Ismael DIAZ YUBERO (España): Ante todo quiero felicitarle por su Presidencia, por haber sido elegido y por la forma en que está llevando el desarrollo de esta sesión.
La situación alimentaria mundial sigue siendo preocupante a pesar de que, al mismo tiempo, los excedentes de productos agrarios son cada vez mayores. Sin embargo, la solución no está, como muchas veces se ha dicho con un criterio quizás excesivamente simplista, en transferir los excedentes a los países deficitarios.
Como ha indicado el representante de Portugal, el mundo es muy heterogéneo y en consecuencia son muy heterogéneas las culturas y las agriculturas, los hábitos alimenticios y las capacidades productivas, los elementos climáticos y los regímenes políticos. Las soluciones generales tienden a ser demasiado dogmáticas y-con frecuencia poco prácticas- tomadas muchas veces sobre el papel y sin conocimiento o, lo que es más grave, con desprecio del medio en que se han de aplicar. Cada país, cada región tiene su tratamiento específico para solucionar sus específicos problemas y con medios, si no diferentes, sí aplicados en función de las circunstancias que concurren en cada caso.
Los grandes proyectos, los magníficos estudios que se han realizado, se realizan y se realizarán, deben ser una base de donde deben surgir, tras las adaptaciones oportunas, las líneas de actuación o al menos -no siempre- la ejecución lineal, sin tener en cuenta las verdaderas necesidades.
Consideramos que en cada país hay técnicos que conocen mejor que nadie lo que en cada caso se necesita y con esos técnicos es con los que hay que contar en la ejecución de las soluciones a introducir, pero no como asesores o consultantes, sino como auténticos protagonistas. Esta línea que afortunadamente es cada vez más aceptada, consideramos que debe ser prioritaria en todos los casos. Los proyectos de cooperación deben tener contenido nacional.
No estoy, ni mucho menos, propugnando la autarquía; no pretendo que cada país se autoabastezca ni que se produzca de todo en todos los países, pero sí creo que las políticas agrarias y alimentarias a seguir por cada país deben ir dirigidas precisamente a solucionar en cada caso los problemas específicos.
Son muchos los problemas que pesan sobre la situación alimentaria de determinadas regiones y en algunos casos problemas muy lejanos a la agricultura y la alimentación en sentido estricto.
El delegado de Colombia ha llamado la atención sobre los indicadores obsoletos que han hecho que problemas de América Latina no hayan podido resolverse todavía. Nos preocupa esta circunstancia. Varias veces hemos insistido ante la FAO sobre las previsiones que consideran que el fantasma del hambre, en su viaje de Oriente a Occidente, pueda posarse, tras haber visitado grandes regiones de Asia y Africa, en América Latina.
Reiteramos nuestra preocupación por este problema y pedimos a la FAO que determine la situación actual y futura en este continente, que se tomen las medidas oportunas para que se eviten situaciones tan dolorosas como las que en este momento padece Africa y antes padeció Asia.
Creemos que deben tomarse medidas con visión de futuro, que deben preverse las situaciones que puedan plantearse a final de siglo, ya que los problemas cambian, que las deficiencias de hace unos años en determinadas producciones se han convertido en excedentes y que quizás pueda pasar lo contrario en un determinado plazo.
Proponemos potenciar el trabajo del Centro de Inversiones, apoyamos los programas de FAO para evitar las pérdidas post-cosechas, pedimos que FAO tenga un papel asesor importante en los foros en los que se discuten los problemas de comercio alimentario y, en concreto, en el GATT.
Apoyamos la petición de la OUA, de que la FAO dedique especial atención a los programas de asistencia técnica mediante asesoramientos.
ZHU PEIRONG (China) (original language Chinese): Mr Chairman, first of all, please allow me, on behalf of the Chinese Delegation, to extend to you our congratulations on your election as Chairman of this Commission, and we hope that, under your chairmanship, this Commission will hold fruitful meetings through thorough discussions in the spirit of friendship and cooperation.
