers organizations in Canada said, I believe, in the World Food Conference that was held here, that the free market system about which so many of us speak in such glowing terms no longer existed; he said it is an albatross that should be shot down. If you think I am wrong, tell me so.
Mr. Chairman, let us be honest with ourselves. Until all nations, not just some, participate in expanding world trade, opening international markets, negotiating better international commodity agreements, we will not get far in raising the level of the increase of the pioneer producers in all our countries; we will not get that. As I have said, over half of the people in the world will not be involved in new trade negotiations.
Mr. Chairman, in examining the programme of work of FAO as outlined by the Director-General, we are in agreement that it is moving in the right direction. We admire the Director-General's drive. The ever-present challenge for both national governments and international agencies is how best to invest and utilize our scarce resources, particularly under the realities of current worldwide economic conditions of high unemployment and the continuing inflation which is besetting the world. In the interests of all countries, the vigour of the world economy must be improved. The agricultural industry must play its part in this process.
Actually, the agricultural industry in the world, in the total world, is doing a better job of fighting inflation than, say, any other production entity that I can think of, and here is a perfect example: let us look at the oil-producing nations. Have they cut their prices? Are they taking less to help the developing countries be more productive? We farmers in most of the productive areas of the world are. We have carefully studied the proposed budget of the FAO for 1978-80 and are of the opinion that there is considerable room for saving. While we are leaving the Director-General ample scope to carry out his activities, I fully appreciate that there is no simple formula to determine what would constitute an acceptable rate of programme growth for a United Nations Agency. But at a time when national governments are attempting to exercise restraint in spending, we must look closely at the activities of all the international organizations. I should point out that the FAO is also funded by various organizations outside the assessed payments. I would respectfully suggest there are many countries that can increase their contributions to FAO. Those of you know who I mean. In the Programme of Work and Budget I note the Director-General plans to increase FAO's efforts in the fields of training and extension. This is as it should be, but we must always remember that it is people with whom we are concerned, particularly those in the rural sector, and investment in human capital must have first priority. I welcome this opportunity to reiterate Canada's intention to do its part and would stress the key role of women in rural life and agricultural production.
It is heartening to note the FAO forecast of a record rice crop this year. When I was in Manila last June attending the World Food Council I visited the International Rice Research Institute. I was proud of its accomplishment, especially coming from a country in the northern hemisphere, when I learned that Canada was the second largest contributor to this Institute, and when I also realized the tremendous contribution this Institute is and will be making to many millions of people in our world who depend on rice as their main diet.
The problem that arises in many countries is that of storage facilities both at the farm, village and city levels. These are often inadequate and, as the Director-General has indicated, it is vital that the problem of post-harvest losses be dealt with effectively. Given the strenuous and costly efforts now being made throughout the world to increase food production through investment in land, water, new varieties, fertilizer plants and transportation facilities, it is vital that crops, livestock and fish should be protected from destruction until required for human consumption. I should add that the food processing industry could benefit not only from joint FAO/UNIDO cooperation, but also from joint ventures with private companies.
We support the principle of the Post-Harvest Losses Programme and its objectives. The details of the Programme need to be spelled out. Prevention of food losses is a global problem of immediate importance to all countries. Much food is lost on the farm, in transit, in handling, in the home and in the retail outlet. In the developed world, especially North America, surveys have been taken in some of the cities, both in Canada and the United States of America, and it is astounding and, again, appalling to find out that we throw away - and many of our people think it is right to throw away -an average of 300 lbs of food for every man, woman and child in the world in garbage, more than some people in many parts of the world eat in the year; can you imagine the tremendous loss of energy right from the mine, to the foundry, to the steel mills, to the farm machinery manufacture, the fertilizer manufacture? -- yet we are wasteful. We again have to realign our priorities, no matter what part of the world we are, but especially, I think, in the developed world, and realize what a wasteful group of people we really are.
I am way over my time, Mr. Chairman. We recognize the importance of marshalling recources for the international activities on the prevention of food losses. We have before us the Director-General's proposal for the use of the Suspense Account to fund FAO activities in this area. Quite frankly, Canada has a different point of view on this issue. I am confident that in Commission I a procedure will be worked out which will take into consideration the different views.
Our experience in Canada has shown that investments to increase agricultural production cannot be carried out in isolation. Appropriate policies relating to price and income stabilization, crop insurance, marketing, grading, farm management and research must also be in place.
