CHAIRMAN: Mr. Director-General, Distinguished Delegates: It is my honour and privilege to welcome you to the first meeting of Commission II at this 19th Session of the Conference. As you know Commission II has been entrusted to deal with first of all the Programme of Work and Budget, the review of Field Programmes and the Medium-Term Objectives. These are all matters of great importance to us and to the Organization and I look forward to an interesting debate in the days ahead of us and am confident that, with your cooperation, Commission II will be able to fulfil its important task and advise the Conference on the course of its activities in the forthcoming biennium.
The Director-General has been very kind to come and attend the opening session of the Commission and to address us on important points relating to our work. As you will appreciate the Director-General is very busy and will have to leave us very shortly, so I will straight away give the floor to the Director-General.
DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, you will recall that, two years ago, the Conference adopted unanimously Resolution 16/75 in which I was requested to review the programmes, structures and policies of the Organization in the light of the deliberations of the Conference. These deliberations referred generally to the implementation of a new international economic order and particularly to the effective deployment of the means of the Organization to meet the urgent and concrete requirements of all countries. Also, resquested were a clear definition of our relationships with new United Nations and other bodies being established, the definition of steps towards an appropriate decentralization, and the use of national institutions.
I carried out that review and presented my conclusions to the Council, in document CL 69/2, at its Session in July 1976. In that document I proposed a new orientation and a new dimension to the work of the Organization, including a much greater emphasis on investment, the establishment of a Technical Cooperation Programme, and emphasis on decentralization at the country level. My conclusions were fully endorsed and accepted by a consensus which I have striven and will continue to strive to maintain in this Conference and all future meetings of governing bodies.
With particular reference to the Programme of Work and Budget for 1978/79, I submitted a summary budget to the 71st Session of the Council. The basis for the summary programme of work and budget was consolidation and extension of the new policies and orientation approved in July 1976, the recommendations of the subsequent Regional Conference which adopted a series of declarations endorsing the new policies and programmes in the context of the regional and world situation, and advice given by the main Council committees and other important meetings.
The Council expressed general support for the proposed programmes and priorities in the summary budget. Now that the Programme and Finance Committees have seen the full Programme of Work and Budget, with supporting narratives and tables, this favourable reaction to the Programme contents has been confirmed by them and by the 72nd Session of the Council just concluded.
This favourable reaction of course covered the continued establishment of FAO representatives in countries and the consolidation of the Technical Cooperation Programme. Up to a few days ago, 54 official requests had been received for the establishment of an FAO office, 53 negotiating missions have been completed or are under way, 18 agreements have been signed by me and 11 representatives are in post or in the process of arriving. The position of the Technical Cooperation Programme is that 188 projects have been approved for a total of 14 million dollars. I will be making a special evaluation report on the Technical Cooperation Programme to the 74th Session of the Council next year, but I hope that, meanwhile, you have seen the small booklet we have prepared for explaining the Technical Cooperation Programme. Copies have been distribued in the pigeon holes of each delegation and I hope therefore that you have received that brochure which is meant to explain the purpose of this new programme and how it is functioning and to describe the various types of projects. Evaluation is something different which I am organizing and I will be reporting to the Council on this subject in November 1978.
I believe, Mr. Chairman, that these two important elements in the Programme of Work and Budget as well as other activities of this Organization, will receive full support at this Conference.
There has also been, not surprisingly, a very favourable response to my continued policy of cutting staff, documentation and meetings at Headquarters and concentrating resources more on priorities and action programmes at the country level. As you will have seen from the explanatory notes in the Programme of Work and Budget, the Headquarters establishment is being reduced by 19 posts and the net increase overall is only one single post. The proportion of salaries to total expenditure, which I brought down last year by nearly 10 per cent, is being brought down by a further 5.6 per cent, so that is now 15 per cent less than it was in 1974/75. The cost of documentation is being further reduced by approximately 7 per cent and a further reduction made in meetings, excluding, of course, training activities. At the same time, allocations for consultants, national institutions and other contractual services will rise and, even more significantly, the proportion of expenditure in regions and countries will be 76 per cent higher than it was in 1974/75.
The cost of documentation is being further reduced by approximately 7 per cent and a further reduction made in meetings, excluding, of course, training activities. At the same time, allocations for consultants, national institutions and other contractual services will rise and, even more significantly, the proportion of expenditure in regions and countries will be 76 per cent higher than it was in 19 74/75.