As is shown by the Conference documents and the FAO data on cereal production, over the past two years, world production of cereals remained at a standstill, and 1987 may well witness a reduction. In particular, the harvest this year is not good in many Asian developing countries with a large population and some African developing countries. This has led to further instability in the already unbalanced state of world food security. There has been no turn for the better in the trend of continued decline in international trade of agricultural produce since the early 1980s, which has already brought adverse effects to the development of agricultural production and the prosperity of national economies. In addition, the developing countries find themselves with heavy debts and economic difficulties. Their financial resources, essential for their development, are on the decline, while their limited agricultural land resources are still faced with the danger of erosion due to abuse and mismanagement. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of such a serious world food and agricultural situation. It is hoped that while discussing the question of reform of the Organization, the current session will give more attention to the fundamental issues, such as the development of production, the promotion of trade and the expansion of international cooperation in agriculture.
We wish to reiterate that to improve self-sufficiency in the developing countries in food by developing production is an important solution to the world food problem and to the eradication of hunger. In this respect, many countries have had good experience, and the international community has set forth many strategies and plans, yet so far there has been little action. Some resolutions and plans are still being talked about only. What is most urgently needed is action - that is, to organize hundreds of millions of farmers to participate in development and for all governments to take concerted action for the elimination of hunger. For this purpose, we should work jointly to create an economic and political environment in the world which is conducive to development. The developed countries should cooperate and speed up the transfer of funds and technology to developing countries. The developing countries should strengthen economic and technical cooperation among themselves. I believe that, under the leadership of the re-elected Director-General, Dr Saouma, the Organization will be able to make its due contribution.
The world population has exceeded 5 billion by mid-1987. World agriculture will have to feed more and more people and steadily improve their living. Undoubtedly this is a glorious and difficult task for us agricultural workers. Yet the agricultural resources on our planet are limited. Now, in some areas, there is worsening soil erosion, decline in soil fertility, salinity and desertification. Tropical forests are disappearing rapidly. The aquatic resources are gradually diminishing and some exploitable resources badly need to be renewed and protected. The urgency of this problem began to be felt by countries with large populations and limited land. We have noted that the FAO and other related international organizations have done a lot in this respect. However, what has been done is mostly intended to solve specific problems without an integrated and strategic approach being taken. For the plans and proposals, no adequate funds and manpower have been arranged for the implementation. Therefore, we consider that, in order to maintain sustained growth of agriculture for the benefit of future generations, we ought to have a long-term strategy for the protection and renewal of agricultural resources.
I should now like to give a brief account of the situation in China. The Chinese Government attaches great importance to agricultural development. Over the past two years the deepening rural reforms in China have experienced sustained growth. As a result, the farmers' income and living standards
have been further improved. This year though hit frequently by natural calamities, the summer crops dropped slightly but the sown area of autumn crops increased compared with last year and the area for high-yielding crops and improved varieties was expanded. According to estimates, the output of major crops will be higher than that of last year.
The growth of China's economy is still at the primary stage of socialism, with a very weak agricultural basis. At present China's per capita grain consumption is still at a low level. The rural population in 10 percent of the country's territory has not yet rid itself of poverty. We are now still faced with the difficult task of further developing agriculture and improving people's living standard. For this purpose we shall in the coming years concentrate on the following areas: first, continue to give priority to cereal production, step up the construction of bases for commercial grain production, guarantee the land area for grain production and strive to raise the per unit area yield; second, increase agricultural investment, improve the self-cumulative capacity in agriculture so as to ensure the sustained and steady growth of agriculture; third, improve agricultural productive forces in the remote and poor regions by providing them with assistance in order to promote planned and balanced agricultural development.
M. R. MULELE (Zambia): - Mr. Chairman, please allow me to join other distinguished delegates who have spoken before me in congratulating you on your election as Chairman. By the same token, my delegation would like to thank the Secretariat for the high quality documents placed before us for discussion this afternoon.
My delegation wishes to make a few general remarks as a contribution to this important debate. As we all know, the state of food and agricultural production in the world is indeed worrisome and should be a cause of concern for all mankind. It is in this regard that we should like to urge that this problem be treated globally and that solutions be found through joint and collaborative efforts.
Turning to FAO, my delegation would like to commend the Organization for its tireless efforts in the sphere of food and agricultural production in developing countries. It is our sincere hope that, as a technical body, FAO will spare no efforts in rendering assistance to the needy countries, especially those in the so-called Third World where the food and agriculture situation appears to show no real signs of improvement.
Besides the vagaries of weather and climatic conditions in developing countries, particularly subsanaran Africa, these countries find themselves in a weak position vis-à-vis the terms of trade.
The mounting or growing debts of developing countries give little, if any, hope for significant strides in the development of agricultural sectors in these countries.
