CHAIRMAN: As I mentioned before we adjourned for lunch, we shall now hear the Assistant Directors-General of the different departments concerned.
M. A. FLORES RODAS (Sub-director General, Departamento de Montes): Gracias, Señor Presidente. En primer lugar, dentro de los comentarios que tendría que hacer para contestar las preguntas de la Asamblea, quiero aprovechar la ocasión para agradecer el apoyo que el Programa Forestal presentado por el Sr. Director General a la consideración de la Conferencia ha recibido en este día.
Creo, como así lo ha dicho el Sr. Director General, que el Programa presenta o representa, mejor dicho, las necesidades y los deseos de los países miembros de la FAO. Tratando de contestar los requerimientos de la Asamblea, querría comenzar con el problema de los incendios forestales, presentado ayer. En primer lugar, los incendios forestales los estamos considerando siempre en forma preminente en todo programa forestal que tenga carácter de administración o de ordenación forestal. La actividad de protección del monte dentro de los programas que tiendan a asegurar la persistencia del problema de fuegos siempre se considera en una forma preminente.
También estamos tratando de resolver el problema de incendios a través, como dije, de las actividades de ordenación forestal en algunos lugares de Africa. Por ejemplo, tenemos un seminario o curso de entrenamiento para técnicos de nivel medio y nivel inferior para las áreas secas. Este seminario se desarrollará a finales de noviembre en Senegal y la parte más importante de él tiene que ver directamente con los incendios forestales.
Asimismo, dentro de los programas de fijación de dunas y de desarrollo forestal, el sector de incendios forestales también es considerado en una forma predominante.
En lo que se refiere a los niveles de presupuesto del Departamento en los nuevos campos de su actividad - como en el caso de la contribución del sector forestal al desarrollo rural - querría mencionar que tal programa, el 2. 3. 4, fue desarrollado en base a los esfuerzos del Departamento y una redefinición de prioridades dentro del Departamento, en la cual se provocaron ahorros y se intercambiaron actividades, y tales ahorros fueron concentrados en el nuevo Programa. Todos esos ahorros salieron, algunos de ellos debido a la experiencia adquirida, y otros por el cambio de prioridades en la dirección del Departamento.
Estamos convencidos también de que el sector rural, este programa que se llama contribución al desarrollo rural, no es nada más que una parte de todo el interés que tiene la FAO, y especialmente en este caso, el departamento forestal, en el desarrollo rural. Toda la prioridad del departamento, todas las actividades del departamento, todo lo que tiene que ver con los recursos y medio ambiente forestales, industria y comercio, inversiones e instituciones forestales. Todas ellas están integradas en un denominador común del desarrollo rural; por ejemplo, las actividades de mejoramiento de árboles y de plantaciones darán un mayor énfasis al establecimiento de bosques artificiales, de producción de leñas, fibras, forrajes y alimentos, con un programa de aprovechamiento forestal, enfatizarán el manejo de aquellos productos que son de interés particular para el desarrollo rural, mientras que subprogramas de entrenamiento e instituciones se concentrarán en el problema de remodelar las instituciones forestales nacionales para que puedan ocuparse más objetivamente del desarrollo rural y de la protección del medio ambiente.
Siguiendo los puntos tratados ayer, quería referirme brevemente a las inquietudes que se expusieron a la Asamblea sobre la flora mediterránea y sobre los grupos del Comité Asesor sobre cuencas de montaña. Tales problemas fueron tratados en la última sesión de la Comisión Forestal Europea en el mes pasado, quien presentará sugerencias al Comité de Montes el próximo año sobre cómo solucionar el problema de la actividad permanente de floras mediterráneas y de los problemas de cuencas de montaña. Algunas sugerencias que parten de la FAO incluyen la generalización de estos Grupos de Trabajo, con la inclusión
de países en desarrollo, para que se acomoden a la politica de casa en este respecto. Como dije, esta Comisión Forestal Europea presentará sus sugerencias al Comité de Montes el proximo año, e indiscutiblemente serán tomadas muy en cuenta por la FAO.
Durante el día de ayer se expresaron también algunos comentarios sobre el parecer que los nuevos programas de comunidades rurales tienen mayor concentración sobre los países de habla francesa. La realidad es que hay una pequeña confusión porque lo que aparece sobre seminarios para países de habla francesa que menciona el documento presentado a la consideración de ustedes por el Director General, es un ejemplo del seminario que nos hace falta. Durante este año se han celebrado dos Seminarios, uno de ellos para países de habla española celebrado en México en mayo de este año y un Seminario más que está por celebrar a partir del 5 de diciembre enTailandia, que tiene, como todos los países miembros de la FAO de habla inglesa, una invitación para participar. Probablemente también el próximo año, en el bienio, se presentará, además del Seminario de habla francesa que menciona el documento, un Seminario para países de habla árabe, sobre este mismo problema del desarrollo rural y el sector forestal.
Los Programas presentados también dentro de los comentarios generales sobre el problema de los incendios forestales y los problemas de tipo social que presenta el sector forestal se relacionan también con los Programas que se refieren a inversiones y necesidades de inversión en Programas de aforesta-ción y reforestación. Estos Programas están siendo tratados desde dos puntos de vista. Uno de ellos es el de la proposición, como dije al principio, de métodos de ordenación forestal, en los que se incluye al hombre como factor principal de desarrollo. Esto, como ustedes saben, es la prioridad principal de este departamento. Todos los problemas, principalmente el caso de los incendios forestales, son problemas desarrollados de probleas sociales. Al incluir al hombre dentro de los Programas de la FAO, dentro de los Programas de Desarrollo y dentro de cualquier otro Programa de tipo de desarrollo rural, tales problemas tienden a desaparecer y a ser controlados. Dentro de ellos se incluyen no sólo incendios forestales, sino también el problema probablemente de la agricultura migratoria. Los Programas de sistemas silvopastorales, agrosilvoculturales, o la mezcla de cualquiera de ambos, la sugerencia en cuanto a la ordenación del monte en una forma más real, con reconocimiento pleno de las estructuras sociales y reconocimiento pleno de la cultura local, implican o tienen un impacto directo sobre este tipo de problemas, cuya técnica y cuya forma de combatir es muy conocida; es decir, no hay nada nuevo en cuanto a combatir los incendios forestales. Lo único que sí hay es la forma de tratarlos, no combatiéndolos, sino previniéndolos.
También muchas de las delegaciones aquí presentes se han referido al problema inminente de la energía. El Director General, en su discurso a la Asamblea General, mencionó el problema inminente de la necesidad de energía. La FAO y el Departamento de Montes específicamente han sido declarados como puntos focales para tratar de los problemas referentes a leñas y también carbón de leña. Tales problemas están siendo encarados ya desde el momento en que, con la atribución que se nos dio, ya hemos presentado algunas series de trabajos, y hemos estado haciendo ya previsiones en este aspecto. Sobre este campo se presentarán el próximo año al Comité de Montes las sugerencias de la FAO sobre problemas de energía, no sólo específicamente los problemas de energía, sino también los problemas que el de la energía causará a la ordenación forestal, la forma de encarar la nueva administración forestal ante problemas inminentes de leñas y de producción de carbón vegetal.
El problema de los inventarios forestales fue mencionado esta mañana y generalizado a nivel de sistemas de información del sector bosques. Este es un programa permanente del departamento, en el cual ya se están ejecutando trabajos con la asociación de otra institución dentro del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas, en los que se está evaluando la cobertura forestal del mundo y su tasa de reducción, que esa es una tasa que existe. Los problemas del inventario forestal propiamente dichos consideramos que deben ser tratados, más que nada a nivel nacional, a nivel local interno, por multiples razones, y también porque el inventario forestal actualmente lo consideramos, no sólo como un fin por sí mismo, sino como el inicio de un plan grande de desarrollo, un plan grande de ordenación forestal, para evitar que tal inventario forestal, los recursos forestales, se vuelvan obsoletos.
Dentro de las actividades de recursos genéticos, aforestación, pequeñas industrias, industrias apropia-dad que se han mantenido en una forma fuerte, estoy seguro, y puede estar segura la Asamblea, de que son programas altamente prioritarios del Departamento. El programa de la industria forestal, por ejemplo, está siendo encarado a través del programa regional para América Latina, para Africa y para Asia, con diversas modificaciones de características locales. Los programas de genética y de recursos genéticos, como muchos se denominan así también, están siendo tratados, como mencioné anteriormente, a través de programas dentro de la División de Recursos Forestales, con la tendencia - y siempre bajo la orientación - hacia el desarrollo rural.
Creo, Señor Presidente, que he cubierto en forma somera y rápida las inquietudes de la Asamblea aquí presente. No me queda, pues, más que agradecer nuevamente el apoyo total que ha tenido el Programa del Departamento por parte de ustedes y estar pendiente de las nuevas preguntas o de cualquier otra inquietud posterior que ustedes puedan tener.
K. C. LUCAS (Assistant Director General, Fisheries Department): Thank you Mr. Chairman. I will be quite brief because there were not too many questions raised in the area of Chapter 2 dealing with the Fisheries Programme.
We have noted, Mr. Chairman, and are pleased with the strong support given in the debate on the Programme of Work and Budget for the major programme 2. 2 which deals with the Fisheries work of the Organization, and, in particular, those aspects contributing to the rational management and development of Fisheries in the new zones of extended Fisheries jurisdiction, and also the priority which we are giving to small scale fisheries development. I recognize there will be full discussion on this subject in Commission 1 when we get round to Agenda item 9 in that Commission about a week from now, so I will not say any more about this at this point in time.
We have also noted the support being given to our activities in development of fresh water fisheries and aquaculture. There does not appear to be any question that that subject is also receiving the full support and participation of this meeting in their interventions.
I have found all the interventions yesterday and today consistent with and supportive of the thirteenth meeting of the Committee on Fisheries which met a little less than a month ago and also of the 76th Council Meeting held last week. We have taken note of the interventions of all delegations made on programme 2. 2, and also several useful observations of all delegations made and suggestions for improvement. I will take them back to my colleagues in the Department.
There is only one aspect on our proposed programme of work set out in Chapter 2 of document C 79/3 which was questioned seriously by a delegation, and that was by the distinguished delegate of the United Kingdom referring to page 117, par. 16 dealing with the proposed training manuals for rural agricultural development as perhaps examples of needless publications, and I would like to explain our intentions more fully on the training publications in response to this enquiry. The Fisheries Department is indeed planning to produce a number of training manuals on acquacultural development in the coming biennium aimed at the grass roots, the rural fish farmer. This training need is in response to requests by a number of countries wishing assistance in aiding development of small scale rural fish farming or aquaculture. There is a huge gap in the availability of what I call ''how to" manuals for the simple rural fish farmer as well as for the extension worker in this field.
Both the thirteenth meeting of COFI, meeting of Fisheries, and the seventy-sixth Council strongly emphasized to us the necessity to give highest priority to meeting small scale rural technical aquacultural development, and there was some concern that the EEF Programme would pose some threat to our priorities in this field, and I was very quick to reassure those meetings that we held aquacultural development in just as high esteem as the development of marine fisheries.
