STATEMENT BY THE INDEPENDENT CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL
DECLARATION DU PRESIDENT INDEPENDANT DU CONSEIL
DECLARACION DEL PRESIDENTE INDEPENDIENTE DEL CONSEJO

Since the Twenty-first Session of the Conference the Council has had three regular sessions involving in all twenty-three days of intensive discussion. My sincere gratitude goes to the members of the Council and Observers on the one hand, and to the Director-General and his staff on the other for making the Council meetings purposeful and pleasant. Under its Charter the Council is required to keep under review the state of food and agriculture in the world in between the sessions of the Conference; as a result, the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of the world food problem, so lucidly and authoritatively described by the Director-General yesterday, have been under continuous review in the different sessions of the Council. The Council has given enthusiastic support to the enlarged concept of food security, proposed by the Director-General, which stipulates that the ultimate objective of food security is to ensure that all people at all times have access, both physical and econominal, to the basic food they need.

At its Eighty-fourth session, held between 1 and 3 November 1983, the Council as a whole expressed its full support to the FAO Programme of Work and Budget for 1984-1985. The format, contents and the strategy of effective redeployment of resources have all been highly commended by the Council. I share the hope expressed yesterday by the Director-General that the Conference will give its unanimous approval to the Programme of Budget and Work for 1984-1985.

I would like now to take five issues which were discussed during the Council meetings, and to put forward some of my own personal comments. The first relates to our immediate goal of the alleviation of hunger.

The World Food Programme is probably the largest source of multilateral assistance within the United Nations system apart from the World Bank group, and as everyone knows, is completing this year, 20 years of valuable service.

Food aid, as used by the World Food Programme, has demonstrated the capacity to reach the poorest and the needy. This feature of the World Food Programme can be further enhanced by concentrating it even more strongly on the poorest regions in each country and by enhancing the participation of the people of the area concerned in designing and implementing suitable projects. The World Food Programme, together with the "Food for Development", "Food for Work" and similar programmes sponsored by the United States, European Economic Community and many developed and developing nations, provide immediately feasible methods of enabling everyone to earn their daily bread with human dignity. I have personally seen the power and usefulness of the "Food for Work" programmes to benefit the poor, particularly women and children, in my country as well as in Bangladesh.

In this connection I would like to quote what was once said by Mahatma Gandhi when he heard the recitation of a poem by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore: "The hungry millions ask for one poem - invigorating food. They cannot be given it. They must earn it. And they can earn it only by the sweat of their brow. Imagine therefore what a calamity it must be to have several million becoming degraded every day for want of employment, devoid of self-respect. Indeed at the root of this doctrine of social equity must be the trusteeship of the wealthy for the superfluous wealth possessed by them."

Gandhi considered that the only meaningful pathway of development is one where the good of all is served by promoting the good of the poorest, the lowliest and the lost. However, if the World Food Programme and similar national Programmes are to achieve their stated objective of making food an instrument of achieving self-reliance in agriculture, we will need a vast army of professionals who, imbued with humanism, will help in both project formulation and effective delivery based on a clear understanding of the needs and aspirations of the local population. I will return shortly to the question of how we can generate this vast army of helpers.

Secondly, I would refer to the establishment of a division of reak668e and technology development in FAO, as proposed by the Director-General. The Council has welcomed his initiative. I referred earlier to the 20th anniversary of the World Food Programme. 1983 also marks the thirtieth anniversary of the double helix structure of the chemical substance of heredity, Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) by Watson and Crick the American and British biochemist and geneticist. This discovery resulted in rapid progress in the standardization of techniques to isolate genetic material, to identify portions of the genetic molecule responsible for specific characteristics, and then to splice this portion onto a genetic molecule from another strain.

Consequently reak668e in cell biology, molecular genetics, recombinant DNA, tissue culture, and related fields are laying the groundwork for important technological developments. Developing countries should take interest in the potential application of biotechnology and genetic engineering in agriculture, health and energy. The euphoria surrounding the biotechnology revolution should, however, not blind us to the fact that much of the increased production needed during the next ten years will come mainly from the adaptation and transfer of already available technologies.

I wish to quote what President Nyerere of Tanzania said recently: "I am tired of hearing about the production potential of my country as well as others in Africa. What we would like to see is the speedy conversion of the potential into actual production."

Members of this Conference are fully aware that science and technology are important components of the wall dividing poverty and prosperity. In this context the decision to establish a Division of Reak668e and Technology Development in FAO is a timely initiative.

In the past, technological progress led to a process of industrialization characterised by high capital requirements, centralization, automation, urbanization and often pollution. However, we now have unique opportunities for harnessing recent advances in agricultural and rural technologies including biotechnology, microelectronics and microprocessors, computers, satellite communication and imagery and solar renewable energy technology to upgrade traditional skills and occupations. If we do this we will be able to combine the advantages of the technologies involved in what is called "production by masses" and "mass production" technologies. This is the only way by which we can fight the famine of jobs which threatens to be the most important problem in coming years, as was mentioned by the distinguished McDougall lecturer yesterday.

To farmers "seeing is believing" and visual demonstrations have hence high credibility. A few hundred demonstrations laid out in small farmers' fields in India with dwarf varieties of wheat during 1965-66 had such a striking impact that the area under semi-dwarf high yielding varieties of Wheat rose from four hectares in 1964 to four million hectares in 1970. Wheat production in India went up from 12 million tonnes in 1965 to 42.5 million tonnes in 1983. A small government programme thus became a mass movement.

Nothing succeeds like success and we need experience of agricultural success in every country to build up the self-confidence of Agricultural Departments and extension workers. Historians of US agriculture say that the release of hybrid maize in the US in the thirties led not only to a rapid increase in maize production but triggered a process of improved farm management in all crops. This is because farmers who learnt the value of good management in hybrid maize transferred this experience to other crops. We therefore need to identify candidate crops and technologies in each country for serving as catalysts of change. In my personal opinion rice and wheat have been the two major sources of success stories in many countries of Asia and I believe maize and rice are two candidate crops for initiating an era of more rapid agricultural progress in several parts of Africa.

I should like now to say a few words about the WCARRD, the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development programme of action, with particular reference to the role of women in rural development. We normally tend to assume that the household is a homogeneous unit in which resources and income are shared equally by all members of the family. Available evidence suggests, however, that intra-household distribution of resources and income vary by age and sex, and that often men and women enjoy different economic status within a household. Their expenditure preferences also often differ. Additional income for them will hence help to increase the total family income and thereby improve the quality of life of the family in general and nutrition of children in particular.

In this context, I would like to quote from a statement by Annette Wagniere, Chair-person of the Congress organized last year at Helsinki by the International Alliance of Women:

"The introduction of new technologies which affects more particularly the jobs held mainly by women, requires a difficult process of adjustment, involving both job creation and job destruction. Attempts to protect jobs which are becoming obsolete only hinder the flexible adjustment that is required. We must adopt not a defensive but an offensive position in that we encourage business and governments to develop the means of controlling this change so that jobs are not wiped out more quickly than new ones are created and that instead of reducing job content, these new technologies give the job-holder more varied tasks to perform in the time saved by the machine".

In my written text, Mr Chairman, I have several examples which I shall skip in the interests of saving time. Many of them are known to you, how consciously and unconsciously, I would say in many cases, the introduction of new technologies has affected, particularly in many developing countries, the job opportunities for rural women; the need for the development and spread of technologies which can generate more on-farm and off-farm employment and lead to a reduction of drudgery for family farm women who are overworked due to both their dual productive and reproductive roles deserve to be more widely recognized.

I shall now go to the fourth of my points, Mr Chairman, referring to the conservation of basic agricultural resources. At that last session of this Conference, the Conference adopted a World Soil Charter designed to promote soil conservation and scientific land use. It also adopted a resolution on plant genetic resources sponsored by the delegation of Mexico. In pursuance of the resolution on plant genetic resources, the Director-General has submitted a report which the Council has forwarded for the consideration of this Conference.

Extinction of genetic variability caused by the destruction of forest and other natural habitats is a threat which can be successfully met only by generating widespread awareness of this problem and public cooperation.

This is why we are happy that this particularly important point has come before the Conference.

On this occasion, permit me, Mr Chairman, to recall what Chief Seattle of the Washington State of the Unites States said in 1854, and I quote: "The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. We know that all things are connected like the blood which unites one family. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

Some experts believe that before humankind follows the advice of Chief Seattle, even in 1854 probably 25 to 50 percent of the 5 to 10 million species that now share with us the earth as their home would have become extinct. It is hence appropriate that this Conference discusses questions relating to biological diversity in economic plants, genetic vulnerability arising from monoculture and narrowing of gene base in widely grown cultivars, gene erosion resulting from the loss of germplasm of both economic and wild species and, above all, methods of ensuring the unrestricted availability of germplasm to all nations. Thanks to the work of the International Board of Plant Genetic Resources, FAO, Unesco, UNEP and above all national agencies, we now have facilities around the world for germplasm collection and conservation. Mr Chairman, the first human form, referred to as Hominid, is believed to have evolved in East Africa some 25 million or more years ago. Human beings may have existed as a species that is,homo sapiens as a species, for about 2 million years. Yet, it was only 10 000 years ago that our ancestors started growing food, rather than merely gather‐ing it or hunting it. Thus,if the existence of human beings as an independent species is equated to a 24 hour day, we have been farmers for only about 7 minutes. Even during these 7 minutes, we have practised market-oriented agriculture only for a few seconds. Within these few seconds, we have been confronted with numerous problems including changing consumer preferences. We do not know what all new pests and soil and atmospheric constraints particularly arising from increased CO₂ in the atmosphere, we will have to face in the future. We do not know - and I want to underline this -what all physiological and morphological traits will be needed for plants to perform well in a post-nuclear war era, if unfortunately such a calamity befalls our planet. Future generations of scientistis and farmers will not have the tools with which they can solve such problems if we do not make genetic resources conservation, evaluation and utilization a common cause and accord it the highest priority.

Finally, Mr Chairman, I want to refer to the programme known as The New Dimensions of FAO. Historically, agriculture had its origin in the Third World, but unfortunately many of the Third World countries are importing food. We have seen numerous examples of how developing countries can increase speedily their production.

I recently saw in Zanzibar such an intensive system of rice production of which in my written text I have given a description. In my institute we harvest a crop of rice every Monday, and we plant a crop of rice every Friday. In other words, there are as many harvests as there are weeks. Over 20 tonnes of rice are harvested per hectare per year in this way, because we have sunlight and if there is water a very intensive system is possible. This is usually referred to as the green power of the tropics and subtropics. Because of the abundance of sunshine, plants can do photosynthesis throughout the year.

I saw in Zanzibar the work of an FAO field expert - and yesterday we honoured some such experts - taking advantage of underground water. Zanzibar has a rich aquifer and if there is energy to pump water, rice production can be doubled within a short time. Electricity or diesel are, however, not yet available in the quantity needed for taking advantage of the ground water. Biogas plants and biogas operated pumps may be of help in getting the green power converted into grains but this technology will have to be introduced and tested.

Examples of this kind can be multiplied. The FAO in its document C 83/26, has estimated that the developing countries' reak668e systems will need at least 6 000 to 7 000 new entrants if they" are to do their job.

The gross financial requirement for providing one expatriate expert is currently estimated by many multilateral and bilateral technical assistance agencies at about US$ 100 000 per year per person. In many developing countries this amount may suffice to pay the salaries of 40 to 50 national experts. The gap in the "Pay, perks and privileges" package is growing between international experts and national scientists of many developing countries and this is hurting poor nations in two major ways. First, such high cost of expert services makes the quantitative dimensions of knowledge and skill transfer very small in relation to crying needs. Secondly, it promotes in national experts the urge to become also an expatriate expert.

It is my conviction that this pattern of technical assistance is not sustainable. It will also not lead to the conversion of production potential into production in Africa and elsewhere with the needed speed. We heard a beautiful suggestion yesterday from Dr Bruno Kreisky.

We urgently need a global cadre of agricultural development workers consisting of young men and women professionals, husband-wife teams, and elderly couples who are physically and mentally active, and development aid volunteers and teachers of the kind described yesterday by Dr Bruno Kreisky, if we are to fulfil our desire to assist the poor nations and arrest the decline in the per capita food output of several developing countries in Africa. We have of course a number of examples like the Peace Corps of the US and Canada, the UN Volunteers programme, and numerous such initiatives of government and non-governmental agencies around the world to give us guidance. Among young and old professionals around the world there will certainly be many to whom the intellectual challenge of problem-solving or a sense of purpose in life arising from social commitment are exceedingly important.

It is in this context we hope that the "New Dimensions" concept of FAO will blossom into its ultimate objective of doing this work in a low-cost way.

This concept is not new and we have numerous examples around the world of such work being done by non-governmental and some governmental organizations. These, however, remain as unique examples -occasional blossoms in the midst of a sea of despair. How can we convert unique examples into a universal movement? Herein lies the challenge to those in charge of promoting foreign technical aid and TCDC and ECDC programmes.