We do not think it would be asking too much to request those who are owed to write off these debts as a gesture of goodwill. This, we believe, will go a long way towards enabling countries saddled with debt problems to adopt and implement strategies and programmes designed to improve food and agricultural production.
Sra. Doña Grafila SOTO CARRERO (Cuba): Quisiera en primer término, felicitarle a nombre de la delegación cubana por su elección para dirigir nuestros debates. Es para Cuba un placer que un ilustre hijo de la India presida los trabajos de esta importante Comisión.
Asimismo, agradecemos a la Secretaría los esfuerzos hechos para que este tema de la Situación Mundial de la Agricultura y la Alimentación pueda ser analizado con documentos actualizados, lo cual ha sido complementado con la excelente presentación de este tema hecha por el Sr. Hjort.
A pesar de las grandes existencias de alimentos a nivel mundial, volvemos a encontrarnos, desafortunadamente, en una situación de escasez dentro de la abundancia.
Ya en la presentación del documento se nos indica que se ha dado un paso atrás. Consideramos nosotros, como han hecho otros oradores, que son varios pasos atrás.
El suplemento 1 del documento que analizamos, nos asevera esta situación. El hecho de que se acentúe nuevamente la crisis alimentaria en Africa y nos encontremos al borde de una amenaza de hambruna como la que considerábamos superada, y que han sufrido especialmente los países africanos, es altamente preocupante.
En las reuniones anteriores donde se ha discutido este tema, se ha descrito el dramático panorama que caracteriza al mundo subdesarrollado y las sombrías perspectivas a que se enfrenta la humanida en el caso de que persistan las actuales condiciones que generan esta situación.
Como bien expresara nuestro Ministro de Agricultura en su intervención de ayer, en la Plenaria de esta Conferencia, y cito: "Si los problemas que debatimos hoy no encuentran una solución urgente, si continúan ahondándose las diferencias entre países desarrollados y subdesarrollados, si se persiste en políticas torpes que abren más esas distancias, se planteará entonces un enfrentamient de las sociedades hambrientas y los que medran a su costa". Fin de la cita.
En el caso específico de la Región de América Latina y el Caribe, nuestros países enfrentan un período de dificultades sin precedentes, debido a la persistencia de una profunda crisis económica de carácater estructural que tiene su origen fundamental en factores externos, haciendo evidente la vulnerabilidad y dependencia de nuestros países en sus relaciones comerciales y financieras internacionales.
Mi delegación considera, y así lo han expresado otras delegaciones, que en ninguna otra etapa de s historia, las economías latinoamericanas y caribeñas han experimentado mayores desajustes, y desa-fortunadamente, las perspectivas que se nos presentan son desalentadoras.
Efectivamente, como expresa la documentación que analizamos, el decenio de los ochenta ha sido per dido para America Latina y el Caribe. La disminución del ritmo de crecimiento, el deterioro del ingreso y el incremento del desempleo y la inflación son elementos críticos que sólo podrán ser superados con enormes y deliberados esfuerzos a lo largo de los próximos años.
La deuda externa se ha convertido en uno de los más graves obstáculos al desarrollo regional. El alto costo de su servicio y la perdida de acceso a los mercados internacionales de capital han transformado a nuestra Región en exportadora neta de recursos financieros.
Esta es una situación insostenible, pues de mantenerse, prevalecerán las condiciones recesivas a la que también se refiere el suplemento 2 que analizamos, y continuarán precarias las posibilidades d recuperación de nuestra Región. En tal sentido, apoyamos los comentarios sobre el efecto nocivo de la deuda externa en nuestros países, que han hecho las delegaciones de Perú y Colombia, entre otras.
Desafortunadamente, esta situación es similar en todos los países subdesarrollados, ya que somos víctimas de la aplicación de medidas económicas coercitivas como la aplicación del embargo y del bloqueo económico, la congelación de fondos, la suspensión de préstamos y créditos, y el entorpeci miento y el boicot a la obtención de financiamiento internacional con fines políticos.
A todo esto hay que añadir el efecto nefasto del proteccionismo sobre el comercio de los productos agrícolas de nuestros países. Tenemos la esperanza de que el desarrollo de la Ronda Uruguay, pued mejorar esta situación. En tal sentido, mi delegación reitera la necesidad de que la FAO brinde sus valiosas experiencias y conocimientos al GATT en lo que se refiere a los aspectos de la agricultu y la alimentación.
