EL PRESIDENTE: Señoras y señores delegados, tal y como informé en la mañana de hoy, a las 8 y media de la mañana se reunió el Comité General, el cual ha emitido su segundo informe. Este segundo informe les ha sido distribuido a todos los delegados: está en los casilleros.
Si les parece, podríamos proceder en este instante a examinar este segundo informe del Comité General con la finalidad de continuar inmediatamente después con las intervenciones de los delegados.
¿Están de acuerdo los señores delegados en que examinemos este segundo informe del Comité General?
No habiendo objeciones, cedo la palabra al Sr. Sylla, Secretario General, con la finalidad de que nos dé cuenta de este segundo informe del Comité General.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Concernant le deuxième rapport de la Commission de vérification des pouvoirs, le Bureau recommande à la Conférence de faire siennes les propositions contenues dans le deuxième rapport de la Commission de vérification des pouvoirs et d'adopter ce rapport qui est contenu dans le document C 79/LIM/32.
Le Bureau exprime l'espoir que la Conférence sera en mesure de prendre cette décision sans avoir besoin d'un débat prolongé sur ses aspects politiques. A cette fin, au cas où il y aurait un débat, le Bureau recommande que celui-ci se limite à une intervention en faveur et une intervention contre et que la Conférence convienne, à la lumière de la résolution 396 (V) de l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, de l'opportunité de suivre la décision prise par ladite Assemblée sur la validité des pouvoirs du Gouvernement du Kampuchea démocratique.
EL PRESIDENTE: Tienen los señores delegados también el segundo informe de la Comisión de Verificación de Poderes.
Si alguna delegación desea alguna precision sobre este tema, con mucho gusto le concedería la palabra; y si no hubiera ninguna observación, pasaríamos al siguiente punto del orden del día.
El respresentante de Hungría manifiesta sus deseos de usar de la palabra. Puede hacerlo.
P. VANDOR (Hungary): On behalf of the delegations of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Lao, Vietnam, Mongolia and Cuba, I wish to make the following statement.
The aforesaid delegations are not in agreement with the recognition of the so-called Pol Pot regime. One of the basic principles of international law is the sovereignty of States and their unquestionable right to decide on their representation. As is well known, the Pol Pot clique in Kampuchea have caused the death of three million inhabitants of the country, dislocated its traditional population, causing famine and hunger to hundreds of thousands of Kampucheans. This regime was overthrown by the Kampuchean people at the beginning of this year. With the establishment of the Peoples's Republic of Kampuchea, power in the country has passed entirely into the hands of the People's Revolutionary Council. The Kampuchean people have, in the form of this Council, established a Government which serves its interests and is directing the country's development. That Government is exercising full and stable control over the whole territory of the country and is effectively exercising State power. In its foreign policy the Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea is pursuing a policy of peace, friendship and good neighbourly cooperation. It has decisively declared its adherence to the principles of non-alignment.
A number of States throughout the world have officially recognised this Government and have announced their readiness to maintain relations with it.
In the light of the aforesaid, the sole legitimate and authentic representative of the Kampuchean people can only be the representative appointed by the People's Republic of Kampuchea. For this reason we regret that the Credentials Committee was not able to recommend refusal of the acceptance of the so-called credentials of a non-existent regime.
Our Organization is largely concerned with the problems of assistance to be provided to countries suffering from drought, flood and other Disasters. A great number of relief projects are implemented in the framework of the World Food Programme. Recently, initiatives have been taken to provide aid to the people of Kampuchea. This is an additional reason why our Conference should recognise the realities of our days.
In conclusion I should like to put on record that my delegation and the delegations on whose behalf I speak consider the credentials of the Pol Pot clique null and void and do not accept the Credentials Committee's recommendation regarding the acceptance of its credentials.
Having expressed the standpoint of the aforesaid delegations I should like to turn to the second report of the Credentials Committee. Paragraph 2 of the report does not fully reflect, in our view, the discussion which took place during the meeting of the Committee. Two different positions were expressed by members present at the meeting which were equal in proportion to each other. Given this situation, no decision could be taken by the Committee on the acceptance of the credentials of the so-called Democratic Kampuchea. Therefore these delegations request that Paragraph 2 of the report be corrected accordingly.
EL PRESIDENTE: A juicio de esta Presidencia, se plantean en este instante dos cuestiones.
La primera es que, entre las recomendaciones que nos hace el Comité de Credenciales, está una que es prácticamente de procedimiento y que la aprobamos además el primer día de la Conferencia, en relación con un punto parecido. Me refiero concretamente a que las intervenciones se limiten a dos: una a favor y otra en contra.
¿Hay conformidad entre los señores delegados en el sentido de limitar el debate sobre este tema a dos intervenciones, una en un sentido y otra en el contrario? ¿Están de acuerdo?
En este caso, puesto que hemos oído ya a la representación de Hungría hablando también en nombre de otro grupo de países, yo rogaría que quien desee hace uso de la palabra en sentido contrario lo manifieste.
Tenemos tres peticiones de palabra: Tailandia, Indonesia y Nigeria. Si estamos de acuerdo en que solamente haya una intervención en sentido distinto al modo en que se ha expresado anteriormente la representación de Hungría, yo daría en este momento exclusivamente la palabra-pidiendo desde luego disculpas a Indonesia y a Nigeria-a favor de Tailandia, puesto que ha sido esta delegación la que primeramente ha levantado su placa en solicitud de palabra.
K. DEVAHASTIN (Thailand): Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for giving me an opportunity to express our opinion at this stage on the matter under consideration. I am speaking on behalf of the four delegations of Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. We would like to draw the attention of the Conference to the fact that the credentials issued by the Government of Democratic Kampuchea led by the President Pol Pot for its representatives to attend the present Session of the United Nations General Assembly have been accepted by that organization which, in fact, is the most appropriate and competent body to deal with issues of a political character.
Bearing in mind that FAO is one of the specialised agencies in the United Nations system, therefore the attitude to be adopted by this Conference should be in line with the one that has already been adopted in the main body, that is, the General Assembly of the United Nations. For the above mentioned reasons, the four delegations hereby record our strong support for the acceptance of the representative of the Government of Democratic Kampuchea to the current FAO Conference.
EL PRESIDENTE: Señoras y señores delegados. Tras haber oído las dos intervenciones y siguiendo las sugerencias que hace el informe del Comité General, salvo que hubiera objeciones importantes por parte de la Conferencia, daríamos por aprobado el informe en la forma en que ha sido remitido y pasaríamos en ese caso al punto siguiente del Orden del Día, salvo que hubiera alguna otra cuestión que quisiera plantearse por alguna delegación.
Pasamos entonces al siguiente punto del Orden del Día dando por aprobado el punto primero, y lo que sí quisiera es precisar al representante de Hungría, en relación con su presición con respecto, me ha parecido deducir al párrafo 2 de la recomendación del Comité de Credenciales, qué consultaré con los Servicios Jurídicos, y a la vista del informe que me dé sobre este punto informaré a la delegación de Hungría sobre este aspecto. Pasamos entonces, si les parece, al punto siguiente del Orden del Día del informe del Comité General relativo a la fecha para la presentación de candidaturas para elección de miembros del Consejo. El señor Secretario General tiene la palabra.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Date de présentation de candidature pour les élections au Conseil: Le Bureau recommande que Tes propositions de candidatures aux sièges du Conseil qui doivent être pourvus à la présente session soient communiquées au Secrétaire générai de la Conférence (Bureau B-202) au plus tard le mardi 20 novembre à 18 h. , conformément à l'alinéa 10(d) de l'article XXII du Règlement général de l’Organization.
EL PRESIDENTE: ¿Alguna observación en relación con este punto del Orden del Día? Damos entonces por aprobado el punto segundo del segundo informe del Comité General. ¿Podemos pasar al tercero, señor Secretario General?
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Délibérations en séances plénières des chefs de délégation et demandes formulées par des organisations internationales non gouvernementales ayant le statut consultatif.
A cet égard, le Bureau a pris note de l'évolution du débat général qui ne devrait pas nécessiter la convocation d'une séance de nuit.
Le Comité note également que la Confédération syndicale mondiale, organisation non gouvernementale ayant un statut consultatif auprès de la FAO, a demandé à prendre brièvement la parole à la fin du débat général. Conformément à la décision prise par la Conférence en la matière-qui figure aux paragraphes 48-50 du document C 79/LIM/14-le Comité recommande que la Conférence donne suite à cette demande.
EL PRESIDENTE: ¿Alguna observación en relación a este punto? Creo que debemos felicitarnos todos de que no sea necesario celebrar las sesiones de noche. Se lo agradezco mucho a todos los que han hecho esto posible y si me permiten ustedes uma pequeña broma en este momento yo le pedirá al Secretario General, señor Sylla, que tampoco nos convoque a los miembros del Comité General a sesiones de madrugada. Pasamos entonces, señor Secretario General, al segundo punto de nuestro documento.
LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL: Ce point concerne le droit de vote.
Conformément à la décision prise par le Bureau lors de sa première session, les représentants du Directeur général ont pris contact avec les délégations des Etats Membres qui risquaient de perdre leur droit de vote à la vingtième session de la Conférence en raison du montant de leurs arriérés de contribution.
A la suite de ces contacts, le Directeur général a reçu du Gouvernement de la Grenade une lettre dans laquelle ce Gouvernement demande que son droit de vote lui soit restitué en faisant valoir que le paiement partiel, c'est-à-dire 15 000 dollars du montant nécessaire, c'est-à-dire 18 813,01 dollars, pour régulariser sa situation doit être considéré comme un geste de bonne volonté de sa part; dans cette lettre, le Gouvernement s'engage également à régler aussi rapidement que possible toutes ses dettes envers l'Organisation.
La délégation de la Grenade a confirmé que le contenu de cette lettre est destiné à annuler la demande d'exonération totale ou partielle de sa contribution ordinaire que le Gouvernement avait adressé précédemment à l'Organisation.
Le Bureau recommande donc à la Conférence d'autoriser la Grenade à exercer son droit de vote pendant toute la durée de la présente Conférence.
Le Gouvernement du Nicaragua a demandé à être autorisé à liquider ses arriérés de contributions sur une période de dix ans à partir de 1979, en s'engageant en outre à régler ses contributions courantes pendant l'année à laquelle elles se rapportent. La lettre mentionne la situation financière difficile dans laquelle se trouve actuellement le Gouvernement après une crise politique et sociale prolongée.
Le Bureau recommande à la Conférence d'adopter le projet de résolution ci-après concernant le règlement des contributions du Nicaragua:
La Conférence,Notant que le Gouvernement du Nicaragua a proposé de liquider sur une période de dix ans commençant en 1979 ses arriérés de contributions et de payer en outre chacune de ses contributions courantes durant l'année civile à laquelle elle se rapporte,
Décide que:Premièrement, nonobstant les dispositions de l'Article 5. 5 du Règlement financier, les arriérés de contributions du Nicaragua, soit 38 811 dollars, seront réglés en dix tranches annuelles égales de 3 881, 10 dollars.
Deuxièmement, la première tranche ainsi que la contribution ordinaire de 1979 seront payables en 1979,
Troisièmement, le paiement annuel des tranches susmentionnées ainsi que le règlement de chaque contribution courante durant l'année civile à laquelle elle se rapporte et des avances éventuelles au fonds de roulement seront considérés comme libérant le Nicaragua de ses obligations financières envers l’Organisation.
La République centrafricaine a également demandé que son droit de vote lui soit restitué et a exprimé l'intention de payer environ 38 000 dollars en trois tranches en 1979 et 1980. Le Gouvernement confirme également son intention d'honorer ses obligations financières envers l'Organisation, malgré les difficultés économiques que connaît actuellement ce pays.
Le Bureau recommande donc que la Conférence autorise le Nicaragua et la République centrafricaine à exercer leur droit de vote pendant toute la durée de la présente Conférence,
EL PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias señor Sylla. Comprendemos lo muy sobrecargado que le tenemos con tantos asuntos y es, por tanto, absolutamente explicable estos pequeños problemas.
Señoras y señores delegados, de acuerdo con lo que acaba de leernos nuestro Secretario General, el Comité General propone que se autorice a Granada, a Nicaragua y la República Centroafricana a ejercer sus derechos de voto durante todo el período de sesiones de la actual Conferencia y propone adicionalmente la aprobación de una Resolución relativa al pago de cuotas a Nicaragua.
¿Hay conformidad por parte de toda la Conferencia en relación con estos puntos? ¿Ninguna observación? En tal caso damos por aprobada la recomendación en la forma en que nos ha sido remitida por el Comité General y aprobamos igualmente la Resolución relativa al pago de cuotas de Nicaragua.
Habiendo finalizado este punto de nuestro Orden del Día deberemos pasar al debate general.