Let me conclude, Mr Chairman, with your quotation to the Conference held in Hot Springs, Virginia, to which you referred in your opening remarks, "This Conference, meeting in the midst of the greatest war ever waged, and in full confidence of victory, has considered the world problem of food and agriculture and declared its belief that the goal of freedom from want of food suitable and adequate for the health and strength of all peoples, can be achieved". Forty years later, we are discussing at this Conference the ravages of drought, the plight of 500 million members of our species to whom "God, give us this day our daily bread" is the only meaningful prayer, the onslaught of rinderpest and other animal diseases, the devastation caused to crops by the unholy triple alliance of pests, pathogens and weeds, the lack of capital for agricultural development, trade barriers, pricing and marketing problems, environmental degradation and the need for coming to the rescue of countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the face of such realities, are we going to be content with mutual backslapping heartiness at such meetings and eternally talk poor and live rich? It is for the leaders of world agriculture who have gathered here to decide.

May I once again thank you, Mr Chairman, and all members of the Conference for giving me the privilege of working with members of the FAO Council and with the dynamic Director-General and his dedicated staff during the last two years? Thank you very much.

Italy is passing through a difficult economic period. It nonetheless remains one of the leading industrialized countries in the West. But we Italians cannot forget that we have experienced in the past many of the problems that developing countries are encountering today. We are well aware of their seriousness. We Ministers of Agriculture in particular, know how complex are the questions regarding the enhancement of agricultural production not only in his own country but also on a world scale in order to reach a less imbalanced pattern of distribution of food resources.

Right from the time of the ancient Romans it has been a saying in Italy that all roads lead to Rome. While this is often no longer the case today, it undoubtedly remains true as far as the FAO is concerned. All the ideas, projects and programmes designed to tackle the huge problems with which the FAO is entrusted converge on Rome and this is for us a great privilege.

I am sure that I am speaking for my fellow-citizens and for the Italian Government when I assure you that both the Italian Civil Service and our government bodies are ready to cooperate with the FAO. Personally, I undertake to give all possible support to the work of the Director-General and the other organs of the FAO.

Mr Chairman, the world economic situation is difficult today. To overcome this moment will require a common effort on a probably unprecedented scale. In particular, the developing countries probably see their special problems as being more serious today and their economic take-off further in the distance.

In August 1982 Mexico's decision to suspend its foreign debts payments acted as a detonator of a financial crisis among LDCs that for a moment appeared to threaten the collapse of the whole international financial system. This happened in the framework of stagnation of world trade, fall in the raw material prices, high real interest rates, and a tendency towards greater protectionism.

The situation today shows some comforting signs of light, interspersed with disturbing shadows.

A sizeable adjustment in the non-oil LDCs' balances of payments is under way, and their current account deficit is not expected to exceed $67 billion in 1983 ( as compared with 84 billion in 1982 and 107 billion in 1981). The deficit of the oil producing LDCs, by contrast, is expected to rise further (to $24 billion, as against 13 billion last year). The recovery that has started in the industrial countries should be reflected in an upturn in world trade and in a weakening of protectionist pressures.

However, the level of the non-oil LDCs' debt remains extremely high and equally high, though declining, is the ratio of debt servicing to exports of goods and services (19.3 percent on average for the non-oil LDGs, with a peak of 39 percent for the Latin-American countries).

In this worldwide context we have to face the problems of agricultural development.

Taken altogether, the results achieved by the developing countries in the sixties and seventies cannot be considered satisfactory. Agricultural production grew only slightly faster than the population with an annual increase in per capita output of 0.3 percent which was far from being uniform (in Africa between 1970 and 1980 there was actually an annual decrease of 1.4 percent). Hence, the large rise recorded in the LDCs' imports of food and agricultural products. These amounted to around $61 billion in 1982 (according to GATT), an increase of 7 percent compared with 1981, and that notwithstanding the down-turn in prices.

The scope for substantial progress in agriculture exists and is considerable. Think of the introduction of more advanced technologies and the adoption of effective economic policy measures. It is worth recalling, in this connection, the deleterious effect of policies that distort the relative prices of agriculture and protected industrial sectors, or of the penalization of agricultural production by overvalued exchange rates or excessive taxes used by many countries to

promote industrialization. Where such policies have been avoided the peasants, even the poorest, have shown themselves to be relatively efficient and rational entrepreneurs and reached notable levels of productivity. What, in this context, is the role of food aid? It is undoubtedly indispensable in tackling emergencies but it cannot, and must not, constitute an alternative (or alibi) for effective structural interventions. If you give a fish to a man, you will feed him for a day; if you teach him to fish you will feed him for a lifetime.

The question of agricultural development in the LDCs is closely linked to the problem of the disequilibria at world level in production and distribution. Here we come to one of the major contradictions of our economic system. Let me say this is really a moral and political tragedy in our times.

The solution cannot be entrusted entirely to the free play of market forces which on their own do not appear able to guarantee farmers an adequate income. The only viable road is that of international cooperation and agreements between countries. In this connection, I want to point to the example of multi-year supply contracts, a commercial practice that is rapidly spreading and which makes it possible to guarantee producers^’ revenues and importing countries' supply at stable prices.

We feel this need for cooperation very strongly, and in the last few years Italy has made a great effort in the field of development aid. In 1979 we spent 0.8 percent on the development cooperation, in 1982 the figure had already tripled to 0.24 percent. We are still a long way behind the average of the DAC countries, which in 1982 spent 0.39 percent of their GDP on aid to developing countries. Our goal - announced at the General Assembly of the United Nations in September 1980- is to increase our development aid to 0.7 percent to GDP by the end of this decade. We are confident of achieving this result.

Our planned expenditure in 1984 amounts to $1.6 billion and in 1985 to 1.9 billion. It is true that the great part of the funds serve to provide bilateral aid: next year about 70 percent of the funds allocated to developing cooperation by the Italian Government will be used to provide bilateral aid.

The Italian Government nonetheless continues to attach great importance to multilateral cooperation: evidence of this is our interest in new forms of cooperation (so-called multi-, bilateral interventions typical of our programmes with FAO). Thay make it possible to maintain the direct relationship between donor and beneficiary countries and at the same time to make the best use of the resources, experience and management ability of the international organizations. The multilateral approach to aid serves to maximize the resources made available to LDCs. It draws on the contributions of a large number of donor countries, including the small ones. This allows greater flexibility and efficiency in the use of contributions. Personally I am convinced thar multilateral aid will play a major role, especially when agreement is reached in the negotiations to. replenish the resources of the IDA and for the renewal of the Lome Convention. In this context, Mr Chairman, let me draw your attention to the necessity to fully participate in the replenishment of IFAD.

I would like to conclude by expressing my appreciation of the realistic programme and budget that the FAO management has drawn up. The need not to increase the financial burden on Member States has ended up by stimulating a further improvement in the already high level of services provided by the Organization. In particular, while supporting the Programme of Work and Budget presented by the Director-General of FAO, I fully agree with the decision to allocate an increasing share of resources to the technical and economic programmes with the greatest priority. May I close, Mr Director-General, by saying that I value the results achieved so far very highly and by extending my best wishes for your and the FAO's work in the future.

Allow me also to extend our warm welcome to the four new members; Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Christopher and Nevis and Vanuatu; of this Organization. This Conference has been enriched by their presence.

The FAO Conference affords a valuable opportunity to review and take stock of achievements and failures in humanity's common struggle against poverty, hunger and malnutrition. It also affords us a moment to pause and ponder collectively on our future line of action in the light of the policies and programmes pursued so far for increasing food and agricultural production and ensuring access to adequate food by the poor and vulnerable people in the world.

Grain harvests, on the global scale, have been very good during 1981 and 1982, but the increase was unevenly distributed. The developing countries with three-quarters of the world population, accounted for only 20 percent of the total increase of grain production in 1982. During 1983, food production in developing countries has increased overall but is barely equal to the population growth. In Latin America, the food production has declined. The situation in 22 countries of Africa, particularly in five Sahelian countries, continues to be a matter of grave concern. Drought, disease and pest have led to shortages and emergency situation. The deteriorating food situation there threatens the very survival of some African nations. Overall in the world, the absolute number of people suffering from poverty and hunger has increased. Nearly 900 million people are reported to be affected by malnutrition. Sadly, the current pattern indicates that by the year 2000 approximately 25 percent of the world population would be suffering from hunger and malnutrition. This unfortunate situation emanates from the fact that the poor countries' financial and economic ability to pay for their food requirements has deteriorated.

The developing countries carry a disproportionate burden of the impact of world recession since 1976; their position continues to deteriorate even in the recovery phase. The growth of real output in the non-oil developing countries slowed down further in 1982 to about 1.5 percent for the group as a whole indicating negative growth in per capita GNP. Even for 1983 positive growth in per capita income is not visible. For three consecutive years there will be zero or negative growth in per capita income in these countries. The flow of resources to developing countries is gradually on the decline. In real terms, Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows to developing countries are estimated to have remained unchanged in 1983 at about the same level as in 1980. The trading opportunities to developing countries in areas of comparative advantage have diminished in recent years. Moreover, renascent protectionism reduces their outlets. High interest rates combined with shrinking markets is making the debt problem almost intractable for the developing countries, which has reached the astronomic figure of 700 billion US dollars. In 1982 the servicing of this debt alone represented about 130 billion US dollars, being, 25 percent of the goods and services exported by the non-petroleum producing countries.

The need to create a new, balanced and more just international economic order has never been greater than today. For millions it would mean the difference between life and death. As the world community groans under the constant shadows of disease, want and poverty, every day that passes witnesses tragedy for hundreds of thousands of human beings. The untold sufferings of teeming millions cannot be terminated with just well-intentioned and noble words. It is only by sincere efforts and urgent action that their sufferings can be alleviated. No doubt, the effective functioning of the international economic order depends on the participation of both the developing and developed countries. Reality of mutual interest between the North and South should be reinforced and our common task should be to make this link a spur to growth instead of an entanglement of mutual decline. The common challenge to promote development needs to be approached with pragmatic, constructive and cooperative spirit by both the developed and the developing countries.

Mr Chairman, we recognize that the primary responsibility for the solution of the food problem lies with developing countries themselves. However, those countries lack adequate financial resources for the optimum development of their potential. Without appropriate technical and adequate external financial assistance it would be too optimistic to hope that they can achieve 4 percent annual growth rate in agricultural production as envisaged in the 1974 World Food Conference. Flow of external assistance directly in support of agriculture reached nowhere near the internationally agreed estimates of annual requirements of US dollars 8.3 billion at 1975 prices. This situation is aggravated by the decline in its concessionary component.

In Pakistan, we have been making determined efforts to increase our food and agricultural production. By the grace of God, we have achieved positive results. Our policies consisted of economic incentives, reak668e and technological innovations and institutional restructuring. The thrust of our policies has been for the benefit of the small farmers in an environment of integrated rural development and improved conditions of life in the rural area. In this context, special mention may be made of our agricultural credit system which has been made responsive to the needs of the small farmer as well as a vehicle for the transfer of technology. Our emphasis is on balanced development of all sub-sectors of agriculture, i.e. crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry in all agro-ecological zones of the country.

We achieved a growth rate of a 4.4 per cent per annum in the agriculture sector during the last five years. In 1982-83, our growth was 4.8 per cent. We have achieved self-sufficiency in wheat and sugar. Wheat production has gone up by 49 per cent in the last five years from 8.3 million tonnes to 12.4 million-tonnes. In sugarcane we achieved a record production of 36.6 million tonnes. After more than three decades, we have done away with rationing in the country, and sugar is now available to the consumer in the open market. By the grace of God, we have emerged as the third largest exporter of cotton and rice in the world. While our cotton production has increased to a record level of 4.84 million bales from a level of 3.4 million bales in 1977-78, our rice production increased from 2.9 million tonnes to 3.4 million tonnes. Increases have also been registered in maize production.

We have built up a food security reserve of 1.6 million tonnes of wheat and plan to raise this to two million tonnes. We have raised the storage capacity from 2.4 million tonnes to 4.2 million tonnes in the last five years.

Our Sixth Five-Year Plan has been launched with the confident hope that the gains already made, will be consolidated and the growth impulses in the agriculture sector be institutionalized. Growth with equity continues to be the hallmark of the Plan and the focus continues to be the small farmer. The objectives and strategy of the Plan, inter alia, will consist of:

- Achieve growth rate of 6% per annum;

- Move beyond self-sufficiency to export of agricultural commodities;

- Diversify cropping system with more emphasis on high value crops and change in agricultural production environment from subsistence to commercial farming;

- Exploit fully fuelwood and timber production potential of forest land;

- Spread use of modern technology particularly on small farms and move towards optimum combination of various inputs;

- Improve on-farm management by organizing farmers to use irrigation water effectively;

- Provide increased institutional support and infrastructural facilities through provision of farm-to-market roads and storage facilities, strengthening and improving extension services and expanding reak668e programmes specially for high value and import substitution crops;

- Optimise economic return from rain-fed areas through package of modern technology;

- Establish agro industries in the rural areas for providing employment to unemployed and under‐employed persons and improving marketing of perishable agricultural product.

At the same time, realizing the present accelerated growth of population, the Government has adopted a population policy which provides interaction of reduction of population growth rate along with other socio-economic development processes.