Canada has made a substantial investment in agricultural research, at both the national and international level. Our annual expenditures are about $110 million. At the national level our programme is carried on at 47 experimental stations.
Many of our crops that we developed are used in other parts of the world: soya beans, corn, short season corn, rape seed, wheat, the famous triticale wheat, dairy cattle, beef, poultry, etc., just to name a few of these. We have made substantial contributions to the International Institute of Agricultural Research. Canada funds the International Development Research Centre, well known to many countries as IDRC.
As a result of the recently held United Nations Conference on Water and Desertification, Canadian aid-related institutions have been requested to take full account of water and desert problems in their future project proposals. Canadian agriculture has considerable expertise in the areas of dryland farming.
That may amaze some of you, but in Southern Alberta we have some of the most advanced dry-land farming in the world and some of the greatest expertise in that area, and they have been farming there for many, many years in a semi-desert area and producing normal crops. In Canada, agriculture, as I said, has this expertise. We also have it in cereal breeding, seed multiplication, bulk storage and handling, control of plant diseases, forage crop improvement and range management, among other things, and are prepared to extend this type of technical assistance where feasible and requested by developing countries or international agencies.
Despite the large quantity of food that is transported between continents, most men and women depend on food produced in their own countries or near their towns or villages. This is why Canada strongly supports more food production or self-sufficiency in the developing countries. Canada has provided this leadership. Canada's target is to allocate 33 percent of its bilateral funds to agricultural development projects for the years 1977 to 1982. This will make it the most important single sector supported by our bilateral aid programme. Currently, some 300 agricultural projects are in place or in the planning stages in different parts of the world. Canada's total aid for all purposes and in many regions exceeds one billion dollars a year.
Mr. Chairman, the strength of our Organization, the FAO, depends on us the member countries. We must seek to work as a team. We should not be divided into groups. We should avoid domination by the minority or the majority. The strength of democracy lies in understanding and mutual cooperation.
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, the farmers and the fishermen of the world are being challenged to produce more food. We recognize that for these farmers it is a matter of "give us the tools and we will do the job".
Make it enticing, give them a decent living and you will not have to worry too much about production. I have made the statement in my own country where I said so much about the productivity of the farmers in that northern country called Canada, that they could increase their productivity and practically all those things we produce now, in five years by fifty percent, if you want them to give a guaranteed economic return. We have done that in the dairy business: I have asked them for a 5 percent increase in one year and the opposition farmers said I was too generous, because I got a 15 percent increase in one year, not five years. We know the potential of these people if you give them that incentive; that is all you have to do, in any part of the world. We also agree with the challenge to governments to do their job. Canada will do its best to provide the favourable environment for increased efficient agricultural production both at home and abroad. I trust other countries, developed and developing, have the same objectives.
Thank you.A. DAHLGrREN (Sweden) (interpretation from Swedish): First of all I would like to congratulate you Mr. Chairman and the other members of the bureau on your election. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Director-General for his very challenging statement. Furthermore we welcome the new members of this Organization and are looking forward to a fruitful cooperation.
For hundreds of millions of people lack of food is a daily and grim reality. The tendency for improvement of the food situation that has been registered during the last few years thanks to good harvests cannot hide this serious state of matters. The countries of the world must therefore work together to eradicate hunger and malnutrition wherever it occurs and continue the efforts through increased production to bring about lasting improvement of the food situation. It is equally important that the foodstuffs; available are equitably distributed. Also in this field powerful and concerted international efforts are needed.
A little more than a week ago the Swedish Government presented to the Parliament a bill regarding a new agricultural policy. The need for an increased production of food in the world is the general background for the agricultural policy, that the government now proposes. Consequently the government has designed a Swedish agricultural policy that makes rational use of our natural resources for agricultural production. In principle this means that all arable land should be used for this purpose and the present area under cultivation retained. Our surplus of cereals can in this way contribute to the food requirements in the rest of the world. In this context I want to stress our coemon responsibility for the food supply in emergency situations and other particularly difficult circumstances.
We realize of course that the contribution to the world food requirements that Sweden in this way can make is by nature marginal in a global perspective. To improve the world food situation it is not enough that the so-called developed part of the world maintain or increase its production. Pood production must increase in all countries. It is the responsibility of the developed countries to contribute to this increase by assisting the developing countries in the development of their natural and human resources.