Antes de iniciar el debate general solicito de la Conferencia que me autorizara a ausentarme de la Sala, y en este caso ocuparía la Presidencia uno de los Vicepresidentes que elegimos el primer día, el Ministro del Paquistán. Si ustedes me lo autorizan, yo solicitaría al Ministro de Paquistán subir a hacerse cargo de la Presidencia de la Conferencia.
M. F. Janjua, Vice-Chairman of the Conference, took the chair
M. F. Janjua, Vice-President de la Conférence, assume la présidence
Ocupa la presidencia M. F. Janjua, Vicepresidente del Consejo
THE CHAIRMAN: May I first take this opportunity of thanking this Conference for the honour they have done me and my country, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, for electing me as the Vice-chairman of this important conference. I am sure this honour is a recognition of the fact that my country has always taken a very active and leading part in the affairs of FAO and I assure you of my and my delegation's full cooperation with all other countries for achieving the objectives of this Conference and the FAO.
- STATEMENTS BY THE HEADS OF DELEGATION (continued)
- DECLARATIONS DES CHEFS DES DELEGATIONS SUIVANTES (suite)
- DECLARACIONES DE LOS JEFES DE LAS DELEGACIONES (continuación)
G. TOMBAZOS (Cyprus): It is for me both a privilege and pleasure to participate and address today the 20th Session of the FAO Conference. On this occasion allow me to express my sincerest congratulations for your election to the high office of the Chairman and also to extend a warm welcome to the new member-states of our Organization.
We have, on several occasions in the past, both at FAO Headquarters as well as at the FAO Regional Conferences, dwelt extensively upon the state of food and agriculture in the world in general and in the developing countries in particular. We have repeatedly, expressed our deep concern for the yet un-satisfactory situation in food production and availability prevailing in many developing parts of the world. I am not going to refer to statistics on an issue which is so adequately documented and so well known to all of us. However, I cannot resist to restate my own deep concern for the situation; despite all the efforts and labour both at the National and International levels, hunger, poverty, disease and malnutrition still continue to constitute the way of life for hundreds of million of men, women and children in the world. It seems to me, that either we are not confronting the problem with sufficient effort and resources, or that our efforts and labour are not directed at the target; thus, missing the real root causes of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
It is by now well established that major international issues such as the existing International Economic Order, the structure of International Trade, the volume and nature of International Aid and defective National Economic Structures and Education Policies constitute the major causes for the suffering of the poor and the hungry. I am not intending to dwell upon these issues as they do not constitute specific items on the Agenda of this Conference and as they have been discussed at length in July during the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development; I only want to emphasize the need for this Conference to proceed with the necessary follow-up action and to provide all necessary support to the Organization and its Director-General for the development of the New International Development Strategy for the 1980s which is to be adopted by the Special Session of the UN General Assembly next year.
I am glad to note that the agenda of this Conference includes important issues for discussion such as the World Food and Agriculture Situation, the Plan of Action to Strengthen World Food Security, the Preparations for the Special Session of the UN General Assembly in 1980, Agriculture: Toward 2000 and the Comprehensive Programme for the Development and Management of Fisheries in Exclusive Economic Zones.
I consider it appropriate, Mr. Chairman, to expand a little on the last two items.
We have received and reviewed the study "Agriculture: Toward 2000". We express our appreciation for the considerable effort devoted to this study and for the timely completion of the Provisional Report. The study puts FAO in a position to make a valid contribution to the formulation of the New International Development Strategy in the UN. We therefore suggest that this Conference transmit to the UN a report with the salient findings of this study for consideration in the preparation of the declaration of the New International Development Strategy.
We note from the study that the dependence of the developing world on food supplies from the developed countries could continue increasing, and that the situation could turn out to be much more serious if the fairly optimistic assessments of the study failed to materialize. This finding alone justifies new efforts by the international community to ensure that the food production potential of the developing countries becomes a reality and that appropriate arrangements are made now for financing the increasing commitments of food aid.
The study also indicates that the problem of hunger and under-nutrition could be greatly reduced, though it will not disappear even by the end of the century. The absolute numbers of people remaining under-nourished gives cause for concern. This finding further strengthens the case for pursuing institutional reform and more equitable access of the rural population to produce resources and income, as indicated by the World Conference of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development which was held earlier in the year in Rome.
The new regime of the oceans as it emerges from the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea is indeed creating a new state of affairs for coastal developing countries and can have a profound effect on their food supplies, employment opportunities and exports. However, we cannot overlook the fact that coastal developing countries in general are not adequately capable of taking the maximum advantage from the new state of affairs: Small-scale fisheries practices with poor fishing fleets and equipment, limitations in knowledge for the proper management and conservation of fisheries and the lack of adequate financial resources to meet increased requirements, can invalidate the favourable situation created by the new legal regine of oceans and the benefits may eventually revert to developed countries, which though without national jurisdiction over an Exclusive Economic Zone, yet by virtue of their higher potential in fishing fleet technology, knowhow and capital can reap the largest share of the benefits. We therefore strongly support the FAO Technical Conference on the Development and Management of Fisheries which has been proposed for 1982, with a view to determine the requirements and principles upon which appropriate international, regional and national policies and programmes can be designed. The volume of financial resources to be required for such a programme makes necessary the establishment of a Special Fund for Fisheries Development and this issue is proposed for consideration during the 1982 Conference.
Mr. Chairman, it is not my intention to take up your time with a detailed account on what we are doing in Cyprus in the field of agriculture and on the constraints we encounter. Nevertheless allow me to outline our basic activities and orientations and refer to our major problems which bear relevance to this Conference.
Our developmental approach is geared by an integrated confrontation of the problems in agriculture, with main emphasis placed on the development of the water resources of the country, since water is the limiting factor in our production process. With as little as 13 per cent of our total arable land under perennial irrigation and with a dry climate, every effort is being made to develop and utilize all available water resources, both surface and underground. To that end a number of major irrigation projects are under implementation and others are under an advanced stage of preparation; this is a very substantial activity for us, since under Cyprus conditions, productivity in irrigated farming on a unit area basis is as much as ten times more than what it is in dry-land farming.
However, such undertakings, though economically viable, are highly capital intensive; as such they cannot be realized without increased international funding, especially under the adverse conditions created in Cyprus' agriculture and its economy since 1974. Cyprus and indeed the developing world at large is looking forward not only to the appreciable efforts of international funding institutions to be continued, but also to larger financial participation on behalf of the economically developed countries. Agricultural production in the future will undoubtedly be proportional to the volume of financial resources currently committed to the Sector and to the experience and wisdom with which agricultural policies and programmes are conceived, formulated and implemented.
Endeavours such as the ones I just mentioned are certainly in line with the Plan of Action to Strengthen World Food Security, because they augment a country's potential and self-reliance in food production. Cyprus, being an importing country for its stable food item, undoubtedly supports the Director General's proposal to strengthen World Food Security through the implementation of immediate measures aiming at the establishment of a world food security system. However, the world community should not lose sight of the fact that long term, the safest way for sustained world food security is the increase in food production through augmenting the developing countries' capabilities to do so; and this is a real and moral responsibility not only of the developing countries themselves, but of the developed countries as well.
J. J. M. NYAGAH (Kenya): Mr. Chairman, fellow delegates, may I at the outset state that I bring to this Twentieth Session of the FAO biennial Conference greetings and well wishes from my President, H. E. Daniel Arap Moi, who has now successfully completed his task of transition period of seeing Kenya emerge from the era of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta to the new era of Daniel Arap Moi, commonly and popularly known in Kenya as the NYAYO era, and who has also completed his general elections fairly successfully. He has also asked me to extend his best wishes to this august body that the success of this Conference will bring stability and peace to the world, particularly to those who are hungry and the poor. Personally I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on your unanimous election to the high office, as well as to welcome those two new members to our midst.
Two years ago we convened here and debated in detail the general situation in respect of agricultural development in the world. We also discussed the Programme of Work and Budget for the period we are about to conclude. These discussions took place in a friendly atmosphere which is characteristic of most of FAO Conferences. We look forward to similar cooperation during this conference, too. Since then several international events have taken place which will have a direct bearing on the work of the Organization for the next biennium. These events include among others the Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea which has resulted into declaration by several countries of Exclusive Economic Zones, and World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development which took place in this hall in July of this year.
My delegation has noted with great interest that the Director-General has taken all these events into account in his Programme of Work and Budget and in his address to this Conference. It is to be noted however that nearly all these conferences did not make any definite proposals on the financing of their recommendations and in spite of the fact that there were no financial provisions for the implementation of these international recommendations, the conferences did commit themselves to the major cause for which this Organization was set up.
We have in the past dealt with the problems of food production and the need to ensure the provision of sufficient food to the rural commnunities; for instance, in 1978 the African Ministers of Agriculture adopted the Freetown Declaration, which called for the preparation and implementation of appropriate policies and programmes for improved self-sufficiency in food, with particular emphasis on small-scale subsistance farmers. This declaration was reaffirmed in Arusha in September, 1978. We cannot afford to continue to talk about food production problems and not take the appropriate actions any more. My country would like to pledge our cooperation in order to enable the Director-General to report in more concrete terms at the next Regional Conference for Africa. The World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development made far-reaching recommendations which will have implications on increased responsibilities for FAO.
However, we are pleased to know that priority will be given to these recommendations in the work of the Organization for the next biennium, and that the necessary adjustments will be made in the budget to make provision for assistance to member governments along the lines of the recommendations. We all very well know that the success or failure of implementing the recommendations of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development will depend to a large extent on the priority that each country will give them at the national level. In this respect therefore I am pleased to let you know that Kenya has already taken steps to ensure the integration of these recommendations into the national plan by the formation of a committee specifically charged with these responsibilities. We are, however, concerened about the lack of funds and other resources which have to be made available in order to ensure effective implementation of these proposals.
In order to achieve the goal of transforming rural life by focusing on "alleviation of rural poverty", I would like to take this opportunity to appeal that increased extra budgetary funds be made available, in order to enable the Organization to assist member countries with the implementation of these proposals.
May I now touch on briefly about the priorities and FAO's work and investments into the agricultural sector in general. The work of this Organization must subsequently result into actual investments in food production and rural development in general. The Organization should therefore work towards those activities which will give quick results so that they are seen to respond to the needs of the rural poor. In this respect therefore we would like to express our satisfaction with the Technical Co-operation Programme (TCP) which we feel should be strengthened in the light of the increasing nature of the problems which this programme is in a better position to handle. Incidentally, I would here like to support very strongly the Director-General's plan of increasing the number of FAO Country representatives from 47 to 62 during the next biennual. It is, however, disturbing to know from evaluation of FAO's work over the past few years that the actual value of technical assistance to agriculture has been declining, and that in 1978 actual FAO delivery was at about the same level as 1970 in real terms. This would appear to be a step in the opposite direction, and could be one of the major reasons for the decline and stagnation in food production in developing countries. In the African Region this situation has not improved much, and agricultural development is reported to have grown at the rate of less than two percent per annum a very sad situation indeed considering the average rate of inflation, which is much higher.
The recent developments in the field of fisheries will have far reaching implications on overall agricultural and rural development in general. The declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zones by coastal states will créate opportunities for fisheries development for the benefit of these countries. However, the task of policing the enlarged national waters and finding the needed investment for development will require maximum co-operation from the FAO and the developed member countries. The developing coastal member countries do not have sufficient specialized local manpower, finances and
other resources to manage and exploit the increased areas to their benefit. This new area of development will imply more responsibilities for the FAO, and while provision has been made in the Programme of Work and Budget for technical assistance, the resources available to the Organization seem to be far below expectations. With these limited resources, my country would like to emphasize the need for training in the management for small scale fishermen and project identification to facilitate increased investment. Kenya falls among this category and therefore has specifically indicated the assistance she would require to enable the fisheries industry to contribute its share to the alleviation of poverty.
FAO's assistance to the developing countries should aim therefore at supporting those activities which will result in increased earnings from fisheries development and which will provide additional employment opportunities for the rural people through the exploitation of both inland and marine fisheries.
Kenya has only a small percentage of land covered by forest. The development of this sector is of vital importance to overall rural development. The new approach of developing forestry for and in rural areas has the Government support because we can no longer afford to develop the forest industry in isolation of the needs of the rural populations. Wood is needed not only for timber but also as a source of fuel. I would like here, Mr. Chairman, to express Kenya's appreciation for the co-operation between our national Forestry Department and the FAO Investment Centre which has been most essential for the indenti fi cation and preparation of programmes in this field.
Mr. Chairman, the International Fertilizer Scheme has in the past assisted developing member countries in providing not only the needed nutrients but has also relieved these countries of the heavy foreign exchange burden. In view of the present international economic situation, particularly the ever increasing and rising rate of inflation which results in a decline in foreign exchange reserves, this scheme should be strengthened in order to enable these countries to at least meet their basic food requirements.