So, in the next biennium we are planning the following type of training manuals and publications for the information of not only the UK delegation but others. We are planning three training manuals aimed right at the grass roots of simple fish farmers. In fact we have one manual already in the current biennium which is a combination of diagrams and charts and cartoons reiterating some of the basic ''how to's" of fish farming, and that will be supplemented by three film strips covering the same topic. That manual is going out not only in the four or five official languages of FAO, but also is being translated through cooperation with other agencies into many of the local languages, recognizing that many local people do not speak English, French, Spanish, Chinese or Arabic but their own language and dialect, and, for instance, this publication of last year has already been put out in Bengali and Swahili in cooperation with other agencies, and we think we can have more people coming forward to put this across so that they can read the manual in the local tongue. We also have four manuals planned for the next biennium to help train the extension workers in problems of the grass roots aquaculture fish farmers, and we have also nine technical manuals being prepared to help the fishery workers in the Fishery Department of particular governments of this Organization on the subject of fish farming. Altogether the 16 publications will cost us 193. 000 dollars but to my mind it is money well spent. In fact if we could not disseminate, amplify, our knowledge and understanding of agricultural techniques, there would be no point in us having an agricultural programme. The purpose of this publication is to co communicate this knowledge and implement and transfer this knowledge to the people who need it the most; the small-scale rural fish farmer, and, Mr. Chairman, we consider this a very important aspect of our programme to get our information out to the people who need the information, and I hope the Conference will continue to support the publication of programmes of this nature.
Mr. Chairman, just to touch on the intervention of three delegations which have required some response, I would hope that the suggestion of the delegation of Maldives for a regional training institute in the region of small-scale fisheries could be brought up at the next meeting of the Commission for the East Central Atlantic Fisheries which will be held in Agadir, Morocco, in about three weeks time. I think that is a subject which would be most appropriate to be discussed in that forum, because we are hoping to encourage more and more cooperation between countries, especially countries which have a limited amount of resources and limited opportunities to share facilities, training institutes, research laboratories, research vessels in the standard of GCDC to speed up the redevelopment of their fisheries.
The distinguished delegate of Gabon had a very substantial intervention on Fisheries emphazing the importance of statistics and information on the basis of planning fisheries, and I agree with him completely. He also suggested that in the West African region there be established a report on fisheries information system. They have a basis there, and I again hope that this country which is a member of the Commission for the East Central Atlantic Fisheries would also make these same points at the meeting in Agadir next month, the meeting of the Commission for that region where I think this sort of suggestion can be acted upon.
Lastly Mr. Chairman I will look forward very much to holding discussions with the distinguished delegation of Samoa to explore in more detail how we can respond more effectively to his country's especial needs in economic zones.
Z. I. SABRY (Director, Food Policy and Nutrition Division): Mr. Chairman, I wish to express my gratitude for all the points that have been raised in the various interventions relating to nutrition, and for the support given by the various delegates to our programme. As you well know our programme was discussed at length in the last meeting of COAG (Committee on Agriculture) and in the Programme Committee meeting, that followed that, as well as in the Council meeting last June. It has received full support throughout. The work plan that you see in front of you reflects the views that were initiated in the last Conference in response to Resolution 8/77 and which was carried through and provides now the main thrust of our operation. As you well appreciate from the discussion of the programme itself, the integration of nutrition in agriculture and rural development is our main concern and our main activities are moving in that direction.
It has been pointed out by the Malta delegation that this integration has been achieved as far as the FAO governing bodies are concerned, particularly as COAG accepted nutrition to be within its purvue. So, cooperation at that level is achieved. Coordination mechanisms within FAO among the Divisions is achieved through the organization of the Inter-departmental Working Group on Rural Development of which Nutrition is a part, and through the sub-groups under this particular inter-departmental working group that have to do with nutrition, in the area of monitoring and evaluation and socio-economic indicators. In that way the effort for coordinating the nutritional activities within FAO is fully under way. How successful we will be, obviously we will gain experience as time goes on.
There is also I should mention very strong cooperation between our programme and similar programmes in sister agencies, in two ways: One, is through direct cooperation particularly with WHO and UNICEF. This cooperation will be strengthened as time goes on. Second, through participation in the ACC sub-committee on nutrition, as was indicated by the delegate from the Netherlands, we are active in a number of areas as nutrition surveillance and in training and nutrition education. So in that way the level of coordination of nutrition programmes is achieved not only at the FAO level but also within the United Nations System.
The second major point that was raised by a number of the delegates related to the increase in the budget of the Nutrition Division this year. As you will notice the increase in the budget is one of the largest increases percentage-wise in the FAO Programme of Work and Budget that you see in front of you (Doc. C 79/3). This increase is welcomed, as the Danish delegate indicated. As a trend, it is very much a satisfactory trend and we hope that it will continue.
I should mention that all this increase in the budget is going specifically towards the integration of nutrition in agricultural development and towards food and nutrition planning activities. Therefore, the additional resources are specifically aimed towards that objective.
There is no doubt that we suffer, in the Nutrition Division, from a rather low level of extra-budgetary resources, and as you know we depend on these extra-budgetary resources to carry out a large portion of our field activities. We do hope that the sentiments which have been expressed in this Conference will
bear fruit in the sense that it will encourage many of the donors to contribute financially in providing extra-budgetary resources. There is certainly a good indication that such resources are forthcoming.
In response to a particular point which brought smiles to everyone, concerning nutrition involvements within various programmes in FAO and whether nutrition is considered to be a trouble-maker or not, let me assure the Danish delegate that we have never at any time sensed that we are trouble-makers. In fact, we have full cooperation and appreciation within the house as far as our involvement with their activities is concerned.
There are a number of other points which I will try to go through quickly. One was raised by the delegate of Pakistan regarding data collection and generation. This was also referred to by the Delegate of Malta relating to nutrition surveys. We are developing expertise in this area. Over the years, we have been active in nutrition survey and surveillance.
I should also refer to another point that was raised by the delegate of Pakistan relating to nutrition education and training. This is something that we have been active in for a long time, and it continues to occupy a prominent part in our work plan.
In addition to this, I should especially respond to a point that was raised this morning by the delegate of Brazil regarding the "ratther low budgetary level for the programmes in Latin America, I must explain this, because quite often what we see in dollars and cents does not reflect our total activity. The situation in Latin America is a case in point. Many of the activities in Latin America are carried out through inter-agency programmes in which FAO is putting a great deal of technical resources and in which UNICEF and other agencies are providing the funds. As a result, it does not show on our budget, but it does not mean that we are not active in Latin America. As a matter of fact, the regional office for Latin America is considered to be more strongly represented as far as nutrition is concerned than other regional offices. We have two people there compared with one in other regional offices, However, we do hope that we shall be able to attract more extra-budgetary resources from donors for Latin America in order to strengthen our programme in that area.
I believe I have answered all the points that were raised, but if there are any others I will be pleased to deal with them.
CHAIRMAN: I now request Dr. Bommer to add to his comments of yesterday, taking into account the views expressed by delegates this morning.
D. F. R. BOMMER (Assistant Director-General, Agricultural Department): I should like to repeat our thanks and appreciation for the reports we have received during the discussion, as I did yesterday, which have been continued this morning, and I shall answer some additional questions which have been raised and those which have been left over since yesterday.
First of all, I want to refer to the question from African delegations, specifically from Kenya, and I think raised yesterday by the United States delegation, on our emphasis on tic-borne diseases, I can only support what they have said about the importance of these diseases, but I wish to inform you that we have certainly put a lot of emphasis on the control of tic-borne diseases and tics. We have on-going projects on tic control in Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, in East Africa, Sudan and in North Africa, and these activities are continuing. Plans are advanced for seeking funds to support the establishment of a FAO/OAUregioaal centre for tics and tic-borne disease control in Malawi.
As regards West Africa, we are in communication with the EEC with a view to obtaining Community support for the two centres in West Africa, with the tentative locations in Nigeria and Senegal.
The representative of Kenya asked about the location of the World Acaricide Resistance Reference Centre. For those not knowing what it means, acaricide are chemicals to control tics, and we have observed increasing resistance against specific chemicals. So chemicals must be tested, and how far resistance has been developed in various tic species and. tic strains.
In our opinion, it would be unwise to place such a centre in one of the tic-infested countries, in a country of East Africa, for instance, because there is always the need to import exotic tics to such a centre to be tested, and if such exotic tics escaped and made new infestations in those countries, we
would be blamed as the centre would be blamed. So for safety reasons it is advisable to put such a centre outside the tic infested area, and probably to go to one of the established institutions having the scientific staff to do such work, and then to provide the knowledge of such a testing programme to the developing countries and to our own programmes.
Various delegations have expressed concern that we should not forget besides the major crops, specifically rice, other important crops and minor crops. I can only assure you that this is very much our concern too, but we must set priorities in a given biennium, and this year the priority has been and will be on rice, and I think that we have received support from you, but it does not means that we are neglecting the others.
We are concerned with other crops, and numerous activities, training, seminars, as well as various projects in other countries, are specifically concerned with minor crops important for small farmers. This is very much in our minds. If we have only two horticultural experts left, as mentioned by the Dutch delegation, still horticultural programmes are very important, and I should mention to you, for instance, that the Seed Development Programme has, to quite a large extent, projects which deal with horticultural crops to provide horticultural seed. This is not shown, certainly, under the Crop Production Programme as such.
More or less the same is true with the small animal side. I think you have noted from the Programme that there is an obvious increase in this field, and more recognition, compared with the past, is given to poultry and pig production, and certainly to goats and sheep. We want to assure the Dutch delegation that we certainly do not think of establishing industrialized forms of poultry and pig production, but this is aimed at a small farmers' programme. On the other side, we should not neglect the small animals, which really give most important cash incomes and economic means in small farming. Therefore, they need support from various sides, including national support for possible research and specific feeding programmes.
I think the delegation of Zaire raised again the question of coordination of research. I will not go into any lengthy explanation on this point again, but I just want to say here that certainly we fully support his views. Coordination of activities in a country, or even support to a specific country, is a matter for the government of the country and not for someone from outside. So it is very clear that coordination of the country level has to be done on this side. But if you move up from the purely country level, we certainly provide efforts in coordination and collaboration in research activities in numerous forms, for instance, in our research networks. Then we come to various levels of coordination, and I mentioned yesterday the most recent one within the United Nations system as a follow-up to the UN Science and Technology for Development Conference.
So I think we should not mix the various levels, but understand the existence and certainly pursuance of this matter without saying there is only one system which coordinates everything. Clearly, coordination on the country level is a matter for the country itself, and this is part of the answer I should like to give to the Dutch delegate, too. He asked for coordination of various activities specifically from the donor side. If you should take the lead in bringing various bilateral donors together and we have better information about what is going on so that there is a better understanding and collaboration in this field, I can only say that we have established this already adn are pursuing this in various technical fields. Specifically, the programme you will discuss on trypanosomiasis is exactly that, which involves bringing together all the parties concerned, which means the countries in which there isa problem of thosebeing able to support extra funded activities bilaterally or through a multi-lateral channel, major financing institutions, to come up with a coherentcoordinated programme really to achieve something in Africa.