Since the full Programme and Work Budget was published, I have had to take account of some new developments which were discussed in the Council last week. The principal one is the need to devote sufficient resources to successful preparation of the Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, including the addition of further languages, such as Arabic and Chinese, the preparation and holding of a preparatory meeting and, above all, the mobilization of the interest and participation of governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals at a high level. Even with these additions, the total cost of the Conference will still compare very favourably with the cost of other world conferences. (In some cases, this has amounted to $6 million and even &9 million, not Counting all extra-budgetary contributions.)
I have to consider other programme request, which are justified to the extent that resources will permit, requiring increased provision for certain items. These include, for example, the Second Session of COFI, the Committee on Fisheries requested by the Council, initiatory support for the Center for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), which interests many countries or the region, further secretarial support for the Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific (APHCA), and similar worthy programme items.
I had it fully in mind to absorb these latter items within the budget I had proposed. I estimate the cost of these various other items at about $800 thousand, for which no funds are earmarked in the budget. I hope therefore, Mr, Chairman, that the Commission will not ask me to accommodate too many activities without providing the necessary additional funds, and, in any case, will allow me full flexibility. Even so I am quite sure that what is now proposed fully responds to the concerns and desires expressed by Member Governments at the last Conference, and is a rather modest but well balanced package of proposals fully adapted to the needs and exigencies at the present juncture.
Notwithstanding the many programme demands, what I am requesting represents a real programme increase of only 7 per cent for the whole of the biennium. This includes not only the additional costs of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, but also provision under the Regular Programme for major priorities such as prevention of food losses, control of African animal Trypanosomiasis, seed industry development, AGRIS and CARIS, education and training, and commodities and trade, including cooperation with UNCTAD.
The greatest part of the budget increase is, unfortunately, the result of continuing inflation. We are not over-budgeted for this. As regards the currency question, at the time the budget was prepared the Lira/Dollar rate was around 888 and rising in favour of the dollar. It then stabilized for a number of months at around 885. Quite recently it changed to 878/879. As indicated by the Group of 77 to this Council, it has been the practice, on similar occasions in the past, for the Conference to adopt the rate prevailing on the day of decision. Therefore the Council has so recommended in the revised appropriate resolutions which it has transmitted to you, thus producing a budget level of $211,350,000 at Lira 879 to the dollar.
I now strongly recommend that the Commission adopt this level of the Budget.
This does not end all our financial problems because the need for a Special Reserve Account, principally to guard against the effects of adverse currency and unbudgeted cost fluctuations during the biennium, remains as valid as before. In this connexion, it must be remembered that we do not have a mechanism similar to that of other agencies fór supplementary appropriations during the course of the bíenníum.
This question, along with one or two others, has, as you know, proved controversial in the Council. I would stress once again my hopes that confrontations and challenges will be avoided in this Conference, and that a spirit of consensus will prevail. This applies particularly to the Programme of Work and Budget and associated financial proposals, upon which the effective, prompt and flexible action of the Organization depend.
There are other important items on your agenda which would merit more comments than I now have time to make. I have already referred to the importance of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. My concern for regular programme evaluation has been endorsed by the Council. The process of decentralization to the country and regional level is an evolving and dynamic one, as is demonstrated by the reduction of staff at headquarters, the increase in regional offices, the plan for FAO representatives in countries and, above all, the emphasis on action programmes at the country level, particularly through the Technical Cooperation Programme.
The review of field programmes will, I am sure, lead to important discussions, not only on FAO's large and far reaching extra-budgetarily funded activities, but also on FAO's role and functions in relation to other bodies. In this connexion, our relations with the UNDP and the particular problems of agency costs will be of special importance.
I hope, myself, to be present during the discussion of a number of items, if progress with other important questions in Commissions I and III allow. I have in mind, in particular, those concerning technical cooperation among developing countries and relations with other more recently constituted bodies.
In any case, I shall be closely following the progress of your work which, I am sure, will be very constructive, as well as instructive and fruitful for our successful efforts in the next biennium.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Director-General, for a very interesting introduction to our discussions. I am sure we shall all bear what you have told us in mind during our discussions in the days ahead.
Before we start our discussions, there are a few practical points and certain formalities to which I am supposed to draw your attention. First, the question of the Vice-Chairmen: the names of the Vice-Chairmen will be submitted to the General Committee this morning and then to the Plenary, probably this afternoon. As soon as they have been approved, you will be advised.
Secondly there is the question of the quorum. As FAO will now have 144 members, including the eight members who were elected the other day, the quorum for discussions will be 48. For voting purposes, the quorum will be 73.