In the general area of increasing food production my country would like to strongly support the Programme of Pre-and Post-Harvest Losses as one positive way of increasing food availabilities. A word here of thanks for the FAO co-operation in the work of the East African Desert Locust Control Organization and also in control of quelea birds and army worms etc. There is no doubt, therefore that the surest way of making food available is by protecting and saving as much as possible. My intervention would be incomplete without a brief discussion on world food security. In the long term we must concern ourselves with the expansion of food production in the developing countries in order to be able to meet dietary and nutritional requirements from local sources. The natural resources to do this are available in these countries. There is, however, an immediate short term problem of improving the present distribution of food from world food supplies in order to reduce hunger and starvation in the most needy areas of the world. My country would like to see three areas of short term world food security given high priority by this Conference:-these include Food Aid itself; the prevention of Pre-and Post-Harvest Losses which I referred to earlier; and the Foreign Exchange problems of having to meet the cost of importing food from developed countries.
The World Food Conference in 1974 set a target food aid of 10 million tonnes to be made available annually to developing food deficit countries. Five years after that August Conference, this target we regret to note that it has not been reached, in spite the fact that the world can afford to make this amount available. As a result, hunger and malnutrition continue. It is becoming more and more difficult to justify a situation where human beings continue to starve in some parts of the world, and yet we hear of stores filled with grains far beyond domestic requirements in other parts. Such parts we hear too have disposal problems for their surpluses.
I have touched on the question of prevention of food losses earlier, but let me be more specific here about the need to reduce the loss of food which has already been produced and which continues to be wasted for various reasons. Considerable amounts of resources have over the years been put into research and development of appropriate storage in the developing countries. These facilities have been developed in order to reduce to a minimum wastage arising from insect infestation and poor handling of food, particularly grains. The identification of projects on prevention of food losses should now be based on the technology which has so far been developed, and specific investment proposals put forward for financing. We have talked about the problem of providing enough food for the developing countries and the steps needed to alleviate the situation. This is a long term problem, but while it lasts, we would recommend to the developed world to make available more resources to help those countries which are compelled to import more often than they can afford.
Mr. Chairman, let me now come to the issue of the proposed budget for the biennium 1980/81. There have been lengthy discussions in the various committees and the FAO Council about the level of the budget, and whether it is sufficient to enable the Organization to carry out its functions or not. We feel strongly that the question of the budget should be looked at from the point of view of the responsibilities which have been entrusted to the Organization.
In view of this therefore it is the view of my delegation that the proposed increase in the budget is modest. The Director-General and his staff should he congratulated for what appears to be an austerity budget. He could not have done better. I would like to call upon the co-operation of all the member states in this matter and to request that they look at the budget from the point of view of the effect it is likely to have on the poor people of the developing world, rather than discuss the figures from the point of view of limiting their contributions. We have a duty to fight hunger, and also the duty to eliminate it.
Mr. Chairman, before I conclude, and having discussed the work of the FAO and given you the view of my country on the major issues, I would like to turn finally to the recent international economic events and their effects on the Kenya economy. The fourth 5-year National Development Plan whose theme is "alleviation of poverty" covers the period 1979 to 1983. Its implementation commenced in January this year, and it is the first one under the leadership of our new President Daniel Arap Moi's policies and deals with strategies that will be employed over this period in order to achieve our targets. The major focus will be rural development with particular attention to the place and role of the small-scale farmer. The programmes will therefore be implemented to achieve the objectives. The programmes contained in this plan have been worked out from the grass-roots where the people have had a say in indicating their real needs and priorities. It is important therefore that they should be fully involved in the various parts of the programme.
Like in all developing countries, agriculture is the basic enterprise in Kenya. About 90 per cent of the population-whose growth rate is estimated at 3% per annum-live in the rural areas.
Kenya has not got a strong industrial base and therefore livelihood of the rural people is very much dependent on agriculture, for it provides employment for the bulk of the people and is expected to continue to absorb the majority of the people coming into the labour force every year. The recent Presidential order to absorb 10% into the industrial employment was like a drop in the ocean.
The major goal for agricultural development in Kenya is therefore to provide rising levels of income to the growing population in the rural areas. There is also the need to attain an evenly balanced pattern of development with well distributed income and a growing level of employment to match as much as possible the increase in the labour force. Agricultural output must therefore be accelerated, and in so doing it will also assist in supplying the required food for Kenyans, to improve the diets of the rural people and the population as a whole, increase foreign exchange which is required for development and also provide the required raw materials for industry.
In recent years the rapid increase in population has posed a challenge for the country to produce sufficient food to feed the nation. Our Government has a policy for food production for self-sufficiency and considers this a national primary responsibility. I am glad to say that this policy is more or less achieved in most basic food aspects. Believing in the importance of a healthy population, Kenya distributes free milk throughout the country to the class of population which is vulnerable to diseases. We attach great importance to our dairy industry.
The coming years will witness high priority being placed on increased production of the major food commodities, particularly maize, wheat, rice and potatoes. Kenya believes that this can only be achieved by introducing well planned incentives to the farmers through a system of regular producer price reviews, input subsidies, provision of credit and basic infrastructure, etc. Through this concept I am pleased to state the country has made considerable progress in modernizing the economy, thanks to the farmers who have heeded, and actively responded to, the teaching of our extension workers who have constantly preached the need to apply appropriate technology and applied agricultural research findings; and this has paid dividends.
However, this process of modernization would have been faster had it not been that we have had to rely to a considerable extent on imports of farm machinery, fertilizers and other farm inputs whose costs are often exorbitant, and exert strain on our foreign exchange reserves. Yet this is happening at a time when prices of primary commodities on the world market fluctuate too violently to be relied upon. The recent increase in prices of crude oil and the possible additional increase in future is not a welcome idea, for it is bound to force adjustments in our development plan targets to the extent where our well-designed strategies for improving rural lives will be disarrayed. We would therefore like to strongly call for restraint on the part of both developed countries and oil producing and exporting countries, to seriously consider the consequences these constant price increases have on the economies of poor and developing countries.
In conclusion I would like to pay compliments to those international organizations and friendly countries who have been so cooperative and helpful to my country, Kenya. I would particularly wish to thank the Direotor-General and his staff for their part in this and also to wish them and FAO every success in the next biennium. I would like to assure them of my country's cooperation in their endeavour to implement the proposed programmes for the benefit of us all.
A. WAHHAB MAHMOUD (Yemen Arab Republic): (interpretation from Arabio) Mr Chairman, Mr Director-General of FAO, distinguished leaders and members of delegations, I would like to commence this address by extending congratulations to the Chairman of the Conference and to the Vice-Chairmen for the trust placed in them by the Conference. I also wish to congratulate the two delegations from the Republic of Samoa and the Commonwealth of Dominica upon their accession to membership of this Organization. We believe that the increase in membership of this Organization is but a reflection of the great aspirations placed by the peoples of the world on the importance of the services rendered by this Organization in the field of securing food and fighting hunger, and in assisting developing countries.
The problem of securing food still constitutes a formidable challenge facing the countries of the world in the last quarter of a century. A number of indicators caused profound concern because it has become olear that it is impossible to meet the targets of the international development strategy during the 1970's on the basis of realising an increase of 4 percent annually in food production in the developing countries. The real average increase was no more than 2. 9 percent annually. The rate of food imports in developing countries has increased during the 1970's at rates that were quite as much as the increase in production. We are indeed alarmed at the fact that insufficient assistance has been accorded to agriculture and only half the target was attained. It is also a fact that the target of 10 million tons annually as food assistance in 1965 only reached 19. 8 tons of grains. We ponder with bitterness the dire consequences of these indicators at a time when the expenditure on arms in the world last year reached $400 billion, as indicated by the World Bank. The rate of foreign aid did not go beyond 1 percent of the gross national product in many industrialised countries. On the contrary, a regression has occurred. For example, foreign aid used to constitute 2. 79 percent of the United States' gross national product in 1949, when they embarked on the Marshall Plan. Today this percentage has fallen tenfold, that is to say 0. 22 percent of the gross national product of the United States at the present time, at a time when the real income of the American citizen has quadrupled in the last 30 years.
On the local level my country has witnessed significant events in the field of development in the 1970's. This was due to the determination of our people to catch up with the progression of world civilization and because our country was indeed a cradle of an authentic human culture.
The loans on easy terms provided to us by fraternal countries and international organizations and funds have had a positive effect on our development efforts. On this occasion I should like to thank those concerned for all the assistance my country has received from international organizations as well as bilateral aid from friends and brothers. We also wish to commend the cooperation between the various financing agencies in funding some of the important projects in my country. For example, there are five souroes which collaborate in order to finance the Wadi Moor project. These sources are the World Bank, the Kuwait Development Fund, IFAD, the EEC and the Federal Republic of Germany, in addition to the Government of Yemen as well as the development groups for farmers in this region. This in itself constitutes an excellent example of international cooperation with a view to creating additional progress for our people. The Republic has opted for the principle of integrated rural development as the true path towards rural development in our countries, because the rural population constitutes 90 percent of the total population. This principle has already proven its worth on a practical level.
Different efforts are moving along in different spheres in an integrated and coordinated manner with a view to attaining the targets in a short time and in an efficient manner. One of the prominent and salient points of our achievements is the effective participation of local development groups. These are non-governmental popular organizations which join effectively in our efforts. For example, these groups have paved 11,804 kilometres of new roads and have implemented 1,349 projects in order to secure drinking water throughout the Republic. These popular organizations benefit from the material and moral support by the State. The State has allocated 75 percent of the Zakat tax. These organizations have also benefited from a special fund which extends credit to the tune of 100 million Rials this year. Our country is in the fourth year of our first Five Year Plan and even though we have exceeded the target growth rate which is 5·5 percent annually, yet we are still very far from a state of self-reliance. Food imports have increased sharply in the past years, from $84 million in 1974 to $273 million in 1977. This is due to increased global demand on food commodities and the rise in world prices of such commodities.
We are also witnessing development efforts in the various fields of crop and animal production as well as fisheries and large-scale irrigation works with a view to exploiting surface and ground water resources. We are also trying to use modern technology in establishing efficient national cadres and completing our administrative structures.
In the field of forestry we are about to finish an excellent project in collaboration with the World Bank and have received financial assistance on a bilateral basis amounting to more than $10 million for the next three years. We are almost in the last phases of formulating a project for developing
fisheries on the basis of improving the socio-economic conditions of thousands of small-scale fishermen, by providing them with credits for improving the efficiency of traditional fishing methods and marketing facilities. This should lead to an increase of production in fisheries.
The Government is also increasing credit to farmers through the Agricultural Credit Bank as one of the main instruments of agricultural development. This Bank is young, it started its activities in 1976, and the State has covered its entire capital which stands at 100 million Rials. The services of this credit and its operations are expanding and covering most of the important agricultural regions. We expect the size of credit facilities and employment in the Fifth Development Year to be 250 million Rials. In spite of the fact that these are very young organizations, they have started very successfully and we are introducing new and modern inputs, and thousands of farmers and their families benefit from credit; and the recovery rate for outstanding loans has reached 90 percent. Total investments in the agricultural sector in the first Five Year Plan reached 2,600 million Rials and therefore this sector comes into third place in our country, after the transport industry and electricity.
In financing these investments we have the participation of the government and the public sector as well as cooperatives and private and external funding. I do not want to dwell on development efforts but I would like to say that we are intensifying our work. We are expanding our use of agricultural machinery in such a way as to blend it with the prevailing circumstances in our country and to face the shortage in manpower in many rural areas as a result of emigration towards the cities and abroad.
On this occasion I would like to submit a proposal: to include in the international development strategy of the coming decade a commitment from industrialised and oil-producing countries, within the framework of establishing the new international economic order, to allocate 2 percent of the GNP to development assistance to developing countries as a minimum level. For countries such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in 1977 this stands at 10 percent, according to World Bank estimates. The proposal also calls for devoting at least 50 percent of such assistance to the rural and agricultural sector, because FAO studies indicate a dire need to increase development assistance threefold in the next decade.
Food aid Commitments in the 1980's should reach 15 million tons of grain annually according to FAO's estimates of such requirements. I hope that these proposals will be discussed in detail and carry the approval of the Conference as part of worldwide efforts to lay the foundations of the New International Economic Order.
The alarming indicators I mentioned at the outset will bear sinister conclusions for world peace and security unless we all collaborate to avert them as of now. We are living in a small world where interests are continually intertwined. A leap forward in development aid is a prerequisite for human development as a whole in the interests and security, for rich countries in particular as well as satisfying the need of developing countries so that they may achieve self-reliance as soon as possible.
As we speak about agricultural and rural development in this international gathering we can only condemn in the strongest terms the Zionist settlement policy in Arab land; a policy which constitutes a flagrant breach of international law and practice; a denigration of the rights of others, it deprives the Palestinian people of the legitimate right to embark on an agricultural and rural development of the land. The world's conscience carries a moral and ethical responsibility to say resoundingly "No" to colonist settlements and the occupation of land belonging to others by force.