The great need of developing countries for investment in agriculture is one among several important needs that have to be met in order to carry out the desired production increase. The estimates regarding the size of the global external resources, that annually would be needed, vary. Amounts in the magnitude of 8 billion US dollars have been mentioned. According to some estimates most developing countries can at best hope to mobilize two-thirds of their investment funds required.
The poorest and the neediest among them may need as much as half their investment requirements from external resources. We can thus note that the needs widely surpass the present resource flows. If developing countries are to attain the 4% annual production increase, which was set as a target at the World Food Conference, the developed world must increase its contributions.
There are signs indicating that the official aid commitments for agriculture during the last years have declined after having increased rapidly between 1971 and 1975· one possible explanation for the declining resource flow may be sought in the lack of prepared projects. If this is the case there are reasons for strengthening the planning capacity of both recipients and donors, including the organizations concerned.
Sweden welcomes the new emphasis in the Programme of Work and Budget aiming at reaching the poor rural populations and satisfying their basic needs of food, water, shelter and fuel. The efforts of the FAO ought to take place within the framework of the basic needs strategy adopted by the World Employment Conference in 1976·
This strategy is also in line with the concept of integrated rural development; the main responsibility of which within the UN system is now assumed by the FAO. We hope that these new priorities will also be reflected in the work in the field. In this context I want to particularly underline the importance of the resources being fairly and justly distributed between and within countries. The Swedish Government is thus prepared to give its continued support to the FAO in these important endeavours.
As I have already stated Sweden fully supports the proposals by the Director-General for increasing the food production particularly in developing countries. The desired production growth and, of course, also productivity improvements can only be brought about through improved techniques and increased supply of inputs such as fertilizers, seeds etc. But we must also see to it that these techniques take fully into account the environmental aspects. Inadequately applied technology cannot only be bad from a purely economic point of view. It can also upset the ecological framework and thus damage the natural conditions for production in a longer-term perspective. We have seen many examples of this in the history of mankind. They should not be repeated. Action has to be taken to avoid this and if possible also improve the situation.
I wish in this context to refer to the Action Programme adopted by the UN Conference on Desertification in August this year. This action programme - as well as that from the UN Water Conference - should, in my opinion be of direct concern for the FAO. I would also like to stress that the possibilities of a close cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme should be given due consideration.
Even if Sweden, on the whole, is satisfied with the proposed Programme of Work and Budget, there are some important areas where we would like to see increased efforts. This relates for instance to FAO's activities on forestry. Conscious and consistent efforts on forestry, in particular village forestry, cannot only give most important contributions to an improved supply situation in rural areas but also contribute to maintaining the prerequisites for productive agriculture.
Increased efforts should be made both in the field and in the Secretariat, as an important element of the general efforts of the FAO to promote production growth in developing countries.
For similar reasons we would also like to recommend that increased resources. are allocated to the promotion of fisheries. It is of special importance for the developing countries to utilize the food resource that exists in the sea. Particularly it ought to be urgent for the FAO to assist those countries, which perhaps lack the techniques and economic means to take full advantage of their recently enlarged fishing zones.
In our efforts to increase production and raise the nutritional standard we have to take into consideration the role of women. In certain areas of the world up to 80% of the small farmers are women. The women are thus an important group of producers in agriculture. It should be a natural task for the FAO to engage itself in activities aiming at integrating the women in the development process. This could be done within programmes related to training, education and extension activities in agriculture. I consider it to he of particular importance that the women participate in improving the nutritional standard in developing countries. This is one of the areas where the FAO in our opinion ought to increase its efforts.
One of the most important questions before this Conference is how to deal with food losses. I had the opportunity to discuss this matter with the Director-General during his visit to Stockholm in August. As I said on that occasion our position on the basic issue is quite clear. We are of the opinion that this is a very important field of activity, to which FAO should devote serious attention. It is closely linked to the decisions on a global plan for World Pood Security. The world cannot afford to see foodstuffs destroyed as is the case today through faulty storage methods, attacks by rodents, fungi, insects, etc. As soon as possible a programme to remedy this unsatisfactory state of things ought to be part of the regular activities of the FAO.
Before us now is a proposal to set up a special fund for this purpose. Sweden's basic view regarding the establishment of new funds for special purposes is well known. We are of the opinion that the cooperation within the UN system does not benefit from fragmentation of resource flows.