As an example of that, covering a number of years already, there is the control of the onchocerciasis in which the World Health Organization and World Bank have taken the lead and we are collaborating with many others bilaterally.
I would remind you of the group Saheli in which a similar coordination takes place for general agricultural development, in Sahelian countries.
I would remind you that we are in the process of setting up such an informal information and coordination group for the further development of the desert locust and migratory pest control in Africa, and for plant protection development in the African region, together with OAU, with the respective organization and certainly all those which are active in the area and could provide expertise and assistance to the countries concerned.
A very classical example is our existing constant information in the field of fertilizer aid. We receive each time the Commission on Fertilizers is meeting full information from all bilateral donors of what they have done and we have our own programme through the IFS, we started to introduce a dialogue where we could meet and match bilateral activities with the multilateral channel. These are only a few
examples, there are many more. I want to say it should never be the impression that outside organizations try to coordinate existence in a given country for it is the business of the country itself and not of outside organizations. We can help in pursuing this matter, but we never try to do it at the expense of the country's own responsibility.
Left over from yesterday was a question of genetical resources, from the U. S. delegation. To the figures in the Regular Programme you have to add $ 3 million a year provided by the Consultative National Agricultural Resource to the International Plant Resources for which we provide the executive secretariat of this programme. The regional and country activities in this are monitored and executed by us in consultation together with the International Board, and $ 3 million in addition you have, to account for the figures at present. This is not counting a number of bilateral activities done in close collaboration with global activities.
To meet the specific query on the activities of Bari Institute in Italy, a function of the Centre for the Mediterranean Programme has agreed with the general authorities to move towards coordination of the media resources programme of the Bari Institute. The National Research Council of Italy has agreed to strengthen the Bari Institute to give it better opportunities of distribution. I think the concern expressed that the material is not distributed and fully evaluated will disappear soon after the shift has been made and changes introduced. But by and large the Mediterranean and Genetical Resources Programme is working to the satisfaction of the Member States in this area.
Coming to energy, I regard that in our programme energy is not coming out as prominently as it should be. In reality, the activity is done as a mechanization problem:in pursuance of alternative applications of energy in rural communities active in a number of fields a booklet has been produced in collaboration with UNIDO. I want to inform the Commission a booklet has been put in the pigeon holes, a major publication on energy and worldwide agriculture, which has just been released, summarizing the major possibilities of the output as well as the input side. Certainly the information in this booklet is already two years old, because it takes time to print such things.
We are engaged in the preparation of the UN Conference on Energy with all departments concerned. If we talk about alternative forms of energy we should mention we are very much leading in this field, certianly in everything related to my colleagues from the Forestry Department in fuel wood and charcoal and energy for agriculture. We are closely collaborating with the other agencies concerned; we follow closely the progress of solar energy equipment available for products. So far price relations have not been impressive so it was hard to propose for it further but we hope future developments will ease the situation.
I should like to inform the meeting that we have taken steps to bring together next June expert consultation on the energy coping side pursued so strongly by Bangladesh and some other countries, who as we heard are very much interested, and forests are involved, to apply the commercial fuel energy available today This meeting with the help of experts will review the economies and possibilities, and as a major theme, will review what it means under various economic assumptions and levels as a possible contribution to food production, dependent on what resources are available in various countries. So we hope very much to contribute to the clarification of a number of points raised there in the rather stormy past months and years in this field. Certainly it is of very high importance and will be followed by us very strongly.
I think, Mr. Chairman, as I see from my notes and my memory, I have answered all the questions, but I would be ready to answer new ones or left over ones if necessary
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much, these explanations have been most useful. Unless anyone wants to ask a specific question to the other ADG's we will proceed further. Does any delegate want any clarification or to put a specific question to anyone?
S. LATIF (Bangladesh): On the question of rain-fed rice, what is the potential, is it not limited, and should irrigated rice production be emphasized?
D. F. R. BOMMER (Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department): We have put in the Programme specific emphasis on rice irrigated twice and we recognize the area under rain-fed rice is less than in generally irrigated rice areas. The progress of technology in irrigated rice is satisfactory but is far from being applied everywhere and strong efforts have to be pursued to improve technology by institutions like the Bari Institute. Improvement on rain-fed rice has been rather limited so far, so more emphasis must be given in this area to improve the rain-fed areas but you cannot improve for time being or the next few years because farmers need improved technology for improvement in certain areas, and Bari and other international institutes have put effort to rain-fed rice, and assistance is given in the Programme in this field.
H. CARANDANG (Philippines): This difficulty mentioned about the emphasis which should be given to small livestock like poultry, swine and goats since these are more conducive or more easily taken up by small farmers, the point made was that it is harder to take care of cows and probably it is more for bigger farmers. My question is whether this is really true because the experience in the Philippines is otherwise. In fact, our daily development programme is based on small farmer production. I ask the opinion of Dr. Bommer regarding this.
D. F. R. BOMMER (Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department):If I stress the importance of poultry and pigs for small farmers, I did not imply that cattle are unimportant or unmanageable. On the contrary, as you know, you have the concentration of meat production in which small farmers have a very important instrument in improving the Programme referred to by Bangladesh. You must not forget that in many other areas poultry and pigs are animals of a rather rapid turnover for meat and very important for small farmers, and therefore need more concern and support. In other areas, utilization for goats and sheep and more specifically the vegetation side, is so important. I think the question was put to me from the International Research Centres that so far there is concentration only on the larger animal side, specifically cattle in Africa, through the National Output Centre, now goats are included and sheep are important too in the Programme, or will become important, especially in the Near East. But specifically, poultry, there is no concentrated programme so far and we have proposed as you have seen in the Programme, support for small farmers, so we do not want to make a wrong impresssion.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. I think we will now proceed with the consideration of other chapters. I would like to suggest we take the remaining chapters together so that those delegations who have comments on one or the other of the remaining chapters can make them. The two chapters we have so far taken cover 50 percent of the budget, the remaining part of Doc C 79/3 Supp. 1 and Supp. 2 we will take together.
MISS A. J. PEARCE (New Zealand):I would like to make a general statement on this point and intervene on the last chapters of the budget on another occasion. First, may I join previous speakers in expressing to you, Mr. Chairman, and to the Vice Chairmen my congratulations and pleasure at your elections.
My authorities have given very serious consideration to the FAO budget and the factors they have had to take into account will be familiar to you. On the one hand there is the high priority to be given to agricultural development and food production to meet the present demands of the developing world. New Zealand accepts this priority and accepts the orientation of FAO efforts to meet these demands. On the other hand, at a time when New Zealand is passing through a very difficult economic period, we are obliged to ensure there is cost effectiveness and greater budgetary restraint in growth of the UN agency budgets. If I tell you my Government has had to make cuts in such sensitive areas as health and education you can better understand its position. Nevertheless, in their consideration of the budget my authorities have appreciated that the Director-General has for the 1980-81 biennium made a genuine attempt to reach a compromise between these points of view.
Unless circumstances change, therefore, New Zealand can support the Director-General's Programme of Work and Budget. It is of concern to us, however, that this Programme be as efficiently and economically mounted as possible and programmes of lesser importance be reviewed to see whether they can be pruned somewhat. Given the world economic situation our objective must be to achieve greater restraint on budgetary growth, not only for FAO, but all budgets. We realize, however, FAO member countries and the Secretariat should work together and share their experiences if this aim of constructive economy is to be fulfilled. We will certainly do our best to be helpful in this regard.
Chairman, I will conclude this general statement at this point, but I would hope to be able to intervene again later in the debate with more specific details.
T. HAYAKAWA (Japan):Since this is the first intervention of my delegation, following the custom of this Commission I would like to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of this Commission.
Before taking up Chapter 3 I would like to make a brief comment of a general character on the proposed Programme of Work and Budget. We have carefully studied the proposed Programme of Work and Budget for the year 1980-81. It can be said that the proposed Programme of Work and Budget is the result of the strenous efforts on the part of the Secretariat of the FAO to formulate the programme of work and budget as reasonably as possible. We appreciate these efforts and we expect that the Secretariat will continue to make efforts to reduce expenses of this Organization in the future.
We would like to express our support for most of the items contained in the proposed Programme of Work and Budget. However, when we look at our internal economic and financial situation which has become more and more sombre, reflecting the grim world economic situation. We cannot but have a serious look at the proposed Programme of Work and Budget of the FAO for the following two years. Our Government has not yet decided our final position on this proposed Programme of Work and Budget. We will certainly consult more closely with other countries which have similar preoccuentatives is enlarged the staff of the regional offices might be reduced. We wonder also whether it might not be possible to enlarge a system of regional offices of the FAO so that establishment of the country representative offices might be reduced.
Secondly, we have a question, which might not be possible for the Resident Representatives of the UNDP to take up the function of the Country Representative if the Resident Representative of the UNDP can co-ordinate more closely his work with the work of the regional office of the FAO.
Thirdly, in the proposed Programme of Work and Budget, in all the offices of the Country Representatives, one of the category D 1 and more offices of Ρ 2 and six officers of the general staff category are stationed without exception. Might it not be sufficient in certain cases to have only one officer of the professional category instead of two.
Fourthly, we would like to request the secretariat to make evaluation on the reference of the implementation of the country representative system and we would like to know the work of the evaluation in this regard.
Turning to chapter 4, dealing with the technical cooperation programme, we appreciate very much the activities of FAO in the field of technical cooperation. We expect that the secretariat of FAO will provide member countries with full information on major projects of technical cooperation, so that
member countries might be able to monitor activities of FAO in the field of cooperation.
O. AWOYEMI (Nigeria): My comment will be focussed on chapter 3 and particularly on what I consider the most important part of the whole process of agricultural development, namely project formulation, investment studies, project implementation.
FAO has presented a very impressive record of assistance to developing countries in this vital area over the past two years. It is reported that FAO has sent 214 projects formulation missions to 72 countries since 1978. These missions have resulted in an increase of about 57 per cent in total value of investments generated over the period of 1977. This effort is highly commendable. I would, however, like to state that the demands for this type of service is likely to increase greatly in the next few years. It would, therefore, be desirable if a similar effort is made in the development of local institutions and manpower to formulate investment projects. This would facilitate early realisation of new projects.
FAO staff and consultants should multiply their own efforts by training local personnel to prepare their own projects. Regional banks, national development banks and agricultural credit institutions can easily provide readily trainable manpower for this effort.