Before closing I would like to extend my thanks and great appreciation to the Director-General of FAO for the brilliant success of the Technical Cooperation Programme. TCP has readily and efficiently responded to the requests of developing countries, including my own. We received swift and efficient assistance in the field of the desert locusts control, improving wood and fruit tree varieties, expertise in developing fisheries, agrarian reform and many other activities. In this respect we call for expansion of this Programme as it provides effective and rapid aid to developing countries without running across bureaucracy and red tape.
While we commend FAO's activities and call for their intensification we would like to draw the attention of member countries and the Director-General to the fact that the action and work of the Near East regional offices are frozen. This contradicts those measures that must be taken to mobilize and channel resources towards serving the economies of member states and augmenting technical assistance to the least developed. Perpetuation of this state of affairs represents an unjustifiable burden for FAO and the countries of the region. With reference to this abnormal situation, on behalf of my country I request the transfer of the office from its present location to another place and we call on this Conference to authorize the Director-General to take appropriate steps towards this end. The aim is to reactivate the office and to allow it to render its service to all the members of the regions. In this respect I would like to extend a profound thanks to the great people of Egypt for the facilities they have extended and for hosting the office throughout the past years.
I wish this Conference all success in its great task of arriving at positive decisions that can contribute to securing food and rural development, hence realizing the much cherished goal of human progress.
J. ZORREGUIETA (Argentina): Señor Presidente, señor Director General, señores delegados, señoras y señores: Como Presidente de la delegación de la República Argentina tengo el honor, en nombre de mi Gobierno, de expresar nuestras sinceras felicitaciones al señor Presidente, por la elección de que ha sido objeto, que garantiza que esta Conferencia disponga de una iluminada y certera conducción que ayudará a que el éxito corone nuestros trabajos. Dichas felicitaciones las hago extensivas a todos los distinguidos miembros de la Mesa.
Igualmente, deseo destacar nuestro reconocimiento por la labor infatigable del señor Director General, Dr. Edouard Saouma, que ha dotado a este Organismo de una dinámica y una eficacia que indudablemente contribuyen a la implementación de los altos fines que inspiraron su creación.
También me complazco en dar una bienvenida a los representantes de Samoa y Dominica, cuyo ingreso a esta Organización se acaba de materializar.
En esta Conferencia de la FAO, tenemos nuevamente la oportunidad de analizar las perspectivas que nos ofrece la agricultura y la forma en que el mundo piensa enfrentar los problemas crecientes de su alimentación.
En el temario de esta Conferencia están incluidas importantes materias que será necesario examinar, entre ellas: la agricultura hacia el año 2000 y la acción que debemos desarrollar para reforzar la seguridad alimentaria mundial.
Mi país está realizando un gran esfuerzo para cumplir con la alta responsabilidad que tenemos ante el mundo, ya que somos conscientes que las condiciones naturales y humanas de que está dotada la República Argentina le permiten ser un proveedor creciente de carnes, cereales, oleaginosas, frutas, hortalizas y otros cultivos. Es así como en los últimos años hemos aumentado la producción, triplicado nuestra capacidad de embarque mensual de granos, con lo que hemos pasado a ocupar el segundo lugar en el mundo en capacidad de embarque. Nuestra producción de granos ha crecido de 23 millones de toneladas a más de 30 millones promedio de los últimos 3 años y, a pesar de atravesar por un período de bajos precios internacionales, hemos mantenido nuestro stock ganadero en cifras aceptables y mejorado sustancialmente nuestra productividad agrícola en general.
La producción Argentina de cereales y oleaginosas ha aumentado con una tasa de más del 3 por ciento anual acumulativo debido a los mayores rendimientos unitarios, pasando de 1257 kg. por Ha. en el trienio anterior a los 149 kg. por Ha. en el trienio 1976/1979. Asimismo y con referencia a los mismos períodos comparados hemos incrementado nuestra participación en el comercio internacional: de cereales del 6 por ciento al 9,4 por ciento, en oleaginosas del 1,8 por ciento al 6,8 por ciento, en carnes del 16 por ciento al 13 por ciento, respectivamente.
Tal como hemos expresado hace poco, las exportaciones argentinas de alimentos han pasado de 36 billones de kilo-calorías a 50 billones anuales en los últimos tres años, o sea que estamos entregando a la humanidad las calorías necesarias para que cientos de millones de personas tengan la posibilidad de llegar a la dieta normal, superando el hambre y la malnutrición.
Hay, sin embargo, ciertas cuestiones fundamentales que hacen al gran tema de la alimentación mundial y a las que debemos referirnos en esta oportunidad. La primera de ellas, es la referida al problema de la seguridad alimentaria; la Argentina lo ha repetido en éste y otros foros y debemos insistir en que la única manera real de lograr la seguridad alimentaria es simplemente aplicar políticas correctas para aumentar la producción.
Es por ello que debe quedar bien claro que la constitución de reservas de ciertos granos, debe tener como fin fundamental, estabilizar los precios de los mismos niveles que sean retributivos para los agricultores para así asegurar la continuidad y el incremento de la producción. En cambio, la acumulación de reservas de gran magnitud como para cubrir caídas importantes en el abastecimiento mundial, nos plantearían grandes problemas de almacenamiento y financiación, pero además no garantizarían la seguridad alimentaria mundial, ya que actuarían como un factor depresivo de los precios agrícolas, obteniendo por lo tanto un resultado contrario al buscado. Es por ello que entendemos que lo que se debe afianzar en definitiva para permitir la oferta constante y creciente de alimentos, es una retribución aceptable a los productores de los mismos. Aceptamos que las reservas sean útiles para ciertas emergencias, pero por si solas no alcanzarán nunca para abastecer a un mundo en el que los productores hayan perdido interés en producir.
Es así como hemos defendido en el ámbito de la Conferencia, para lograr un acuerdo internacional sobre el trigo, la necesidad de establecer en el libre juego de mercado, stocks de trigo de una cuantía equilibrada con escalas de precios que entendemos eran aceptables para productores y consumidores, y que, a pocos meses de haber sido discutidos y no aceptados, el comercio internacional se encargó de probar que eran sumamente prudentes.
En esta cuestión de la retribución a los productores reside, a nuestro entender, la llave del futuro abastecimiento de alimentos para la humanidad. Cualquier proyección que hagamos hacia el año 2000, cualquier estrategia de desarrollo agrícola, cualquier deseo que tengamos de lograr seguridad alimentaria mundial, debe reposar sobre agricultores bien remunerados, con estabilidad jurídica en la tierra que trabajen, dispuestos económica, cultural y sicológicamente, a incorporar mejores técnicas.
Es evidente que el mundo actual nos presenta grandes limitaciones que debemos tener presentes. Por un lado, tenemos que producir alimentos retribuyendo adecuadamente a nuestros productores, pero utilizando técnicas tales que no impliquen un aumento desmesurado de los costos, ya que entonces resultarían precios que impedirían el acceso a los alimentos a una gran proporción de la población mundial. Frente al incremento incesante de los costos de la energía, debemos ser capaces de mejorar la investigación y la extensión de los conocimientos sobre el eficiente manejo de los recursos, ya que va a ser muy difícil pretender usar medios cada vez más caros y escasos para producciones antieconómicas que llevan en sí el germen de su propia decadencia.
Esto está también vinculado además a la preservación del equilibrio natural que ciertas prácticas ponen en peligro.
De esta manera debemos desarrollar la agricultura, no a cualquier costo, sino tratar de incrementar la producción donde las ventajas comparativas son evidentes. Esto nos obliga a referirnos al comercio mundial, el cual debe reconocer las grandes limitaciones crecientes que se tornarán agudas en el futuro, afectando la relación del gasto en energía fósil para transformar dicha energía en alimentos. Las grandes barreras proteccionistas que aislan a economías enteras, en realidad dificultan el desarrollo de la agricultura en los países eficientes y, en definitiva, conspiran contra el abastecimiento mundial, ya que de alguna manera no permiten que la economía de escala se instale en los países que, por sus condiciones, tienen posibilidades de multiplicar la producción.
Creemos que debemos meditar profundamente sobre este aspecto del problema. Comprendemos desde ya, el deseo que tienen importantes países de contar con el abastecimiento agrícola propio, pero los llamados a la reflexión con respecto a cuál es el costo de ese gran proteccionismo, cuáles serán sus derivaciones futuras y hasta cuándo se podrá mantener económicamente este esquema, teniendo en cuenta las circunstancias por todos conocidas, que amenazan el abastecimiento de energía al mundo. Es por ello que aquellos países que tienen grandes necesidades de alimentos, no deben confiar en que podrán satisfacerlas indefinidamente con los excedentes subsidiados producidos por ciertos proteccionismos.
Lo razonable, es promover las producciones competitivas, operando aperturas reales y generales en las economías de los países, mejorando las relaciones de precios industriales y agrícolas, dejando circular libremente los adelantos tecnológicos. Esto provocará sin duda grandes transformaciones en las estructuras de la producción, tanto industrial como agraria, pero debemos afrontarlo si queremos dar respuesta a las necesidades del mundo.
La posición de la República Argentina es profundamente humanista. Tenemos confianza en el hombre, en su capacidad, en su imaginación y en su poder creativo. Creemos que es él, el que debe tomar las decisiones fundamentales en la economía y en la sociedad. Queremos poner en sus manos el desafío de responder a esta cuestión que los países aquí congregados deben analizar.
Hemos escuchado con emoción las palabras de Su Santidad el Papa Juan Pablo II que alumbran nuestros pensamientos y que orientarán nuestros debates. El ha. dicho en esta misma Sala que "…El Hambre en el mundo no siempre proviene unicamente de ciercunstancias geográficas, climáticas o agrícolas desfavorables, que son las que vosotros tratais de mitigar gradualmente; proviene también del propio ser humano, de las deficiencias de la organización social, que impiden la iniciativa personal…"
Señor Presidente, el sistema económico que defendemos se basa en un gran respeto por el individuo, y es por ello que, partiendo de esta concepción cristiana de la vida, creemos firmemente que entre todos debemos lograr el marco para que ese gran protagonista de esta empresa humana de la agricultura y la alimentación, que es el hombre, movilice los recursos de la tierra y pueda llevar a cabo su tarea con confianza, estabilidad y dignidad.
C. A. GASSOU (Togo): Permettez-moi de vous féliciter, Monsieur le Président, au nom de ma délégation, pour votre brillante élection à la Présidence de cette vingtième session de la Conférence générale de la FAO.
Nous sommes sûrs que sous votre conduite sage cette réunion obtiendra les résultats qui permettront à notre Organisation de faire un grand bond en avant vers nos objectifs.
Je voudrais également souhaiter la bienvenue aux Etats nouvellement admis comme Membres de notre Organisation, le Samoa et la Dominique, et je les en félicite.
Une fois de plus, nous voici au pied du mur, face aux dures réalités que vit notre planète. Le sombre tableau, maintes fois dépeint, n'a pas changé de visage. Des millions d'hommes, de femmes et d'enfants continuent à mourir de faim, à souffrir la misère la plus sombre que le monde ait jamais connue. Et pourtant, la technologie a atteint des sommets jamais égalés, les richesses du monde, prises globalement, ont atteint des dimensions sans bornes. Ces remarques contradictoires pour ne pas dire, aberrantes, trouvent leur justification dans l'égoisme de l'homme moderne.
En effet, l'homme moderne, plus que dans le passé, est décidé à vivre la loi de la jungle et s'il lui arrivait de penser à son semblable c'est purement par compassion et c'est peu dire; si ceci est vrai entre humains il l'est encore plus entre nations, entre les communautés humaines qui se veulent à la fois universalistes et égocentriques.
Il n'est pas de notre propos de jeter l'anathème sur qui que ce soit, nous devons tous reconnaître notre part de responsabilité dans cette situation.
Pour calmer notre conscience, nous nous sommes ingéniés à instituer des conférences, symposiums, réunions et autres dialogues pour nous gargariser de mots que l'imagination humaine a vite fait de trouver pour les circonstances.
Des cris d'alarme sont jetés çà et là mais leurs échos sont allés se perdre dans les profondeurs de l'inconscience humaine. Le monde arrivera-t-il à changer son visage?
Bien des hommes y croient et continueront de le croire mais il est à craindre que le seuil de non-retour passé, la situation ne soit compromise à jamais.
Notre avant-propos s'est voulu volontiers pessimiste c'est pour dire que le problème alimentaire est et reste la préoccupation majeure de mon pays.