Mr Chairman, Pakistan is committed to achieve the goals set forth by the Programme of Action of the World Conference on Agrarian Reforms and Rural Development. Our strategy for rural development envisages involvement of the local people, including women, in the process of growth. The system of elected local government institutions installed in 1979 on the basis of adult franchise has demonstrated a remarkable sense of participation and dedication. A new set of elected representatives have been inducted into office as a result of elections held last month. Our policy pertaining to agrarian reforms is based on the creation of egalitarian relationship between the owners of land and its cultivators, a free contract and a just and equitable enforcement of the contract. The process of involving women in rural development has become an essential part of government policy. With the expansion of educational and employment opportunities for women in the country, there is visible improvement in their literacy and employment rate. A full-fledged Women's Division has been created at the Federal level to promote women's participation in economic, social, cultural and political life of the country.

Mr Chairman, may I now turn to some specific issues before this Conference. The proposed Programme of Work and Budget for the next biennium is well prepared. We endorse the priorities in the budget and the criteria by which these have been established. The elimination of avoidable expenditure, improvement in efficiency, shift in emphasis to technical and economic programmes, curtailment of administrative and overhead costs are commendable measures. However, we must utilize the full potential of this Organization, whose main task is to serve as a catalyst in the form of technical assistance, reak668e and development, training, project formulation, emergency aid, etc., to the developing countries and provide it with resources commensurate with the magnitude of the task assigned to it. The additionality of 0.5% of resources in the proposed Programme of Work and Budget for the next biennium is very modest indeed. We hope in future years, there would be a substantial increase in real terms.

As regards the World Food Security, we welcome the revised concept aimed at adequate production, maximum stability in the flow of supplies and access of the needy to these supplies. As I mentioned earlier, our approach to this subject at the national level is in accordance with this broad concept. We, by the Grace of God, have increased our food production, we have built food security reserves and through the mechanism of the Islamic laws of Zakat and Ushr, we will further improve the accessibility of the poor and needy to food supplies. We are also actively pursuing the establishment of a food security system at the regional, sub-regional levels and through the organization of Islamic Conference countries. However, we feel that more concrete steps need to be taken at the global level to ensure food security for the low income food deficit countries, particularly in Africa.

Mr Chairman, we fully support the stress laid by FAO on ECDC and TCDC. Within our limited resources, Pakistan is implementing a programme of technical assistance for more than a decade.

Our experience has been that limitation of resources does not permit TCDC to expand and achieve the desired results. In order to increase utilization of developing countries capabilities and experiences, we suggest that the TCDC should include triangular cooperation so as to provide financial means for this cooperation to be effective. FAO and donors may provide financial resources in order to enlarge technical cooperation among developing countries particularly where foreign exchange costs are involved.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, may I reiterate once again on behalf of the Government of Pakistan that we will continue our efforts to increase the food and agriculture production in our country and make our contribution to the resolution of the problem of hunger and poverty in the world. The magnitude and urgency of the problem is indeed great. It calls for the collective effort of the whole international community. We would like to commend FAO for its work in this direction and are confident that it will continue to play a leading role in this direction. Let us all pool our energies to resolve the most fundamental problem facing mankind - the problem of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Without the resolution of this fundamental problem, we shall never be able to lead mankind on to the path of hope and happiness, dignity and honour.

Javier Gazzo Fernfández-Dávila, Vice-Chairman, took the chair
Javier Gazzo Fernfández-Dávila, Vice-Président, assume la présidence
Ocupa la presidencia Javier Gazzo Fernández-Dávila, Vicepresidente

El PRESIDENTE: Señores delegados, muy buenos días. A continuación va a tomar la palabra en representación de los Estados Unidos de América, Su Excelencia, el Secretario de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos, Honorable John R. Block, nuestro actual Presidente de la Conferencia.

J.R.BLOCK (United States of America): Mr Director-General, my fellow delegates, and friends.

At the conclusion of the Hot Springs Conference in 1943, the delegates set a challenge for us all. They stated: "This conference ... declares its belief that the goal of freedom from want of food, suitable and adequate for the strengh of all peoples, can be achieved."

That was four decades ago. We have made great progress since then and today we can speak of a world food system. World food production has risen steadily at a rate of 2.6 percent since the 1950's. The best rate of growth-averaging 3 percent a year - has occurred in the developing countries.

Those are encouraging statistics, but they do not tell the whole story. They do not show that while per capita food production has risen overall, population growth has held the rate of increase to less than 1 percent annually in developing countries. They donot show that in Africa, food production is actually declining.

Nor do these statistics indicate that nearly 500 million of the world's people are underfed and hungry today, and the sad fact that the hungry are most often children, women, and the very old.

We have not reached our goal of overcoming hunger and malnutrition. All of us here must renew our commitment to reach that goal by the end of this century.

In my remarks today I will focus first on what the United States is doing to end world food problems. Then I will turn to what I believe other nations and international groups can do in this vital area.

Progress toward our goal of "freedom from want of food" starts, of course, with agriculture. In my country, agriculture is one of our greatest resources. We share the benefits of our agriculture in three ways :

First, by continuing to be generous in our food aid to those in need.

Second, by sharing our agricultural expertize to help developing nations build their economies, and

Third, by promoting freer agricultural trade and striving to be a reliable supplier to all.

The United States has shown its concern for hungry people in the developing nations by increasing its food aid.

Last year we raised our pledge to the World Food Programme by 14 percent to $250 million, a new record. At the same time we initiated a new programme to donate government-owned stocks. Donations under this programme have already exceeded 83,000 tons.

For nearly three decades we have carried out the biggest food aid programme in history - "Food for Peace." We owe a great deal to private voluntary organizations for helping us make this programme a success. Aid to developing countries under "Food for Peace" has already surpassed $40 billion -more than the food aid from all other sources combined.

In this context, let me return to the serious food emergency in Africa to which I referred in my opening remarks to this Conference. The United States is ready to help. I am pleased to announce today, that my government will provide an additional 25 million dollars, bringing the total for this year to 50 million dollars in direct emergency food aid donations to help meet the African crisis. This is in addition to the regular on-going bilateral food aid of over 200 million dollars and nearly 300 million dollars in economic assistance for rural and agricultural development, which supports long term activities designed to address the fundamental causes of food shortages in African countries. This brings the total to 550 million dollars of food and agricultural aid to Africa this year. I call on other nations to join us in this effort to meet this critical need. We look forward to joining other nations on Thursday at the Director-General's invitation to discuss this subject.

Food aid is necessary and the international community has 'a solemn obligation to respond in times of crisis. But food aid will not solve the world's food problems. If we are to see an end to hunger, developing nations must grow more food and store and distribute it better. We need to overcome poverty in these nations and help them build their economies.

It is our policy to be totally unselfish in sharing US agricultural expertize with the people of the developing world. We have shared our knowledge through technical assistance, joint reak668e, and training.

Today, the United States has technical assistance projects in over 80 countries. We have carried out nearly 2 000 reak668e projects with other nations to curb crop losses and build food output. We have trained over 70 000 agriculturists from other nations at a rate of over 2 000 a year.

Technology has been the primary reason for the tremendous growth in world food output in the last 30 years. The United States and other developed countries must continue to share advances in this area.

Not enough people think of trade in terms of its role in countering hunger. But trade does far more than aid to see to it that millions in food deficit countries are fed.

International trade improves the overall food situation by encouraging each nation to produce those farm products it can grow most economically. The market is the best guarantee of the most effective use of the world's agricultural resources and, therefore, of its food security. But the market must be free to operate and the United States has consistently promoted that principle in world agricultural trade.

Over the years many nations have turned to the United States for their food imports. We remain the world's largest food exporter and continue to hold the largest food reserves so we can be a reliable supplier to all.

At the same time, we have been a good customer for other nations and this has contributed to their economic development. The United States is the best market for developing nations and last year we bought almost $9.5 billion worth of their agricultural products.

The United States is dedicated to being a reliable supplier to all. But to continue in that role we must maintain the productivity of our farmers. This is why we opted for the payment-in-kind programme introduced last year.

Excessive supplies, poor prices, and falling incomes were seriously threatening the economic health of our farmers. Farmers cut back by almost one-fourth and severe drought added unexpectedly to the decline in production.

In spite of this decline in output, you can be certain that we will meet foreign demand for our agricultural products and all of our food aid commitments. We are preparing to bring most of the 20 million hectares taken out of production back into production next year. This will ensure that we will remain a reliable supplier to meet world needs.

A strong US commitment to technical assistance and food aid is essential, but it will not end hunger and malnutrition. The answer to the world's food problems does not lie in the United States alone. We could not single-handedly feed the world. The answer lies in helping the developing nations strengthen their economies and their agriculture.

This brings us to the issue of what food deficit countries can do to help themselves and what all nations can do collectively. I firmly believe that sound agricultural policies - national and international - are the key to solving world food problems.

I realize that each individual nation is unique. Climates and soils differ. Each nation is unique in its economies, its social structures, and its historical perspective. But we all share the common objective of wanting to assure our citizens of a safe, wholesome and abundant food supply. This, above all else, can determine the strength of any nation - the fate of any government.

If I were to issue any challenge today, that challenge would be for all of our nations to think about what is best for agriculture when we make our policy decision. I have a sign in my Office beside the door. It was given to me by a friend. It says: "Is it best for agriculture?" This is just to always remind me to think about that when I make my decisions. I can assure you of this: If we do what is best for agriculture we will also be doing what is best for our nations as a whole.

First and foremost, farmers must have the incentive to produce. Government policies that emphasize industrial over agricultural development will damage a nation's ability to produce food. The same can be said of policies which benefit the consumer at the expense of the farmer.

We have found in the United States that a healthy and productive agriculture will ultimately benefit all sectors of our economy. We have also found that a healthy agriculture is most possible when farmers receive a fair price and the opportunity to profit.

Second, farmers must have credit so they can make the capital investments to expand their output. All governments must encourage investment to build adequate storage and transportation facilities so food products can be marketed effectively.

Third, all nations in a position to do so should maintain food reserves and the United States is ready to offer technical advice on how to set up sound reserve systems. No one nation should have to bear the major responsibility for ensuring that world reserves are adequate.

Fourth, in planning agricultural development nations must remember the law of comparative advantage. We should not encourage farmers to grow crops they cannot grow economically, or we will waste valuable capital, land, and labor.

Finally, all nations - and especially the developing ones - would ultimately profit from freer agricultural trade. Trade plays a vital role in development and freer agricultural trade could stimulate economic growth throughout the developing world.

If the level of protectionism in agricultural trade were cut in half, economists estimate that developing nations could build their exchange earnings by $8.5 billion a year. Even now, developing nations earn 17 times more through trade than they receive through aid. So trade is far more vital to their economies than aid could ever be. This simple fact must be taken into account as we work to foster agriculture in the developing world and to overcome hunger.

In conclusion, taking the economic and political steps to promote farming in developing countries and to liberalize agricultural trade will not be easy. Some countries are better equipped to take those steps than others. But all nations must begin and begin now, if we are finally to eliminate hunger.

All of us can look to the Food and Agriculture Organization as a resource of talent and leadership as we work to solve food problems. It can and should help to formulate national policies and programmes which the developing nations can use to strengthen their food systems.

FAO has done a great deal already to help the people of the developing world. We commend Director-General Saouma for focusing on major priorities and for the reasonable and balanced Programme of Work and Budget for 1984-85. I urge you all to join us in supporting this Programme and Budget.

Finally, the United States recognizes the importance of continued political and financial support for this Organization. President Reagan reaffirms this support. We intend to live up to that pledge.

The problems of food and agriculture challenge us today, just as they challenged the men and women who first planned FAO four decades ago. They envisioned a world in which all people would one day be free from hunger. Let us work to make their vision a reality.

Je suis parfaitement convaincu que vos qualités personnelles, votre sagesse et vos vastes connaissances conjuguées à la confiance placée en vous par les pays membres et à la collaboration des Vice-Presidents, garantiront à cette conférence une gestion efficace et fructueuse de ses travaux.

Je suis heureux que le Liban ait pu participer à cette conférence en raison de l'importance que nous attachons aux résultats de ses délibérations et de ses résolutions. Si je me trouve aujourd'hui parmi vous et en ces circonstances particulièrement difficiles que traverse ma patrie meurtrie, cette présence n'est autre qu'une confirmation, une affirmation et une preuve de la grande confiance que nous accordons à cette organisation.

A cette occasion je voudrais souhaiter la bienvenue aux nouveaux membres qui ont adhéré à cette organisation; j'espère que les délégations d'Antigua et Barbuda, Belize, Saint-Christophe-et-Nevis et Vanuatu y participeront avec succès, que leur participation auguste sera bénéfique à l'Organisation.

Du haut de cette tribune, je voudrais rendre hommage aux nobles activités de 1 Organisation de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture, organisation qui est à juste titre la conscience vivante de l'humanité et qui tente de faire des miracles pour atténuer la misère des peuples démunis et pour assurer une justice sociale exemplaire.

Toutefois, il est fort regrettable de voir en contrepartie que nous continuons de vivre dans des sociétés où les valeurs humaines sont bafouées, où chaque année des montants gigantesques sont affectés au développement et à la modernisation des moyens de mort et de destruction alors que les peuples déshérités y compris le peuple de mon pays demeurent une proie facile pour les caprices de ces tyrans. C'est à croire que les peuples faibles sont voués à épuiser leurs possi‐bilités et à gaspiller leur énergie pour reconstruire ce qui a été détruit par les forces du mal et de la haine, au lieu de pouvoir orienter leurs efforts vers le développement et l'augmentation de la production dans l'intérêt de l'humanité.