Having said this let me state that Sweden accepts as a matter of exception, should the Conference so decide, that up to 10 million dollars from the Suspense Account are used to get the programme started. We are thus prepared to give our contribution to help the Director-General and FAO in this important programme. I want in this context also to point to the fact that Sweden through FAO finances certain multilateral projects, on storage activities, that no doubt are within the concept of the programme to prevent food losses. The Swedish contribution to these activities amounts to approximately 2 million US dollars.
Finally I would also like to say a few words on the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. We consider it of utmost importance that this Conference should give concrete and positive results. Thus it could contribute to the sustained engagement in rural development by FAO, as lead agency for these questions. We note with particular interest that the Director-General has stated his intention to make the Conference serve as a basis for action in the field for years to come. In order to reach this goal we would like to recommend - bearing in mind the short time of preparation for the Conference - that the preparations and the Conference itself aim at solving the most important problems. By trying to encompass too many problem areas one might run the risk of achieving fewer results.
If the Conference is successful we have also taken a decisive step towards an economic and social development of rural areas that will be of benefit to everybody. In this way we will also contribute to the relieving of hunger and malnutrition for millions of peoples.
R. SHARMA (Nepal): Mr. Chairman, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Two years have passed since distinguished delegates from member countries assembled here for the Eighteenth Session and deliberated upon the problems faced by the world community at large. The international economic scene seems to have eased and, since then, the forces which set the world economy in turmoil three years ago also appear to be in the process of being accommodated. In spite of our efforts in this regard the problems still exist and efforts to save mankind from hunger and malnutrition remain inadequate.
The past has called for numerous unforeseen sacrifices on our part. Many of us still feel the pinch of high inflation. More than 335 million people find themselves hungry in Asia alone. Nearly 750 million people suffer from malnutrition. The per capita income of developing countries is only one-twelfth that of the industrialised nations. The annual increase in agricultural production among developing countries compares disappointingly to the growth of population.
The rate of growth of exports from the less developed countries is much lower than that of the developed countries. Inequalities between rich and poor nations and between least developed and developing countries are all widening. The challenge to overcome these problems and the desire to establish a new international economic order in a spirit of "live and let live" still remain unfulfilled.
In spite of these shortcomings, I am optimistic, Mr. Chairman, that this assembly will arrive at con-elusions that will be meaningful for the common man. I am equally confident that under your able leadership we shall have fruitful discussions not only on problems of food and hunger but also on working out the way s and means to solve these problems. Allow me, therefore, Sir, to congratulate you on being elected Chairman of this august House and on assuming a responsibility the success of which will elicit gratitude from the world majority - the impoverished and deprived humanity. May I also take the opportunity to congratulate and welcome amongst us the new members who have just joined this Organization.
We note from the Director-General's Report that agricultural production is not keeping pace with increase in population and rural poverty has increased in developing countries. This has happened despite the talk of a New International Economic Order (NIEC) in various forums of the United Nations and assistance from developed countries. Nepal believes in the importance of the New International Economic Order not as a gift of semantic pleasantry for developing nations but as an action-oriented programme that will provide for the minimum needs of food, shelter and clothing.
One of the greatest impediments to the creation of a New International Economic Order has been trade distortions between developed and developing countries creating unfavourable terms of trade for the latter. Nepal has stressed the need for developed countries to give import preference to the produce of developing countries. While the efforts of the UNCTAD and the FAO in this respect cannot go unappreciated, Nepal reiterates her demands for further action in this field.
However, while Nepal feels that co-operation between developed and developing countries will have to continue, she envisages a greater scope for technical and economic co-operation among developing countries themselves as well. Such a move will not only reduce our reliance on developed countries but also enhance the co-operation among the developing countries themselves in their development efforts.
We appreciate the initiative taken by FAO in organizing the first general assembly meeting of Asian and Pacific Agricultural Credit Associations in Delhi recently in line with the recommendation of the World Conference on Agricultural Credit in Rome in 1975. We believe that such activities will lead to useful exchange of experiences and dissemination of information among member countries.
I am pleased to report to member delegates that despite problems well beyond our control, we have been able to make reasonably good progress in national development under the able leadership of His Majesty King Birendra. Gross domestic product rose by over 3 percent during the last two years.
We are, however, not free of problems. A majority of the population still live below the poverty line. Nepal's population is estimated to be rising at the rate of 2. 2 percent per year. Food production, on the other hand, increased by only 1. 1 percent annually during 1965-70 and 1. 9 percent annually during 1970-75. The last 2-year period has witnessed a net decrease of 2 percent in food production.