Dès l'accession de mon pays à l'indépendance et surtout après les sept premières années de tâtonnement, les instances gouvernementales, sous l'impulsion dynamique du Président de la République, Son Excellence, le Général d'Armée Gnossingbé Eyadéma ont résolument opté pour une politique qui vise essentiellement la satisfaction des besoins alimentaires des populations. Ainsi, l'agriculture est devenue la priorité des priorités et, contrairement aux options coloniales, qui avaient favorisé les cultures d'exportation, l'accent a été mis sur le développement des cultures vivrières; cultures vivrières pour la satisfaction des besoins alimentaires de la population, cultures vivrières pour servir de levier à la petite industrie de transformation, cultures vivrières enfin, pour servir la cause de la solidarité entre pays voisins. Pour servir de support à cette politique, un certain nombre de mesures ont été prises dont entre autres la planification du développement, la mise en place des structures adéquates, la stimulation des producteurs par une sage politique de paix, le développement des infrastructures routières, sanitaires et scolaires au niveau des zones rurales et enfin la réforme des structures foncières.
Après douze années d'efforts soutenus, nous pouvons tirer aujourd'hui une conclusion on ne peut plus flatteuse dans presque tous les domaines de la production agricole.
La campagne agricole qui s'achève connaîtra un succès encore plus grand que la précédente, démultipliant encore plus les problèmes de commercialisation et de stockage qui se posent. En effet, l'accroissement spectaculaire de la production des céréales a eu pour conséquence la chute des cours au niveau du producteur et surtout notre office de commercialisation des grains (TOGOGRAIN) après avoir rempli des silos et organisé sur une grande échelle le stockage de fortune, n'a pu résoudre le problème que partiellement. Il resterait, selon les statistiques, plus de 100 000 tonnes de céréales de la campagne de l'année dernière entre les mains des producteurs.
En ce qui concerne les productions de tubercules, le succès a été tout aussi éclatant, puisque leur consommation s'est étalée sur toute l'année alors que jusqu'ici elle ne couvrait que huit à dix mois de l'année.
Les autres productions vivrières ne sont pas en reste puisque les statistiques douanières n'en ont en-gistré qu'un chiffre dérisoire dans les importations.
S'agissant des cultures d'exportation, le succès est beaucoup plus mitigé mais certain, car la courbe des moyennes de production est toujours ascendante. Le vaste programme de rénovation de la caféière et de la cacaoyère a porté ses fruits, nous garantissant une production plus sure. Le programme des palmeraies sélectionnées incite d'ores et déjà à l'optimisme quant au résultat.
La production cotonnière, pendant longtemps stationnaire, a marqué le pas l'an dernier au point de nous poser le problème de collecte et d'égrenage du coton-graine.
Ces résultats ont été possibles grâce à la subvention des moyens de production par le Gouvernement pour les rendre accessibles aux paysans. Les engrais sont cédés aux paysans à 15 000 francs la tonne dans tout le territoire national alors qu'ils coûteraient autrement environ 80 000 francs la tonne. (Soit moins du 1/5 de sa valeur). Les pesticides sont distribués gratuitement pour le traitement des cultures d'exportation.
Cette analyse rapide de la situation de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture au Togo, vue sous l'angle des résultats globaux, est plutôt flatteuse mais lorsqu'on se réfère aux conditions qui ont présidé à la réalisation de ces résultats, il convient d'être plus circonspect.
En effet, les caprices climatologiques ne nous mettent jamais à l'abri des surprises; d'une année à l'autre on peut passer de l'abondance à la disette, d'autant plus que les structures de stockage au niveau du paysan sont si précaires qu'il ne peut éviter des pertes. C'est à ce niveau de mon propos que me vient une première réflexion sur le role que notre organisation peut jouer dans la lutte contre la faim dans le monde.
Un grand nombre de nos réunions a été consacré au problème de pertes de récoltes, de structure de stockage mais, jusqu'ici, tout ce qui a été fait n'a rien changé à la situation. A notre humble avis, la solution résiderait dans l'étude d'un moyen de stockage individuel, bien à la portée du petit paysan. Dans le même ordre d'idées il paraît souhaitable, et ceci dans le cadre des activités du PAM, de constituer au niveau d'un certain nombre de pays de grosses capacités de stockage de denrées alimentaires permettant une intervention rapide, en cas de besoin.
J'ajouterai que ces stocks seraient constitués à partir des achats effectués dans les pays voisins ayant des surplus. Il est permis de croire que les problèmes de commercialisation et des cours des produits dans les pays fournisseurs seraient résolus par voie de conséquence.
Les avantages d'une telle organisation sont certes multiples mais le plus notable vise à mettre à la disposition des consommateurs du pays bénéficiaire de l'aide une denrée qui entre dans les habitudes alimentaires des populations.
Vous nous permettrez de revenir une fois de plus sur le problème de la climatologie. Nous avons tous ou presque tous ici enregistré des échecs dans le domaine des industries de transformation des produits agricoles, industries dont la réussite ou l'échec dépendront essentiellement de l'approvisionnement régulier et sûr, en matières premières. Quand la production de cette matière première est liée à la pluviométrie et exclusivement à la pluviométrie, nous pouvons être sûrs du résultat. Il n'est donc pas étonnant que dans leurs efforts d'industrialisation, bon nombre de nos pays s'orientent vers des industries manufacturières dont le fonctionnement régulier est garanti par une source d'approvisionnement non moins garantie en matière première.
Et pourtant, si l'on se réfère aux dires des spécialistes, il tombe sur notre planète et annuellement cinq ou six fois plus d'eau qu'il n'en est nécessaire pour assurer la croissance normale de toutes nos plantes cultivées.
Il y a là un paradoxe que seul le manque d'imagination peut expliquer. Nous ne pouvons pas nier que notre organisation, depuis très longtemps, a eu à se pencher sur le problème de la maîtrise de l'eau. Mais nous devons avouer que les résultats de son entreprise sont restés en deçà de nos espérances. Les réalisations grandioses, sophistiquées et coûteuses ont certes leur nécessité mais leur impact sur le monde paysan reste limité à un groupe marginal d'individus privilégiés. La solution serait de mettre à la disposition du petit paysan l'eau dont il a besoin et quand il en a besoin, pour cultiver son petit carré de terre.
Pour être un partenaire économique valable, l'agriculteur a besoin de s'entourer de toutes les sûretés dont bénéficient ses collègues des autres secteurs économiques. Nous avons foi que, dans les décennies qui viennent, le monde prendra davantage conscience du problème de l'eau.
Les efforts entrepris jusqu'ici sont réels mais modestes par rapport à l'ampleur des nécessités.
A ce niveau, nous voulons risquer une suggestion que nous inspire l'existence du FIDA, nouvel outil dont la communauté mondiale a voulu doter l'agriculture. Ses relations privilégiées avec la FAO nous laissent croire qu'un vaste programme dans le domaine de la maîtrise de l'eau pourrait être aisément réalisé de concert par les deux organisations, l'une étant chargée des études, l'autre intervenant dans le financement. C'est une orientation que nous devrons imprimer à ces deux institutions dans les années à venir.
En insistant sur deux points de nos préoccupations, je ne perds pas de vue l’importance des autres problèmes qui se posent à nous. Il nous sera donné l'occasion, au cours de cette Conférence, d'y apporter notre humble contribution.
Pour terminer, ma délégation voudrait féliciter le Directeur général et ses collaborateurs pour la clarté avec laquelle les documents de travail ont été présentés à cette Conférence, et surtout pour le plan d'action audacieux pour la sécurité alimentaire, porteur d'espoir pour tous ces millions d'hommes, de femmes et d'enfants qui souffrent ou qui meurent de faim ou de malnutrition, alors que l'autre partie de l'humanité meurt d'avoir trop mangé.
A. DAHLGREN (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 the first time in five years, the total grain production of the world in 1979/80, is expected to fall below the consumption thereby causing a reduction of stocks. Although total available stocks will remain at a satisfactory level, the world food situation must be considered as precarious, given inter alia the serious malnutrition in many developing countries, the fast rise in grain imports, at increasing prices, of developing countries and the absence of a coordinated reserve stock system. This shows that we must vigorously continue, both nationally and internationally to work towards solutions to the problem concerning a stable world food security situation.
Against this background my delegation welcomes the proposed FAO five-point plan of action for increased world food security. This action plan would, forcefully implemented, make an important contribution in closing the dangerous gap in world food security left by the suspension of the negotiations for a new grains agreement. In this context, Mr. Chairman, I would like to underline the great importance Sweden attaches to a new grains agreement containing inter alia a system of internationally coordinated reserve stocks. Such an agreement constitutes in our view an absolutely essential element of a durable and effective world food security. Thus, no efforts must be spared to overcome the differences of opinion, how far apart they ever may be, now preventing the resumption of negotiations that would lead to a new and effective agreement. The international undertaking and the action plan, however, would no doubt have very important functions to fulfil even if a new grains agreement is concluded, as they in many ways are complementary.
With regard to the increasing uncertainties during past years concerning the long-run development in world agriculture, many of us have probably been looking forward to the first results of the FAO-project "Agriculture Toward 2000". Many studies of a similar nature have been made, but no clear picture of the likely future development has yet emerged. The unique competence and experience of the FAO-Secretariat in this field, have given us reason to expect that the "Agriculture Toward 2000" study will reduce the uncertainties and facilitate our assessment about the future.
The report indicates that global development up to the turn of the century will not be without its positive features. Thus the report in many respects outlines a less unsatisfactory development than some other recent studies. But there are still several distressing features, the most important of which is the rather gloomy prospects for the poorest developing countries, especially in Africa, but it may be to some extent, the future development for these countries might be improved but, as said in the report, this might involve considerable efforts in terms of increased production, exports, external assistance and improved distribution of income.
The study, however, indicates a conflict concerning the methods, which the developing countries have to choose, to increase their agricultural production and the consequences thereof on the environment, in the broadest sense of this word. The targets set for the food supply in the year 2000 presupposes, to a large extent, the use of the kind of technology based on abundant and cheap energy presently utilized by industrialized countries, i. e. an extended use of fertilizers, pesticides, heavy equipment, which easily could lead to impoverishment of the soil, pollution and erosion. In this context I would like to underline some of the ideas that were presented by the Director-General Saouma in his very thought-provoking statement to the United Nations Symposium in Stockholm this summer on the inter relationships among resources environment, population and development. Since all countries are faced with the energy crisis and the degradation of their environment it appears necessary to define and promote a new agricultural revolution. The techniques of this new agricultural revolution should be adapted to the environment to a great extent based on renewable inputs and resources.
If we are to manage our commitments for securing the global food supplies and at the same time use our limited resources much more carefully than in the past then great efforts are necessary, especially concerning research. If the present global research capacity to a greater extent than has been the case so far were to be directed to this peaceful agricultural revolution then I am convinced that we could shape the future according to these prerequisites.
Mr. President, let me now turn to the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. The Declaration of Principles and Programme of Action represent a challenge to us all. It must not become another set of papers soon to be forgotten on some duty shelf. It must become the guiding principles for further action to enhance rural development and improve the conditions of the millions living in rural areas. New efforts and increased resources need to be devoted to its implementation.
The Swedish government attaches great importance to the further development and implementation of the programme of action. Technical consultations have already started between the FAO and the Swedish International Development Authority, SIDA, on ways to make the action programme operational. The Swedish government also stands ready to contribute financially to its implementation.
Rural development, however, cannot be achieved either by governments themselves or by international organizations. As was said by President Nyerere during the World Conference, rural development is people's development of themselves, their lives and environment.
I am convinced as President Nyerere that at any stage of development people do know what their basic needs are. And just as they will produce their own food if they have land so if they have sufficient freedom they can be relied upon to determine their own priorities of development and then to work for them.
Mr. President, I also would like to comment briefly on the Programme of Work and Budget for the next biennium. We can support the programme of work and the budget level. We appreciate that increased attention and increased resources have been given rural development. We also note with satisfaction that efforts will be made to accelerate the integration of women in economic and social life. Again I would like to stress that women's role as agricultural producer be given due attention. During the last FAO conference I advocated increased resources for forestry activities. This year I am pleased to note that forestry activities have been given increased resources. During the World Congress in Jacarta 1978 the main theme was "Forestry for People". The discussions were particularly directed to finding ways to develop forestry activities which would contribute to sound rural development and to meeting the needs of the rural poor, not least their energy needs.
In the forestry sector Sweden and the FAO cooperate in a programme called "Forestry for Local Community".
The tropical forests, the world's richest ecosystem, are diminishing at an alarming rate. They are vital to human existence in the tropics. Governments and international organization, not least FAO, should actively participate in the efforts of UNEP to develop proposals for an integrated programme of activities for conservation and wise utilization of tropical forests.
At the last Conference I also recommended that increased resources be allocated to the promotion of fisheries. I am now pleased to note that the promotion of fisheries has emerged as one of the most important themes to be discussed during this Conference. The extended economic zones have given many countries, both developing and developed, new potential resources for utilization for the benefit of their populations. But problems have also emerged from these EEZ's. Many want to share in the fishery resources and present fishing arrangements between developed and developing countries do not always give the benefits to the developing countries. For these and other reasons we find it important that the FAO is able to give strong support and assistance to developing countries to develop and manage their new resources. Sweden supports, in cooperation with the FAO, a major programme for the development of artisanal small-scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal.