Para terminar, quisiera expresar la opinión de la delegación de Cuba en el sentido de que consideramos imprescindible para los países desarrollados que se aplique, de una vez, un Nuevo Orden Económico Internacional más justo y equitativo y en lo cual la FAO puede jugar un papel preponderante en lo que se refiere a la aplicación de aspectos ya aprobados por su Conferencia General.
Para nosotros, lo esencial de ese Nuevo Orden Económico Internacional, como expresó nuestro Minist de Agricultura, sería poner a nuestros países en condiciones de alcanzar la independencia económic, real y crear las condiciones materiales y espirituales para llevar el nivel de vida de la població a la altura de las conquistas contemporáneas de la Ciencia y la Técnica.
Todo esto, daría posibilidades de mejorar la situación económica de nuestros países, y daría garantía estable a la seguridad alimentaria.Estos son reclamos de los países subdesarrollados que son los más afectados en medio de esta difícil situación internacional, y la delegación de Cuba considera que sin el respeto a la dignidad de los países subdesarrollados, no podrán encontrarse salidas honrosas y efectivas.
René LONCAN (Brazil): Mr Chairman, allow me first of all to congratulate you on your election to preside over this Commission and to thank the Secretariat for the preparation and presentation of the document on the State of Food and Agriculture which we have before us.
Document C 87/2 presents an accurate analysis of the world economic situation in the biennium 1986-87, and of the performance of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in developing countries. We appreciate that the document rightly points out the seriousness of the problem of foreign debt for many of these countries and deals, in a balanced manner, with the falling international prices of agricultural products and the growing protectionism of industrialized countries, making opportune references to the current initiatives aiming at the review of national agricultural policies, such as the Uruguay Round within GATT. The document fails, however, from our point of view, to highlight the need for preservation of the principle of preferential and more favoured treatment for developin countries and the need for the adoption of a system of proportional dismantling of the support given by each country to its agriculture. This should be in accordance with the level of support to agriculture given by each country and should not involve support resulting from social and developmental considerations.
The Brazilian Delegation is, therefore, willing to endorse the document. We wish, however, the data concerning Brazil to be updated and statement to be clarified.
Paragraph 92 of document C 87/2 informs that agriculture kept on being benefited by preferential rates of interest, increasingly negative, in certain countries, including Brazil. Indeed it was so, to a certain extent, but for reasons I shall presently explain, the financing of Brazilian production, at a given period, was based upon preferential rates which, since they operated within a trend of high inflation, were meant to allow a more stable and realistic planning of production. One might say that the flaw of the analysis, if any, is to disregard the peculiar traits of a developing economy, deprived of resources and plagued by high rates of inflation. One could thus be led to the erroneous conclusion of applying increasingly negative rates in favour of Brazilian agriculture.
Anyway, as of the first half of 1987, Brazil began a wide process of elimination of subsidies to agriculture, by linking the interest rate and the minimum granted prices to the National Treasure Obligation-OTN variation, an index that reflects without distortions the level of inflation identified within the period in exam. As for interest rates, an index of real interests must be added to the OTN rate, which varies according to the size of the producing unit.
Within this framework, we clarify that the interest rates for 1987-88, however, are as follows, besides the aforementioned correction of the variation of National Treasure Obligations: firstly for cost financing: 7% for mini and small farmers, as well as for cooperatives having a minimum of their membership among mini and small producers and 9% for the others; secondly for investment: 7 % for all drawers; thirdly, for trade purposes: 7% for producers, cooperatives and processors, and 12 % for industries.
CHAIRMAN: I would like to mention, regarding formation of the drafting group, that it has been customary for the Commission to have a group of this nature, so that, based on the discussions which are held here, the draft proceedings are prepared in the group and placed before the Commission for approval. If we follow the same convention, I would suggest that the leaders of the Group of 77, the Chairman and the OECD group might have a consultation. On that basis, preferably by this evening, perhaps an agreed list could be given which could be placed before the Commission for approval and ratification.
Masuhla Humphrey LETEKA (Lesotho): My delegation wishes to make a few remarks on the agenda item before us.
Mr Chairman, since this is the first time that the Lesotho delegation is taking the floor, we should like to join other delegates in expressing our pleasure at your assuming the chairmanship of this important Commission.