Ce témoignage que je dépose en la circonstance mérite qu'on s'y arrête longuement, car je viens d'une patrie, d'un pays dont l'emblème est un arbre qui a défié victorieusement les temps et les épreuves. Toutefois cet arbre est sur le point de dépérir en raison de la rancune de l'homme et des moyens de destruction qu'il a développés. Je viens d'un pays où l'on sème les bombes au lieu des semences, d'un pays où l'on récolte la mort au lieu des fruits.

Bien entendu, je n'ai pas en ma possession de chiffres à vous soumettre, mais je peux vous affirmer que les sommes qui y ont été investies pour détruire le Liban sont des sommes suffisantes pour exécuter les projets de la décennie du développement susceptible d'enrayer la misère dans l'ensemble du tiers monde.

Je viens d'un pays qui a prouvé au monde entier et qui continue de lui prouver qu'il n'y a pas de force qui puisse vaincre la volonté de l'homme de vivre. La mort et la destruction auxquelles font face mon pays ne l'ont pas empêché de s'intéresser aux peuples opprimés. La meilleure preuve en est que l'ingénieur libanais, M. Edouard Saouma dont notre patrie est fière, assume avec grand succès les tâches de Directeur général de cette auguste institution. De même, et en dépit de toutes les difficultés le Liban a restauré et a développé les institutions agricoles et alimentaires. Un nouveau règlement a été élaboré au Ministère de l'agriculture qui s'est vu doté de mandats élargis lui permettant d'exécuter les fonctions gigantesques qui lui sont confiées.

De même le secteur du Crédit agricole a été réorganisé et ce, par la création d'une banque spécialisée à cet effet disposant de tous les moyens administratifs et matériels pour accorder des crédits aux agriculteurs. A cela s'ajoutent les nombreuses études de développement relatives aux diverses activités du secteur agricole et qui sont élaborées en collaboration avec les experts de l'Organisation. Nos espoirs demeurent grands pour que la présente session de notre conférence soit fructueuse et les résolutions qui seront adoptées seront à la hauteur des espoirs des peuples démunis. Je suis parfaitement convaincu que les responsables de cette organisation sauront traduire dans les faits des résolutions de manière à ce qu'elles soient fructueuses. Dans cette perspective, je voudrais affirmer le soutien de mon pays au programme d'action et de budget proposé par le Directeur général et qui a été adopté par le Comité financier, le Comité du programme et par le Conseil.

De même, nous espérons que la Conférence adoptera le budget à l'unanimité. Nous affirmons notre soutien à la nouvelle approche de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale proposée par le Directeur général qui vise à assurer une capacité économique à tous les peuples et à tout moment. Nous appuyons également le programme d'action relatif à la réforme agraire et au développement rural et nous affirmons la nécessité d'assurer son suivi avec sérieux, le tiers y attachant une grande importance afin d'élever le niveau de vie de la population rurale. Un rapport sur les ressources phyto-énergétiques est soumis à la Conférence. C'est là un projet qui tient compte des intérêts des pays en général et vise à encourager l'exploration de ces ressources, leur conservation, la liberté d'accès à ces ressources et leur exploitation. Par consquent, nous attachons un intérêt très grand à ce projet et nous espérons aussi que votre conférence l'adoptera à son tour. En ce qui concerne le budget nous apprécions la sagesse avec laquelle le Directeur général l'a établi et nous espérons que dans les prochaines années les crédits nécessaires seront affectés pour l'exécution des projets de développement au lieu de limiter le nombre des projets en fonction des fonds disponibles. Tout cela bien entendu ne nécessite aucune augmentation de dons et d'aide de la part des pays riches. La logique de la solidarité internationale exige qu'une coopération s'établisse entre le Nord et le Sud. C'est une collaboration qui ne peut se réaliser que sous le signé des intérêts communs à court ou à long terme car elle ne présuppose pas qu'un des pays se sacrifie pour d'autres mais bien au contraire, une attitude plus ouverte en vue d'exploiter à fond les capacités des peuples et d'en aiguiser la bonne volonté.

Au cours d'une période d'accalmie dans mon pays nous avions demandé à l'Organisation de l'alimentation et de l'agriculture et à d'autres institutions spécialisées d'exécuter de nombreux projets de déploiement agricole. A ce moment-là la plupart de ces projets ont été adoptés et les crédits nécessaires leur ont été affectés. Toutefois, la détérioration de la situation au Liban a empêché l'exécution de ces projets et a empêché le transfert de ces crédits. Nous espérons que ces crédits seront maintenus et qu'ils nous seront transférés après le retour au calme dans notre pays; retour au calme que nous implorons de tous nos voeux. Nous demandons aussi à l'Organisation et à d'autres institutions spécialisées de prendre en considération la nécessité de multiplier leur assistance au Liban quand la stabilité y régnera à nouveau et quand il aura à ce moment-là un besoin urgent pour toute assistance qui pourrait aider à sa reconstruction, et à son développement.

Pour conclure, je voudrais exprimer ma profonde gratitude à l'OAA pour l'effort qu'elle déploie au service du monde entier. Le Liban est particulièrement redevable à cette Organisation tant pour l'aide qu'elle lui a fournie dans les moments les plus sombres que pour l'assistance technique qu'elle n'a cessé de lui fournir.

Je voudrais, à cette occasion, rendre hommage aux efforts soutenus déployés par le Bureau de l'Organisation qui se trouve au Liban et qui a continué à oeuvrer dans des conditions inhabituelles connues de tout le monde. De même, je ne voudrais pas laisser passer cette occasion sans exprimer les remerciements de mon pays au programme alimentaire mondial qui lui a fourni et continue de lui fournir une aide substantielle. Puisse Dieu couronner cette session de succès pour que ses résultats soient bénéfiques à l'humanité entière.

We are deeply impressed by the well-meditated programmes and suggestions presented for the Conference by the Director-General, Dr Edouard Saouma in his most inspiring statement. We are particularly impressed by the serious concern shown by him over the food situation in Africa and in the developing countries and in other regions. We are at the same time happy to note that this Conference has approved the applications of the four countries, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Vanuatu and Saint Christopher and Nevis for membership of FAO, thus bringing the total number of member nations to 156. To the four new members, the Chinese delegation would like to offer its heartfelt welcome and congratulations.

Since the last session of the FAO Conference, the international political situation has been ceaselessly turbulent and the world economic situation has remained very grim. Despite the signs of recovery in some developed countries, the majority of developing countries are still subjected to the havoc wrought by the 3 year-long world-wide economic crisis. This has caused adverse effects on the development of world agriculture: agricultural growth has lost momentum in many countries, and stagnated or even retrogressed in others; in a number of serious food-deficit countries, which cannot afford importing essential foodstuff, hundreds of millions of people are living in starvation and malnutrition; threatened by increasingly growing protectionism, the international trade for agricultural products is deteriorating, so that the export value of agricultural products of the developing countries has decreased for the first time after 36 years' continuous increase, thereby further diminishing the developing countries' foreign exchange earnings, weakening their ability to expand agricultural production, and adding to their difficulties in developing agriculture in general; the sustained recession in rural economy has driven large numbers of farmers, who have little or no land, into the cities thus aggravating the food supply situation in cities and causing many other social and economic problems which defy a quick solution. All this shows that the negative impact of the world-wide economic recession on the developing countries and on their agricultural development, far from being eliminated, still persists.

This grave situation in world agricultural development has also borne out the conclusion of the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, that world economy is faced with structural problems that are closely related to the unjust and inequitable old international economic order. if nothing is done to restructure this old order, the crises witnessed hitherto are bound to recur.

As is well known, agriculture is the foundation of the national economy in most countries. Moreover, it is also the major occupation of nearly half of the world's people. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out restructuring in the field of food and agriculture, thereby contributing to the establishment of the New. International Economic Order - a cause that is in conformity with the historical trend of our times. The Chinese Government has always maintained that the long-term objective of establishing the New International Economic Order should be linked with the solution of the immediate urgent problems. In the field of food and agriculture, we maintain that there is the need, in conformity with the realities and guided by the long-term goal of the N.I.E.O., to speed up the increase in grain production in the developing countries, and coupled with the implementation of various necessary integrated measures, to ensure world food security. There is also the need, on the basis of the principles of "respect for sovereignty and equality and mutual benefit" and through adequate international consultation and coordination, to promote international agricultural adjustment so as to improve the terms of trade for agricultural products of the developing countries. Furthermore, there is the need in the light of the spirit of the Declaration of Principles of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and its Programme of Action, to actively effect such agrarian reforms as are suited to the prevailing conditions of different countries so as to promote the overall social and economic development in the rural areas, and to improve step by step the quality of life of the vast rural population on the basis of increasing production. All this will contribute to the establishment of the New International Economic Order in the food and agriculture sector. And this is not only in keeping with the common aspirations of the developing countries, but is also conducive to the economic recovery of the developed countries and to the growth of the world economy as a whole.

We have always maintained that economies of all countries are closely linked and that the economy of the developing countries constitutes an important part of the world economy. If the economic difficulties of the developing countries are not resolved or are even aggravated, the entire world economy is bound to suffer. And that, in the end, will do no good but even harm to the developed countries. Conversely, by transferring funds and technology to the developing countries on the basis of "equality and mutual benefit", and assisting these countries to develop their food and agricultural production and to revitalize their economies, the developed countries will be able to find the supply of raw materials secured, new markets opened up and scope for investment widened - to the benefit of their own economic growth. That is why we appreciate the far-sighted view held by some leaders in developed countries that by helping the Third World countries to develop their economy the developed countries are in effect helping themselves to come out of economic recession and to embark on the road of steady recovery and sustained economic growth.

Mr President, the cause of the establishment of the New International Economic Order is valued for the actions thereof, not for its being treated as an empty slogan. It is my hope that our current Session will, through friendly consultations on the basis of equality, take some practical and effective actions which will lead to the establishment of the New International Economic Order in the food and agricultural sector. In this connection, please allow me to state some of our views on three topics, namely, agricultural policies, science and technology, and international cooperation - in submitting my views, I shall draw on the experience of many countries in developing their agriculture and also draw on the experience of my own country in this regard.

We are of the opinion that in order to promote agricultural development, it is necessary, first of all, to adopt such an agricultural policy that is practical and comprehensive and is capable of bringing into full play the initiative of the broad masses of the peasants. My predecessor, Mr Lin Hujia said here at the last session that the question of agriculture is essentially a question of the peasantry. For the peasants are both the beneficiaries and actual executers of the agricultural policies. Therefore, a good policy for agricultural development should necessarily take into account the urgent needs and vital interests of the peasants, and at the same time take into consideration the interests of the entire people and the state as well. These policies are from the masses and to the masses.

Since the socio-economic conditions and levels of agricultural development vary from country to country, in formulating a suitable agricultural policy one must proceed from the conditions prevailing in the given country. Generally speaking, economically, there is the need to adopt policies on pricing, taxation, credits and loans and on necessary subsidies that are capable of encouraging and supporting the peasants' production effort, and there is also the need to improve and expand marketable produce and sales service so that the peasants are sure to get a steady increase in their income, through increased production and marketing. In the political sphere, there is the need to respect the important role of the peasants in rural economy and, through appropriate measures, to educate and guide them in consciously acting according to policies. In the legal sphere, there is the need to protect earnestly the legitimate interests of the peasants. In the institutional sphere, there is the need to adopt active reform measures in the light of the conditions prevailing in our respective countries, which is extremely important for further development. All this can contribute to bringing into full play the initiative of the peasants, thereby promoting sustained development of agriculture.

The development of agricultural science and technology must suit the needs of promoting production, and of protecting the ecological environment of various areas. So it is necessary to stress the principle of suiting measures to local conditions. It is a matter of urgency for most of us, developing countries, to popularize the currently applicable agricultural science and technology in the light of the conditions prevailing in our respective countries, to sum up and spread effective technical know-how for increasing production and improving management, and to combine modern science and technology with traditional expertise. That is to say, we must take the popularization of agricultural science and technology as one of the basics in our rural work, to set up and perfect a system of spreading agricultural techniques and to strengthen technical training, so as to ensure that every peasant engaged in agricultural production can step by step master and apply the relevant scientific and technical knowledge, including the proper use of good strains of seeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, etc. On the basis of popularization, the standards of agricultural science and technology can be improved and raised step by step, thus increasing and developing new productive forces in agriculture. Indeed, in the development of agriculture, this is a strategic measure which cannot be neglected. In a word, for agricultural science and technology, the raising of standards should be based on popularization, while popularization should be guided by the raising of standards.

Reliance on correct policies as well as reliance on science and technology these are two vital questions concerning the development of agriculture. We hope that all those engaged in agriculture of various countries will enhance their cooperation and their exchange of information and experience. We hope, moreover, that FAO and other relevant international organizations will fully play their supportive and coordinating role in this regard.