As I said earlier the Swedish government is of the opinion that the environmental aspects ought to be given a much greater role than in the past. This was also stressed during the Stockholm symposium I just referred to. For a global utilization of resources it is necessary to intensify the international cooperation and develop a system to manage these resources, a system that must above all provide for the developing countries to acquire an equitable share in the world use of natural resources. The Stockholm symposium recommended an international policy which could, inter alia, accord special treatment to the developed needs in the distribution of supplies. The Swedish government is convinced that the FAO could play an important role in the formulation of such an international policy.
We live in a time when important development questions are discussed in various fora, in the North-South dialogue, in the UN Committee of the Whole, in the committee for a new development strategy for the third Development Decade. The questions encompass many fields but one of the most important questions in all these deliberations concerns the role of agriculture and our possibilities to supply the world population with adequate food. If we also want to utilize the agricultural land production to produce energy, then we need to increase the agricultural production even further in order to meet the target set for the future food supply, enabling people to be free from hunger and malnutrition.
I am concinced that our organization stands ready to undertake the many and different tasks that we give to it and I am convinced that it will fulfill its duties in a rewarding and meritorious manner.
H. Y. ALNISF (Kuwait) (interpretation from Arabic): I wish to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman on your election to the Chair and I wish you every success in the guidance of our work. We have full confidence in your extremely capable leadership. I also congratulate the Chairman of the Commissions and wish them success in their work.
I am sure that all members of delegations will offer their full cooperation to your guidance. I should also like to offer our congratulations to the Director-General for all the efforts he has made on our behalf. We support the declaration made by the Director-General with respect to the policies of FAO and the provided budget increase. We thank the technical and administrative bodies of FAO for all their efforts which they have made over the past few years.
The last two years have been years of progress, both nationally and internationally, in agriculture and in food. All countries are making visible efforts to increase food production and to find proper solutions to their individual development problems. We also observe with optimism that the attention brought to bear upon food production and agriculture is not limited to those countries of high potential national resources but also applies to the countries which are located in the dry areas of the world. Following the distribution of the most recent agricultural developments and recent technological advances, the activities of FAO have certainly had extremely beneficial effects upon such areas of the world.
While I appreciate what the FAO has done and the excellent efforts which it has made in the areas of agriculture, without referring to figures individually, we still note that food production does not satisfy the world's requirements and does not tie to the world's increase in population. The world population requires fast increases in food reserves, whereas there is a serious shortfall in milk products, meat and many other food products. The average consumer in the importing countries for these products no longer considers that increased food prices which he has to pay are in any way dependent upon falls in production, but are due to the manipulations of the rich producing countries; in my country at least, this is a definite reality. This reality should be examined by this Conference because if this state of affairs is accepted for other products, it is absolutely unacceptable in the context of the satisfaction of the basic requirements of mankind.
In order to throw fog over this reality we note that in the producer countries there is a feeling
among the consumers of those countries which is similar to what we observe in ours: that the rise in food prices is a consequence of driving up the prices of oil by the oil producing countries. I shall not bother to refute such arguments since they have already been well refuted in other international fora. However, it is obvious to all that the price of crude oil is very modest as compared with the other major inputs of all developed societies. Furthermore income from the oil producing countries has in itself constituted a great stimulus to raising agricultural production in our own countries, as indeed it has opened up credit lines to many other countries, which has been to their very great benefit, all of which makes a considerable contribution to solving the world's agricultural problems. Certainly it does behove us to point to the disastrous behaviour of certain oil companies which double, or even triple the price of many oil products. They are often guilty of themselves disseminating false information so as to cover up their nefarious activities. I am sure these oil companies are conscious of the reality and now we know that most countries are doing all they can to control the worst aspects of the major oil companies, particularly those which have a monopoly position with respect to oil products, to the detriment of the consumer. We know there has been a determination to act against these companies to bring this state of affairs to an end. Oil income has contributed to setting up great agricultural projects in the developing countries. In my own country, where quite obviously nature does not benefit agricultural production, thanks to our oil income we have been able to compensate for the deficiencies of nature by taking certain steps, like setting up financing institutions to provide proper funding and soft loans to our own farmers and to farmers in developing countries. There is, for example, the Kuwaitian Fund for the Development of Arab Countries, which has a large capital base now, total loans come to two and a half billion dollars for October 1979. Furthermore, our participation in the OPEC fund is now one and a half billion dollars and through this fund we have supplied assistance to a lot of developing countries.
We are also a major contributor to the IFAD funds, to the Islamic Development Bank, to the Arab Development Bank in Africa and to the Arab Development Fund, and to many other international institutions.
The quantity of assistance supplied by the OPEC countries to the developing countries from 1975 to 1978 was eighteen and a half billion dollars. The portion of the Arab countries from OPEC came to more than fifteen billion of that total, that is the OPEC countries. The Arab OPEC countries have in fact been major suppliers of funding to the developing world during the aforementioned period.
The quantity of assistance in fact comes to ten percent of their GNP and I refer to statistics supplied by The World Bank and other international institutions. The OECD countries have supplied assistance which is not more than the 24 percent GNP in comparison with the amount we are supplying. I am not saying this is criticism to anyone, nor to point to any irresponsibility. Nevertheless, it is as well to have these facts in mind as we review the world agricultural situation which lies at the very centre of our discussion. We must avoid a deterioriation of the present situation which is already bad enough, unless we wish to find ourselves in an utterly serious position in the future. The unfortunate effects proliferate throughout the world, apart from those developed countries which are self sufficient in agricultural production.
We also know that today we must assume our full responsibilities, we must make efforts to develop our funding resources and our individual potential so as to see that food supplies for the world are appropriate to the world population. Our objective is to supply food to the whole of our population in the proper quantities and in the right quality, in spite of the great limit that nature has imposed upon us. We are now engaged in a number of projects. We are developing our fisheries. We are increasing our cattle breeding resources. We are protecting agriculture in order to achieve progress and in order to lay down the proper basis for future increments. In these programmes we are cooperating with the other Gulf countries and with the FAO.
We have participated in the conference of agricultural ministers from Arab countries, that was the Gulf countries and the Arabian Peninsula. The results of which have been given due form now in cooperation projects. We are drawing up an itinerary of fishery resources in an attempt to improve fishery techniques based upon a due appreciation of the stocks which are available to us. We are also increasing cereal production, including the construction of silo storage facilities; increasing poultry production.
We are conscious of the role which is ours in the context of our general commitment to ensure food securities in our own area, in our own region and indeed, by this contribution to the world, it is by such cooperation we can fulfill the long-term requirements which must face up to the massive increase in world population. No matter what the factors of the immediate environment, each country must participate in the world effort. In spite of the limits imposed upon us by nature we are not sparing in our efforts.
However, countries with limited resources can only make a small contribution. It therefore follows logically that the greatest blow must fall upon the shoulders of those countries which have the major resources in fertile lands, and those which have the greatest agricultural potential, those countries which are self-sufficient in food supply and which have a surplus. This is particularly true for milk products, meat and food grains. The major load must certainly be borne by those countries which have the most modern agricultural techniques. I think it is only legitimate for the rest of the world to ask of these countries to assume the full burden which is theirs historically, in order to make such a contribution to world food security.
Those countries which have increased potential certainly must also be brought into the struggle. In our country clearly we think about the ways in which Arab lands may be brought under production. There are vast areas of Africa which could be properly used and which only require the necessary inputs to be used. I am sure this Conference will give full importance to these questions and will seek out the use of new resources other than the other resources which are conventionally exploited to date.
I hope all delegations will join me in my appeal to those countries which are technically advanced in their agriculture to help us merely to stand at the beginning of this long and arduous pathway.
I hope these remarks will be taken into due consideration by members of the commissions and the members of the delegations and by the administration of FAO, to whom I express my deep appreciation for activities undertaken recently and for what the FAO has done for us and for all other countries. I hope the results of this Conference will be positive.
The Near East regional bureau finds itself unable to fulfill its full role. We think that the regional bureau will not be able to do everything it can in its present headquarters as they are so located. Certainly I ask you, and I ask all members of this delegation to support our proposal to transfer the regional bureau to another country in the region. I ask the Director-General to take all the necessary steps to see that it is done. I am sure these comments will be taken into consideration by the Director-General and the relevant bodies of the FAO to whom I express our deep gratitude and appreciation for activities which have been undertaken over the last biennium. I hope the Conference will adopt the necessary resolutions to solve our problem and to spare no efforts to push forward these activities. More than ever today we require to be tenacious in our efforts, to be of great persistence, to solve the problems we have identified, many of which are long-term problems but unless we solve them we cannot ensure the welfare and happiness of humanity which is our common goal.
M. DAWOOD (Egypt) (interpretation from Arabic): It gives me pleasure at the outset to express to you my heartfelt congratulations on your election as Chairman of the present,Conference of FAO and I am confident that under your able Chairmanship the deliberations of this Conference will lead us to achieve the goals of this important meeting.
It also gives me great pleasure as Minister of Agriculture for Egypt and Head of this Delegation to greet Mr. Eduoard Saouma, the Director-General of FAO and to take this opportunity to express our deepest appreciation for his outstanding efforts to promote the objectives of this organization and its wellbeing. I would also like to express our admiration of the method which the Director-General applies in running the Organization, giving a wonderful example of international management by using effectively both the human and financial resources that are available to the Organization.
We would also like to express our approval of the Programme of Work and Budget for 1980/81 as presented to the Conference. It is an honour for the Egyptian people, who have practiced agriculture for over 5 000 years to participate with the international community in this Conference which is concerned with the study of the food and agricultural situation in this crucial state of the history of the world. It is also a pleasure for the Egyptian people to send their representatives to this international conference and while they do not spare any effort for creating a favourable atmosphere for the peoples of the region which would guarantee for agriculture its progress, and for the nations of the region, their prosperity.
On certain occasions in Egypt's modern history agriculture suffered a decline but only ten years ago we corrected the path of agriculture and agricultural development. Farm ownership is now settled in our country and the small farmers have become the main objective of development and they have now the right to determine their own future and progress. The state is now lifting gradually all restrictions that limit their activities. Egypt is now working on agricultural development along the lines of the international Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development which was held earlier this year. Agricultural research resumed its activities and positive participation in developing high
yielding crop varieties, fertilizer needs, animal production and health, modification of techniques and so on. The agricultural worker is again using his ability and sharing the regional economy. There was a period when agriculture did not receive adequate attention, though it contributed more than thirty percent of the Nation's income and its workforce represented more than fifty-five percent of the population.
However, out of our belief in the right of the individual and the community to pursue methods that ensure progress and prosperity, expansion of new lands and increasing farming production in the old land became the landmark of our new economic policy. Although for some years now we have had successful farming seasons-according to the statistics of the FAO we have had the highest yields of some crops in the world-we look forward to the future with an ambitious plan in three directions.
The first direction is agricultural intensification and increasing agricultural inputs. You are well aware that Egypt has 6 million acres, giving a crop acreage of 11. 9 million feddans, meaning that intensification is about 200 percent. We hope to increase this percentage together with inputs and efficiency.
Egypt is nearing self-sufficiency in the production of fertilizers, although we have increased fertilizer levels to 190 percent during the past four years, and we thank the FAO for its valuable assistance in supplying us with quantities of fertilizers during the period we needed them.
We today look forward to the assistance of the FAO and its experts in another important field, namely, trace elements, which are lacking in Egyptian lands and which represent an impediment to agricultural production. We hope that the FAO will undertake this study, and we hope that it will offer financial help in this field.
Egypt at the same time is also working in the direction of producing high yielding crop seeds, and with the efforts of 4. 000 agricultural research workers we have achieved high yields and quality for the Egyptian long staple cotton varieties.
We also have certain high yield crops of Egyptian wheat that compare with some Mexican varieties, and we are also providing sister nations with other varieties. Despite this, we feel certain crops did not receive proper care and efficiency, such as lentils and onions, and we look forward to international cooperation to increase the cultivated area.
We also look forward to soil improvement especially under the conditions of the High Dam.
We also look forward to training extension and efforts in all other fields that would help the interests of the small farmers.
The second direction is to open new horizons to farm producers, especially oil seeds, and fishing industries. We thank the Secretariat of this Conference for including on the Agenda the fisheries activities and promotion as one of its main objectives. The water and fishery resources in the lakes and seas represent a major source of protein for all the Arab region. The Organization is undertaking a study of development of fisheries in the Red Sea through a project that would serve all countries bordering on this sea. Let us strengthen this project. It is one of the hopes in my country and in our region.
The third direction in which the FAO can assist us in our new agricultural policy is in increasing arable land through land reclamation, improvement and modification of irrigation methods and the production of high yielding and cash crops that would be exported all over the world for increasing cereal markets. We are in fact proud of our achievements in agricultural development in our region.