On the question of resolutions, you are, of course, all aware that draft resolutions should go first to the Resolutions Committee. Delegates will find the procedures and criteria following the introduction and consideration of resolutions in Annex D to document C 77/12. As you know, the agenda was approved by the Council and Section II has been assigned to Commission II.
Delegates will have a check list for documentation-numbered C 77/INF/12 to which should be added Item 10.2, decentralization of FAO activities to the country level and its relationship to the regional offices. The document is numbered C 77/INF/14.
A document should be deleted from the check list concerning the World Food Council; instead, delegates will find the introduction to this item in the Report of the Council.
I should say a few words about the time allowed for discussions. Fifty-one hours will be available during 17 meetings in which to cover the eleven items and sub-items on the agenda. In addition, we should have six hours, two meetings, in which to adopt the Report. For 144 delegations this means on average about 27 minutes each in which to discuss all the eleven items. I mention this because delegates will appreciate that we might run into trouble over time.
This Committee is a working body, and as such, our interventions should be brief and to the point. I believe this is in the interests of us all because I know that delegates would like as little as I should to have night meetings or Saturday meetings if this can be avoided. I therefore count on your cooperation in this regard. I also reserve the right, if necessary, to introduce time limits.
Now we come to the time-table and organization of our discussions. Delegates will find in document C 77/12 the arrangements for the meetings, including the Commissions. I should like to draw your attention to the new document, 77/LIM/21-Rev. 1, which is a little different from the time-table in C 77/12. The main change, as you probably are all aware is that we shall work this coming Saturday and have Monday off. There are a few other changes, with which I need not bother you.
Regarding arrangements for the Commission's work, of course, you know that the main part is on the Programme of Work, the Review of Field Programmes and the Medium-Term Objectives. You will find these are listed in the arrangements for the sessions in that order and I think it is a good one which we should follow.
The Programme of Work and Budget has been planned so as to include three special topics. First, Item 16, which will be discussed on Friday morning and afternoon, is on the review of the arrangements for the World Conference on Agrarian Reforms and Development.
Then there is Item 10.1, the Regular Programme evaluation, AGRIS, and Item 10.2, decentralization to the country level, which be discussed on Wednesday 23 November, all day.
Furthermore, Item 13 on technical cooperation among the developing countries is set out as a separate item, in response to Council Resolution 1/71. A special section of document C 77/4, Review of Field Programme, 1976/77, is devoted to this subject.
We then come to the item on our agenda for today, the Programme of Work and Budget. I suggest we divide this discussion on the work and budget into three or possibly four parts. We should start with the Director-General's introduction and the explanatory notes, and have a general discussion on that, perhaps touching on the budget level, if delegates wish.
During this round of discussions I would expect that most delegations would also touch on other points in which they are particularly interested, so that they will not have to come back to specific items. However, for those delegations who would like to take up such specific items, I think this should be done in the following way: we draw our attention to the chapters, perhaps taking Chapters 1 and 2 together, focussing on Chapter 2, the main substance of the work and budget, the technical and economic programmes. Then, perhaps, in a second round of discussions we take the other chapters, concentrating on the main ones, Chapters 3 and 4.
Perhaps finally we should come back to the question of the budget level where we also have to deal with the draft resolution which you will now find in document C 77/INF/17.
I should like to hear opinions on whether this would be convenient to you. I hope, in a day or two, to be able to appoint a Drafting Committee consisting of seven members, including a Chairman, to perform the important task of drafting the report for approval by the Commission and later by the Conference. As soon as final arrangements have been made, I will advise you.
That is all I have to say in introduction, and the floor is open for discussion, I now invite interventions.
S.JUMA'A (Jordan) (Interpretation from Arabic): First, may I congratulate the Chairman most sincerely on his election to the chair to preside over the work of this meeting. I would assure the Chairman that we shall cooperate fully with him and follow his advice in guiding the discussions, as we shall follow the plan for the discussion of the various points on the agenda.
The observations made by the Director-General when he introduced this highly important document, the Programme of Work and Budget for the forthcoming biennium, are, to our mind, of very great importance indeed, because the Director-General was able very briefly to sketch out the contents of the Programme of Work and Budget, accentuating the major points in this large document.
Hence, I think we shall restrict ourselves to a discussion of those major points which were extracted from this large document for us by the Director-General, because these subjects have already been discussed by the Council during its seventy-first and seventy-second sessions.
Hence, I believe we are not going to go into the technical details or into discussion of an order of priorities. On the contrary, our work should concentrate upon the following pointes: first of all, let us note that the Director-General did not limit the number of posts in Headquarters but also wished to limit these posts in a wider domain. To our mind, this is an extremely valid policy indeed, because we have already said many times that Headquarters was indeed overstaffed. Hence, I believe we must support our Organization to the best possible extent on a regional basis. Therefore, the reduction of posts at Headquarters and the increase of posts on a regional or national basis are extremely felicitous initiatives.