C. THOMSEN (Denmark):I would like to make some remarks on behalf of the Nordic countries in relation to Chapter 3 on FAO representatives. It appears from an examination of the proposed Programme of Work and Budget for 1980/81 that there is a significant increase in the funds allocated for the establishment of FAO representatives. During the 69th Session of the FAO Council held in July 1976 authority was given to create a network of FAO representatives in the developing countries and a gradual fading out of the system of senior agricultural advisers-cum-FAO-country representatives jointly financed by FAO and the UNDP. On behalf of the Nordic governments represented here I would like to congratulate FAO on the progress which has been made in establishing a network of the new type of FAO representatives. We understand that it is anticipated that the target of 47 representatives will have been achieved by the end of the current biennium and we should be grateful if the Secretariat could inform us whether the old system of senior agricultural advisers-cum-FAO-country representatives as planned will have been completely phased out by the end of 1979, or there are plans to jointly continue this scheme in certain areas where the geographical conditions may perhaps warrant a multi-country coverage? From the Programme of Work and Budget we note that the plans are at hand for the establishment during 1980
81 of additional 15 officers in order to achieve a total of 62 FAO representatives. Furthermore we note with interest that a total of 69 member governments have requested the establishment of a FAO representation already in May 1979 and we assume, judging from the enthusiasm exercised by member governments, that further requests will be received. At a time when the new policy of decentralization and establishment of FAO representatons was agreed upon we were made to understand that member governments were requested to contribute in kind or in cash in connexion with the establishment of a: FAO representative's office.
Although a number of representations have been established in less developed countries some offices have also been created in countries where one would expect assistance in financing some of the local costs incurred. It would be interesting in this forum to hear from the secretariat if possible to what extent member governments have come forward and participated in financing local costs, for some of the important functions which the FAO representatives perform, it is our impression that a solid back stopping from headquarters is required, We have noted the creation of a unit in the field programme development Division to serve the FAO representatives. It is our hope this unit will be in a position to supply the FAO representatives with timely information both on technical and policy matters. Let me add that in view of the likely restraint on the overall increase in FAO's budget which can be expected in the future, the proportional increase in the total costs involved in the operation of the FAO representatives'scheme when it is fully established is of concern to the Nordic governments. It would be interesting to hear from the secretariat what plans exist in connexion with the future network of FAO representatives. If by the end of the biennium 1980-81 62 officers would have been established FAO's presence at country level will be considerably strenghthened as compared to the previous system of jointly financed senior agricultural advisers etc We wonder what effect this would have on the future of FAO's regional officers. It is at this stage too early to obtain a thorough evaluation of the new scheme, but it might be of advantage for the secretariat to plan an evaluation during the coming biennium, and we would suggest to link this up with future plans for FAO's regional officers.
G. ERICSSON (Sweden): We would like to comment briefly on two specific issues related to chapter 3. My first comments concern extra budgetry resources. We have in earlier conferences stressed that extra-budgetary activities should be complimentary to regular programme activities and be governed by the same priorities as for the regular programmes and set by member governments in the Conference. We are happy to note this is much more the case now than it has been in the past. Policy guidelines for trust fund arrangements have been worked out which we strongly appreciate. We have noted a total extra budgetary resource under different trust fund arrangements and special action programmes now are coming to a level close to the UNDP funds managed by FAO. The FAO share of UNDP funds still has a tendency to decline. The explanations given for this now low share of UNDP resources are not very enlightening. We would like to see a more thorough study being made of the different reasons for this decline for the next Conference. Such a study could also take into proper consideration the bilateral as well as the national flow of resources to agriculture and rural development.
My second comment refers to investment, of which a thorough examination has been made by the Programme Committee. Sweden appreciates the priority given to such activities and supports the comments given by the Programme Committee at its Thirty-Sixth Meeting.
There are, however, a few aspects which we would like to underline: first, the interdependence between technical assistance, pre-investmnet and investment;secondly, the development towards programme and sector lending; and thirdly, the need to evaluate investment activities especially at project identification level in the light of a more comprehensive, independent agricultural outlook based on the agricultural sector plans or national development plans. Planning support to countries whenever requested for the formulation of agriculture sector plans is dealt with under Food and Agriculture Policy in the Programme of Work and Budget. We find it important that FAO develop the capability to respond to such requests as well as trends and reports, and we stress the need for close cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Policy Division and the Investment Centre.
P. HALIMI (France): Je voudrais intervenir sur deux points concernant ce chapitre 3. Tout d'abord sur les activités du Centre d'investissements. Sur ce point nous avons été impressionnés par ce que le Directeur général a dit dans son allocution d'ouverture, c'est-à-dire que la première priorité du Programme de juillet 1976 a été suivie d'effets. Sur un montant total de 13 milliards de dollars pour les projets formulés par le Centre d'investissement et approuvés par les institutions de financement depuis quatorze ans; près de la moitié ont été approuvées pendant ces deux dernières années. En d'autres termes il a été fait autant en deux ans qu'au cours des douze années précédentes.
Je voudrais adresser mes félicitations au Directeur général pour l'excellente activité du Centre d'investissèments.
J'en viens maintenant au point concernant les représentants dans les pays. La politique de décentralisation poursuivie par le Directeur général, et à laquelle le Gouvernement français a toujours souscrit, entraîne logiquement la mise en place d'effectifs supplémentaires. Or, il n'en est résulté aucune diminution des effectifs du Siège et de certains services de liaison des bureaux régionaux dont le personnel aurait dû se trouver allégé du fait de cette décentralisation. Il importe que les implications budgétaires traduisent les systèmes sur lesquels repose le choix qui a été opéré.
Dans son allocution le Directeur général a traité du problème des représentants et de la mise en place des représentants de la FAO:ce problème apparaît comme le moyen de mettre l'Organisation plus directement en contact avec les Etats Membres et de rendre plus réceptive à leurs besoins concrets. Ceci pose, à mon sens, le problème de l'avenir des bureaux régionaux. Deux propositions ont été faites au cours de la discussion. Tout d'abord celle des représentants des pays qui ont demandé une évaluation de l'activité des représentants de la FAO par le Corps commun d'inspection. J'approuve ceux qui s'inquiètent et je pense que toutefois une évaluation de l'activité de ces bureaux régionaux devrait être faite à la lumière du transfert d'activités qui a été exécuté au profit des représentants dans les pays. En d'autres termes, la question se pose de savoir quel est l'avenir de ces bureaux régionaux.
Avec votre permission, je reviens sur deux points que j'aurais dû traiter au chapitre 2, mais que je ne me suis pas permis de traiter car je savais qu'ils devaient faire l'objet d'une déclaration du Secrétaire d'Etat français à l'agriculture. Cette déclaration ayant été faite, je voudrais attirer l'attention de la Commission sur certains paragraphes de cette déclaration qui n'entraîneront, je vous rassure, aucune réponse de la part de M. Bomraer. Dans sa déclaration faite ce matin, le Secrétaire français à l'agriculture a dit ceci: "Je tiens à citer parmi les programmes techniques de la FAO ceux mis en oeuvre en Europe et plus particulièrement les réseaux coopératifs européens de recherche agronomique. Ceux-ci ont fait la preuve que la coopération entre les instituts de recherche nationaux pouvait donner des résultats fructueux et à un coût moindre que la création d'instituts internationaux. La
France donne son plein appui au réseau fondé à Stockholm par les centres de coordination des réseaux de recherche qui veulent accroître leurs activités. Il serait particulièrement utile qu'un réseau de recherche soit créé pour étudier les économies d'énergie en agriculture et les nouvelles sources d'énergie d'origine agricole. Le développement de la potentialité de l'agriculture est un des seuls paliatifs possibles aux conséquences dommageables de la hausse des prix de l'énergie pour les économies de nombreux pays du monde".
Je pense que cette déclaration s'inscrit dans le droit-fil de ce qui a été dit dans l'allocution d'ouverture du Directeur général et qui est publiée dans le document C 79/LIM/6 sous le sous-titre "Une nouvelle révolution agricole".
J. S. CAMARA (Guinée): J'ai déjà eu, au nom de ma délégation, l'occasion d'exprimer dans cette enceinte le point de vue de mon gouvernement sur le programme de budget qui nous a été présenté. Mais avant d'aborder certaines questions relevant du chapitre 3 je vous félicite pour votre élection et vous donne l'assurance que nous accorderons tout notre concours à la réalisation de votre tache. Nous souhaitons que cette Commission, grâce aux discussions fouillées et pertinentes, puisse renforcer tout l'appui que le Directeur général ne cesse de recevoir lors de ses déclarations de la part de notre chef de délégation.
Certains points essentiels ont été abordés dans ce chapitre. Je voudrais aborder les points qui me semblent assez essentiels pour cette Organisation en particulier en ce qui concerne le secteur de l'investissement. Nous avons entendu déclarer, hier et aujourd'hui, que la tâche prioritaire des gouvernements est de se consacrer au développement du secteur agricole et alimentaire. Nous pensons donc que c'est à juste raison que le Directeur général attache une importance primordiale à l'organisation de ce secteur, et que dans son discours il nous ait fait part de ce qui a été réalisé en deux ans comparativement à une décennie. Cela nous montre que la tendance actuelle, au sein de l’Organisation, est d'oeuvrer pour qu'il y ait un flux croissant dans le secteur de l'investissement. Je pense que cette Commission devrait renforcer cette tendance et appuyer la politique du Directeur général et de l'Organisation. Sans investissement dans le secteur agricole il ne saurait y avoir d'amélioration pour les masses rurales ni d'augmentation de la productivité et de la production.
Je pense que dans ce secteur la coopération de l'Organisation avec certaines institutions de financement, internationales, régionales ou sous-régionales, doit être encouragée.
On a parlé également de la question de la décentralisation, c'est-à-dire la présence de la FAO, et je me plais à rappeler ce qu'a dit un éminent Chef d'Etat africain, lors de son discours, il y a quelques jours, lorsqu'il a déclaré que ce choix et cette politique avaient mis la FAO presque devant la porte des paysans. Je pense que cela devrait nous suffire et nous montrer combien la priorité accordée à la décentralisation et à la présence de l'Organisation dans les Etats devrait nous amener au contraire à ne plus discuter s'il faut 60, 70, 40, 50. . . Nous sommes cent et quelques pays en développement, je ne crois que les pays développés auraient besoin de représentants de la FAO dans leur capitale. Donc ce n'est pas la question, nous allons dépenser 20 000 dollars de plus, parce que ce choix a été fait, nous allons essayer de discuter encore. Le Président Kaunda nous a clairement dit ce que représentent ces représentants pour nos pays; je pense que les autres chefs d'Etats des pays en développement, qui pour le moment bénéficient de cela, pourraient le dire. Je pense qu'il ne s'agit pas de faire évaluer par le corps commun une inspection pour démontrer son utilité. Le corps commun sait que ce sont les Etats qui les nomment; les Etats sont représentés par leur gouvernement et leur avis est beaucoup plus important que ce que pourrait dire le corps commun d'inspection. Je pense que cela compte davantage. Si le Président Kaunda ne l'avait pas estimé utile pour son pays, il ne l'aurait pas dit dans sa déclaration. C'est une voix beaucoup plus importante, beaucoup plus écoutée que la mienne; je pense que cela devait suffire à cette Commission et à cette Conférence.