When the bells of peace announced the end of the Second World War and the United Nations Charter was ratified, and the socio-economic and political charts of the world were drawn, Egypt was the first country to respond to the appeal of the Organization, thus establishing the FAO Regional Office in the Near East. Since then we are doing our utmost to help ourselves and the others to achieve food security and to implement an agro-economic policy to meet the needs of the farmers, producers and consumers. If there are some difficulties that may confront us in this important development direction, we are confident of the ability of the Member Nations of this Organization to overcome them by sincere intentions towards eliminating them.
Honourable delegates, Napoleon once said: "You must know how to give before you can take''. Egypt has given all it has to the world and to the Arab region. I ask you, distinguished delegates and Mr. Director-General, to stand firm against any move or violation of the principles of the United Nations, such principles which preserve and promote peace and prosperity.
Β. MAHAMANE (Niger): La delegation nigérienne est heureuse de prendre la parole à l'occasion de la 20ème session de la Conférence générale de notre Organisation.
Qu'il me soit permis tout d'abord d'exprimer nos remerciements au Gouvernement et au peuple italien pour l'accueil extrêmement cordial que nous avons reçu. Nos remerciements vont aussi aux organisateurs de la conférence pour l'immense travail qu'ils ont réalisé afin de faciliter le déroulement de nos travaux.
Notre présence ici témoigne, si besoin en est, de l'intérêt tout particulier que nous accordons à la redynamisation de notre Organisation, mais aussi et surtout à porter notre modeste contribution aux débats que nous aurons à mener, au cours de cette session.
Notre Organisation, dans le préambule de son acte constitutif, s'est fixé comme principal objectif de libérer l'humanité de la faim et de la malnutrition. La situation mondiale sur le plan de la sécurité alimentaire est si fragile qu'il serait incomplet de faire un discours sans s'y référer.
La faim et la malnutrition demeurent des problèmes mondiaux qui ne peuvent être résolus que par une approche globale, dynamique, concertée et soutenue.
Notre monde actuel est malheureusement caractérisé par un égoïsme, où seul le langage d'intérêt prédomine les relations entre personnes, entre Etats et nations.
Aussi l'humanité se trouve-t-elle confrontée au noble défi qu'elle n'arrive malheureusement pas à lever. En fait, le fond du problème qui se pose à nous, s'agissant de la sécurité alimentaire, se présente sous deux aspects:
- comment nourrir les déshérités,
- comment accroître la productivité et atteindre l'autosuffisance. La situation actuelle des pays en voie de développement n'est guère brillante, malgré tous les efforts consentis de part et d'autre.
En effet, en 1978, la production alimentaire mondiale, spécialement pour les céréales, s'était révélée assez abondante, surtout pour les pays développés,et fortement insuffisante pour la grande majorité des pays en développement. Pour l'année 1979, les prévisions de production mondiale au niveau des pays développés sont moins bonnes. En conséquence, les gros importateurs, en l'occurrence les pays en voie de développement, augmenteront leurs importations. Ces importations ne feront que grever nos balances de paiements réduisant par là même nos capacités d'autofinancements.
Par ailleurs, les prix des céréales sont en hausse constante par suite de l'inflation, de la diminution des stocks et de l'augmentation des prix de transport. Ce transport constitue un des principaux goulots d'étranglement car les possibilités sont limitées et les stocks concentrés dans quelques régions ou pays.
Cette situation est surtout tragiquement ressentie par les pays enclavés dont le mien.
Les pays les plus pauvres voient leur position se dégrader presque annuellement. En 1977, ils ont enregistré un déficit de 8 pour cent par rapport aux besoins alors que les autres pays ont globalement un excédent de 5 pour cent. En Afrique, la production alimentaire par habitant a baissé de 1,2 pour cent par an durant la période 1970-1978.
Par ailleurs, les stocks céréaliers de report ont augmenté dans le monde, pour la quatrième année consécutive, atteignant environ 192 millions de tonnes à la fin de la campagne 1978/79, dépassant ainsi de 14 millions de tonnes (soit 8 pour cent) ceux de l'année précédente. Malgré cette amélioration, ces stocks ne représentent que 20 pour cent de la consommation des pays considérés.
L'accroissement prévu de 2 pour cent par an de la population mondiale d'une part, et l'amélioration des régimes alimentaires d'autre part, vont engendrer une demande des produits alimentaires en accroissement de 2,3 pour cent par an, soit une augmentation des besoins d'environ 75 pour cent entre 1975 et l'an 2000.
Entre 1980 et 1990, la demande des produits alimentaires pour les pays en voie de développement connaîtra une augmentation de 3,8 pour cent.
Le fossé entre développés et sous-développés ne fait donc que se creuser davantage. Il faut par conséquent réduire l'écart des revenus entre pays pauvres et pays riches, accroître la superficie des terres cultivées et augmenter la production d'engrais, de semences améliorées et de pesticides.
Ces questions nous préoccupent au plus haut niveau du fait que nous avons le triste privilège d'appartenir aux 25 pays les plus pauvres. D'autre part, vous n'ignorez pas que mon pays a supporté et supporte encore les conséquences de la tragique sécheresse qui a frappé l'ensemble des pays sahéliens.
Cette douloureuse réalité que nous vivons ne pourra que s'amplifier tant qu'une solution radicale n'est pas trouvée. En nous référant à la solution préconisée par la Conférence mondiale pour l'alimentation tenue ici même en 1974 et les conclusions du Conseil mondial de l'alimentation à sa cinquième session, tenue à Ottawa du 4 au 7 septembre 1979, force nous est de constater que beaucoup reste à faire dans le cadre de la solidarité internationale. Loin de nous l'intention de minimiser tous les efforts qui ont été entrepris sur le plan mondial, à savoir:
1) le changement d'esprit des principales institutions de financement, en particulier la Banque mondiale, qui orientent leurs interventions dans le secteur agricole,
2) la création du FIDA,
3) la récente Conférence mondiale sur la réforme agraire et le développement rural qui s'est tenue en juillet dernier ici même.
Le sens de la solidarité humaine est peut-être plus développé qu'il ne l'a jamais été au cours de l'histoire. Le droit de manger à sa faim est désormais accepté et proclamé par toutes les assemblées y compris celles des institutions de financement.
L'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture, creuset de cette solidarité humaine, a élargi le champ de ses activités par le financement de certaines activités de terrain sur son budget ordinaire, système qui a été récemment réadopté avec l'établissement de son programme de coopération technique (PCT).
La mise en route du PCT a marqué le renouvellement d'une dimension fondamentale donnée à la FAO par son acte constitutif, à savoir la possibilité de puiser dans ses propres ressources financières pour venir en aide aux pays membres. Le PCT vise donc à donner à la FAO la possibilité de répondre avec promptitude et souplesse aux demandes d'aide d'urgence des gouvernements membres, lorsqu'il s'agit d'opérations limitées mais cruciales.
Dès 1960, la FAO a lancé la Campagne mondiale contre la faim. En 1964, elle a mis en route un programme de coopération avec la Banque mondiale dans le but de stimuler l'investissement dans l'agriculture des pays en voie de développement. Par la suite, des accords similaires ont été conclus avec des banques de développement régionales.
La Conférence mondiale de l'alimentation réunie à Rome en 1974 a adopté une Déclaration universelle sur l'élimination définitive de la faim et de la malnutrition qui proclame que "chaque homme, femme et enfant a le droit inaliénable d'être libéré de la faim et de la malnutrition…En conséquence, l'élimination définitive de la faim est un objectif commun à tous les pays de la collectivité internationale, notamment des pays développés et des autres Etats en mesure de fournir une aide".
La Banque mondiale, quant à elle, par l'intermédiaire de l'Association internationale de développement (IDA) et ses autres interventions spécialisées, ne cesse d'apporter son concours dans le cadre de financement de multiples projets agricoles en général.
Tous ces efforts déployés par la Communauté internationale dans son ensemble, et en particulier le travail accompli par la FAO et les autres institutions spécialisées du système des Nations Unies, nous permet d'aborder avec beaucoup plus d'optimisme les perspectives à l'an 2000.
Le document "Agriculture horizon 2000: Perspectives de développement de la production alimentaire" dans ses grandes lignes rejoint le cadre de notre politique de développement rural définie dans notre programme triennal 1976-78 et qui se poursuivra dans le cadre du plan quinquennal 79-83. Les recommandations de la FAO, nous les soutenons, car faisant partie de nos options en matière de développement, notamment pour:
- les choix des stratégies,
- les principaux facteurs d'accroissement des productions,
- les investissements et la recherche en vue de la production végétale,
- l'organisation coopérative et la commercialisation.
La sécurité alimentaire n'a pas de prix. Les efforts devront donc porter surtout sur le développement de la riziculture et des systèmes d'irrigation, l'utilisation accrue des engrais, des semences, des pesticides, et la réduction des pertes avant et après récolte.
La recherche agronomique doit être renforcée grâce à une meilleure coopération internationale et les résultats doivent être bien vulgarisés.
Il faut également développer les coopératives, la formation, le crédit agricole, l'information en milieu rural, améliorer la nutrition et concrétiser les conclusions sur la réforme agraire et le développement rural.
Il est indispensable d'instituer un système fonctionnel d'alerte alimentaire et mettre en application le plan d'action pour la sécurité alimentaire mondiale.
Les investissements dans le monde rural doivent augmenter. Aussi, la Banque mondiale doit accroître ses engagements de 50 pour cent pour l'exercice 1979-83 en les portant à 16 milliards de dollars E.-U. , et les trois banques régionales de développement doivent porter leurs prêts à 1,2 milliard de dollars E.-U. par an.
Cependant, même avec l'intervention du FIDA, l'objectif annuel de 8,3 milliards de dollars US d'aide extérieure représentant le tiers des investissements nécessaires à l'agriculture des pays en voie de développement est loin d'être atteint.
Pour les nations les plus pauvres de ce monde, l'autosuffisance alimentaire doit être un but essentiel, et tous les moyens visant au développement rural doivent être utilisés.
L'agriculture des pays en développement nécessite un investissement annuel d'environ 24 milliards de dollars E.-U. Cette somme, qui à priori peut paraître colossale, n'est en fait que le réel objectif fixé par la communauté internationale, depuis la Conférence mondiale sur l'alimentation en 1974.
Si l'autosuffisance alimentaire est une urgente nécessité pour les pays en développement, elle doit l'être aussi pour les pays développés. Sans autosuffisance alimentaire de pays en voie de développement il n'y aura pas d'expansion économique pour tout le monde. Certes, la question relative à la sécurité alimentaire ne date pas d'aujourd'hui; force nous est de constater qu'elle se présente de nos jours avec une telle acuité qu'une solution urgente même coûteuse s'impose, car, pour nous tous, développés et sous-développés, la priorité des priorités doit être cette autosuffisance alimentaire. Nous écarter de cette voie revient à nous condamner mutuellement.
La solidarité humaine ne veut en aucun cas signifier que nous devons croiser les bras et attendre que tout nous tombe du ciel. Il faut par conséquent juger à leur juste valeur tous les efforts très importants qui ont été réalisés dans la plupart de nos pays en voie de développement.
Mon pays, le Niger, est solidaire avec tous les pays en voie de développement en général et avec les pays sahéliens en particulier. Après ces considérations générales, permettez-moi de vous préciser la situation actuelle dans mon pays.
Les années difficiles que nous a infligées la dernière sécheresse, difficultés dont les séquelles ne sont pas encore effacées, nous ont amenés à redéfinir notre politique de développement rural. C'est ainsi que, au Niger, les objectifs prioritaires en ce qui concerne le développement rural sont l'autosuffisance alimentaire du pays et l'élévation du niveau de vie du monde rural. Cette politique, fondée sur une vision à long terme s'appuie sur trois volets principaux:
- la production végétale
- la production animale et
- la lutte contre la désertification.
Par ailleurs, conscients du fait qu'aucune politique de développement rural ne peut réussir sans la participation effective des masses rurales (composante principale), nous avons opté pour le développement du système coopératif dans les zones rurales.
Au cours de la période 1974/79, il a été investi environ 60 milliards de francs CFA, soit sensiblement le tiers des investissements réalisés dans le pays. Cette action sera renforcée pour les cinq prochaines années à venir.
Pour assurer l'autosuffisance alimentaire, indépendamment des aléas climatiques, le Conseil militaire suprême et le Gouvernement nigériens ont choisi la voie des réalisations des travaux hydrauliques afin de garantir l'alimentation de notre peuple. D'ici 1980, nous programmons la réalisation de plus de 8 000 ha dans la vallée du fleuve, 5 000 ha dans la maggia, et enfin 500 ha dans la Komadougou. Cependant, la superficie déjà aménagée ne représente que 5 440 ha. Nous fondons l'espoir de voir ces superficies s'accroître avec l'avènement de l'important projet de barrage de Kandaji sur le fleuve Niger.