Agriculture still depends upon weather, and one bad harvest means years of difficulties. In the past, we have averted near-famine conditions due mainly to assistance from the FAO, World Food Programme and friendly countries. Although the food situation is deteriorating sizeable quantities have to be exported in order to finance imports of daily necessities. This compulsion reduces the per capita calorie consumption below the minimum standard. Even with these exports, the balance of trade has never been in Nepal's favour. If decline in production continues, food crises can soon be apprehended. Mr. Chairman, we desire a safer future.
Nepal has benefited from assistance provided by the World Food Programme. The food it provides for work creates some employment opportunities and adds to a limited degree, towards the increase in agricultural production. While there is a need to continue this kind of support, we feel that the permanent threat of hunger can be avoided if concrete actions are taken to make the World Food Security a more effective and pronounced mechanism. We in Nepal are of the belief that future food shortfalls can be greatly reduced if buffer stocks of food can be maintained within the country. Nepal, therefore, welcomes assistance from international and bilateral agencies which provide for the establishment of local food purchases and storage facilities.
In view of the Nepalese terrain and topography, high altitude agriculture should play a significant rôle in the country's development programme. So far no comprehensive research and studies have been undertaken on the problems of high altitude agriculture. Since continuous and persistent efforts are needed for the purpose, adequate institutional arrangements need to be made. Nepal cannot make such arrangements entirely on her own. International co-operation is required in establishing an international High Altitude Agriculture Research Centre. Nepal will be pleased to offer the venue for such a Centre.
The problems of ecology have also been a matter of serious concern to us. During the last thirty years, at least 50 percent of the forests on the mountain slopes is reported to have been destroyed. It is estimated that the area under forest at present does not exceed 11 percent of the total area of the country. Recurrent floods cause severe landslides in the upper parts and heavy siltage in the lower regions of the Himalayas. Soil erosion has proved to be not only troublesome to Nepal but also to her neighbours. Nepal alone is not in a position to solve the problem. International cooperation is needed for the purpose.
We abound in water. But harnessing of this resource has been insignificant. Although the economically exploitable hydro-power potential of Nepal is estimated at about 8, 000 megawatts, total installed capacity has not reached even 100, 000. kilowatts. Less than 10 percent of cultivated land has irrigation facilities. Nepal, despite her persevering attempts, has not been able to attain significant progress in this regard. It would require substantial assistance from outside to enable us to harness water resources better and improve the lot of the poor. We believe any assistance to Nepal ir. this sphere will be of benefit not only to her alone, but to other nations as well.
We are confident that the measures and policies taken during the past few years will soon bear fruit for the common man. In our attempt to concentrate on the majority of the population, we firmly subscribe to the principle of growth with equity. We believe that considerations of growth cannot be neglected in a country where per capita income is less than a hundred dollars. At the same time, disregard of equity would be a crime against the very principles of human welfare and social justice.
As an approach towards equity, we have adopted régionalisation in development planning. The country is divided into four regions in order to ensure adequate dissemination of developmental activities. It is our belief that measures along these lines will decentralize income, investment and employment opportunities. Since employment generation among the masses will need to form the key ingredient in any programme for the eradication of poverty in a surplus labour economy, we in Nepal have taken great pains to create employment opportunities through public works programme, intensive land use and the expansion of irrigation and other facilities.
We believe that fruits of development should filter down to the smaller farmers in order to ensure equity. To achieve this end and in support of the Manila Declaration on Food and Agriculture of 1976, we have accelerated the programme of establishing village co-operatives. Under this programme, grass-root level 'Sajha' co-operatives have been established that gear their programmes of marketing, credit, input and supplies and the collection of savings for the use of small farmers.
Some progress has been made in meeting credit requirements at village level through institutional channels. It may be noted that institutional credit supply has now been able to meet 35 percent of credit requirements of farmers, as compared to only 20 percent some years ago. The 'Sajha' co-operative acceleration programme can be expected to further raise the institutional credit substantially.
We find that the Asian economy is beset with problems faced by the small farmers. The FAO as the international agency involved in the transfer of suitable agricultural technology among member nations, has an important rôle to play in helping the small farmer increase his production capacity. We highly commend the activities of the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Far East, which has been giving due attention to the problems of small farmers. We equally appreciate its efforts to strengthen village level organization to the benefit of small farmers. We strongly feel that FAO should not only continue its present efforts but also further strengthen and expand the small farmer programme.