We agree to the view of many developing countries that currently in the field of food and agriculture, the first and foremost question that calls for strengthened international cooperation is still the question of securing world food security. This year, according to forecast, there will be a drop in the production of world cereals, and the cereal prices in world markets are rising. In some areas serious food shortages have occurred and the food situation in Africa is particularly disquieting and calls for sympathy. It is our hope that the developed countries will, proceeding from the overall interests of revitalizing the world economy, increase their assistance to the. low-income food-deficit countries so as to help them tide over difficulties. We also hope that the international community will rise to the occasion, promote the launching of North-South negotiations and conduct serious consultations on food and agriculture, so as to take measures to help the developing countries to increase grain production as a priority item, and reach agreement on grain trade, so as to stabilize prices and ensure market supply.

Another area calling for strengthened international cooperation concerns the earnest implementation of the guidelines of International Agricultural Adjustment, and the efforts to improve the terms trade for the agricultural products of the developing countries. Currently the key problem is that the protectionist policy practised by developed countries has hindered the normal development of international trade of agricultural products. Such a policy has not only done harm to others, but is also detrimental to the long-term interests of the developed countries themselves. The wise approach is to reduce and finally eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers on agricultural products from the developing countries, to open up markets for their products and to see to it that business transactions on agricultural products and agricultural necessities are conducted on fair and reasonable trade terms.

We are glad to note that the FAO has done a lot of work conducive to promoting international cooperation in the two aspects just mentioned. In recent years in particular, adopting an action-oriented policy and through implementing its field programmes and technical cooperation programmes, FAO has rendered valuable service to many developing countries. All this deserves the support of all FAO Member Nations. Here I would like to reiterate my Government's strong support to the work of FAO and our sincere hope for stronger cooperation with it.

Over the past two years, the Chinese Government has continued to carry out the policy of "readjusting, restructuring, consolidating and improving the economy". In developing agriculture, efforts have been made to implement and perfect the production responsibility system linked to output, thereby giving further impetus to the production enthusiasm of the broad masses of the peasants. In addition, weather conditions were favourable in many areas in 1982. Thanks to all these, China had a bumper harvest in agriculture in 1982, the total grain output reached 353.43 million tons, registering an increase of 8.7 per cent over that of the preceding year. That was a peak record in our history. In the same year, cotton and oil-bearing crops also went up by a big margin, hence we are basically self-sufficient in these crops. The production of animal husbandry, fishery and other cash crops also registered increases in varying degrees. The afforestation areas were expanded notably and the livelihood of the peasants was further improved. It is estimated that this year, our agricultural output, including that of food grains, cotton and sugar, will surpass the level of last year, despite unfavourable conditions such as floods and water-logging in large parts of the country. In the years, ahead, China will gradually adjust or reduce the import volume of food grains according to the situation of her food production.

However, as everyone knows, China is a developing country with a population of slightly over one billion people; her per capita GNP is still very low, and her agricultural productivity is not high. Much work remains to be done in order to attain the projected target for the year 2 000. The Chinese Government and people will therefore continue to act on the spirit of "hard work and self-reliance", overcoming all the difficulties on our way of advance to strive with full confidence.

In the course of developing our agriculture, we shall also, in the field of international agricultural intercourse and exchanges, adhere to the policy of opening to the outside world. We shall not only strengthen our friendly cooperation with developed countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, but also attach great importance to promoting "South-South cooperation". We believe that there are bright prospects for the developing countries to develop their economic and technical cooperation in the food sector. Acting on the principles of "equality and mutual benefit, stress on practical results, diversity in form and attainment of common progress", we shall strengthen our cooperation with other developing countries and help and support each other.

China's rural economy has embarked on a road of advance. While adhering to the guideline of "primarily relying on our own efforts supplemented by foreign assistance", we are ready to learn from the strong points of all countries and welcome assistance from the international community. At the same time, we shall continue to provide assistance, within our ability, to other developing countries in their effort to develop agriculture and we shall, through active friendly cooperation, make our share of contribution.

The convening of the Twenty-second session of the FAO Conference provides the international community a very good opportunity and occasion for friendly cooperation in food and agriculture. Before concluding I should like to thank you all for having elected me as one of the Vice-Chairmen of our current session. And I shall work with you all, to the best of my ability, for the success of our Conference. The Chinese Delegation and myself sincerely wish our Conference every success.

A. PETKOV (Bulgaria) (original language Bulgarian): First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr Block on his election to this highly respectable post and to wish him and his deputies fruitful work in the leadership and successful holding of the present Session of the General Conference of FAO.

I would also like to congratulate the newly elected members of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the delegations of Antigua and Barbuda, and Belize, Saint Christopher and Nevis, and Vanuatu.

As is well known, profound social changes have taken place during the twentieth century. New opportunities have opened up for hundreds of millions of people to take an active part in social life and culture, and in the achievements of a world civilization.

At the same time, the close connection between the internal processes of countries and worldwide policy has become evident as never before.

One of the problems with which we are all concerned is food security and the nutrition of the people on our planet. The solution to this problem is fundamental for the future of our world and for the very existence of a considerable part of the world's population.

Mr Chairman, my country is convinced that an end to the arms race and the allocation of even a small part of the current arms' expenditure to the development of food production is the final solution to the problem of hunger, the victims of which, unfortunately at this very moment, number millions of our fellow human beings.

Unfortunately, the destructive influence of the arms race on international economics has never been stronger and more obvious.

It is hardly necessary to prove that the quantitative and qualitative expansion of the arms race dooms whole generations to nonsensical waste of material, financial, technological and human resources and increases the possibility of an armed conflict, which in the present state of armaments, would lead mankind to inevitable destruction.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria, together with the rest of the fraternal socialist countries, are deeply concerned with the existing complex and anxious international situation and will do everything necessary to prevent the danger of a new world war. This policy is found in many documents accepted in the highest forums of our countries. Amongst them, and particularly important, are the political Declarations of the countries - participants in the Warsaw Treaty, accepted at the Conference of the Political Consultative Committee in Prague and the Declaration of the Moscow Meeting of the Communist Parties, and the governments of the socialist countries of 28 June of this year.

In these documents, special attention is given to international economic relations, underlining the urgent necessity of eliminating the economic backwardness of developing countries and of assuring conditions for the harmonious growth of international relations in the field of economics, science and technology.

Mr Chairman, as is also pointed out in the report of the Director-General of FAO, Mr Edouard Saouma, and in other materials submitted by the Secretariat, the ongoing deep economic crisis in the world capitalist economy reflects itself destructively on the economics and process of development in developing countries, particularly in the least developed.

In this connection, a serious obstacle to solving the problems of provision of food in developing countries is the existing system of unequal economic relations in the world.

The continuing growth of protectionist tendencies, the creation of artificial barriers in international trade of agricultural produce, the progressive disruption of the world monetary system, as well as the incessant increase of debts of developing countries, are a serious threat to the stability of world economics, harm seriously international economic relations as a whole and reflect negatively on the economic development of developing countries.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria, together with the rest of the socialist countries, expresses its support to the sovereign demands of the developing countries for the reconstruction of international economic relations on a just and democratic basis and for the beginning of 'global negotiations' in accordance with the accepted resolutions and other programme documents of the UN on this question. It is our deep conviction that any other discussion of this enormous complex of questions outside the framework of the UN would hardly bring its effective solution.

The delegation of the People's Republic of Bulgaria is convinced of the link between development and disarmament. There is no alternative to progressive development other than by giving priority to economic progress - and this means cutting down on non-productive military expenditure.

Mr Chairman, I would like to emphasize that my country shares and supports the efforts of FAO and the Director-General of the Organization, Mr Edouard Saouma, to solve the problems of food and agriculture in the Organization's member countries, especially the developing countries, and to further develop fruitful international cooperation in the field of agriculture. We attach great importance to our cooperation with FAO and we shall continue to contribute to the successful implementation of the aims and tasks of the Organization. This country regards as positive the activities and efforts of the Director-General and the Secretariat for working in an efficient and purposeful manner on the problems of developing countries.

In our opinion, the ways of effectively solving the food problem can be found in changing social structures, speeding all-round economic development of developing countries, modernizing agriculture, and improving farmers' knowledge of agriculture as well as their life standard.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria shall continue to assist developing countries in the development of their agriculture, strictly adhering to the principle of non-interference in their internal affairs and respecting their national sovereignty.

Mr. Chairman, in the years of people's power, thanks to the just policy of our Party and Government, the People's Republic of Bulgaria achieved considerable success in the development of agriculture and food industry which gives the possibility of meeting the ever-growing demands of our population for food and food products. 1983 was not a good year for our agricultural production due to natural disasters. But, thanks to the socialist structure of our agriculture, the good organization and mobilization of local resources, the availability of strong material and technical bases, our country was able to overcome the disasters and provide normal speed of development of agriculture, sufficient and good quality foodstuff for the country's population and for export.

Mr Chairman, while fully supporting the efforts of FAO in the development of agriculture, forests and fisheries, I would like to briefly mention the problems concerning the Programme of Work and Budget of the Organization for the next two-year period - 1984-85. We appreciate the suggestions of the Director-General and especially the suggestions for the elimination of bureaucracy in work. In this connection we would like to state our willingness for effective and reasonable use of resources in order to avoid an undesirable and large increase in the budget of the Organization. Let all resources be directed towards developing agriculture, increasing food production and solving the problem of malnutrition in the world.

Allow me at the end to declare from this high forum that the Government and people of my country will continue to work consistently for the protection of peace in the world, for the further development of international cooperation and for peaceful progress of world agriculture to the wellbeing of all peoples.

A. AMAURY STABILE (Brazil): It is with great satisfaction that my country takes part in one more Conference of FAO as matters of greatest importance will be dealt with here, particularly those regarding the ak668e for solutions to increase the world food production and, as especially important, how to make this food available, and rendering for consumption by the needy people the world over.

Not only by participating in events sponsored by FAO, but also on the basis of this Organization's own performance in Brazil, we can bear witness to its lasting concern over the dramatic effects of the starvation and undernourishment which unfortunately persist in today's world.

As from the 1973-74 food crisis, both in Brazil and in other countries, there have been increasing efforts towards raising the world food output. Yet, despite these efforts, results were lower than those set up by the World Food Conference, which we believe must lend all of us to make a realistic appraisal of those efforts.

We are convinced, thus, as governments pursue internal policies to promote increase in food production and its proper distribution to be consumed at lower handling costs, the negative effects of the world's famine and malnutrition will be alleviated. In this connection, FAO pays a major role by acting through projects and specific actions which, if combined together with national endeavours, could considerable shorten the time needed to solve problems that characterize the quest of increased food supply.

Significant examples of FAO^’s presence are the projects that have been sponsored with resources from its "Technical Cooperation Programme - TCP", in addition to its efforts in international financial organizations and in industrialized countries towards the supporting of agricultural projects at the Third-World level.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that there are problems of a structural nature of a worldwide range which call for courageous action so that less-favoured regions can render viable their processes of economic and social development.

We, in Brazil, believe it is possible to attain a better quality of life for the needy people starting with the establishment of a new frame of economic and cooperative relations among nations.

Thus, we also believe it is through the rise in food production, and its productivity and by improving the mechanism of distribution of these food products, particularly to those which are short of resources to pay for their purchases, that developing countries will reach higher stages of prosperity and well-being.

In Brazil, we are firmly convinced that with an increased food production, inflation slows down, surpluses for export are created, alleviating the balance of payments problems, and more job opportunities are made possible in any society.

 On the strength of this conviction, the Brazilian Government has established as of 1979 a policy for economic development which confers priority on agriculture, together with a process to adjust the Brazilian economy to the world's changing economic structure.

Priority for the development of food output in my country is based, in broad outlines, on the supply of more adequate financing for farmers; on the gradual elimination of price controls, with the market being allowed to work more freely; on a more realistic minimum price policy for the basic products; on more suitable financing of harvest commercialization; on the step-by-step liberalization of controls on the export of agricultural-livestock products; on the upgrading of a programme for the guarantee and protection of producers from crop hazards over climate-related problems, through a full-range insurance for credit and private resources invested; on the directing of the system of technical assistance for priority attention to small farmers; on growing support for reak668e, intended to improve production techniques and the variety of seeds and seedlings; on the phasing-out of subsidy levels granted to rural credit and on the setting up of investment programmes, meant specifically for a simultaneous increase in production and productivity.

The implementation of this policy is taking place, adjusted to Brazilian determination to control inflation and to manage its present large foreign indebtedness. Despite these adjustments and the priority given to the Brazilian agriculture since 1979, which led the food production level to an increase up to 30%, Brazil would have, for the fourth consecutive year, yielded a crop of over 50 million ton of food grains in 1983, the largest crops ever obtained, were it not for a severe drought that has been striking the north-eastern Region of the country for several years, and if unexpected stormy rains and floods that have hit hard the south of the country had not been so harmful to the present years output.

Except for wheat, Brazil has stopped importing food since 1981, and if we had had better weather conditions, the losses we have had this year would have created conditions to avoid the upranging on inflation we are experiencing since last July.