En attendant le démarrage de vastes programmes d'aménagement hydro-agricoles, force nous est d'accorder une importance capitale au changement du système de production en zone dunaire (cultures pluviales). Ce changement, nous entendons le concrétiser grâce à nos projets régionaux de productivité dont les objectifs principaux sont:
- l'intensification des cultures vivrières
- la fourniture de moyens de production (intrants et crédit agricole)
- la régénération et le maintien de la fertilité des sols
- la protection des cultures
- l'encouragement de l'association agriculture-élevage, et
- le renforcement des structures paysannes et d'auto-encadrement.
La presse internationale s'est largement fait l'écho d'une déclaration de notre Chef d'Etat en octobre dernier. En effet, pour la présente campagne agricole 1979/80, le Niger a atteint un certain équilibre pour ses besoins en céréales, mil et sorgho, qui représente 80 pour cent de nos besoins nutritionnels. Cette situation ne veut en aucun cas signifier que le Niger ne procédera pas à des importations de riz et de blé.
Oui, cette année encore le Niger aura besoin d'aide alimentaire s'agissant du riz. En effet, notre production de riz ne permet pas de couvrir nos besoins. Nous aurons besoin de 15 000 tonnes de riz pour couvrir nos besoins au cours de la campagne 1979/80. Le Niger aura besoin aussi d'une assistance pour l'aider à reconstituer ses stocks du niveau coopératif à l'ensemble national. L'équilibre actuel sur le plan de nos besoins en mil et sorgho est conjoncturel car il ne faut jamais perdre de vue que nous sommes au coeur du Sahel. C'est pourquoi nous demandons à la communauté internationale de nous assister afin de reconstituer nos stocks.
Cette vingtième session de la Conférence ne peut se permettre une simple reformulation de conclusions passées, mais être l'occasion d'exprimer la solidarité de tous les peuples du monde ici réunis, et de définir le ferme engagement de part et d'autre, afin de mettre en oeuvre les véritables solutions susceptibles de résoudre de façon durable ce problème essentiel du développement rural et de la sécurité alimentaire. Ceci va dans le sens de la Déclaration universelle sur l'élimination définitive de la faim et de la malnutrition adoptée par la Conférence mondiale de l'alimentation, réunie ici même en 1974.
L'alimentation de nos populations sera un leurre, tant que nous n'arriverons pas à vaincre l'égoïsme des nantis d'une part, et d'autre part tant que nous n'aurons pas une réelle volonté de compter d'abord sur nos propres forces.
Le développement rural en général et la garantie d'une sécurité alimentaire en particulier seront inévitablement des entreprises très coûteuses sur le plan politique et économique. Avons-nous le droit de regarder cet aspect coût quand il s'agit de garantir l'alimentation de base à tout homme qui vit sur notre planète ? Avons-nous aussi le droit de penser au coût de ces nobles entreprises quand l'objectif c'est d'éloigner le spectre de la faim et de la malnutrition de toutes nos sociétés ?
Pour coûteuse qu'elle soit, la voie du développement rural en général et de la garantie d'une sécurité alimentaire mondiale est la plus juste, la plus sécurisante pour tous les pays développés et sous-développés.
Le Niger nouveau a choisi cette voie, conscient des multiples sacrifices qu'il faut consentir.
M. ALON (Israel): Mr. Chairman, on behalf of my delegation, please accept our congratulations on your election as chairman of this conference and I am sure that under your wise guidance the deliberations of this conference will reach successful results. I would like also to extend a warm welcome to the two new members of our organization: Western Samoa and the Commonwealth of Dominica.
We meet these days in Rome to review the world food and agricultural situation, to assess the activities of our organization during the last biennium and those proposed for the next biennium.
I would like to express here our gratitude and appreciation to the Director-General and the Secretariat for their unending and most commendable efforts to carry on the activities of FAO, improve the lot of the hungry of this world and lastly for the preparation of this conference including the most detailed and comprehensive set of documents submitted to us.
Regretfully at the outset, Mr. Chairman, with your permission I wish to make a preliminary remark. Some delegate found it appropriate to raise from this rostrum some remarks affecting the Middle East, singling out my country. We feel, as most of those present here must feel, that we have gathered in this conference from all corners of the world to concentrate on plans that hopefully will alleviate the critical problems of a famine-stricken world and widespread rural poverty. I can assure you Mr. Chairman that we will not lend support to such an attempt to divert attention from the main task in hand, because we earnestly strive for a successful outcome of this Conference. May I suggest that such political matters be discussed in the relevant fora or bodies and not here. I would like to reiterate, though it is well known, that my Government and people are more than ready and willing to cooperate with member states of our region, as we do already in many parts of the world, in order to meet the aspirations of a better and happier morrow by accelerating food production and rural development in the spirit of the Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.
Allow me to highlight some achievements of our agriculture. During the last 25 years Israel's agricultural production increased almost twelve-fold in real terms. Today one employee in agriculture produces a food basket at a relatively high nutritional level for 50 people. This is the result of agriculture on 420 thousand hectares of arable lands of which 180 thousand hectares are under irrigation. Although the agricultural sector today constitutes only about 6% of the National Income and 5% of total investments, yet the agricultural sector provides 95% of local demand for food and fibre products since agricultural exports pay for the total import bill for food and inputs required by the sector.
Israel is currently exporting about 40% of its agricultural production and hopes to raise this share to 50% by the mid-eighties.
Undoubtedly this progress and situation is due to the supporting system and the cooperative structure of the sector. At present the annual growth rate of the sector is 6-7% in spite of the fact that the cultivated area and the water available for agriculture has not been increased for the last fifteen years.
Mr. Chairman, we have no intention of burdening you with a lengthy and quantitative description of Israel's agricultural developments. A fuller description is submitted with your permission for the records.
With reference to the main subject of this Conference, which is Agriculture in the year 2000. I would like to mention that technology, planning, extension and research have made it possible to increase the amount of irrigable lands in the Negev desert of our country from 44 thousand hectares in 1950 to 120 000 hectares today. This, today, indicates the possibility of developing for the future 10 thousand additional farm units based on very intensive controlled agriculture.
In a nutshell, there is a great future in Arid Zone development provided that concerted efforts are made to introduce new approaches and technologies that can widen the economic frontiers of many countries. We visualize that in the year 2000 agricultural concepts and practices that were thought either too impracticable or too expensive will become commonly applicable such as: the use of saline water for agricultural production; the application of drip irrigation; the introduction of desert plants for industrial uses; the application of solar energy for agricultural needs; fish farming in saline waters; the development and use of early maturing crop varieties and the speedling system for multicropping practices; the development of drought-resistant crop varieties.
These and many other technologies will revolutionize agriculture in the year 2000.
Mr. Chairman,Israel has not forgotten that it is itself indebted to FAO for assistance received during the first years of its independence and it is proud today to be able to share its experience and contribute, in a modest way, with the agricultural development of other developing countries.
We welcome FAO's work in grain storage, and crop-loss prevention. In this respect we wish to express our desire for-and support of-the establishment of an international crop--loss insurance scheme to assist developing countries in promoting national crop-loss insurance programs. This position was expressed by me at the UNCTAD meeting in Nairobi and by the Israeli delegation at the UNCTAD meeting in Manila.
In the field of regional and international cooperation, Israel can contribute towards an improvement of food production, including inexpensive items of basic commodities; for instance, production of fish as an inexpensive substitute for meat. Our experience in aquaculture can focus on the following areas: improving fishing methods including polycultural, and use of modern equipment; organization of the branch (production, marketing and storage); training for manpower in the fishing branch; regional and international research on fishing. One word on technical cooperation. Israel's technical cooperation programs abroad started 20 years ago. These cooperation programs were motivated by the concept that by international cooperation Israel could make her modest contribution to the rural agricultural and socio-economic development of the Third World countries. Our experience shows that the principles of rural development, based on adequate supporting systems and rural services organization, meet in many cases the requirements of agrarian development programs.
Another major field where Israel can contribute her hard-earned experience is in arid zone research and development. Israel is willing to share her experience and efforts in developing technologies in the use of solar energy for agricultural purposes, reforestation of selected desertified areas, water resource development, irrigation practices and the exploitation of saline water.
I wish to refer briefly to the excellent work achieved by the European Research Networks and express once more our willingness to assist this scheme in order to enable it to transfer the research results to the developing countries.
By the year 2000 we would like to see the farmers equipped with a strong supporting system, involving applied research, extension services, marketing outlets, institutional framework, credit systems and planning methods, and hope that the Israel contribution will make its impact.
In conclusion, may I say that with the signing of Israel's first peace treaty in the region, my Government is prepared to enter into bilateral, trilateral and multilateral technical agricultural cooperation for the benefit of the farming communities in our region, as well as any other subregion interested-to the limit of our abilities.
J. L. B. DAFFEH (Gambia): Mr. President, distinguished delegates: Allow me to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of this august assembly and to thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this important Conference which has on its agenda matters of tremendous importance and concern to the entire World Community. For the duration of this conference and indeed for a long time after it the attention of all, interested in the welfare of man, will be focused on our deliberations and the solutions we propose to the serious problems of hunger and malnutrition affecting a large proportion of the world population. I have no doubt that this conference will live up to the expectations of the World Community and make a significant contribution to the fight against world hunger.
In Gambia, we continue to give priority to agricultural development and to support programmes aimed at increasing food production -- yet the situation as regards agricultural production remains precarious and uncertain. Continuous exposure to drought conditions over the past decade has shaken confidence in the rain fed agricultural sector and negated the tremendous efforts made, at considerable cost, to increase production and enhance our food self-sufficiency ratio. We continue to depend on rainfall for agricultural production.
When we last met here in 1977 most of the countries of the Sahel were affected by a serious drought and agricultural production declined considerably. The situation improved in 1978 when normal rainfall was received in most of our region; the unseasonal rains we received in November last year and January this year did considerable damage to both cash and food crops; too much rain is as much an adverse weather condition affecting production as too little rain. The situation in which we rely entirely on nature to provide the right amount of rain at the right time is precarious to say the least and makes for uncertainty in the realisation of our production targets.
Total precipitation of less than half the normal rainfall for September and October this year has created another crisis situation in The Gambia. Inadequate rainfall at a time when the water requirement of the crops for reproduction was great has resulted in light and shrivelled nuts with inadequately developed kernels for the groundnut crop and improperly developed or empty panicles for the sorghum and rice crops; the yields are likely to be low and the decrease in production considerable. The Gambia will need the assistance of the international Community in this difficult situation.
The long-term solution to the problem of drought is to tap our surface and groundwater resources. While we lament the lack of rain and its repercussions on agricultural production we lose through river flows each year billions of cubic metres of fresh water which can be used for crop production. In the framework of an integrated approach to the development of The Gambia River Basin. The Governments of Senegal and The Gambia are fully committed to the construction of an antisalt barrage on the River Gambia which will arrest salt water intrusion upstream of the barrage and create a reservoir of fresh water for the irrigation of thousands of hectares of fertile land. Without the antisalt barrage, the prospects of increasing food production to the level of self-sufficiency are very bleak indeed.
The effort to increase food crop production is one facet of a larger national endeavour to develop and exploit our natural resources. The development of our fisheries resources is being actively pursued not only in pursuit of our objective to diversify The Gambian economy but also in view of the urgent need to improve our nutritional standards. With the assistance of the FAO and E. E. C, we have embarked on a scheme to increase our catches and to market fish locally and overseas. We are confident that in due course the fisheries sector will make a significant impact on the national economy in terms of employment and income generation, foreign exchange earnings and improved nutritional standards.
Developments in the livestock sector will focus on improved husbandry, grazing land development and utilisation, with US AID assistance a mixed farming and resource management project will be implemented soon. The purpose of the project is to foster intensification and integration of the crop and livestock enterprises within existing Gambian farming systems so as to contribute to increasing net rural family incomes on an ecologically sound and sustained yield basis. The Project also provides for improved crop and forage production and management and improved rural technology.
The fight against cattle diseases, particularly trypanosomiasis continues to be given priority. We are ready and keen to co-operate with FAO and other interested countries and agencies in further research on and propagation of the Ndama cattle which has partial resistance to trypanosomiasis-a disease which is fast decimating our cattle population. I am confident that with the continued assistance of FAO our efforts to control the disease will bear fruit and result in the increase animal production.
I wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm my country's faith in the FAO as a valuable instrument in the service of mankind, particularly the needy and hungry people of the developing countries.
We have confidence in the pragmatic Director-General of the Organization and we thank him and his staff very sincerely for the good work they have done in the preparation of this Conference, and more importantly in the execution of the various programmes of work for the development of food and agriculture.
The meeting rose at 18. 00 hours
La seanoce est levee a 18 houres
Se levanta la sesión a las 18. 00 horas