For us in Nepal, the Green Revolution has provided hopes of a better world. Unfortunately, these hopes have not yet materialized to any significant level. Poverty is still a grim reality despite some improvements in yields. However, we have not lost faith in the High-Yielding Varieties. Given the proper usage of water, suitable prices of fertilizers and stable food prices, we believe that the Green Revolution will eventually succeed. Apart from the need to accelerate production there is also a need to make full use of all that is produced. In this regard the Director-General's proposal to reduce crop losses is certainly an act of prudence.
Recent trends have not discouraged us. We have accorded top priority to integrated rural development programmes. Since we believe that mere agricultural development is not adequate to raise living standards of the rural poor the majority of whom have, on an average, less than a hectare of farm land, we have adopted a strategy of integrated rural development wherein the entire rural economy becomes vibrant and the proper use of surplus labour and scarce land is ensured for the rural poor. With agriculture as a core component in the strategy, it embraces the entire gamut of activities bearing on the rural economy. In the agricultural component, crop-livestock integration is undertaken as an inalienable single whole at the farm level. In this context, we feel that the Director-General's programme for the organization of a World Conference on Agrarian Reform augurs very well.
Various friendly nations and multilateral organizations have been of immense help to us in project activities concerning rural development. There has been a growing emphasis on investment programmes and project formulation for investment purposes. We welcome this trend and strongly support the Director-General's emphasis on the need for project preparation. We firmly believe and emphasize that national institutions should be strengthened for preparing projects for international and bilateral financing.
We also support the Director-General's programme for Technical Cooperation which he has initiated in FAO and which we hope will provide needy countries timely assistance in their developmental activities.
We feel that the FAO has a significant role to play in initiating co-operation among developing countries. We welcome the Director-General's efforts to harmonize activities within and outside FAO and support his emphasis on the need for decentralization. We hope that in this process the regional offices of FAO will be provided enough support to play an active rôle in bringing about co-operation among the countries of the region. Similarly, we would like to see that the newly established FAO offices have enough authority and resources to provide meaningful services to member countries.
I have made these brief comments on some policy matters. There are other substantive items in the agenda, which of course will be discussed in the commission meetings. However, before I conclude, I would like to make a brief remark on the need for better harmonization of activities related to food and agriculture. This is particularly important in relation to the rôle of the World Food Council, the International Fund for Agricultural Development vis-à-vis the programmes of FAO. The complementary rôles of these organizations in assisting member nations cannot be overstated. We hope that the efforts of these agencies will lead towards a dependable system of international co-operation to save humanity from hunger and malnutrition.
A. CABLAN (Syria) (interpretation from Arabic): Mr. President, it pleases me to congratulate you for the confidence which the participating delegations in this conference have vested in you by electing you as Chairman, and I wish you every success in guiding our discussions towards positive conclusions that will contribute towards the fulfilment of the normal aims of the Organization of the FAO.
It is indeed an honour for me to lead the delegation of the Syrian and Arab Republic at the 19th Session of the Conference of the Organization, and for our delegation to participate with the other delegations in dealing with the crucial issues which are tabled for this Session. It also pleases me that this Conference should take place on the land of a friendly country, a country whose friendship we cherish and a country with whom we have historical relations.
During the last few days, we have listened to the valuable statements made by delegations. I hope I shall not speak at length, but I shall concentrate on a few points which I believe it is my duty to bring to the notice of the Conference.
The issues pertaining to development of food production and all relative questions of consumer prices, trade, investment, and financing have come to occupy the attention of international circles and the governments of developing and developed countries alike. We, in the Syrian and Arab Republic are seeking to participate with the international community in dealing with this issue within the limit of the means available to us and as far as this is possible.
Foremost among these endeavours and efforts is the decisive step taken by the President of our Republic when he decided to give the efforts of our country a political domination and when he emerged from the narrow technical sphere to the wider sphere of the policy which is followed by all levels of leadership.
At a general agricultural symposium headed by the Prime Minister himself and attended by members of the political leadership, popular organizations, agricultural experts, engineers, tourists and administrators, all aspects of the agricultural problem were considered, both political, structural, organizational and technical aspects and the symposium adopted specific resolutions for the implementation of which the Government is going to work. This is on the political level.