Brazilians have exceptional conditions to dramatically increase their food production. Our arable land not yet in production is of approximately 300 million hectares, with reasonable fertility, under a good weather distribution regime. Over this large surface of land, three new agriculture frontiers have been very well identified and the successful results obtained in pioneer and limited-scale production areas with these frontiers indicate that our expectations have a sound basis. These frontiers are 15 million hectares of lowland humid areas, scattered all over the Brazilian territory, and over 150 million hectares of savannahs, located in the central portion of the country and the agricultural exploitation of an area up to 80 million hectares in the Northern part of Brazil, not far from the ocean, more than 500 miles along the railroad facilities under construction to allow the export of mineral resources from the Carajas mining region.

We have timidly started programmes in these three frontiers, but we feel handicapped by lack of adequate investment financing sources, as the Brazilian Government is involved in a tight-money policy to control inflation.

Under this frame, we wish to express our deep appreciation and our full support to the brilliant ideas here expressed by Dr Kreisky at the opening of the Conference, followed by Dr Saouma's wise and important comments in his delivery speech yesterday.

We are fully convinced that any investment done in the food producing sector will be the main investment a country can do to recover its own economic development. In addition to the human and social benefits provided by food production to the poorer people of a country, its effects, as a job generation source on the industry and the services sector, are of fundamental importance. A recently developed reak668e now available in Brazil indicates that for each one billion cruzeiros (around 1,2 million dollars) of food production obtained, over 17 000 jobs per year are necessary, which compares to the 2 300 jobs per year needed by the textile and clothing industry, second to agriculture as a job generating sector. Recognizing the importance of this fact, and according to our common concern on this matter, fortunately, an international agency, the World Bank, has turned its policy towards a larger sharing of the agricultural programs in its financing portfolio to Brazil.

As a developing country, like tens of other nations, Brazil lacks its own resources in the amount needed for the furtherance of its economic potential and needs partners to carry out the impulse towards the utilization of its great possibilities in such areas as agriculture, for the benefit of a better quality of life for its people and of a more adequate supply of food for a poor world.

Consistent with the statements of my country in the Conferences of 1979 and 1981, Mr Chairman, we reiterate today that it is imperative that both the developed and the developing nations, with capital available should take concrete actions and attitudes to the effect that it will be made possible to set up programs aimed at widening food production in the areas that offer conditions for that, and that such programs will be granted priority over any others.

In the Conferences of 1979 and 1981, Brazil proposed - and now renews this proposal - the establishment of specific funds in International Organizations to more expressively finance food production projects. The use of resources out of these funds would occur through long-term credits, with amortization through the supply of food. That would prove an efficacious way of contributing towards the development of many countries and the solution for the starvation problem of millions of people, by the distribution of these food items from the international programs of assistance for needy communities under FAO's leadership.

The debate about this proposal and the taking of steps needed to get several international financial organizations and industrialized countries committed into this effort constitute a very important mission which FAO has every condition to fulfil successfully.

Mr President, more than ever, in the present days, there is a general feeling that mankind is facing a challenge to survive. At the bottom of this challenge there is the need to find a solution to avoid that a human being might die by starvation. It is hard to understand how, in a time of immense technical achievements, as we have today, men have not yet found a way to solve this dilemma of humane famine.

FAO is the adequate forum to investigate and turn effective the way we are looking for. If each one of us attending this meeting can take its own individual responsibility of finding the beginning of that way, I am confident on the final finding of the adequate solution.

MONS. A. FERRARI-TONIOLO (Observateur du Saint-Siège) : La Mission permanente du Saint-Siège suit attentivement et sans relâche durant toute l'année les activités de la FAO. Elle participe à toutes ses importantes réunions intergouvernementales, appelées à définir les lignes de politique interne et internationale, selon la volonté des Etats membres.

Elle désire apporter sa propre contribution à l'évaluation d'ensemble, que nous devons affronter en vue du biennal 84-85. En ce sens, elle voudrait suggérer des perspectives plus larges, répondant plus strictement à des critères de justice. D'autre part, elle est toujours préoccupée d'obtenir le soutien de toute la communauté internationale, pour les plus faibles et les plus nécessiteux.

En effet, la délégation du Saint-Siège est toujours, à sa façon bien particulière, le défenseur du point de vue moral, dans une vision universelle supérieure aux intérêts légitimes, mais souvent limités et même excessifs, dont sont porteurs les représentants de chaque Etat Membre. Une fois encore, on veut témoigner d'une volonté authentique de se mettre au service de l'humanité entière, inspirant cette présence, qui reste cependant dans les limites de la finalité et des normes de la FAO.

Avant tout, cette délégation désire exprimer ses louanges pour les lignes directrices programmatiques et la documentation mises à disposition comme toujours, avec autant de précision et d'efficacité, sous l'impulsion incisive du Directeur Général M. Saouma, par les différents départements et divisions de la FAO. Ce sont les fruits de leur travail ordinaire et celui, toujours plus considérable, des aspects opérationnels.

On souhaiterait chez les Etats membres et leur opinion publique respective, une compréhension plus large pour le travail quotidien et ordinaire, accompli au Siège central et dans les bureaux régionaux au service des gouvernements, en particulier dans la formulation de leurs programmes et projets. On voudrait également leur soutien adéquat au budget relatif proportionnel non seulement à leurs ressources économiques, mais aussi à leurs richesses en expérience et en connaissances scientifiques.

Il est légitime de demander le contrôle de l'utilisation effective, sans dispersion, des disponibilités obtenues en vue du budget ordinaire et des fonds destinés à des opérations spécifiques.

Cependant, un engagement plus important des gouvernements est nécessaire afin d'obtenir une inversion de la tendance qui malheureusement va s'accentuant, à réduire leur appui aux activités des organisations intergouvernementales. Par contre, ils doivent donner la preuve d'une volonté de collaboration plus désintéressée aux programmes en vue de la croissance organique des pays. Cette volonté doit s'exprimer surtout par une valorisation des aspects opérationnels directement proposés et réalisés par la FAO ou mis en place conjointement avec d'autres énergies multilatérales ou bilatérales. Ils devraient augmenter leur apport aux différentes activités spécialisées avec une préférence plus prononcée pour l'utilisation de la voie multilatérale.

Qu'il nous soit permis d'espérer que de façon plus évidente, ainsi qu'il en va de la diplomatie multilatérale, les délégations recherchent patiemment des solutions possibles d'actions communes par des propositions positives en vue de réalisations concrètes, plutôt que de se cantonner à exposer leurs propres réalisations ou à faire des revendications génériques.

Dans cette intervention, la délégation du Saint-Siège entend se concentrer sur quelques points concernant le rapport entre l'orientation du travail futur de la FAO, en particulier d'après les indications du document C 83/19 et les tendances émergées dans le système des Nations Unies lors de ses principales conférences. Dans cette troisième décennie des années 80, elle se place surtout dans la perspective du nouvel ordre économique international, des lignes de la Stratégie internationale du développement, et de leurs critères de justice et de solidarité entre les peuples.

Il est tout à fait souhaitable de fixer et réaliser des objectifs de coopération entre les Etats membres, qui soient plus largement tournés à l'avantage des pays ayant besoin d'intégration de l'extérieur pour leur autodéveloppement vers leur autosuffisance alimentaire.

L'augmentation de la productivité agricole et l'élévation des revenus ruraux restent naturellement des objectifs d'importance primaire. La réaffirmation de la primauté de l'agriculture dans l'ensemble du développement de chaque pays est toujours plus claire. En outre, cette délégation voudrait mettre en évidence que les objectifs d'un développement intégré ne regardent pas seulement le secteur spécifique de l'agriculture, mais aussi celui de la pêche et des forêts ainsi que leur qualification. On pourra obtenir de cette façon une utilisation plus rationnelle des ressources et une application plus large des possibilités offertes par la technologie et la science contemporaine. On doit accorder une valeur spéciale aux applications scientifiques des apports de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur la science et la technique au service du développement ainsi qu'à la conférence de l'ONUDI, et à ses suggestions pour l'industrialisation des pays en développement, étroitement liée aux problèmes du développement agricole et alimentaire.

Cette délégation suit avec une attention toute particulière la révision des applications du Plan d'action défini par la conférence mondiale , sur la réforme agraire et le développement rural.

Il est temps de réaffirmer la référence non seulement à la réforme des structures agraires, mais aussi à la nécessité d'orienter le renouvellement même radical, des institutions, contrats et lignes d'action, en vue de l'élévation économique et sociale de tout le milieu rural.

Cette délégation apprécie,entre autres, la faveur grandissante d'un retour aux mains de petits exploitants des entreprises agricoles. Cette constatation apparaît à la lecture de la documentation issue des conférences régionales de l'Asie, l'Afrique et l'Amérique latine.

On doit regretter l'échec de la relance des programmes intégrés des produits de base. On doit reconnaître qu'apparaît aujourd'hui la nécessité évidente d'un engagement renouvelé pour le dépassement des tentations protectionnistes, dictées par des visions étroites faisant prévaloir les intérêts particuliers sur les. besoins des pays plus arriérés.

Le problème de l'aide aux pays et territoires nécessiteux garde une importance absolue tant pour les situations d'urgence que pour les programmes et projets relatifs au développement continu qui doit retourner au centre de l'attention. Ceci vaut en particulier pour la région africaine, vu les prévisions d'une crise encore plus aiguë au cours du prochain biennal.

Avant tout, il est urgent de pouvoir constater que l'on entame les négociations globales prévues afin d'obtenir une coopération économique internationale plus efficace pour le développement.

Il est très louable que dans cette Assemblée l'on se réfère pour en définir les applications en matière d'alimentation et d'agriculture, aux résolutions de la récente VI ème Session de l'UNCTAD, ainsi que de la VII ème Conférence des Chefs d'Etats et des gouvernements des pays non alignés.

Cette phase du commerce international requiert un controle plus grand des échanges, afin d'éviter une chute des prix et des revenus agricoles entraînant ensuite un déficit accentué dans la balance des paiements des pays en développement.

Dans la période actuelle où malgré les progrès grandissent les distances, on doit souligner l'urgence de la réalisation du principe fondamental du nouvel ordre économique international : on doit mettre en place des conditions de fait, des instruments et des normes juridiques permettant une condition de capacité contractuelle plus égale au cours des négociations entre pays à niveau de développement et de puissance économique et financière très différents.

Une volonté politique concrète est plus que souhaitable, pour arriver à la reprise et à la conclusion des négociations interrompues, afin de renouveler les conventions sur les céréales et l'aide alimentaire relative.

La dépendance grandissante des pays en développement, surtout quant aux importations de produits alimentaires est très justement préoccupante. Un ensemble de mesures efficaces s'impose, particulièrement afin de mettre en place des moyens de compensation dans les cas de grave déficit de la balance des paiements. La stabilisation des approvisionnements doit être garantie également en utilisant les nouvelles possibilités offertes par les récentes initiatives du Fonds monétaire international, ainsi qu'en rendant opératif le Fonds spécial de l'UNCTAD.

Dans le domaine alimentaire, au sein de l'activité productive et d'échange, le secteur de la pêche prend de plus en plus d'importance. Il constitue un des trois objectifs statutaires des structures et des initiatives de la FAO qui doit être également qualifié dans le programme de travail de la FAO.

L'expérience positive de la phase préparatoire de la conférence mondiale de la pêche est récente. Il faut espérer que sa session conclusive au niveau politique le plus élevé en 1984 sera constructive. En ce sens, on se réjouit de l'augmentation de l'importance du département et du comité intergouver‐nemental correspondant, relatif a la pêche. On souhaite que les programmes de travail de ce secteur soient étroitement lies aux normes de droit international fixées par le récent traité ouvert à la signature à la fin de la conférence mondiale du droit de la mer, aujourd'hui amplement ratifié.

Il en va de même pour les produits ichtyques. On doit formuler de nouvelles lignes d'action communes pour un meilleur usage des ressources disponibles. On doit oeuvrer pour une entente et une coopération efficace entre les Etats, au-dessus des contrastes qu'ont fait surgir les nouvelles délimitations, en particulier celles des zones économiques exclusives.

On relève avec plaisir l'attention grandissante accordée aux artisans pêcheurs qui apparaît dans l'adoption de programmes et de mesures correspondantes plus directement adhérentes aux possibilités des pays en développement tant pour les eaux marines que les eaux continentales.

Le troisième secteur de la sylviculture prend lui aussi une place majeure, quant à sa qualification justifiée au sein des objectifs de l'activité de la FAO. On doit remarquer une efficacité renouvelée des réunions du comité intergouvernemental des forêts et l'importance des congrès mondiaux des forêts qui donnent une bonne impulsion à cet important secteur spécifique dans l'économie mondiale et l'équi‐libre écologique.

Il faut noter l'importance accordée à l'utilisation des produits des forêts afin de créer également dans ce domaine,une industrialisation locale au moins embryonnaire. Elle pourra ainsi apporter son concours au soutien des prix à l'exportation des produits agricoles du secteur.

On doit remarquer le rapport entre développement agricole et alimentaire et sources d'énergie. Dans ce domaine aussi, on doit donner une juste suite à la Conférence des Nations Unies sur les sources d'énergies nouvelles et renouvelables, auxquelles sans aucun doute le secteur de la sylviculture peut contribuer de façon notable.