Here I would remark that the Director-General must take this into consideration when he nominates those who are responsible for FAO offices and should assure himself that those responsible are competent so that they may fulfill the tasks which are entrusted to them. The FAO offices can only be useful on condition that the heads of those offices are highly experienced men.
We would also like to express here our wish that the use of national institutions in designing plans or in executing programmes in the developing world should be able to benefit from the support of all of us.
We have noted that the Programme of Work and Budget demonstrates that the FAO is going in effect to decentralize; it is not just mere words. However, the Director-General also said this document had been prepared a year ago, and hence it is only right and proper that during a year, twelve months, certain new aspects may have become manifest, for which reason the Director-General took them into consideration in his presentation. We congratulate the Director-General on the fact that within his programme he is going to attempt to absorb the costs of these new activities within the proposed budget, as I said. Nevertheless, we know that our possibilities are limited here and that the Director-General must have flexibility of command so as to be able to achieve new budgetary appropriations, new funding, in order that he can carry out certain activities which cannot be financed by the ordinary programme under the standard budget, for which we would support here the proposed increase which is in the resolution that we are called upon to adopt at the end of our discussions.
This is the eighth time that I have participated in the FAO's General Conference, and I am convinced that the way in which this Programme of Work and Budget document has been put together this time is by far the best way of going about our work. It is indeed the best Programme of Work and Budget that I have seen; hence I would like to offer my congratulations to the Director-General and to all his assistants, particularly Mr. West, Assistant Director-General, all of whom as a team have worked hard to set up this excellent document.
The last point is the Technical Cooperation Programme, and here I again think that this is the best programme FAO has achieved since it was set up, because this programme allowed FAO to get into field activities in the developing world, for which reason we would support this Technical Cooperation Programme fully, as we also support the idea of allocating $2 to 3 million for his Technical Cooperation Programme so that it can have $24 million during the forthcoming biennum 1978/79. I would also support all the essential components in this document, particularly the two resolutions bearing upon the budget and related matters.
J.S. KHAN (Pakistan): Since this is our first intervention, let me first of all congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the Pakistan delegation on your appointment and assure you of our full and continuous support in the discharge of your functions. I intend to follow your suggestion to divide our discussion on this important item in three phases. In my current intervention, I intend only to speak on the Introduction by the Director-General and the explanatory notes and also to briefly touch upon the budget level, I reserve the right of my delegation to come back again on the detailed programme priorities when we take those up chapter by chapter.
First of all, our views on the structure and format of the document. The Pakistan delegation welcomes the new programme structure and format and it appreciates the concise and intelligible document which we think contains the ingredients which are necessary for examining the objectives of FAO and its internal management in a really integrated manner. We feel that a comparison at a glance is now possible of FAO's entire activities, both on the Regular and on the Field Programme side, and this would facilitate the task of Member Nations in reaching policy decisions. My delegation would therefore like to compliment the Secretariat on handling this difficult and complex assignment with competence and imagination, and we also wish to compliment the Programme and Finance Committees for their valuable contribution to the new look to the Programme of Work and Budget. My delegation finds the programme tables particularly helpful, and our only suggestion is that it would be helpful if in future brief details of the objects of expenditure for extra-budgetary funds under sub-programmes could also be provided.
If I may now turn to the second aspect of my intervention, which is the policy directions highlighted in the introduction by the Director-General. My delegation feels that the policy issues highlighted are on the whole realistic, and well-conceived, and we can support them. We also feel that the approach to present these objectives against a medium-term background within the framework of the New International Economic Order is a correct one, because surely the biennialProgramme must be looked at within the longer-term broader perspective. We hope that such an approach presentation will continue in the future also.
Now I would like to briefly flag on a selective basis some features which are of special interest to us. First of all, my delegation appreciates the whole of the practical, field oriented action-oriented approach which is implicit in the Programme of Work and Budget for 1978/79 and which is aimed at refining and consolidating the new dimensions which the Director-General talked of in his Introduction.
Secondly we support the increased emphasis on strenghening FAO's investment activities and on developing and refining its own investment capacity. New for thirdly, we welcome the reinforced emphasis not only on production but also conservation of agricultural output, particularly the programme and the fund to reduce food losses.