At the same time, we wish to commend the Secretariat on their preparation of the two documents before us which in our opinion correctly highlight and address the problems of food and agriculture currently facing the majority poor. The magnitude of the problem is quite disturbing.
Lesotho is a food-deficit and low-income country with little arable land because of the growing population with which our agricultural outputs cannot cope. At the same time, Lesotho in the recent past has consistently faced natural disasters like drought which have paralysed the productive capacity of our agricultural sector, thereby forcing the Government to rely more on imported foodstuffs.
Recently Lesotho suffered unprecedented storms which destroyed their promising harvests and livestock, and also claimed human lives. We should like to thank those governments, international organizations and non-governmental bodies which contributed towards the reversal of this situation.
The Lesotho delegation would at this juncture like to address itself to the chronic debt problem faced by many if not all developing countries. This has resulted in those countries' failure to address themselves seriously to the field of agriculture which forms the largest sector of their economies. It has become increasingly impossible to invest in a more serious manner because of the lack of foreign currency to get the required relevant agricultural input and machinery.
The role that FAO has played and continues to play towards solving the food problems in recipient Member States is highly appreciated. We also take note of the Director-General's initiative on the future increase of Africa's food and agricultural output.
Finally, it is our sincere hope that the developed countries will implement as soon as possible agreements reached in several fora on liberalizing international trade, removing trade barriers and protectionism, which have resulted in severe competition in the world markets where agricultural products from developing countries have failed to make any impact.
We believe that the prevailing trade imbalances deserve priority in the deliberations of developed countries, and speedy implementation of strategies which will help boost food security on a global scale.
Thomas Madubeng TAUKOBONG (Botswana): Mr Chairman, allow me to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of this Commission.
The work of the Commission is very important to us. The review of the world food situation is very important, especially to those of us from the developing countries. We are greatly concerned about the apparent declining trends that are occurring.
The problems of food are not only those of production. The recent break in the drought cycle in some of the African countries, which resulted in increased production of cereals, is a clear indication of the fact that given the proper climatic, economic and financial conditions the developing countries are capable of reversing the current trend of food deficits.
At present, it seems that the solutions we are employing to redress the declining food situation are piecemeal solutions. We address the problems of production while we ignore other problems which involve marketing, economic factors and other related problems.
We are all aware that due to the persistent unfavourable world economic climate many developing countries, including most African countries, are faced with a severe shortage of foreign reserves and huge indebtedness. The net result has been the stagnation of economies of most of the developing countries. They not only find themselves unable to procure capital goods necessary for development but also find themselves unable to service their huge debts.
In our view, therefore, in order to succeed in solving the current food crisis situation there is a need to adopt a more integrated package. The problems of production, marketing, trade adjustment, world finance and economic and work politics should all be addressed at the same time. All these problems are interrelated, and if one is out of tune it will disrupt everything else.
We would therefore urge members of FAO and the world at large to ensure that problems affecting food are solved on a global basis rather than on a national or regional basis, as has been the tendency up to the present time. We hope, therefore, that FAO will take a leading role in trying to encourage the world to use a better integrated approach which will be successful in the long term.
Abdul Aziz YAACOB (Malaysia): Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Malaysian delegation allow me to join other delegates in offering you our congratulations on your election to the Chair, and to congratulate the Secretariat on the comprehensive study of the State of Food and Agriculture 1987 which was so well summarized by Mr Hjort.
We are generally in agreement with the findings of the study and in agreement also with the various comments made by those who have preceded me. I do not wish to repeat the findings of the study except to highlight a few findings.
As we see it, the problem in 1987 and before that is that of slow growth in agriculture and in the food situation. The progress that has been achieved following the food crisis years of 1983 and 1984 appears to be stultified by protectionist policies in the developed countries. These policies have led to surplus production which is now flooding the markets for cereals, oils and fats, and which have led to a reduction in prices which are affecting the incomes which developing countries can reap from production.
Another highlight which I can see from the study is that the debt problems of developing countries appear to be more than just a liquidity issue. It appears that it is more of a solvency problem, and here structural adjustment policies which have been instituted may have to be carried out on a gradual basis to prevent any recessive implications in the undertaking of structural adjustment measures.
I should like to touch more on the directions in which FAO can lead nations towards solving the problems that they are facing. We feel that the solving of the problem of agriculture and food production to meet world needs lies in the freeing of the markets. There must be a commitment by developed countries to open up these markets. Only through these measures can developing countries hope to reap some measure of success from their agricultural policies. Developing countries cannot produce and then face problems in marketing their produce.
