PRESIDENTE: Señores delegados; la Secretaría y yo mismo vemos que hay quórum, y por tanto, comenzamos esta sesión. Declaro formalmente abierta la primera sesión de la Comisión I del 220 período de sesiones de la Conferencia FAO. A nombre de mi gobierno y del mío propio, les agradezco la distinción de mi elección como Presidente de esta Comisión. Mucho me honra; la serviré con imparcialidad, con entusiasmo y con el deseo de obtener los resultados que a todos satisfagan en beneficio de la humanidad. Estoy convencido de la fuerza de las ideas, que en la medida en que trascienden, horman la evolución histórica de los pueblos.
Lo que no se prevé se convierte en problemas, y éstos abaten nueśtros objetivos de desarrollo. Por conveniencia, apatía o ignorancia hemos permitido que la realidad nos rebase y las crisis nos estallen, y nos obliguen a precipitación y concesión. El hambre en el mundo asesina ahora. No esperemos a ofrecer remedios para un día futuro.
No podemos mantener buenas espectativas abiertas y malas intenciones encubiertas, porque sólo contribuiremos a cancelar la esperanza de la abrumadora mayoría de los seres humanos, y la dignidad de estos foros que, sea como fuere, es lo mejor que han creado los hombres para dirimir sus controversias, atemperar abusos y encontrar soluciones razonadas y equitativas en una situación de igualdad.
No deseamos ni lamentaciones infructuosas ni actitudes arrogantes. Queremos un debate útil y práctico que nos lleve a plantear mejor los problemas; convenir y establecer prioridades; precisar lo viable y sobre todo, y a partir de ello, encontrar más que los culpables del pasado, los responsables del futuro. Es la única vía a soluciones racionales, justas y factibles.
Sabemos que detrás de los planteamientos que aquí se harán, se encuentran los intereses de cada pueblo y también su generosidad y su buena voluntad para responder a los postulados de la FAO, y también a las grandes cuestiones relativas a tendencias y políticas agrícolas y alimentarias que aquí se plantean. Esperamos pues, señores, soluciones y acciones que trasciendan.
En relación al calendario de nuestros trabajos, quisiera llamar la atención de los señores delegados, sobre el documento C 83/12 relativo a los arreglos para el período de sesiones de la Conferencia. El calendario de trabajo a ser ejecutado por la Comisión I, aparece en el Apéndice A del documento citado, páginas A-4 hasta la página A-12. Sin embargo, dicha agenda fue revisada por el Comité general del presente período de sesiones de la Conferencia, de lo que resultó una nueva organización del calendario para nuestra Comisión, como indicado en el párrafo 7 de la página 2 del documento C 83/LIM/7.
Conforme a ello,'esta Comisión deberá concluir sus trabajos al mediodía del jueves 17 de noviembre. Es por tanto necesario, que los distinguidos delegados otorguen su cooperación a esta Presidencia a fin de culminar nuestros debates a tiempo, y que el Comité de Redacción pueda presentarnos el Reporte a aprobar el día lunes 21 de noviembre.
Por esta razones, les solicito amablemente, se ajusten al programa y moderen el tiempo de sus intervenciones .
Antes de pasar al primer punto de nuestra agenda, les informo sobre la constitución del Comité de Redacción que prepara el reporte de la Comisión. Sus integrantes serán los siguientes, de acuerdo a lo que hemos auscultado y si ustedes no tienen alguna objección, los leeré en orden alfabético: Afganistán, Australia, Camerún, Colombia, Francia, Hungría, India, Kenya, Países Bajos, Nicaragua, Tailandia, Estados Unidos de América, República Popular del Yemen.
Les informo que también el Comité se reunirá bajo la presidencia de la India.
Deseo consultar a esta Comisión, si tiene alguna observación en torno a este Comité de Redacción o a algunas de las cuestiones que hemos planteado.
No veo ninguna, de manera que procederemos ahora al tratamiento del primer punto de nuestra agenda, llamado "El estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación en el mundo". Como ustedes saben, este punto ha sido dividido en dos subíndices; el 6.1 "El estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación, en particular, la situación de la agricultura y la alimentación en Africa"; y el 6.2 "Progresos realizados en la ejecución del Plan de Acción para reforzar la seguridad alimentaria mundial: reconsideración de conceptos y planteamientos".
En vista de la importancia de cada subíndice, y a fin de facilitar la discución, sugiero que los delegados traten cada subíndice en forma separada. Si ello es aceptado, propongo pues que comencemos por el subíndice 6.1 es decir, "El estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación". El documento de base para este tema es el C 83/2 acompañado por el C 83/2 Sup. 1, que lo actualiza.