Fourthly, an item of special interest to us is the consolidation and extension of the Technical Cooperation Programme. My own country has benefited from this Programme and we can vouch for the fact that it is fulfilling its functions by responding quickly and effectively to urgent small-scale requests for technical assistance by governments which could not otherwise be met. The Programme is still modest but it has made a promising beginning and we would hope there would be no misgivings about this Programme.
Fifthly, we wish to emphasize the importance we attach to decentralization through the establishment of FAO Country Representative Offices. My own country expects to benefit from this shortly. There is only one aditional point we wish to emphasize on this issue. It must be remembered that it is not only FAO which is meeting expenses. It is a joint effort, and developing countries, in spite of financial difficulties, are contributing to meet local costs of these offices. The establishment of these offices must be looked upon as a combined effort of both FAO and the beneficiary developing countries.
The sixth and final point on the policy directions which we want to mention is the importance we attach to the promotion of economic and technical cooperation amongst developing countries, which is implicit also in the programme.
Now if I may be briefly allowed to turn to the question of programme priorities, I mentioned earlier that we reserve our right to come back to this in detail when we consider the programme chapter by chapter. At this stage I would only like to say that we find ourselves in broad agreement with the order of priorities in the sections on the programme budget and we can support the Programme of Work and Budget as presented. There is however one area which in our view deserves more attention and even greater emphasis and this is the question of integrated rural development - the focus on the rural poor. By this we mean improvment in the economic and living standards and quality of life of not only the small farmers but also of tenants, landless labourers, the village artisans and rural women.
Chairman, I would like to draw your attention to what the Chairman of the Conference, the distinguished Minister from Indonesia, said on Saturday about this, particularly the role of FAO in this field. He talked of a policy of positive bias in favour of the most seriously disavantaged sectors of the rural population and we think this concern, this positive discrimination towards the rural poor should underlie the totality of FAO efforts in the next biennium and it should be an additional new dimension in FAO's work in the future.
My delegation also appreciates the Director-General's efforts to economize on some of the relatively dispensable activities and to divert resources to activities of more direct and immediate relevance to the developing countries in the development of food and agriculture. In particular the attempt to substantially reduce the number of posts at Headquarters and to reduce the volume of documentation to a more manageable and purposeful proportion should and does have our commendation.
The Pakistan delegation is also relieved that no major organizational changes are being proposed over the next biennium and we are particularly satisfied to note that the proportion of salaries to total expenditure has been further pruned to 62 percent of the total budget for the next biennium. We hope and expect that this trend will be continued and further intensified.
We also strongly support the greater use which is proposed of consultants and national institutions, and we would expect that the maximum use would be made of the consultancy services and the national institutions which are available within the developing countries themselves.
If I may briefly now turn to the budget level. My delegation already had the opportunity to give its views on this important subject during the 72nd Session of the Council. At this stage we would only like to say that we are in agreement with the Finance Committee when it says there should be full bedgeting and that the dollar lira rate prevailing at the time of the Conference should be a reasonable basis for calculation. We also support their view that there is a need for the establishment of a special reserve account in order to provide a cushion against adverse currency fluctuations and unbudgeted inflation. We think this reserve is necessary to protect the real programme and its delivery from any erosion. On the budget level itself we go along with the level proposed now at $211.35 million. This figure is, of course, slightly higher than the earlier figure of $206.8 million but we think that
this is for reasons beyond an individual's or an organization's control. In fact, the adjustment is largely consequential to the dollar-lira parity fluctuations. We also think that the more realistic allocation for the Conference on Agraian Reform and Rutal Development, to which we attach great importance, is necessary for sound preparations. On this basis, and for the reasons explained by the Director-General, we hope the Conference would lend its support to the new budget level.
D. BASSIOUNI (Sudan): Our delegation would like to commend the excellent statement of the Director-General. We will have opportunity to intervene in detail in the course of the discussions in this Commission, we would like to draw some attention to certain aspects of the statement. Of particular attention to us is paragraph 14 on page 9 of the Director-General's Statement which clearly informs the Commission that the trend of food and agriculture production in Africa and for that matter in the Near East, remains discouraging. I think this is of particular concern to us, and I think the Commission should really give attention to this particular aspect of the statement. I am happy to see that a number of reasons have been given for this failure in improvement in the state of food and agriculture. A number of constraints have been identified, and it is hoped during the course of discussions here an attempt will be made to measure or determine whether the next programme, and the next biennum, or in this particular programme of work, will in any way, or has been designed in such a way that these constraints will be removed because we believe without removing these constraints the situation will remain unchanged. One particular aspect is, of course, lack of investments flow, and in paragraph 15 it is encouraging to realize in the Near East some effort is already being made by the Member Governments in this particular area, and I think this is a very encouraging sign. It constitutes the sort of cooperation which could also be copied in the other regions.