One aspect that has not been highlighted perhaps by the Report has been some tendencies by developing countries to undertake smear campaigns against vegetable oils and fats. This practice is hurting countries like Malaysia which produce palm oil for export.
I should also like to touch on the need to lay stress on capital participation that should break away from being based on interest. The problem of debts faced by developing countries is because of fixed interest obligations regardless of performance. Perhaps it is time that FAO undertook a study on the implications of venture capital or risk sharing between developed and developing nations.
It is also important that FAO stress on Member Nations the need for efficiency criteria in their production. The mixing of income and price policies has led towards inefficiencies in agricultural production in Member Nations. National policies need to be examined and harmonized, and this must be in line with the guidelines that FAO has set. As such, I suggest that national studies be undertaken as soon as possible. FAO may also need to stress the factor- requirements of the agricultural sector, particularly investments.
S. RAJASEKAR (New Zealand): Mr Chairman, thank you for giving me this opportunity to make a few remarks at this point. I do not propose at this stage to dwell at great length on the proceedings of Commission I save to make some brief remarks on the overall perceptions of what this particular Commission's work would seem to be from our point of view.
We would generally concur with the analysis of the international agricultural situation as presented in the relevant FAO documents. It is certainly heartening to note the enormous improvements in the global food and agriculture situation at the aggregate level.
Having said that, we feel that the greatly improved food supply situation concealed some fundamental problems facing global agriculture today. Some of these points were addressed by our Minister during his intervention at the Conference yesterday.
There is a problem of excessive production in some regions and from our perspective for the products with which New Zealand is particularly concerned a number of the developed countries have pursued highly protectionist policies, and the deficient levels in others can largely be traced to the distorted policy environment and excessive government intervention. Needless to say, this is true of both the developed and developing countries. While the developing countries have had to contend with surplus production in the face of declining domestic demand, the reverse has often been the case, at least in many of the developing countries.
Increased domestic production and higher levels of self-sufficiency have been ostensible development objectives no doubt in a number of countries, but I think it is appropriate for us to question some of the background and fundamental bases for some of the policies. In the developed countries, if we take specific instances, governments have treated agriculture often as a special case and have often put in place various support measures that have virtually isolated producers from the impact of the international market and domestic realities. The results of these policies have been nothing short of catastrophic from the point of view of the international agricultural economy and monstrously wasteful in the context of the domestic economic efficiency arguments.
Since the early 1980s the world has had to contend with huge surpluses of grain and livestock products, to mention a few, that have seriously overhung the international commodity markets and depressed market prices. Numerous not merely on countries like New Zealand but on a whole range of countries, including a number of developing countries, I presume, and have reinforced the case for major agricultural adjustments in the policy area. We certainly intend to raise these in the context of discussions on international agricultural adjustment sections.
At this stage I would briefly point out the critical need for us to focus on the policy changes that are required both in the developing and developed countries if we are going to improve the overall conditions of supply and demand.
At this point I would also make a brief point to the efforts that New Zealand and other countries have made in trying to bring about a coalition of interests among the developed and developing countries. It will be known that the CAIRNS group of countries have brought together the developed and developing countries with the objective of trying to promote international agricultural adjustments and improve the conditions governing agricultural trade. I believe there is considerable interest and that this Conference should seek to focus on both the short-term problems of agricultural production and trade, as well as seek to identify and further promote the solutions governing agricultural trade.
Carlos VIDALI CARBAJAL (México): Sr. Presidente, antes que nada deseo felicitarle por su elección y hacerle algunos comentarios sobre el tema que se está tratando en estos momentos, que seguramente debe haber sido abordado por muchos otros colegas en esta reunión. En términos generales, podemos decir que estamos de acuerdo con el documento que se está realizando y que la mayor parte de sus conclusiones son compartidas por nuestra delegación porque expresan con precisión los problemas que acogen las políticas y las tendencias de la agricultura y la alimentación en los últimos años. Tenemos que destacar que el problema fundamental, en nuestro concepto, que se está enfrentando en estos momentos, y al que hacía mención nuestro Ministro en el discurso que pronunció en el día de ayer - quiero destacar que nuestro Ministro hablaba también como Presidente del Consejo Mundial de la Alimentación - es el de la paradoja que existe en estos momentos entre el hambre en muchas regiones del mundo en desarrollo y la abundancia y los enormes excedentes que existen fundamentalmente en los países desarrollados. Esta paradoja, que creo preocupa a la comunidad internacionales uno de los problemas más acuciantes y más preocupantes de la situación agrícola mundial. Precisamente en los foros internacionales se ha venido destacando esta preocupación y se están haciendo esfuerzos de análisis y propósitos para buscar la forma de resolver el problema de estos enormes excedentes que evidentemente afectan a la situación de la agricultura en el mundo porque son producto de políticas que precisamente se desarrollaron para que hubiera una producción agrícola importante, situación que ahora se ha revertido porque los bajos precios de las materias primas agrarias básicas hacen que en muchos de nuestros países ya la agricultura no sea negocio.