Daré ahora, señores, si no tienen inconveniente, la palabra al Profesor Islam, Subdirector General del Departamento de Política Económica y Social para que introduzca estos documentos
N. ISLAM (Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Policy Department): Mr Chairman Distinguished Delegates to assist in the discussion of this item, you have two documents: C 83/2 on The State of Food and Agriculture 1983 and C 83/2-Sup. 1, which extends and updates the earlier analysis.
For the past three years, a dominant influence on the food and agriculture situation has been the persistence of the economic recession.Signs of recovery are to be found in only a few countries. International trade has yet to show an upward turn. The developing world is plagued with protected markets, balance-of-payments problems, high real interest rates and indebtedness. Development assistance has stagnated, if not declined.
Food and agricultural production had, however, been faring relatively well until this year. World food production, following an upsurge of 3.1 percent in 1981, had a smaller increase of 2.5 percent in 1982. Carryover stocks of cereals at the end of 1982 were the largest in years, about 21 percent of annual consumption. However, the 1983 world food production will decline slightly, largely because of the acreage reductions and poor weather in the United States. This will cause stocks to decline by a fifth, and will make world food security very sensitive to outcomes of the next cropping season.
In the developing countries, populations continue to increase at 2.7 percent on average per year. On a per capita basis, not much progress in food production has been made this past decade. China is an exception. But the least developed countries, many of which are in Africa, have lost ground.
As many as 30 countries, mostly in Africa, were faced with abnormal food shortages in mid-October. These are caused by poor growing conditions and pest damage. On top of this millions of refugees face destitution as the result of civil disturbance and sudden displacement. Increasingly in recent years a high proportion of food emergencies is due to what may be called man-made disasters. Disproportionately large segments of emergency food assistance go to meet the needs of refugees. The African food situation has deteriorated, to the extent that the Director-General this year established a task force to monitor the African food situation on a regular basis. Only last month a special meeting on the African food emergency was convened by the Director-General and was attended by African countries and the donor countries to seek ways of mobilizing greater food and other assistance for the relief of distress in Africa.
As regards agricultural trade, the value of world exports of agricultural, fishery and forestry products was 8 percent less in 1982 than in 1981, whereas during the late 1970s such trade was increasing at about 15 percent a year. Exports of the developing countries have been hurt more than those of the developed countries.
Moreover, for the past four years there have been serious declines in the net barter terms .of trade of agricultural products. In recent months there have been reversals of downward price trends for soybeans, maize and some other crops, but the prices of main tropical trade are still depressed.
Prices of some inputs have declined, especially fuel and fertilizer. However, this has not benefited farmers in countries with weakened currencies that import such items.
What does all this imply for world food security? As will be discussed under the next agenda item, the Council has endorsed a broadened concept of food security embracing increased production, more dependable food supplies, and easier access to these supplies. In this context, the current situation is mixed and uncertain. Natural calamities continue to endanger large areas, not only drought and floods, but also pests and locusts. Restrictive policies related to prices, trade, and monetary flows are affecting stability of supplies and access to food is impeded by loss of income at both individual and national levels.
National price policies have become a matter of particular concern of late. The Director-General accordingly has initiated a special study of price policies. This subject will be on the agenda of the 1984 Regional Conferences. Lessons learned from actual country experiences will be examined further, and a final report will be presented to the FAO Conference in 1985.
Mr Chairman, you may have noticed that we are presenting for the first time in these documents data not only about commitments but also about actual disbursements of official external assistance to agriculture. Development assistance has tended to stagnate in real terms since the late seventies. Bilateral assistance by OECD member countries to agriculture in 1982 went down 6.5 percent as compared with 1981. This, along with the decline in multilateral assistance means that total commitments to agriculture of external resources in 1982 have decreased, even in current prices. Also, assistance is being provided with Stiffer terms and a lower degree of concessionality.
The data show that commitments take more than seven years to be disbursed. Why this is so and how this can be speeded up deserve concerted attention by the donors and recipients alike.
On domestic public expenditure on agriculture, the documents present preliminary data for the 1978-82 period. In many developing countries, public spending for this sector is less than proportional to its importance to gross domestic product. While it has shown an appreciable increase in many countries in real terms during 1978-82, more than in other sectors, in some others it has recorded a decline.
A special feature of the documents this year is is longer-run view of the food and agricultural situation in 41 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Among the points brought out by the analysis are the following
- Outmigration from rural areas is leading to rapid changes in food tastes, more dependency on imported foods, need for new food marketing Systems and, in some places, agricultural labour shortages.