Sur ces points je pense qu'il ne faudrait pas que nous essayions toujours de savoir ce que fait la FAO, ce qu'elle cherche. L'évaluation est faite à travers les déclarations des représentants des pays membres à la Conférence, ou dans les Commissions.
Monsieur le Président, d'autres points sont soulevés, j'espère que nous aurons l'occasion d'y revenir. Lorsque nous lisons au chapitre 3 le problème de la coopération entre les pays en développement, qui a tenu une consultation ici à laquelle ont participé des pays en développement, ce sont des points assez essentiels pour cette Organisation sur lesquels, je pense, nous allons suffisamment revenir et apporter l'appui de notre délégation, et notre contribution, sur cette question. Je tiens encore à renouveler l'appui de ma délégation sur les différents points soulevés au chapitre 3.
W. JOHNSON (United States of America): You have suggested, Mr. Chairman, that we comment on the remainder of the Programme of Work and Budget so I shall have some remarks to make atout three items in Chapter 3, a brief remark concerning the Technical Cooperation Programme in Chapter 4 and a brief remark concerning Chapter 5·
First of all, regarding Major Programme 3·1, Field Programme Planning and Liaison. FAO's role in assisting developing member countries in the identification, formulation and appraisal of technical assistance programmes and projects is critically important. Given this and the fact that the UNDP has been and is expected to continue to be the largest source of UN technical assistance financing, it would seem that FAO's inputs to UNDP country programming should be growing. Instead, it is reported in the Review of the Regular Programme - that is Document C 79/8 on page 62 of the English version -- that it seems that FAO's inputs have been diminishing recently. We should like to ask: is this due to the introduction of an independent role for the FAO country representatives? In any event, my country believes that in the matter of country programming there should be the highest possible level of cooperation and collaboration between FAO and the UNDP and all other parts of the UN development system.
We should also like to ask what is meant by the statement which appears in the Review of the Regular Programme, paragraph 2. 26 on page 64 of the English version which says:
"The challenge which the Major Programme now faces: is to ensure that FAO as the primary multilateral organization in its field of competence maximizes and reconciles the resources of, as well as the constraints on, bilateral aid agencies with the needs and desires af the developing countries. "
The review then goes on to say and I quote again " The aim must be to bring the interests of donors and recipients as close as possible, in a spirit of partnership with the Organization. " We should like to have the Secretariat elaborate on the meaning of this.
The second point concerns Major Programme 3. 2 on Investment, My country generally agrees with the priority importance attached by the Secretariat to the provision of investment services. FAO's role in this field of activity has shown remarkable growth and has taken on increasing importance over the years. In this connection we wish particularly to applaud the Secretariat's recent initiatives in collaboration with UNDP to provide for follow-up to bring technical assistance projets with investment potential to the feasibility stage and to ensure the interest of potential donors or financing institutions. In a similar fashion the Secretariat deserves to be complimented for its cooperative attitude to IFAD in its early stages of getting into operation. FAO's cooperative and collaborative stancein relation to financial institutions, both national and international, deserves to be encouraged, and we would commend the Investment Centre for stepping up its assistance to national development banks.
Of particular interest too is the report that the Inter-American Development Bank has indicated its interest in drawing on FAO for assistance in implementing a greatly expanded lending programme in agriculture, particularly to benefit the rural poor. This reinforces the need to point out the Secretariat's documentation does not suggest whether, in the use of its scarce resources under this investment programme, any priority is given to projects which could benefit the rural poor. In the light of the excellent work done by the Secretariat in preparation for WCARRD and the fact that all delegations from developing countries, except one, acknowledge in the WCARRD the need to increase equity in the development of their countries, and to move towards a redistribution of wealth - that is land - and power as a condition to rural development. The US considers a shift in this direction in the Investment Centres'priorities may be highly important. We should like to have the Secretariat comment on this at this session of the Conference, and to report on the related conditions more fully in the future.
Thirdly, dealing with Chapter 3· Regarding Major Programme on FAO country representatives our delegation observes the speed with which this relatively new FAO programme is developing. Its expansionis impressive, but it does raise some questions. Is the Secretariat able to recruit sufficient numbers of qualified representatives? What are the criteria for their selection? In filling these positions does the Secretariat look for broad gauged generalists or narrower technical specialists. Given the limited resources available for this programme, what, if any, priority is given to the low income countries as opposed to those middle income countries which do not need so much assistance and can better afford to pay for that which they do need from external sources. The US continues to be concerned, as indicated in the discussion on field programme for planning and liaison, that the FAO representatives may not play a sufficiently cooperative role with other parts of the UN development system. What steps is the Secretariat taking to ensure such a role, especially in connexion with the UNDP country programme? It would be useful to have comments in this from the Secretariat now, and documentation later.
Mr. Chairman, turning to Chapter 4 on the Technical Cooperation Programme, we have read with great interest this chapter and we note in the comments of numerous delegates at this Conference that a great deal of good has been done in developing countries. I would point out that the US has always supported this programme. We do favour even stricter guidelines to cover the Technical Cooperation Programme so that the technical assistance component can be maximised rather than purely physical input. We look to seeing the Secretariat's proposed new guidelines for TCP.
Finally on Chapter 5, in recent meetings of FAO Government bodies my country has made suggestions in what I hoped or understood to be a constructive manner for possible deferment of expeditures and savings under this Chapter. I shall not repeat those comments here. I should like, however, to stress the importance that we place on one issue touched on in Chapter 5: diminishing the inequitable representation of some member nations on the professional staff of the Organisation. The US delegation urges the Secretariat to continue its efforts to fight the present unsatisfactory situation, and hopes that two years from now, it will be able to report to the Conference clear progress and diminishing under-representation and non-representation.
Another goal of personnel policy on which we place much importance is the increase in the number of women in professional posts in line with the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit. We believe it would be helpful for the Secretariat to give the Commissiona progress report on this matter during this session.
P. AMARO (Portugal): Je vais faire quelques commentaires sur les chapitres 3 et 4.
Ma délégation a toujours considéré de la plus grande importance le rôle de la FAO dans l'établissement des projets de développement agricole, forestier et des pèches.
La FAO étant l'agence compétente de la famille des Nations Unies responsable pour les problèmes de ce genre, nous sommes satisfaits de voir l'expansion du Programme de terrain et le niveau du nombre des projets déjà atteint, inclus aux pages 163, 159 de l'édition française du document C 79/3.
Eh examinant ce document, nous constatons avec satisfaction que le Programme de terrain de la FAO présente non seulement une expansion mais aussi une diversification, en tant que donateurset modalités de fonctionnement.
Il est indispenssble que dans le futur les nouveaux projets tiennent compte des lignes générales d'action définies par la Conférence sur la Réforme agraire et le développement rural.
Eh ce que concerne l'élaboration des projets d'investissements, ma délégation estime que le plus grand soin doit etre apporté à l'éclaircissement préalable des différentes modalités de crédit et de la capacité de structures nationales pour mettre en pratique les projets, sans délai, évitant ainsi de graves conséquences pour les pays par le paiement des intérêts sans compensation.
C'est avec plaisir que nous avons pris connaissance de l'accordde coopération établi par la FAO avec le FIDA pour l'identification et l'élaboration des projets d'investissements. Avec ces accord, on a certainement évité de dangereux et onéreux double-emplois.
Nous accordons tout notre appui au Programme de coopération technique, que est sans doute une des évidences les plus nettes du dynamisme et de la capacité de réponse de la FAO.
E. BRETZ (Germany, Fed. Rep. of) (interpretation from German): Mr. Chairman I would like to refer first to the FAO Country Representatives, as my delegation already said at the last meeting of the Council, my Government fully agrees with the decision to decentralize the work of FAO. Therefore the aim of this programme can be supported also by us. However we are worried about the rapidly growing share of the programme, which will increase in future even more, as related to the Budget as a whole, and we would like to ask the Director-General to proceed very carefully and conscientiously, when it is a matter of setting up country offices and staffing them. The envisaged multi-country coverage would, we feel, be quite a good way of keeping the cost of this programme at a lower level and to restrict the cost. We assume that the member countries will be fully informed of this important action of the FAO whose results should be followed and monitored closely by the competent bodies of the Organization. The development of cooperation with the Resident representatives of the UNDP, the cost sharing arrangements with host Governments, a continuous critical adaptation of the working criteria and the observation of
the efficiency of the offices are in our opinion of particular importance in this connexion. We would welcome it if, in the future, the established posts for the country offices could be shown in the statement of posts of the Organization. In this connection I have a few questions with regard to the development of the established posts and their filling. I have a few questions regarding this.
In order to have a better general picture of the situation we would suggest that in the future in addition to the Table on Page 301 of the English version regarding the establishment and codification of posts of the Ρ and G categories, an additional column should be added which would give you the actual posts which have been filled. This information we feel would give us a good indication as to how the current Budget has been used. At the same time we would also like to have some additional information or statements regarding paragraph 4. 20 on page 28 of the English version where under Adjustments to Base, non-budgeted upgradings and also the correction of difference between standard rates and actual costs are mentioned. We feel that promotion to a higher step should be agreed to only if this is previously covered by the respective budgetary allocations.
In connection with the staff situation we have also carefully considered the proposals of the Director-General with regard to the use of consultants and national institutions. We welcome the trend to contracting an increased number of consultants from the developing countries themselves and to intensify the collaboration between FAO and the institutions of the countries themselves. We consider that this is a very important part of the general efforts aiming towards greater decentralization. Furthermore we also realize that this trend calls for increased travel costs. At the same time we welcome the assurance of the Director-General that also in the future strict control will be carried out regarding these funds. We feel sure that the Director-General will follow the recommendation of the Finance Committee to the effect of maintaining a proper balance between permanents posts, the use of consultants and national institutions. I am sure that the Director-General will agree with us if we say that the relatively modest increase in established posts in the Headquarters and in the regional offices as described in the document should be considered also in the light of this new development and we feel that this is also closely connected with the question of the staffing of the country offices.
With regard to Chapter 5 I would like to comment as follows. Our financial experts are worried about the distribution of the contingencies in the Budget. Programme 5. 1. 4, for instance, shows an unprogrammed reserve for unforeseeable action in the field of publications. We are wondering in this connection whether in order to have a better picture of such reserves they should perhaps be grouped together under Chapter 7.
I would now like to make a few comments on Chapter 5. 1, Information and Documentation. This sector is certainly of great importance. Public information and also the efficiency of the documentation system and the general publications of the Organization are extremely important. This applies more than ever today because today public opinion has to be mobilized for the worldwide development of nutrition and agriculture and the demand for technical and scientific datais increasing very fast.
The budget proposal, as summarized on p. 163, sets aside the necessary funds so that the FAO should continue and improve its role as a clearing house for worldwide information on food and agriculture. We are following the work of the FAO in this area with great attention and we are doing our best to make data available and also services, and we also are among the users of the information made available.
I now come to my last point, Chapter 6, Common Services. Here we note that there is a real increase of 6 percent, for the current biennium the budget item being already very high. We trust that the Director-General and his collaborators will spare no efforts to see to it that the costs in this area are kept as low as possible and constantly controlled. However, we would like to have some additional information on the proposed changes under this budgetary heading and on the various subsectors for which the various funds are to be used. The information given on this point on p. 187 is not quite adequate.