Evidentemente notamos, como lo decían algunos de nuestros colegas hace un momento, un deterioro notable en los términos de intercambio y que el panorama mundial, si bien oía yo a uno de mis colegas hace un momento decir que muestra señales de recuperación, nosotros pensamos que no es así, que estas señales no muestran que exista una recuperación económica en el comercio mundial de alimentos. Esto se ha reflejado en la caída de los ingresos de exportación de los bienes agrícolas de los países en desarrollo y el resultado de este fenómeno, junto con la integración creciente de la agricultura al conjunto de la economía mundial, ha agudizado los desequilibrios entre la producción y la demanda de alimentos y materias primas.
Las medidas que han adoptado los países desarrollados en el campo de la agricultura y la alimentación como son las políticas proteccionistas y los subsidios a los productos de exportación en sus diversas formas, han significado importantes obstáculos para los países en desarrollo que, de esta manera, se ven afectados frente a un mercado mundial desventajoso y totalmente inestable.
También se mencionaba hace un momento que el problema del endeudamiento ha impactado mayormente a las economías de los países en desarrollo, en términos de una disminución real de los recursos internos como externos, y reportes recientes de la FAO han indicado que en América Latina - y es el dato que tenemos a nuestra disposición - los índices nutricionales han disminuido, la ingesta calórico-proteica ha disminuido en América Latina que, de las regiones en desarrollo, era la que menores problemas tenía en este sentido y que ha comenzado a sentir los efectos de esta crisis financiera que, evidentemente, está teniendo un efecto en el acrecentamiento de los índices de desnutrición y subnutrición que hay en nuestra región. Si esto es así en América Latina, evidentemente el problema es mucho más grave en Asia y Africa,donde se está produciendo también este fenómeno.
Tal como lo señala el documento que estamos analizando, el inestable entorno financiero agrega elementos negativos al panorama, caracterizados por una reducción de las exportaciones de los países en desarrollo y por el descenso persistente de los precios internacionales de los productos básicos. Todo ello constituye una pesada carga que obliga a muchos países a aplazar su recuperación ecómica para cubrir el pago de su deuda.
Nuestro país, en la reunión de Punta del Este, en donde se lanzó la Ronda Uruguay, planteó en ese foro la liga que tiene que existir entre comercio y endeudamiento, y creo que esto es muy importante destacarlo porque esa liga evidentemente tiene un efecto en el sector agrícola y en el nivel de alimentación de nuestros países. Por otra parte, pensamos ya en la fase final de las negociaciones del primer año de la Ronda Uruguay. En la Ronda Uruguay se han presentado diversas posiciones. Se presentó hace algunos días la posición del Grupo de Cairns; también se presentó la posición de la Comunidad Económica Europea, ya se había presentado la posición de los Estados Unidos, y todas estas posiciones evidentemente dan una base para iniciar las negociaciones formalmente el año próximo en productos agrícolas. Pero en estas posiciones no se han considerado de una manera relevante algunos aspectos que nuestro país, en conjunción con otros, está planteando en lo que podríamos llamar una cuarta posición, una posición que atiende a los intereses de países que, como México, son importantes importadores de productos agrícolas básicos, que tienen que seguir manejando, por razones de su estructura política y social, por razones de su tenencia de la tierra, políticas de desarrollo agropecuario especial dado que nosotros hicimos una reforma agraria que hace que millones de mexicanos sean propietarios de parcelas y sean pequeños productores con problemas muy específicos, y convierte el problema de la producción agrícola en un problema de seguridad política y de seguridad alimentaria que nosotros, en algunos casos, hemos denominado la soberanía alimentaria de nuestro país.