Enfin qu'il nous soit permis d'augurer une cordialité continuellement renouvelée dans les rapports et une collaboration dans les faits surtout entre organisations et organismes, qui traitent du secteur agricole et alimentaire, comportant aussi la reconnaissance réciproque et la délimitation des compétences respectives. Dans son programme ordinaire, on doit sans aucun doute reconnaître le caractère d'indispensable service des activités que la FAO entend mettre en action avec une efficacité encore plus grande, surtout par le recueil des données sur la situation et l'aide dans la formulation des programmes et des projets pour les gouvernements selon les règles établies dans les textes de base bien connus.

A côté, on trouve l'activité spécifique des aspects opérationnels de la politique d'aide alimentaire réalisée dans les projets approuvés par le Comité (CFA/PAM), composé des Membres des Nations Unies et de la FAO, qui préside le Programme alimentaire mondial.

La forme spécifique de financement des projets de développement agricole et alimentaire que représente la nouvelle organisation intergouvernementale de l'IFAD, doit trouver un encouragement pour reconstituer de façon adéquate les ressources que le Fonds a besoin de recevoir selon les critères de contribution de la part des trois catégories d'Etats membres fixés dans l'Acte constitutif.

Il est évident qu'après l'institution du Conseil mondial de l'alimentation, établi dans les réso‐lutions de la Conférence mondiale des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation en 1974, l'on exige la reconnaissance de sa fonction spécifique de coordination et un concours actif au moment de la formulation des lignes d'orientation pour l'action agricole et alimentaire interne et internationale, concordées au niveau ministériel pendant la session annuelle.

Cette cordiale volonté réciproque de reconnaissance et de collaboration dans les faits devient une garantie également pour la mise en place concrète des programmes de la FAO que les Etats membres s'apprêtent à approuver et dont ils doivent garantir les contributions correspondantes pour la période 1983-84.

Qu'il me soit permis de renouveler encore une fois l'invitation à la rencontre prévue désormais de longue tradition, à l'Audience que Jean Paul II offre aux représentants et observateurs de cette XXIIème Session de la Conférence de la FAO.

D. CHRISTODOULOU (Cyprus): First let me thank this Conference for the honour it has done my country by electing us to serve as one of the Vice-Chairmen. This trust placed in us enhances our determin‐ation to do our utmost to serve the Conference well.

May I add, that our pleasure in accepting this responsibility is heightened by the thought that we shall be serving under the distinguished guidance of Secretary Block.

Mr Chairman, I fear that I shall indulge a little further in personal comment. I have some reason for it. Twelve Conferences ago I appeared here to thank the Conference on behalf of my country for electing Cyprus to membership of FAO. Since then I served in FAO for two decades in the professional - not the higher - grades, as they are called. Now I am back again holding political office in my country, poised to speak on behalf of my delegation. Can I, therefore, be allowed to draw on this rather distinctive experience to emphasize two areas of possible concern to this Conference?

The first area which I wish to mention refers to the class of FAO staff that I left some two years ago. The Conference and the higher organs of FAO are far more in touch with the highest grades who are more visible and audible. That is natural and practical and no objection can be raised. In fact it is very welcome. But can I ask the Conference to spare a thought for the mass of professional and even lower grades who are less visible and not at all audible here, but who contribute tremendously to the work of FAO and of this Conference ideals, ideas, skills, service and hard work and form an invaluable asset to all of us? And can I venture to suggest that anything we can do, with the willing consent and initiative, of course, of the Director-General, to give encouragement to the staff of FAO to serve us even better is very sound and productive investment?

The other area which I have specially selected to mention concerns one of the key elements, if not actually the key element, of the substantive work of FAO - rural development. I make the claim that the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) which took place in 1979 and the Follow-up of which is an important area of FAO's work today , originated from my own humble early efforts to get agreement to hold the second World Land Tenure Conference on the 10th anniversary of the first one which took place in 1966. The World Conference on Agrarian Reform that I suggested for 1976 became the WCARRD of 1979. I had the privilege to lay down some of the original foundation ideas. The WCARRD of 1979 was hailed and was in fact a great success. The follow-up is of vital importance and we keenly support it and wish that even more can be done in that respect.

My purpose in making the comment which I am going to make below is not intended to detract from, but to reinforce those efforts which I wish to see bearing ample and effective fruit. As a serious student of the essence and dynamics of rural development, who also had time to go even more deeply into the issues in seats of learning, I am still firmly convinced that a real, genuine break-through will ultimately elude us if we do not resolve one very great puzzle, a serious flaw which is the following: the development achieved to date and rural development above all, suffers seriously from this - the development known to us to date tends to concentrate on a narrow range of people - that is on those with an original real advantage, especially productive assets - be they wealth, know-how or social and political power. The vast mass of deprived people have every chance of being left behind, ironically especially when development does succeed in going apace. My intention is not to indulge in theoretical discussion. It is to urge that for the sake of genuine success by WCARRD, above all in the name of the billions of deprived people, FAO should take the lead to study this process of inbuilt marginalisation of the disadvantaged people which fatally flaws rural develop‐ment, and all kinds of development, on which we place so many hopes and of which we speak so much. Comforting assurances that the phenomenon is a temporary one, common to the early stages of the development process, have never been vindicated by real experience or in real life. Resources can be found to concentrate on a break-through which will lift this fatal flaw from FAO's efforts which affect all the efforts of the UN system including especially the World Bank. The source of resources has already been identified. I need only cite in this the passage in the Director-General's Intro‐duction to Programme of Work and Budget 1984-1985. "The issue of resources spent on arms (is) the fate of mankind, especially the hungriest and poorest who suffer for lack of resources for development".

My delegation and my country are very sensitive to the issue of war and peace and the use of force to impose solutions. This leads me to certain special but relevant problems that concern us specially, but are not without interest for some countries in comparable circumstances. As is already well known, we suffered in 1974 a devastating military invasion and we have since then endured military occupation of nearly two-fifths of the Republic's territory which contains the major part of our productive resources. In spite of that blow and of the displacement of one-third of the population who were deprived of all their assets, thanks largely to the determination and the skill of our people, the economy, far from collapsing, has staged what has been hailed by outside observers as a minor miracle. In this the support also of the international community has been of vital importance. FAO was prominent in this and the Director-General of FAO took a keen personal interest. We have expressed our profound appreciation before, but I wish to underline once again our heartfelt gratitude for aid and support received. For our farmers especially, FAO, the Director-General and the WFP are household words, thought of as friends in need.

The dislocation and the efforts at rebuilding the economy have introduced basic structural changes, including the reorientation of our agriculture. Major investments in infrastructure, especially in irrigation, have enabled agriculture to move away from subsistence crops like cereals, for which in our drought-afflicted climate, we have no special advantage, to high value crops based on expensive irrigation which ensures secure and high yields. We have moved especially towards early or out-of-season fruits and vegetables.

This new production structure has made us overwhelmingly dependent on the export market which, on account of the nature of the produce involved and given the institutional barriers to the market available for it, makes us extremely vulnerable to the difficulties and vagaries of the market. But we have to export something to survive and to develop. And in this area, we can have special advantages given fair market conditions and chances. We have been associated with the EEC for a decade and we are in the process of negotiating an important next stage vital to us. I do not want to comment further on this at this stage, except to underline how many hopes we place on these negotiations for the due reward of our producers and the health of our economy, especially agriculture.

But I have a request to make to FAO, a request that if acted upon, can help other countries, especially countries producing what I may call Mediterranean agricultural produce to plan their investments in agriculture and the commitment of their resources with a chance of success. The request is this: first, that FAO should make a detailed study of the prospects of production of Mediterranean agriculture not only round the Mediterranean Basin, but also in such places as Chile, California and South Africa, based on projections of production from existing plantations and expected ones, from developments in irrigation and other productive opportunities to show the expected volumes which require remunerative marketing in the medium term of 5 years and the longer term of 10 years or more; second, that FAO should assess the capacity of absorption of such production in 5 years and 10 years or more; and third that FAO should instruct our staffs in programming production in response to expected demand and how to assess such demand. My delegation is firm in assuring the Conference that this request is of vital importance to our agricultural effectiveness.

A second area of special interest to us and to many countries at our stage of development refers to part-time farming. The displacement of our farmers by the invasion and the pressure on our land resources that resulted from it, have accentuated the phenomenon of part-time farming. FAO can go more systematically that hitherto into the problems of this predominant form of farming and its implications for efficient production and high productivity. This is particularly important especial-

ly in this decade of "Women in Development" since women, now predominate as actual farmers, even though unrecognised and unaided. The need to reassess our approaches to this class of agricultural producers, especially in agricultural extension and education is both glaring and urgent.

My delegation does not wish to give the impression that our demands on FAO are inspired by a spirit of "take" but not "give". We try to play our modest part as members of our Organization. We have been ardently observing World Food Day every year since the idea has been launched. In connection with World Food Day observances, we have propagated FAO's goals and we have taken practical steps to implement FAO's priorities.

Furthermore we have responded as much as our resources permit to requests by FAO for our specialist staff to help in field missions and in meetings because we believe that we must share our experience and know-how with sister countries, if it helps FAO in its technical assistance efforts.

Last but not least, at the request of the Director-General and of our good neighbours in the Near East Region, my country had the privilege and pleasure to host the 16th FAO Regional Conference for the Near East in Nicosia in October 1982. It was especially gratifying to us to welcome so many Ministers of Agriculture, other Ministers and Heads of Delegation from our friendly neighbours and to cooperate in such a successful Conference.

The Director-General, Dr Saouma himself, led and stimulated the Conference. Cyprus had the pleasure of an official visit to Cyprus last July by Dr Saouma, at the personal invitation of His Excellency the President of the Republic Mr Spyros Kyprianou. In this way both the Government and the people of Cyprus, especially the farmers and agricultural scientists, whom he visited and had discussions with, had the opportunity to express to him directly and in their own way their profound gratitude for the great help given us, especially in our hour of greatest need. They pledged to him also full support in his work, worldwide, for the good of the billions of rural people who place their hope in his efforts as the Head of the great Organization.

This full support, Mr Chairman, my delegation has given to the Director-General at the Council meeting which took place last week. We are also ready to give it at this Conference. We trust that all the Delegations at this Conference will give the Director-General unanimous support, especially to his Programme of Work and Budget, to enable FAO to do the great work we expect of it, "especially for the sake of the hungriest and poorest millions of people who suffer for lack of resources for development".

Lors de la réunion du Conseil mondial de l'alimentation en juin dernier, à New York, nous avons examiné ensemble les conséquences de la crise internationale sur la crise alimentaire de certains pays en développement.

Nous le savons tous, nous sommes au coeur d'une contradiction: les solutions choisies sur le plan macro-économique, monétaire, financier, pour la gestion de cette crise aggravent souvent le phéno‐mène; en d'autres termes, nos politiques dites de régulation, si elles sont facteurs d'ajustement conjoncturel, sont aussi porteuses de désajustement structurel.

Je voudrais aujourd'hui, dans cette enceinte, exprimer, d'une certaine manière, le contrepoint de cette analyse et rappeler que la crise alimentaire qui sévit dans de nombreux pays en dévelop‐pement est en réalité au coeur de la crise mondiale, qu'elle contribue à aggraver dans bien des cas.

Dans une première partie de mon exposé, j'essaierai de dégager les axes principaux en fonction desquels doit, à mon sens, s'organiser la cohérence de l'ensemble des actions entreprises pour répondre au défi alimentaire. Ma deuxième partie sera consacrée â la voie que la France a suivie et suivra à cet égard, et en particulier vis-à-vis de la FAO,et je terminerai par une interrogation sur la politique agricole commune et sur les coopérations régionales.

Donc d'abord,

La crise de l'économie paysanne est un des facteurs importants de la crise économique mondiale: la crise inmense que subit l'économie paysanne des pays en développement est sans doute l'aspect le plus dramatique et le moins admissible de la situation présente du monde. Mais elle est égale‐ment une source de déséquilibres économiques sociaux et politiques pour les pays en développement en même temps qu'un facteur important de la crise économique mondiale.

En effet, la stagnation, la régression, l'effondrement de pans entiers de cette économie paysanne frappe les capacités de production essentielles de beaucoup de pays en développement.

Cette "implosion", cette explosion interne provient d'un double mouvement: l'insuffisance croissante de production vivrière dans ces pays provoque un recours croissant aux importations et à l'aide aimentaire et, par voie de conséquence, l'aggravation de la dette extérieure. La dépendance alimentaire s'instaure et s'agrandit, ce qui, en retour, constitue un facteur de découragement supplementaire pour la production paysanne.

Dans le même temps, les productions d'exportation connaissent de très vives fluctuations qui affectent soit les qualités, soit,de manière encore plus dramatique, les prix. Ces fluctuations privent les pays producteurs des devises nécessaires pour importer les moyens d'équipement modernes et pour assurer le service de leur dette extérieure.

C'est dans ce véritable étau que se trouve enfermée l'économie de bon nombre de pays en développment.

Ainsi se constitue, sur les flancs de l'économie mondiale, une sphère grandissante de pauvreté et d'insatisfaction de la demande sociale : Nous disons que cette sphère d'insolvabilité de la demande risque de constituer le facteur limitant principal à la poursuite de l'expansion économique mondiale, ou encore qu'elle constitue dans de nombreuses régions du monde un facteur de crise très important.