K. CHOUERI (Liban) (interpretation de l'arabe): Ma delegation voudrait formuler certains commentaires. Tout d'abord, sur les programmes de soutien au développement, chapitre 3 du programme de travail et de budget pour le Biennium 1980-1981.
Nous voudrions tout d'abord renouveler notre appui au programme principal III. 2 relatif aux investissements. A propos de la garantie des investissements, nécessaires à la mise en application des projets, qui sont généralement financés par des ressources extrabudgétaires, et sous la forme de prêts à
l'agriculture, nous voulons appuyer l'initiative prise par la FAO en ce domaine, car de cette façon la FAO participe efficacement, avec les différentes banques nationales et internationales, aux investissements dans le secteur agricole. Et à ce sujet, nous nous félicitons de voir les progrès réalisés, surtout à la suite des attributions données au centre des investissements de la FAO qui n'a cessé de s'élargir et de se développer; et la déclaration du Directeur général à la Conférence est la preuve irréfutable du succès remporté par la FAO dans ce domaine. Ce programme, qui vise à fournir les ressources financières nécessaires, s'est élevé au cours des 14 dernières années à 13 milliards de dollars, dont 6 milliards ont été accordés au cours des deux dernières années.
En ce qui concerne le Programme 3. 4 - les représentants de la FAO dans les pays - nous voudrions renouveler notre appui à l'augmentation du nombre de bureaux des représentants de la FAO pour le prochain Biennium; nous sommes persuadés que cette augmentation représente en fait un complément aux efforts et aux activités déployés par les bureaux régionaux; car en fait, les activités des représentants de la FAO ne contredisent pas du tout les efforts déployés par le PNUD, bien au contraire.
La politique décidée par le Directeur général a représenté un pont entre la FAO et les pays membres, et de cette façon le Directeur général est arrivé à une décentralisation que nous souhaitons de tous nos voeux, nous, pays en développement. Notre expérience au Liban, avec les bureaux de la FAO, ne peut que nous conduire à rendre hommage aux efforts déployés par ces bureaux, surtout dans la planification agricole "Horizon 2000", et dans d'autres activités telles que par exemple la participation de ces bureaux dans l'élaboration des projets, conformément aux priorités dictées par notre gouvernement.
Nous voulons ainsi renouveler notre appui aux activités figurant au chapitre 3, ainsi qu'aux allocations budgétaires afférentes.
Maintenant, pour ce qui est du chapitre 4 relatif au programme de coopération technique, il va sans dire que ce programme de coopération technique a été un succès total quand on passe en revue les progrès réalisés. Et là je me réfère au document C 79/3.
Je voudrais à ce propos féliciter la FAO pour les réalisations qu'elle a pu faire en un si court laps de temps, que ce soit dans le domaine de l'information, des investissements, ou de différents projets variés. Ce programme de coopération technique ne peut que mériter le soutien de ma délégation, étant donné que les pays les moins développés ont bénéficié de 64 pour cent des ressources de ce programme de coopération technique pour l'année 1978.
S. LATIF (Bangladesh): My delegation gives support to the proposals contained in the Programme of Work and Budget for 1980-81. The documentation is excellent and I would congratulate the Secretariat for the work so well done. FAO's presence at the country level has been a most welcome development in the recent past. We support not only the continuation but an expansion of the programme for such country-level offices. A question has arisen here in this Commission as to whether there is a need for the regional office under this situation. The feeling is, as has been said by some delegates, that it may not be necessary at all or else we may strengthen the regional offices, which would imply that the country offices may become redundant. However, the fact of the case is otherwise. As we see it, both the regional offices and the country offices need to be simultaneously strengthened depending upon, and I stress depending upon, the size of FAO's field programme of development assistance. For example, it would be a good idea to have experts regionally available at Bangkok to solve the large programmes currently outgoing in South and South-East Asia. The 1980-81 budget shows a programme expansion in financial terms by 33 percent. Even after adjusting for cost increases an increase of 12. 5 percent is evident compared with 1978-79. Staff support whether to increase or decrease depends upon the location of the programme, both nationally and regionally. It would be wrong to generalize either in favour of or against country or regional offices regardless of the programme size.
S. SID AHMED (Sudan)(interpretation from Arabic): My delegation would like to express our satisfaction with the policy and method of work of the Organization which has been developed. I would like to speak about regional representation, regional centres and regional offices. Our experience in Sudan proved the success obtained by the Regional Representatives. These assist the work and activities of the Organization. These representations in the countries have resulted in an increase in the number of projects supported by the Organization. The offices of the Organization in several nations supply to us help to develop new projects and help to control projects under way, and to find solutions for problems of cooperation with government institutions. The success of our experience in Sudan is a diversification of other countries' work. We have to challenge the fact that FAO Representatives existence means that funds are required, and we have to contribute to find the sums to maintain these represen
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tations. I would like to say this is a necessary effort to ensure the efficiency of the Organization. Actually, we can increase the benefit of this office and of the officials in this office by multiplying the projects of the Organization.
On behalf of my delegation, I should like to pay tribute to the activities and achievements of the Investment Centre at the local level and at the external level in the agricultural sector. We hope to multiply the projects which are financed by the Centre during the next biennium. I would also like to pay tribute to the good relations which exist between the Organization and the financing institutions and the various banks, the Arab Bank, the World Bank, which has increased the budgetary figures of the Organization. So we support the activities of the Organization. We would like to ask the Director-General to work to broaden the relations between the Organization and the various financing institutions. Actually, my country would like to express its satisfaction at the relations which exist between the Organization and our side, since this plays an important part in agriculture and the development of our countries in particular.
R. W. WOOTTON (United Kingdom): The U. K. delegation also attaches importance to the need for some appropriate monitoring of the system of Country representation. Hopefully, such monitoring will draw attention to some helpful points for FAO.
The delegation would welcome the Secretariat's comments on the sections on administration in Chapter 5 of document C 79/3. We of course accept that there will be some increased costs, particularly for staffing, but there are indications of very high increases in administrative costs in the various programmes. For example, on page 174 of the English text Administration Services will cost, it appears, over 40 percent more in the forthcoming biennium, while the rise in Financial Services, page 178, is of the order of 35 percent, and that in Programme Management, page 185, almost 47 per cent.
In his speech this morning in Plenary, the Head of the United Kingdom delegation stated that "We welcome and appreciate the practical and immediate relevance of programmes of FAO which are intended to help the poorest countries. We see particular value in the Special Action programmes such as the Programme for the Prevention of Food Losses and the Technical Cooperation Programme. " He referred to the U. K's economic position and that we are having to look hard at all our public expenditure including aid expenditure. That is why my country is still considering the FAO budget with great care.
NGA MA MAPELA (Zaïre) : En ce qui concerne les représentations de la FAO dans les pays et les Bureaux régionaux, notre point de vue à ce sujet a été communiqué ce matin lorsque nous avons traité du Chapitre 2. Je voudrais simplement souligner qu'en ce qui concerne mon pays, nous sommes très satisfaits de services que nous fournissent les représentants de la FAO chez nous. A notre avis, d'ailleurs, nous croyons que la FAO devra avoir des représentants dans tous les pays en développement.
Nous sommes également satisfaits devant les services fournis par notre Bureau régional de la FAO pour l'Afrique. Services, je le répète, que nous apprécions beaucoup.
On a tout à l'heure insisté sur la nécessité de procéder, tôt ou tard, à une évaluation des services fournis par les représentants dans les pays et par les Bureaux régionaux de la FAO, évaluation qui serait, si j'ai bien compris, conseillée à d'autres services que ceux de la FAO. Bien que nous ne soyons pas contre cette proposition, nous aimerions souligner le fait que ma délégation s'opposerait à toute proposition qui tendrait à financer les travaux qui exigent une telle évaluation dans le cadre du Programme ordinaire de la FAO. Nous pensons qu'il faut dans ce cas utiliser les ressources extrabudgétaires, ressources qui seraient fournies par ceux des Etats Membres qui tiennent â tout prix à ce que l'on confie cette tâche à certains services externes à la FAO.
A. R. EL-DAWOOD (Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of)(interpretation from Arabic):The delegation of my country would like to support the idea of extending the training courses for farmers and agricultural workers, in the field, that is, in the countries concerned themselves. Furthermore, we would like to stress the necessity of sending field missions out so that the farmers and agriculturalists should be informed of new technology in the agricultural order. We would like to support the proposals made by several countries, in particular the representatives of the Netherlands and of Japan, regarding the regional offices, and we would like that the regional offices and representations should not be extended.
D. BETI (Suisse): J'aimerais faire quelques remarques au sujet des trois points du Chapitre 3. L'apport, durant ces dernières années, du Centre d'investissement à la mise au point de projets de développement est substantiel, tout au moins sur le plan quantitatif. Le document C 79/3 le relève à plusieurs endroits notamment au grand programme 3. 2.
A notre avis, il y aurait cependant lieu de revoir les critères sur la base desquels le Centre d'investissement élabore les projets, aussi bien pour la FAO que pour les institutions de financement, que ce soit la Banque mondiale, les banques régionales ou le FIDA.
Le Centre d'investissement ne devrait pas seulement agir comme un quelconque bureau d'ingénieurs-conseils. Il devrait avoir une conception du développement qui lui soit propre. Il devrait spécialement tenir compte du fait que la FAO a reconnu et reconnaît que la solution des problèmes sociaux et socio-politiques a pour le développement au moins autant d'importance que les mesures techniques et économiques visant à l'accroissement de la production.
En ce qui concerne la Campagne mondiale contre la faim Action pour le développement, Programme 3. 3. 1, nous sommes heureux de constater que la FAO est bien décidée à poursuivre ce programme. Les liens qui existent déjà et qui s'établissent de plus entre les ONG des pays en développement et celles des pays développés deviennent toujours plus étroits. C'est à notre avis un excellent moyen de promouvoir la participation populaire directe aussi bien à l'identification qu'à l'exécution des projets de développement, apporter une contribution très utile à cette participation populaire, relevée à juste titre par la Conférence mondiale sur la réforme agraire et le développement rural en tant qu'élément essentiel d'un développement juste et équitable des populations rurales.
J'aimerais, comme troisième point, rappeler les remarques que j'ai faites ce matin, au sujet des représentations de la FAO par pays, au sujet de l'importance que mon pays accorde à la mise en place du réseau des représentants au sujet de l'opportunité d'intercaler une phase de réflexion avant d'étendre ce réseau de 47 à 62, au sujet en fin d'évaluation qui serait à entreprendre durant les prochaines années.