The Director-General's programme on Technical Cooperation; his initiative and effort which we all welcome. We think the Technical Cooperation Programme can be of extremely great need or use to the member countries, especially in solving ad-hoc problems. But we think that there is still a lot of room for improvement within this programme because we think it can operate more efficiently is it is given the added advantage of regulations and rules in which it can cooperate.
We have also seen and noted with interest the efforts being made to decentralize the Organization at the country level. I think this is the right direction, and I think the decentralization could also mean the passing of more authoritarian power to the regional offices so that they do not only act as clearing houses but they do serve the interests of the countries falling in their various regions, and a number of useful cooperative programmes can be carried out by strengthening these country offices.
We are also happy to note a number of country representatives have already been appointed. We would urge that more country representatives are appointed, but that these country representatives be given very clear terms of reference and job descriptions, so that we can avoid confusion and sometimes problems.
On the whole, Mr. Chairman, we think the programme the Director-General has outlined is worthy of our attention and we will at a later time intervene as circumstance dictates.
Q. HABIBUL HAQUE (Bangladesh): Taking the floor for the first time in this Commission my delegation compliments you for your election as the Chairman of this important Commission. I, on behalf of my delegation, assure you of our fullest cooperation.
In this intervention I would confine myself to general comments on the Programme and Budget. First of all, I would compliment the Secretariat on the documentation. We believe the presentation and the arrangement of the documentation this time is a definite improvment on the past. We also compliment the Programme and the Finance Committees for their useful work in assisting the Council and this Conference in its deliberations on the programme and budget.
Coming to the introductory statement of the Director-General I am reminded of the last Conference in which the Director-General was requested to review his Programme and Budget in the light of discussions in the Conference keeping in mind, in particular, the new international economic order. The Director-General taking office in 1976 in the first Session of the Council he attended, namely the 69th Session, presented his proposal for the review of the Programme and Budget. The two important elements in these proposals were presumably the decentralization aspect and the creation of the TCP. In the decentralization aspects there were again two elements: one was a reduction of cost on the staff and documentation, and the other was the country representation. We are happy to note in the introductory statement of the Director-General that he has been able to reduce the staff at the Headquarters. He mentioned while there has been a reduction of 19 posts there has been a net addition of only 1 at the Headquarters. He also mentioned that what he calls on the last one and a half years he has been able to reduce the salary
cost by 15 percent, and cost on documentation by about 7 percent. The main aspect of this point was to make this Organization field orientated; increase its involvement in the actual operations in the field by the nations in their efforts to improve agriculture. We believe that the step taken by the Director-General in reducing the cost on the Headquarters and appointing his direct representative to the nations will help him in involving this Organization directly with the nations in the field.
As regards the country rep. I am happy to inform this Commission we have already signed on behalf of Bangladesh for appointment of the country rep. and he is taking position by how. In this regard I would also mention that the Government of Bangladesh is also cooperating by contributing its share of its obligation for appointment of a country rep.. We hope in the near future my country will have benefitted from this arrangement of the appointment of a country rep..
Coming to the other important element, the Technical Cooperation Programme, I recall in July 1976 when allocation of 18,5 million dollars was made, there were doubts in our mind whether the Director-General could make Secretariat and other arrangements and then go forward to disburse this money for the emergent nature of programmes and projects.
We are very happy to know that as many as 108 projects have been approved so far, and a disbursement of $14 million has already been secured. Taking this into consideration, we hope that the minimum level of $24 million for the TCP in the next biennium will be accepted by this Commission.
My country has benefited from this Programme, and we are satisfied with this operation and the response by the Secretariat to our requests.
One specific point which the Director-General has mentioned is the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. I recall that when this Conference was conceived, it was thought that it would be a Conference of a purely technical nature. Over a period, we have come to realize that this Conference is dealing with a very vital and basic aspect of agricultural development- namely that deliberations on agrarian reform and rural development cannot be allowed to be confined only to technical aspects of the problem. Consequently the 1975 Session of the Council requested the Director-General to take steps to widen the scope of this Conference, and also to take other steps to make this Conference a success.
The first step suggested by the Council was to appoint a high level Advisory Council with experts from all over the world. Second was the appointment of a Secretariat. The third was that member countries should be involved from the very beginning in this Conference.