On the technical level our fourth 5-Year Plan, 1976-1980, which is about to enter its third year, has adopted an integrated strategy aimed at consolidating the rates of production growth and ensuring the optimum growth of agricultural proposals. This strategy consists of the following main points:
First, the application of the system of agricultural intensification by virtue of which about 1 million hectares of agricultural land which are left uncultivated each year are going to be cultivated with feed crops and pulses, and we have actually achieved a surplus of these crops, a part of which we have started to export where formerly we used to complain of the shortage.
In line with this strategy, we have also started to apply a widespread programme for the protection of desert pastures and to organize the exploitation and the improvement of vegetative cover. We have received assistance in this respect from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme, and it has become the model to be achieved in this region. Foremost among the achievements of this strategy is the expansion in the cultivation of Mexican wheats in the well-integrated lands which formally were only cultivated with summer crops. At the moment we have secured a minimum annual production which is not less that 1 1/2 million tons of wheat, and are committing ourselves to the policy of food security and increasing the storage capacity of grain silos from 400 000 tons to 800 000 tons.
In line with this strategy also, our production of eggs has gone from 200 million in 1974 to 700 million in 1976.
In the field of exploitation of mountain slopes which enjoy a fertile soil and have a sufficient amount of rainfall, we have started to implement an ambitious programme for the afforestation of about 90 000 hectares depending on rain capacity, and we expect to receive assistance from the international and bilateral sources of financing in order to complete this programme, which was considered and prepared with the assistance of the joint programme and cooperation of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the international grant for reconstruction and development.
The President of the Republic has called for the planting of 25 million forest trees and 10 million fruit trees annually.
The second important point in our agricultural development strategy is to concentrate on the integrated rural development with its housing and standard of living apsect, in addition to productivity. Enormous investments were ear-marked for the plan. A considerable amount has already been spent on the industrialization of the country and the introduction of electricity and potable water for all the villages with a population of more than 1 000. A large number of agricultural industries have been initiated such as sugar, canned fruit and vegetables and oils, and other industries such as fertilisers, shoes and ready-made clothes were established in all parts of the country instead of being concentrated in the towns.
We hope that as a result of the application of this strategy we shall succeed in checking the constant migration from the village to the town.
I am moved by optimism to point to. the fact that many of our agricultural projects constitute living models of what can be achieved by international cooperation in the way of study and investment. In order to find increased food production. The support we are receiving from specialised organizations and from sources of international financing, as well as from our Arab brothers and our friends all over the world, is always met with gratitude and admiration on our part. In this sphere we have welcomed the tendency to decentralization which constitutes part of the new policy proposed by the Director-General of the Organization and approved by the Council, and we shall work hard to benefit in full from the programmes of the Organization, particularly the programme of technical assistance which has already started its activities, thanks to the immediate response of the Director-General by extending aid to a number of projects and paving the way for some vital investment projects. Also among the programmes of the Organization from which we have already benefited is the programme of intergovernmental cooperation for Near-East countries, which has participated in two important projects for training and rehabilitation. We look forward to benefiting further from the other programmes, such as the international programmes for fertilisers and the industrial cooperative programmes particularly in a number of agricultural industries. I cannot but pay tribute to the conspicuous results achieved through the World Food Programme of a number of projects of self-help and food production in my country. In the name of my Government I appeal to all countries participating in the financing of this Programme to increase their contribution to enable us to achieve the target of $950 million.
I would like to express my deep satisfaction at the establishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, to which we are looking forward with great optimism because of the benefits which will accrue to developing countries, including Syria, from its investment services. We are confident that the person who has been entrusted with the management of the Fund is capable of fulfilling its aspirations, and the countries which have contributed merit our thanks. The effective cooperation between all these international and regional programmes and institutions will improve the level of the use of the rich agricultural resources in the Middle East regions, diverting those regions
from importers of foodstuffs to becoming self-sufficient, or even exporting regions which would contribute to solving the problem of food shortage in the world to which we are devoting great attention.
In conclusion, I would like to wholeheartedly welcome the new Member States which have recently joined the Organization.
I would like to reaffirm my delegation's gratitude to the Italian Government for the hospitality that it has accorded us.
My thanks and appreciation go to the member countries of FAO which participated in organising the Conference and which have made available excellent technical facilities.
Thank you for listening. I wish our Conference every success.
The meeting rose at 18. 20 hours
La seance est levée à 18 h 20
Se levanta la sesión a las 18. 20 horas