S. TAZI (Maroc)(interprétation de l'arabe): La délégation du Maroc voudrait présenter trois remarques concernant les différents chapitres du Programme de travail et budget. les deux premières remarques traitent du programme concernât la campagne de lutte contre la faim. Le représentant de la Suisse vient de souligner à l'instant l'importance de cette campagne et de ce programme spécial concernant la lutte contre la faim et l'action pour le développement. Etant donné que ce programme repose sur les liens entre les différents organismes concernés dans les pays en développement et les pays développés, les responsables des problèmes agricoles participent aussi à l'exécution de cette campagne. Au nom de la délégation de mon pays j'appuie les remarques faites par les représentants de la Suisse et je pose la question suivante: quelles sont les raisons qui ont empêché l'utilisation des crédits alloués à ce programme au cours des années 1978/79 ? Selon le document C 79/3 nous constatons que le crédit de 1 588 000 dollars n'a pas été utilisé. La somme de 300 000 dollars a été simplement utilisée comme un système de crédits alloués à cette campagne. Si l'Organisation a pu mettre à exécution ce programme en faisant des économies, nous sommes satisfaits de ce résultat, mais s'il s'agit de problèmes, de difficultés qui ont empêché l'exécution de ce programme, nous voudrions avoir des informations, des éclaircissements à ce sujet, étant donné que le document C 79/3 ne nous donne pas ce genre de enseignements.
Nous remarquons que le document ne prévoit pas de crédits extra-budgétaires consacrés à ce programme. Les sommes allouées se montent à 337 000 dollars et ceci malgré l'importance de ce programme qui vise la consolidation des coopérations techniques entre les pays en développement. Ce programme représente une des activités qui couvre la publication de livres, de bulletins qui contiennent des informations intéressant les pays en développement. L'expérience nous a montré que les difficultés sur la voie de la coopération entre les pays en développement sont imputables à l'absence de cette information.
Le troisième point que je voudrais présenter au nom de la délégation du Maroc concerne les points administratifs et les problèmes d'administration. Comme l'ont remarqué certains délégués et ainsi que l'a dit le représentant des Etats-Unis le cadre organique de l'Organisation représente un déséquilibre en ce qui concerne la représentation équitable des pays membres de l'Organisation quant aux différents postes. Je pense que ce déséquilibre continuera au sein de l'Organisation tant que les conditions de recrutement seront les mêmes et tant que nous continuerons à appliquer ces conditions étant donné qu'elles ne sont pas dans l'intérêt des pays en développement, qu'il s'agisse de l'expérience requise ou qu'il s'agisse du niveau de l'âge requis. En général l'expérience requise est très^élevée et l'âge également. Les pays en développement ne possèdent pas des experts d'un certain âge et d'une
grande experience étant donné que les experts et les techniciens dans les pays en développement sont jeunes et que les structures de développement dans les pays en développement sont encore toutes nouvelles. Les systèmes d'éducation dans les pays en développement remontent à peine aux années soixante à soixante dix (après l'accès à l'indépendance de ces pays). Nous voudrions donc que l'Organisation revoie ses conditions de recrutement afin que la Conférence puisse être représentée et que tous les pays en développement puissent être représentés au sein de l'Organisation.
L. CORNET d'ELZIUS (Belgique): Au sujet du point traitant de la représentation de la FAO à l'étranger ma délégation voudrait ajouter un commentaire et se rallier aux nombreuses voix qui se sont élevées à cette occasion.
Nous ne sommes, en principe, pas du tout contre la décentralisation mais nous voudrions que la FAO agisse principalement dans un souci d'efficacité et non de prestige. Nous regrettons que dans le document 79/3 dans le texte français page 171, paragraphe 8, il n'y ait pas davantage de précisions sur l'emplacement et l'importance des nouvelles missions. Nous constatons en effet que l'augmentation des représentations constitue un coût supérieur de 2 400 000 dollars, ce qui représente une charge pour l'Organisation et n'est pas compensé par des économies au Siège central. Je répète, qu'en principe, nous ne sommes pas contre l'idée de la décentralisation, mais que nous tenons beaucoup à ce que les dépenses soient faites à bon escient.
P. MASUD (Pakistan):On Programme 3. 1, Field Programme Planning and Liaison, my delegation commends the activities being carried out under this programme. We would particularly like to highlight the sub-activities, that is identifying, formulating and appraising technical assistance projects, administering the technical cooperation programme and serving as the focal points for the FAO's decentralization programme.
We are particularly gratified with the activities under Major Programme 3. 2 Investment. We fully agree with the views expressed by the Programme Committee in its 36th and 37th sessions and in this connexion I would refer delegates particularly to the 36th session which gives a detailed analysis of the investment activities of FAO. We would, however, like to highlight the need for shortening of the projects cycle, simplification of lending procedures, financing of local recurrent costs and training national staff in techniques of investments'formulation.
Major Programme 3. 4, FAO Representatives, we are a little perplexed to hear differing views being voiced on the need, number and mode of appointment of country representatives. Surely the right course to follow in this case would be to inquire from developing countries which are benefiting from this programme. This reminds me of a joke. There is a character called Dennis the Menace. One of his friends tells Dennis, "Hey, Dennis, you have got very short legs. " The reply that Dennis gives is, "So what, they reach the ground, don't they?" So that is the important thing, as long as reach the ground with what we have we are perfectly happy. We have found the country representative programme an effective tool to decentralization. Besides helping in maintaining a close liaison with the FAO, it is generally helpful otherwise also.
Recently we were informed by the Director-General that he has delegated 32 country representatives to sanction projects up to, I think, 15 thousand U. S. dollars under the technical Cooperation Programme. This is another aspect of decentralization which is not so widely known but it speaks very highly of the efforts of the Director-General to decentralize.
One point to which I am constrained to refer is the mode of recruitment. A few words have been said by some delegations about this recruitment. In Pakistan we have a Canadian national as a Country Representative. We are extremely happy with him. In fact, the procedure that was followed was the curriculum vitae of a number of individuals were sent to my country and after consideration they selected one individual who happened in this case to belong to Canada. But if they were to be advertised and selections to be made, I don't know by whom, by the headquarters or by the country? I think it would pose some problems because a candidate selected by the headquarters may not be acceptable to the country and a candidate selected by the country might not be acceptable to the headquarters. So in this case we feel that there appears to be little need for adopting a different method to the existing one.
We generally endorse and commend the programme and I am also constrained to say if we support the concept of decentralization we perforce have to support the concept of country representatives.
A lot has been said about minor operation details about these Country Representatives. I think it is best to leave those to the Director-General. After all it is his duty to see that these small details are ironed out and that the countries face no problems. But if we start going into how many chairs and how many tables the country representative has I think it would be going beyond what our duty is.
On the technical cooperation programme we support the programme as we have done in the past and we commend the action proposed under this programme in this document.
MISS A. J. PEARCE (New Zealand): I will be very brief as I am reinforcing points made by others. Firstly, Chapter 3, New Zealand keenly supports FAO moves to decentralize its operations and commends FAO for the steps it has taken to date. We should, however, be grateful for information about where country representatives been posted and for a break-down of the costs of their operations. This would help us better to understand what has been done; where needs are being met and where a need is still unsatisfied.
My second and last point relates to chapter four. We acknowledge that there is a need for a technical cooperation programme designed to respond to urgent short-term needs. It will, however, be of interest to us to have further information about the training programmes carried out under the programme, in particular how they came about;their relationships with projects; the kind of training given and the sort of costs involved. The query we have in our minds is whether this training assistance could have been afforded more economically through bilateral aid programmes or through other means.
M. ZJALIC (Yugoslavia): As regards Chapter 3. 1, Field Programme Planning and Liaison, it has been considered by my delegation as essential, particularly in the light of the expected remarkable rise in the extra-budgetary resources for those action programmes. We expressed our satisfaction with the development of UNDP/FAO country programming progress and consider that this activity should be pursued towards a more permanent basis, for it is one of the ways leading to better conditions for executing agencies to fulfill their roles.
We are satisfied with the support up till now offered by FAO to national liberation movements, especially in the case of Namibia and Palestine, and we hope, require and ask that such an attitude should be further pursued.
As regards Chapter 3. 2, Investment, we think that the Investment Centre should be considered as a top priority among FAO activities. We are fully satisfied with the work and the activities in the past, especially in broadening cooperation with a range of newly formed international financial institutions. We express our concern as to how the Investment Centre would be able to respond to the growing demand and pressure on its resources and feel that they may easily be proved to be insufficient. In such circumstances, the Investment Centre should remain flexible and pragmatic.
We also feel that the main effort should be directed towards investment going to the poorest countries and to cooperating with financial institutions which provide highly concessional loans to agriculture.
Although we are aware that the Investment Centre is only one component of the FAO Training Programme and has been mostly involved in the in-service training, nevertheless we feel that this aspect of the Investment Centre activities should be given adequate priority.
As for FAO representatives, we have already stressed that we had some doubts two years ago, but now we are fully convinced that the FAO representatives scheme is an essential component of the overall decentralization process.
We are generally pleased with the cautious approach of the Director-General in establishing country offices. We feel that the proposed increase of fifty new offices is fully justified. We are equally satisfied with the harmonious relations between FAO and UNDP in the field.
As for Chapter 4, we render full support to the Technical Cooperation Programme and compliment the Director-General on its operational effectiveness in dealing with the emergency. In view of the really high efficiency of the programme, we feel that an even larger real term increase should have been proposed.
We understand some of the constraints on which the Director-General proposed only a proportional increase. Nevertheless, in the future we want this efficient programme to be substantially supported.
This is just an addition to our general attitude and the comments we made in our first intervention yesterday when we emphasized that we fully supported and endorsed the Director-General's Programme of Work and Budget for the biennium for 1980-81.
W. JOHNSON (United States of America): I am sorry to intervene again, especially at this late hour, but the remarks of several delegates reminded me that my delegation has an additional comment on Chapter 6.
We would have appreciated more detail and justification in Chapter 6. We believe it would be useful to know, for example, how much was paid in rent for Building G in 1979 and how much is expected to be paid in the few months remaining before this building is relinquished, when Building Β becomes available to the Organization.
We notice, too, that Chapter 6 proposes a programme increase of $635, 000.
We should like to ask the Secretariat what specific programme increases are intended, and why these might not be absorbed by the money saved through the occupancy of rent-free space in Building D. It seems that this is an example of the kind of area of the budget where savings can be effected without restricting the important substantive elements of the Programme of Work and Budget that we all approve and support.
K. M. KHUDHEIR (Iraq) (interpretation from Arabic): Mr Chairman, on behalf of my delegation I would like to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of this Commission, and we hope that you will be successful in your task. We also hope that the work of the FAO will be successful and that it will be able to meet the aspirations of the developing countries, the poor countries and the field programmes and rural development programmes will be enhanced.
We would like to stress the necessity of training which we feel is the basis of development and the basis of promoting the individual. We are convinced that this is really the cornerstone of the New International Economic Order which should, above all, aim at the best possible development of the natural resources and the human resources of the poor countries and the developing countries without any constraint whatsover.
P. ΒUNE (Fiji): Mr. Chairman, we have finally decided to break our silence this afternoon after listening to some very interesting remarks on this Chapter. First of all, may I congratulate you on your election? We pledge to you our full support, although there are only two of us in our delegation.