We are happy that the Director-General has come forward to fulfil the wishes of the Council. A consultative high level committee has already been appointed and has had its first session. Consequently the budget for the Conference has increased. It is interesting to note that despite this, the estimated budget for the Conference will be still less than for other conferences of similar or less importance organized by the UN system.
My last comment will be on the level of the budget. We note that the budget was prepared in the autumn of 1976, when the outlook for Lire was very depressing and the US dollar was stable. Now, the situation has changed. Today, Lire seems to be stabilizing against the dollar. In view of the additional expenditure on the Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, and of currency fluctuations in favour of Lira, the level of budget which was presented at the 71st Session as $206.8 has gone up to $211 35, at 879 Lire to the dollar.
In this regard we also note with satisfaction that the Director-General proposes to absorb into this budget an amount of $ 800 000 for some miscellaneous expenditures, one of which is additional expenditure on the establishment of the Centre for Integrated Rural Government for the nations of Asia and the Pacific. We look forward to the establishement of this Centre and we hope it will be very useful to us in the area of rural development. We support this step by the Director-General.
The other matter is the question of a reserve account of US$ 5 million to cater for currency fluctuations and unbudgeted accounts. The need for a reserve account for currency fluctuations requires no further elaboration or comment. As regards unbudgeted accounts, we have noticed that even in the current biennium the Director-General proposes to absorb US$ 100 000. If there is no provision to meet further unbudgeted accounts, he would find great difficulty in absorbing further unbudgeted accouts. We feel that the proposal to have a reserve account of US$ 5 million is realistic and deserves support.
With these comments, we support the budget level of $ 211 350 000. We reserve the right for our delegation to intervene on specific items.
RAMADHAR (India): Since this is my first intervention in this Commission, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your appointment as Chairman. We extend our full support to you in the discharge of your functions here.
My remarks this morning will be of a general nature. My delegation will confine itself to some broad issues, and will reserve the right of intervention on detailed programmes later.
Before I come to these broad issues, I would like to compliment the Director-General and his Secretariat for presenting us with this valuable document, particularly the inclusion of the chapters on recent progress for the ensuing biennium, which enhanced the utility of this document. The Director-General also deserves our congratulations for having revised the priorities for FAO work and having instituted new approaches to the Organization's work in the short period of two years since he took over.
My delegation is in full agreement with the revised policies which have been instituted in the Organization. The establishment of the Technical Cooperation Programme and greater emphasis on assisting Member Nations in their efforts to obtain financial resources for investment in food and agricultural production, and emphasis on decentralization from Headquarters to the country level, are steps in the right direction. The reductions in the number of meetings, publications and documents and of new posts at the Headquarters will no doubt provide additional resources for effective implementation of the regular programme activities.
The Technical and Economic programmes for 1978/79 presented in the document clearly reflect the anxiety of the international community at increasing agricultural production, especially food production, in the developing countries which will contribute to a wide range of objectives. Obviously, a pre-requisite for achieving rapid increases in production is increased and viable investment in well prepared programmes and projects fitting into the overall national development plans and policies of the developing countries and extensive participation of rural population in the development activities. The development and adoption of improved appropriate technology suited to local needs and resources of the developing countries is another pre-condition. Keeping these factors in view, the Director-General has rightly identified the main priority areas in the field of agriculture on which special attention will be focussed during 1978/79, particularly land and water resources and their use, improved seeds, fertilisers, plant protection measures and pest control, livestock production with special emphasis on control of pests and diseases in Africa, reducing post harvest food losses, rural development, nutrition, commodities and food security, fisheries and forestry.
The Indian Delegation considers all these programmes important but would like to emphasise that in the work on natural resources, a very high priority needs to be assigned to the development of irrigation which is a basic input for increasing and stabilising crop yields and diversifying agriculture. The developing countries have vast irrigation potential but they have not been able to exploit large ground and surface water resources due to paucity of funds. We agree with the general approach, especially the stress on water management and soil conservation, particularly for small farms. There is need for organizing training particularly for the development of small water reservoir and drainage in the irrigated area and management of small water shed.
Another important aspect of the use of new technology in agriculture is the increased use of non-traditional energy sources. In the traditional system of farming, human and animal power constituted the main source of farm energy. This tradition is beginning to change in favour of energy derived from the use of diesel and electrically operated machines. This change has upset the cycle of farm waste and by-product disposal. Crop residues like straw, bran, etc. was hitherto converted into energy by feeding these to the farm animals and the animal residues helped to fertilize the soil; thus in the traditional set up there was no waste. On the other hand, non-traditional sources of energy are nonrenewable. This is a situation which calls for immediate study. It is felt that alternative use of organic wastes amidst high cost of petroleum-based energy and a balanced use of both may serve a useful economic purpose. In view of the large agriculture-based economy of the developing countries, it may be highly desirable to give serious consideration to the establishment of a regional institute in Asia and the Far East to study the problem of recycling of organic wastes.