C'est donc en recentrant l'économie sur la satisfaction des besoins intérieurs les plus essentiels que les pays concernés retrouveront les moyens de participer plus largement et de manière plus équilibrés à l'économie mondiale.

Face à ces questions, une certaine diversitéd'approche est inévitable et une certaine diversité d'expériences est nécessaire, mais nous tenons à dire que le caractère dramatique de la situation nous interdit les polémiques stériles et nous fait une "ardente obligation" de conduire le débat en vue de la coordination la plus efficace de tous les moyens bilatéraux et multilatéraux dont nous disposons.

Il m'arrive de m'étonner un peu qu'on puisse opposer les stratégies alimentaires telles qu'elles sont conçues au Conseil mondial de l'alimentation ou appliquées par la Communauté européenne et la sécurité alimentaire telle que'elle est définie dans cette enceinte. Les objectifs sont les mêmes, la volonté d'y parvenir aussi. Je ne tois là pour ma part que deux approches différentes au niveau de la méthode et qui, loin de se combattre, devraient s'enrichir mutuellement. Je retiens notre objectif commun: la priorité paysanne et vivrière.

Par delà les mots, je rappellerai seulement quelques points forts des programmes de revitalisation paysanne qui ont d'ailleurs fait l'objet d'un consensus lors de précédentes réunions.

Premièrement, des structures qui consolident les sociétés paysannes. Mon collègue et ami chinois évoquait ce propos il y a quelques instants à cette même tribune.

Deuxièmement, des prix rémunérateurs pour favoriser la production.

Troisièmement, une stabilisation de l'épargne; la reconquête des marchés urbains; et cinquièmement des technologies adaptées au développement des systèmes de productions paysans.

Ces cinq thèmes ne prennent de sens que s'ils s'inscrivent dans un schéma plus large, naturellement: organiser les échanges (de cela on a beaucoup parlé ce matin), organiser les espaces, c'est-à-dire créer des zones régionales d'échange et d'autosuffisance, mais j'y reviendrai dans quelques minutes.

Sous la poussée des mécanismes de spécialisation internationale, des clivages nouveaux apparaissent: certains sous-ensembles régionaux du sud émergent, d'autres, beaucoup plus nombreux, s'étendent. Cette aggravation des phénomènes de développement inégale doit nous conduire à relancer la réflexion en faveur des accords de régulation mondiale des marchés des principaux produits vivriers, ou des produits tropicaux d'exportation. Ces nouveaux clivages, cette segmentation, nous posent là encore et par une autre approche la question des espaces de survie économique.

Voilà, M. le Président, quelques éléments d'analyse un peu abstraits mais je n'ai pas le temps de le? illustrer d'exemples. Tout le monde les a dans la tête.

Ces exemples se traduisent par des famines. Voilà quelques exemples du défi majeur que pose l'alimentation des populations croissantes que va compter le monde de demain: six milliards d'habitants en l'an 2000, dix milliards d'habitants en l'an 2075 pour se stabiliser ensuite à ce niveau si l'on en croit nos démographes internationaux.

Je voudrais maintenant, dans une deuxième partie, préciser ce que mon pays, la France, tente de faire dans le domaine du développement des agricultures et plus particulièrement dans le cadre de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture, donc la réponse de la France au défi alimentaire.

D'abord, notre aide publique au développement: l'aide publique au développement des pays de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement, l'OCDE, s'est encore accrue en 1982. Pourtant dans l'environnement économique international que nous connaissons, il faut noter qu'il serait risqué de parier sur une croissance importante de cette aide dans une perspective à moyen terme. Nous savons que la relance de l'économie mondiale, si elle vient à se produire, risque de laisser en jachère, ou plutôt à l'abandon, les vastes poches de pauvreté ou d'implosion économique et sociale qui se sont constituées dans le sud: il nous faut donc viser au coeur de la crise, c'est-à-dire orienter l'aide vers ces zones rurales, consacrer l'essentiel de nos efforts au développement vivrier.

En ce qui concerne la France, je le rappelle, elle tiendra son engagement de consacrer 0,7 pour cent de son produit national brut en 1988 à l'aide publique au développement dont 0,5 pour cent dès 1985 pour les seuls pays les moins avancés. Dans cet ensemble, un redéploiement très important s'opère: une part de plus en plus importante sera consacrée à l'agriculture et à l'alimentation; cette part, calculée en dollars, a augmenté d'environ 25 pour cent de 1980 à 1982. Cet effort sera poursuivi au cours de notre neuvième plan de développement.

Comment acheminer cette aide publique au développement et d'abord l'utilisation du canal multilatéral ? La France, chacun le sait, est très attachée à l'aide bilatérale, elle tient cependant à s'associer aux autres pays donneurs dans le concert de l'aide multilatérale. En 1982, la part de l'aide publique française consacrée à l'action multilatérale a fortement augmenté, très exactement de 37 pour cent en francs français. Aujourd'hui, plus d'un quart du total de l'aide publique de la France au déve‐loppement est acheminé par le canal multilatéral, Communauté européenne comprise.

L'Organisation mondiale pour l'agriculture et l'alimentation, la FAO: ces financements multilatéraux nous nous efforçons de les attribuer prioritairement aux activités des organisations à vocation agricole et alimentaire privilégiant les pays les moins avancés. Certes, les fonds extra-budgétaires que nous avons constitués pour soutenir certains thèmes d'activité prioritaires de l'OAA restent encore modestes. Pourtant cette contribution volontaire à des programmes opérationnels de cette Organisation est un effort récent de la France.

Il sera, M. le Directeur général, poursuivi au cours des deux années à venir.

Le Programme alimentaire mondial: pour la première fois, en 1983, la France aura fourni une contribution en nature au Programme alimentaire mondial pour la réalisation de projets de développement. L'expression en valeur de cette aide en nature représente un quasi doublement de notre contribution financière en 1983. Cet apport vient, bien entendu, en supplément de la contribution que la France fournit chaque année à la Réserve internationale d'urgence à laquelle nous restons attachés.

Vous avez, M. le Directeur général, insisté dans votre intervention d'hier sur la gravité de la situation alimentaire en Afrique. La France partage cette analyse. Elle fera donc face à ses responsabilités. Sans entrer dans le détail des interventions qui feront l'objet de réunions dans les jours prochains, je puis vous assurer que nous prendrons les mesures nécessaires pour accélérer l'exécution de notre aide en direction des pays les plus affectés. D'autre part, au sein de la Communauté, la France insistera pour que soient mises en oeuvre rapidement les mesures à court terme.

L'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture a une place privilégiée au niveau multilatéral, et cela nous permet de couvrir trois points de convergence: le Programme de travail et budget présenté par le Secrétariat pour les deux années à venir est exemplaire eu égard aux réalités économiques que j'évoquais tout à l'heure et je félicite le Directeur général, d'une part, pour la volonté de rigueur dont il a fait preuve dans l'élaboration de son budget, d'autre part, pour avoir, dans ce cadre strict, présenté une réorientation des dépenses au bénéfice des programmes techniques et économiques.

Je tiens à exprimer ici encore une fois mon accord avec les orientations du "Programme de travail et budget" et souligne combien trois d'entre elles me paraissent tout particulièrement décisives: la recherche, la lutte contre la déforestation et enfin la coopération régionale.

C'est sur ce dernier point que je voudrais maintenant réfléchir quelques instants avec vous et, si vous me le permettez, poser quelques questions:

Donc, troisième et dernière partie, la coopération régionale: le thème de la dimension régionale du développement agricole m'apparaît indissociable de la notion de sécurité alimentaire. A une époque où le budget national de nombreux Etats en situation de dépendance alimentaire est inférieur à celui des plus grandes sociétés multinationales, le concept de sécurité alimentaire ou celui de stratégie alimentaire dans un strict cadre national se heurte à d'évidentes limites.

Cela m'amène à aborder un sujet dont je sais qu'il fait l'objet de controverses dans cette enceinte et qui est celui de notre politique agricole commune. Vous savez que les Etats Membres de la CEE sont actuellement engagés dans une réflexion de fond sur l'avenir de cette politique. Ce débat, dans le même temps où il amène à revenir sur les mérites et sur les limites de la politique agricole commune, devrait, dans une enceinte telle que la nôtre, alimenter des réflexions qui ne soient pas uniquement cantonnées aux strictes considérations commerciales. Je retiens pour ma part les thèmes suivants:

Cette politique régionale a permis à la CEE de progresser sensiblement sur la voie de 1'autosuffisance alimentaire. C'était un de ses objectifs, tout en permettant d'assurer le développement des échanges agro-alimentaires avec le reste du monde. Sans ce cadre régional, un seul des Etats Membres de la CEE aurait-il pu concilier avec autant d'efficacité deux contraintes en apparence si contradictoires ?

Cela remporte la conviction de mon pays en matière agricole, si le collectivisme mène à la ruine, le strict libéralisme commercial n'a pas non plus de sens. Il n'aboutit en fait qu'à renforcer le pouvoir des dominants et à aggraver la dépendance de ceux qui se heurtent à des handicaps naturels, structurels ou socio-culturels. En matière agricole, la libéralisation des échanges ne peut se réussir dans des conditions équitables que si elle est organisée par une politique visant à corriger le déséquilibre productif, à harmoniser les conditions de concurrence, à accompagner les nécessaires évolutions stucturelles. C'est l'expérience de la PAC qui nous conduit ainsi à envisager l'organisation des marchés mondiaux dans un cadre volontariste qui, loin de nier les disparités des déséquilibres, les prend au contraire nommément en compte.

La PAC a, dans le même temps, servi de ciment à une CEE capable de développer des solidarités internationales originales et indépendantes, et l'a posée en fournisseur potentiel de produits alimentaires de base. Cette émergence d'une Communauté exportatrice n'a pas que des aspects négatifs pour nos partenaires du sud dans la mesure où elle offre une alternative à certains pays qui n'ont pas, dans un premier temps, d'autres ressources que la diversification de leurs dépendances pour assurer leur sécurité alimentaire et elle donne droit de cité à une CEE porteuse de solidarités internationales nouvelles. J'invite certains de ceux qui critiquent le caractère protectionniste de la PAC à s'interroger sur ce que serait la scène agro-alimentaire mondiale, à ce que serait l'éventail de la coopération internationale sans une Communauté européenne active. Je ne suis pas sûr que les plus démunis et les plus dépendants gagneraient au change.

Permettez-moi en outre quelques chiffres pour illustrer mon propos: la CEE est le premier importateur de produits agricoles du monde et le premier client des pays en développement dans ce secteur. En comparaison avec la CEE les autres pays développés importent sensiblement moins de produits agricoles des pays en développement. Tandis qu'en 1979, la CEE a acheté 27 milliards de dollars de produits agricoles en provenance du tiers monde, les importations américaines se situaient à moins de la moitié de ce chiffre et celles du Japon au cinquième de ce chiffre. Pour la CEE ces importations représentent 0,9 pour cent de son produit brut; pour les USA ce chiffre n'est que de 0,5 pour cent; pour le Japon, de 0,5 pour cent aussi. Mesurées par tête d'habitant ces importations agricoles en provenance des pays en développement s'élèvent à 104 dollars pour la CEE, 53 pour les Etats-Unis et 49 dollars pour le Japon.

L'analyse du régime tarifaire applicable aux exportations agricoles des pays en développement montre qu'à raison de 60 pour cent de leur valeur totale ces produits entrent dans la Communauté à droit zéro; un tiers à droit positif relativement bas. Sept pour cent seulement subissent notre régime normal de prélèvements pour les importations que nous faisons de pays développés.

Est-ce là, M. le Directeur général, M. le Président, Mesdames et Messieurs, une attitude de fermeture ou d'ouverture ?

Je conclurai en répétant qu'à mes yeux le thème de la dimension régionale du développement agricole m'apparaît indissociable de la notion de sécurité alimentaire. C'est dans ce cadre que la France et l'Europe pourraient peut-être développer de la manière la plus responsable le champ de leur solida‐rité internationale. Cette solidarité doit répondre à une double exigence: il nous faut favoriser l'émergence d'espaces régionaux viables; cela se traduit par une harmonisation des politiques nationales de prix qui permettent une libération de l'échange de produits vivriers entre pays d'une même zone économique; par une organisation de ces espaces qui permette de protéger de manière sélective ces marchés communs régionaux potentiels afin de leur permettre de se construire et de se fortifier à l'abri des coups de boutoirs que provoque en permanence la crise internationale.

Il nous faut établir avec ces ensembles régionaux des relations contractuelles nouvelles qui permettent d'approfondir le champ de notre coopération sur des bases équilibrées. C'est tout le sens

du renouvellement des Accords de Lomé entre la Communauté européenne et les pays associés d'Afrique, des Caraïbes ou du Pacifique. C'est aussi le sens des accords contractuels que nous souhaitons établir avec d'autres régions du monde dans un esprit de pragmatisme et d'ouverture à l'écoute des demandes de nos partenaires.

Il semble à la France, Mesdames et Messieurs, M. le Président, que si nous oeuvrons dans ce sens nous aurons apporté une utile contribution à la lutte contre la malnutrition.

The meeting rose at 12.40 hours.
La séance est levée à 12 h 40.
Se levanta la sesión a las 12.40 horas.