I should like to make a few general remarks particularly on the question of FAO country representatives. First, we welcome this policy of decentralization, not only because we have been told that it will help reduce the cost of maintaining the bureaucracy we have here in Rome, but also because the policy will assist in the speedy implementation of projects at country level. We would like to see further that these country representatives are delegated sufficient powers, and authority to enable them to take decisions or approve the projects up to an agreed ceiling. We do not want them simply to act as post boxes, because my country, like all other Pacific island countries, is in a geographically disadvantaged position in that we are far removed and isolated from the seat of decision-making. The actual time taken before the identification of a project up to the implementation stage can be very long and for smaller countries it may not even be necessary to have a full office established. The local costs of servicing these representatives, not to mention the diplomatic representatives already established there, may be even beyond the resources of some smaller countries. FAO might therefore consider other arrangements. Perhaps their representatives could be attached to the planning or development divisions of appropriate government ministries. I suggest this only if these representatives are going to undertake a liaison or monitoring function in these countries.
The other point I wish to make is the possibility of FAO giving recipient countries more authority in the choice and recruitment of experts. I say this because many developing countries have at their disposal a reservoir of local expertise which could well undertake the work now being carried out by FAO experts on FAO-sponsored projects. We believe that such an arrangement can have many advantages to recipient countries. Perhaps the most important would be that this local expertise would be hired on local terms and conditions which would mean considerable savings for FAO.
One of the concerns of the Fiji Government is the high cost of experts recruited by international agencies for service in Fiji, and the contribution of these high salaried people to the escalating cost of living in Fiji. For small countries this cannot be exaggerated.
These are the points I wish to make. I would also like to ask FAO perhaps to consider designating government departments or local development organizations within a country, particularly small island countries as isolated as mine, as executing agencies for FAO-funded projects.
Α. PAPASOLOMONTOS (Cyprus): I have two additional comments, both on Chapter 3. The first concerns the investment work of FAO, my delegation welcomes the progress achieved in the last biennium and the cooperation that has been reached by this Organization, the World Bank, IFAD, Regional and other banks. We are certain that this coordination of activities and cooperation has been primarily responsible for the increased flow of funds for development projects. We fully support the action proposed on page 150, paragraph 15 of the English text, leading to an expansion of the pipeline of investment projects.
We would like to join with other delegates in urging FAO to intensify its training efforts in this field of pre-preparation, thus ensuring greater local participation and pre-preparation and reducing gradually outside manpower and inputs.
In the process, FAO should also carefully examine the present status and possible shortcomings in the field of project management, project supervision and project monitoring. In our experience, this field is usually the weakest and yet the most important link in the project cycle. We would therefore strongly recommend that FAO should study the possibility of strengthening the options either alone or in consultation with the World Bank in such a way that we could expect over a period of time to ensure adequate local project management and monitoring expertise in the developing countries.
My second point is only a minor one, but I thought I should bring it up. It refers to the André Meyer fellowships on page 155 of the English text. We note that in real terms the budget amount for such training is at a reduced level in comparison with earlier years. My delegation fully understands the reasons for this, but as these fellowships are intended for leading scientists of the developing countries we would recommend that should savings become available from other programmes it would be desirable to consider providing some additional funds for this highly important and desirable field.
F. ZENNY (Jamaica):I would like to address my comments this time to Chapters 3 and 4, just to make Jamaica's position clear.
On the question of investment in particular, Jamaica welcomes this trend and wishes it to increase. It is particularly satisfying to note that agreements are now taking place with the major funding agencies. We are a little concerned about the Investment Centre's ability to respond to the call on its resources, our own contact has indicated that there may be some problem in this area and we would like to suggest that something be done before the bottleneck is upon us, as it may very well be.
On the question that I have already referred to and which I feel it is worth making once again Mr Chairman, as shortening the project cycle simplifying procedure, improvement of terms, particularly concessionary terms, including local cost financing. I would hope that the Organization would make its position quite clear on these matters and would actively take a leadership position in these areas. I am not aware that this is the position. I know where the sympathies of the Organization lie and I know what is stated as being desirable. I am not aware of anything being done to assist those in need of these development funds in these very important areas.
On the question of decentralization, Mr. Chairman, this is a trend which we commend goes in the direction of assisting countries to do their own thing. The representative is seen as someone with whom we can work against a background of knowing what we want to do and using the Organization to assist us in this manner, so we want this kind of arrangement and we want it to continue to grow and we support the increase in this area.
On the question of choice or selection of FAO representatives I can only speak for Jamaica in this matter, but I would think that what we have done is what is common to other developing countries. It took us a long time to agree on our country representative. I believe we did not agree with FAO until the fourth candidate was put before us. I would like to report that we are satisfied with the country representative, that the delay was justified, and we are working quite happily with the representative that we have and intend to continue to do so, and I think frankly, Mr. Chairman, that that is the important aspect.
On the question of the Technical Cooperation Programme, again we see this as a new trust in assisting the countries to determine their own priorities, to make their own decisions and to rely on themselves in the implementation of their programme centre. Jamaica has taken a while to use TCP but I would like to say, Mr. Chairman, that we are well on the way to utilising it into the next year, and we intend to seek growth in this programme because we can see how it can benefit us in a very immediate way. We see it as supplementing in a very necessary manner, activities that are ongoing.
C. B. SESAY (Sierra Leone): I hope, being almost the last speaker for the evening, I will not take too much of the time of the distinguished delegates, but I think that there is one point which has been mentioned here by several delegates and I just want to emphasize the importance of this point. It is this question of FAO country representatives. It is the opinion of my delegation that we fully support the idea of a country representative, and I wish to say that the presence of the FAO representative in our country has helped to shorten the communication line; it has brought us nearer FAO headquarters in terms of project processing and implementation. The FAO representative in Sierra Leona has helped us to speed up the processing and implementation of projects. Mr. Chairman if you can permit me, earlier this year Sierra Leona was invaded by an army of worms which, and but for the timely intervention of FAO, our rice crop would have been debauched completely, but because we have the FAO representative next door to us it was very easy tö put our requirements and it was speedily processed. This is one big advantage of having a country representative in some of our countries which are far removed from FAO headquarters.
Another point which some distinguished delegates have raised is the question of monitoring the activities of country representatives. In our opinion we feel such a suggestion is not a bad one, but since we have full confidence in the ability of FAO we are confident that we have enough machinery to conduct such an exercise, and, as some delegates mentioned earlier, it is in the opinion of all of us to see that some suggestions are made on how this monitoring system could be conducted. We also welcome that, but we have full confidence that FAO has the necessary machinery to monitor the activities of this important representation. We fully support the idea that the FAO country representative should be extended wherever possible.
Srta. M. E. BORASCA (Argentina): Gracias, Sr. Presidente, por haberme concedido la palabra, a pesar de lo avanzado de la tarde.
Mi delegación tuvo ya la oportunidad de expresar su acuerdo al Programa de Labores y Presupuestos en su intervención de ayer. Ya manifestamos también nuestro especial apoyo al Programa de Cooperación Técnica, pues entendemos que este programa impulsará la producción de alimentos, favoreciendo las economías de los países en desarrollo, a través de un incremento cuantitativo y cualitativo de los recursos agrícolas.
Reiteramos nuestro apoyo pleno al Programa de Cooperación de la FAO, ya que se revela como instrumento útil y dinámico para problemas de pequeña escala en diversos países en desarrollo, que, como la Argentina, han visto por este medio hacerse efectiva una fructífera colaboración con esta Organización. Por esta razón propiciamos una gran actividad de la FAO en el campo de la cooperación técnica para países en desarrollo y una acción que permita el intercambio de tecnología que ayude a superar la forma tradicional de los cultivos y permita asimismo la capacitación del agricultor a fin de que éste pueda beneficiarse de dicha técnica. Ello es fundamental para lograr los objetivos del Programa.
Se hace necesario estimular el intercambio de tecnología, pues el sector agrícola abre un amplio campo de colaboración de enorme interés para nuestro país. Por eso, Sr. Presidente, apoyamos plenamente las iniciativas del Director General encaminadas a lograr un mayor incremento del Programa, tal como consta en el Documento C 79/3.
Dada la importancia vital que mi Delegación otorga a este Programa, estimamos que el monto destinado al mismo es insuficiente, y tal como lo manifestamos ayer, sugerimos que se considere la posibilidad de que se pueda realizar algún reajuste interno o transferencia de recursos para impulsar el Programa de Cooperación Técnica.
En nuestra intervención de ayer expresamos nuestra inquietud respecto a la escasa participación de América Latina en la asignación de fondos, comparada con otras regiones. Agradecemos al Secretario las declaraciones que sobre este punto se nos dieron ayer. Sin embargo, no podemos dejar de llamar la atención respecto a la importancia que para América Latina reviste un mayor apoyo de esta Organización, a fin de que puedan concretarse los proyectos en estudio y que pueda considerarse la posibilidad de aumentar la asignación con respecto a investigación para nuestra región.
CHAIRMAN:Tomorrow we meet at half past nine and we will resume on all the Chapters. If there are any further comments anyone would like to make you can make them and the respective officers of FAO will give their comments, and I expect by 11 o'clock we will be able to start the next item, the review of the Regular Programme after the Completion of Work and Budget.
A. GARTAA (Libya): In the context of Chapter 2 concerning economic development programmes we would like to reiterate support to the Director-General in the utilization of all available natural resources.
The world is facing a problem of food security, so that the programme proposed for the use of modern techniques such as remote sensing, and the application of field methods for the evaluation of water resources and irrigation requirements are ambitious programmes. We believe it is necessary to develop new water resources especially in countries lacking water resources, and to this effect we believe it is important to study the use of desalinated water in agriculture. The use of solar energy for the same purpose should be met by approval from everybody. We believe it should be included in the Programme.
We also feel that the Programme proposed for the improvement of crop production and management is another ambitious programme especially in relation to mechanization and production of post-harvest losses to a minimum in order to increase world production and ensure food security.
Concerning the programme for the increase and improvement of animal production in developing countries, we support this programme, and in particular a control of animal trypanosomiasis in affected countries in Africa as well as the international scheme for meat development and dairy development. However we think FAO should actively participate in the control of other animal diseases known in many countries, as pointed out by the distinguished delegate from Sudan. This would contribute to satisfy the requirements of a sound food security.
As regards agricultural research we would like to emphasize that, despite efforts made during last year's, the rate of world production is still low in many areas. Therefore horizontal expansion by land reclamation will not improve the food security situation in the world unless it is coupled with intensive research to increase vertical production. We think in particular of research concerning selection of fertilizers, seed improvement, pest control and soil fertility. We therefore believe that these items should be reinforced in the proposed programme.
With regard to rural development it is our opinion that the proposed programme of work should be in line with the resolutions and recommendations of WCARRD of last July, particularly in relation to people's participation, and the role and participation of women in development 1/.
The meeting rose at 17. 45 hours
La seance est levee a 17h 45
Se levanta la sesión a las 17. 45 horas
1/ Statement inserted in the verbatim records on request.