- Sweeping changes in land-and-water rights, credit arrangements and institutional services, agricultural research and training, are needed to keep up with dynamic population and technological changes.
- Existing price and exchange-rate policies in many cases discourage, rather than encourage, food production; governments need to be more selective in their policy interventions.
- Efforts to increase small-farmer production and income, as well as to sustain agricultural services, have suffered because of limited funding, expertise and institutional capacities.
- Higher priority and greater commitment of African governments needs to be provided to population policies. The population growth rates in Africa are amongst the highest in the developing countries.
The analysis goes on to point out the importance of Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries - the potentials of cooperation among neighbouring countries in eliminating transportation and trade barriers, mobilizing "triangular" arrangements for food aid, preventing unauthorized movements, and stopping the spread of natural pests.
Mr Chairman, in another section, the document C 83/2 highlights issues which are especially important in other regions of the world.
Recent data for South Asia suggest a possible slow-down in the rate of growth of cereal production which declined per caput during 1973-82 by 1.3 percent a year. Observers believe that, if food production strides are to continue in South Asia, research breakthroughs to help crop and livestock Systems in hilly, dryland situations are imperative.
In Latin America, with its strong links to international trade, food imports are rising faster than exports. Diversification, export promotion and more intra-regional trade cooperation are often proposed as solutions, hut have not always worked out well. There are additional problems of rural poverty and resource conservation tó be considered when seeking ways to strengthen Latin America's agriculture.
In the Near East there is renewed concern for food security and self-sufficiency. Especially in the oil-exporting countries, demand for imported food ròse fast in the Seventies; such imports in 1981 were 2 1/2 times What they were in 1975, in current dollars. The response has been to increase investment in irrigation and other energy intensive food-production projects, which however call for improved appraisal of the costs and benefits of such investments.
Before concluding, Mr Chairman, allow me to refer to some developments that appear important to watch as we move into the mid and late 1980s.
- The outlook for external assistance flows, as well as early resolution of national debt problems, is discouraging.
- The agricultural trade and monetary policies of any major country or bloc can have significant ripple effects elsewhere.
- These days, national propensities are to postpone projects, especially those with long gestation lags, to let existing infrastructure and routine services (such as animal health)go downhill, relax efforts to conserve natural resources and put less money into agricultural education and research. Creative foresight is especially needed if resource productivity is to be sustained in the long run.
El PRESIDENTE: A nombre de la Comisión quiero agradecer al Dr. Islam su clara intervención a este punto de la Agenda.
Deseo destacar muy brevemente, algunas cuestiones.
La excelente descripción de la problemática agrícola y alimentaria aquí presentada, quizás se pueda ver ampliada con información fresca que en los debates de este tema se presente a nivel mundial, regional y nacional.
Destaco la necesidad de un monitoreo o seguimiento más efectivo a esos niveles que proporcione más información, más oportuna y ajustada a lo que deseamos evaluar. Es decir las circunstancias, factores y relaciones que más influyen en el panorama agrícola y alimentario a nivel mundial, regional y nacional.
Resalto también el interés en conocer a fondo la situación agrícola y alimentaria, particularmente de Africa; quizás sería muy útil, para esta Comisión, conocer el avance del Plan de Lagos.
Subrayo señores que plantear profunda y ampliamente los problemas es buena parte de la solución.
Señores antes de otorgarles la palabra deseo destacar y congratularme por la designación de primer Vicepresidente de esta Comisión, el señor George Mackey de Australia y por la designación del segundo Vicepresidente de esta Comisión Yousef Hamdi, de Egipto, les damos la bienvenida y les agradezco por anticipado la enorme ayuda que sin duda darán a esta Presidencia para conducir los trabajos de la Comisión.
Señores, tienen ustedes la palabra: les recuerdo lo apretado de nuestra Agenda y les suplico apegarse al programa y moderar sus intervenciones. Tienen ustedes la palabra.
Bien, por lo pronto comenzamos con estos cinco países. En primer lugar Bangladesh, Kuwait, Polonia, Viet Nam y China. Tiene la palabra el distinguido delegado de Bangladesh.
A.H.M. ABDUL HYE (Bangladesh): Thank you, Mr Chairman. With your permission and indulgence of the respective delegates I would like to make observations on some of the issues brought out in the Conference Document C 83/2. Before that, I would like to congratulate you for assuming the responsibility of chairing this Session.
Your introductory remarks have set the tone for the discussion in a spirit of cooperation. I would also like to congratulate Professor Islam for his brief but effective presentation on the subject matter for discussion which has very effectively provided the background for the discussion which will ensue.