My delegation would like to express its full agreement with the programme of work suggested by the Director-General on crops. The proposed activities on reducing post harvest losses, development of seed industry and agro-industries development and mechanisation deserve priority. We would, however, suggest that increased emphasis should also be placed on genetic resource development and conservation which will greatly benefit the developing countries including our own. While a significant breakthrough in genetic improvement in some of the principal cereal and fibre crops has been achieved, the progress in horticultural and vegetable crops has either been slow or insignificant. The specific activities in this field may take the form of (i) identification of suitable materials for the development and conservation of improved genetic stock of horticulture and vegetable crops, (ii) monitoring export demand and its timing for fruits and vegetables, and (iii) assistance in the establishment of modern export oriented units for processing fruits and vegetables, etc.
Along-side crop production, programmes for development of subsidiary occupations among small and marginal farmers have to be developed. These programmes should be supported by adequate processing and marketing arrangements. The development of animal husbandry on scientific lines provide such a scope. My delegation will stress that in this field, programmes relating to health cover, crossbreeding, production of deep-frozen semen, feed, fodder and marketing would have to be intensified. The emphasis laid in the programme of work for promoting the application of improved technologies in grass land management as also on the inter-action between livestock development, crop land agriculture and integrated development of tropical pastures is greatly appreciated.
The progressive development of grass land will have a positive effect on the milk production and improving livestock production generally.
Regarding technological advance, we very much appreciate the importance being attached to the involment of the national institutions, and the role of FAO in providing coordination and exhange of technical information. We consider it necessary to test the findings on research under field conditions and suitably modify these before being passed on to the farmers in the form of practical recommendations for improving the productivity. More emphasis needs to be given to adoptive research.
In view of the changes occurring in the jurisdiction over fisheries arising from the negotiations on a new law of the sea, it becomes particularly necessary to provide expanded assistance to the developing countries to improve their capacity at exploitation and utilization of the livestock resources of the seas. My delegates therefore, appreciate the efforts made by the Director-General to streamline the programmes in the fields of fisheries information and fisheries policy and utilize additional resources towards fisheries exploitation and utilization.
The proposed programme of work in the field of forestry, no doubt, will prove beneficial to the member countries. My delegation would suggest however, that FAO also undertakes continous studies of markets for various products, particularly in the developed countries, so that the developing countries are enabled to take up action for promotion of trade in these products and also to identify and formulate investments in related aspects of forest industry.
We support the proposed activities of the FAO in the field of rural development including agrarian reform, small farmers, women in development and training. The rural poor are basically small farmers marginal farmers and agricultural labourers, and their direct involment in the programmes would be very essential. We feel that agricultural and rural development should be viewed together and any approach emphasising the farmer at the expense of the latter should be discharged. In this direction my delegation commends the efforts of the Director-General towards making the World Conference on Agrarian Reforms and Rural Development a success.
Lastly on the level of the budget my Delegation fully supports the level of 211.35 million dollars which is a realistic proposition and is the minimum to achieve the objects set before the Director-General by the earlier Conference and earlier Sessions. Distinguished Delegates, this concludes our list of speakers for this morning. I would like to thank the speakers who have taken the floor this morning for following my request and being very brief and very much to the point. I think this looks very promising for our discussion in the days ahead.
CHAIRMAN: Before we adjourn I would just mention a few things which I propose to draw your attention to. First of all on the item of prevention of food losses, I should perhaps make it clear to you that the post harvest matter will be discussed extensively in Commission I and will also be touched upon in Commission III. In order to avoid duplication we should preferably not discuss this matter in Commission II, at least not in any detail, although there is a reference to it in the Programme of Work and Budget, Programme 2.1.2 on crops, pages 64 to 69 in the Programme of Work and Budget.
I also should mention that in connexion with the Programme of Work and Budget you are supposed to approve a list of sessions and a list of publications. You will find that in Document C 77/3 Sup.1 and 2.
Finally, I am asked to ask you that delegates who intend to read the statements or comment on various items of the Agenda are rasquested to give copies of such statements in advance to the Secretary so that they can be passed on to the interpreters. If you only have your original the Secretariat will take copies for you. The purpose of this is to assist the interpreters and delegates listening in to the language.
The meeting rose at 12.35 hours
La seance est levée à 12 h 35
Se levanta la sesión a las 12.35 horas