First of all I would like to discuss about food availability. It is most encouraging to note that there has been a marked increase in global food production in the 1980s resulting in record levels of carry-over stocks of cereals and grain into 1983. However, these production gains have been unevenly spread geographically and skewed in f.avour of few developed countries who also are the largest net exporters. In the midst of world-wide surplus we note 26 countries were reportedly suffering from abnormal food shortages in mid-June 1983, 16 of them in Africa, while 32 countries in southern and northern Africa and in parts of Latin America and Asia reportedly had adverse crop conditions.
By the FAO standard the overall level of cereal stocks may be above the minimum required for world food security (21 percent as against 18 percent), but the concentration of the surplus in a few developed countries highlights the vulnerability of the low-income food-deficit countries. The problem continues to be one of distribution as much as it is of food.
Lest huge carry-over stocks lead the net exporters to cut back on production, whether as a result of deliberate policy or through the operation of the market forces, it is to be considered whether an internationally held reserve of food stock mobilized through an international fund will not be in the interests of both the producing country and the importer. Such a nationally held reserve can distribute the cost of storage among donors/participants in such a scheme and afford a remunerative price to the growers and also a scope to the low-income food-deficit countries to make up their deficits either through sale at concessional rates or as food aid. If this scheme is supported by a stabilization programme for food commodities, the farmer in the exporting country can be assured of adequate income and simultaneously provide benefits for the poorly fed people of the world. Stable prices resulting from the above two matters should not however discourage the producers in both the developing and the developed countries to cut down on costs nor absolve their governments from adopting appropriate pricing policies.
Now I would like to make a brief comment on fertilizers. According to Document C 83/2, in 1981-82 fertilization production declined for the first time and consumption for the second time since the end of World War II.
While weakening commodity prices may have reduced the use of fertilizers in developed countries, the high price of fertilizer resulting frosm cut-backs in fertilizer subsidies has accounted for the drop in its consumption in most of the developing countries. Faced with the urgent need to increase food production and the inability of a large number of small farmers to purchase modern inputs, the continued availability of subsidized imports appear to be an indispensable part of the strategy of food production. If the consumer can demand and get cheap food, the producers should not be discriminated against by denying them cheap inputs. Moreover, this will be one way of balancing the adverse terms of trade between the urban and rural sectors of the economy.
Now, I would like to make a brief comment on the intermediate and long-term concerns as have been highlighted in the Conference document. The Conference document has emphasized the need to underpin efforts to improve agriculture production, food security and rural income in a sustained manner. These are: non-inflationary economic growth; encouragement of trade; and effective chanelling of domestic and international resources. These inter-related elements should not only form the basis of a 3-pronged policy guideline for the developing countries but should also be the framework for international cooperation. As the initiative in respect of all three lie within the jurisdiction of the developed industrialized countries, the success of any response from the developing countries will greatly depend on the attitudes and policy decisions of the former. We hope the developed countries will show greater awareness about the global interdependance and take appropriate measures.
Last but not the least, the World Food Survey: The member countries appreciate the constant endeavour of FAO to highlight the various dimensions of the food crisis and ways and means of overcoming the same nationally, regionally, and internationally. The various studies and surveys made by the Organisation from time to time have been immensely helpful in policy-making. The different studies undertaken by FAO for the analysis of the longer dimensions of hunger and ways to achieve the goals of the international strategy for alleviating the problems should equally be helpful. As this study has not been undertaken for merely academic interest but for practical consideration in meeting urgent issues, time is of the essence. It is for this reason that the publication of the Survey Report now scheduled for 1985 should be advanced so that it can be used as an input in the policy formulation of the developing and developed countries.
Mr Chairman, it has been said that in the long run we are all dead. For those who are poor and hungry, even the short term can make the difference between life and death.
El PRESIDENTE: Muchas gracias al distinguido Delegado de Bangladesh.
Deseo informar a la Sala del gran interés que ha manifestado la totalidad de las Delegaciones en todas las Comisiones, así como en el Plenario, para asistir a la Recepción del Señor Presidente de la República Democrática del Sudán, S.E. Jaafar Mohamed Al Nimeri.
Por tal circunstancia, esta Comisión I suspenderá en este momento los trabajos y se reunirá de nuevo para reanudarlos a las 2.30 de esta tarde.
Suplico a todos los Sres. Delegados una muy puntual asistencia porque tendremos que ganar este tiempo que suspendemos durante la tarde y parte de la noche. De otra manera, sería difícil que pudiéramos tener posibilidad de terminar nuestros trabajos.
Les agradezco mucho su atención y les espero a las 14.30 en punto.
The meeting rose at 10.50 hours
La séance est levée à 10 h 50
Se levanta la sesión a las 10.50 horas