También hemos insistido - y esto ya lo dijo nuestro Ministro en el día de ayer - en que se tiene que considerar un trato especial y diferenciado a los países en desarrollo en el seno de estas negociaciones, y que se tiene que considerar el papel relevante que juegan los importadores - que podríamos decir netos de productos agropecuarios - en la negociación comercial.
Posiblemente no sea del conocimiento de esta Comisión que se está constituyendo en el GATT un grupo un tanto de símbolo y heterogéneo en el cual países en desarrollo y países desarrollados estamos planteando la necesidad de que se considere el papel que juegan estos países en el comercio internacional y que se tome en cuenta su posición.
Curiosamente hay países como Japon, Corea, Egipto, Jamaica, como los países nórdicos, como Austria, Suiza y Perú con los que estamos considerando, entre otras cosas, la estructuración de una posición común que se presentará el día 7 de diciembre, último día de la fase inicial de negociaciones para plantear una posición de los puntos que realmente nos unen y que están representados por nuestra necesidad de importar alimentos y de seguir impulsando políticas nacionales de desarrollo agropecuario que muchas veces no tiene efecto en el mercado mundial sino que afectan fundamentalmente a esquemas de desarrollo nacional.
Creo que es muy importante que esto se considere porque, hasta la fecha, este problema de estos países no se había considerado y la negociación en el seno del GATT y diversos foros se había manejado como una negociación entre las grandes potencias exportadoras de productos y cereales básicos y sin la consideración de las necesidades de muchos países en desarrollo y de algunos países desarrollados en este sentido.
Señor Presidente, evidentemente somos un grupo de países conscientes y suscribimos la declaración de Punta del Este, por lo que estamos dispuestos a seguir buscando formas que resuelvan los problemas del proteccionismo y de los enormes subsidios que existen en el comercio mundial de alimentos, pero aquí son muy importantes los tiempos en los cuales se va a dar este proceso de liberalización y de eliminación de barreras.
Quiero informarles a ustedes que nuestro país ha avanzado mucho en materia de liberalización comercial de su comercio agropecuario, que se han eliminado muchas de las barreras no cuantitativas que que existían en el pasado y que en la inserción moderna de nuestro país al comercio mundial de productos agrícolas estamos en la mejor disposición de avanzar tanto como avancen los demás países en materia de la negociación comercial. Por ejemplo - lo dijimos también en el foro del GATT - nos preocupa el hecho de que se hagan proposiciones que planteen una liberalización comercial en un plazo de diez años para el comercio agropecuario, que se plantee eliminar subsidios y barreras proteccionistas y barreras no arancelarias o fitosanitarias, y que, por otra parte, con nuestro principal socio comercial, en el seno de su cuerpo legislativo, se están discutiendo medidas de proteccionismo, o una ley proteccionista, que, relamente, daría al traste con toda la negociación comercial que se está dando en materia de productos agrícolas. Esto lo manifestamos allá y creo que este es un foro importante para hacerlo aquí en este momento. Es decir, pretendemos que exista congruencia entre las posiciones que se manejan a nivel internacional y las acciones que se están planteando a nivel interno para resolver el problema del comercio mundial de alimentos.
Evidentemente nuestro país en este caso ha aprovechado la coyuntura que existe de precios bajos a nivel internacional, de precios subsidiados, pero también somos conscientes de que estos precios bajos y subsidiados están afectando el nivel de ingresos de nuestros agricultores porque la tasa de costo de los beneficios que existen entre la producción interna de alimentos y los precios internacionales hacen que en un momento determinado sea más barato importar que producir en nuestros países. Nosotros pensamos que si esto se resuelve en términos graduales, tendremos un mejor entorno internacional que permita un mejor desarrollo del comercio mundial de alimentos.
Finalmente creo que el Comité tendría que tomar cartas y hacer proposiciones concretas sobre esta paradoja que existe entre el hambre y la abundancia y podemos decir que en el seno del Consejo Mundial de Alimentación hemos estado estudiando este problema sin que todavía existan proposiciones interesantes para resolver el problema de los enormes excedentes.
Alguien por allí decía en broma que se podían echar al mar todos estos enormes excedentes y que se podría resolver el problema de esa manera. No creo que ése sea el mecanismo, pero sí tendrá que buscarse una solución enérgica para que la agricultura vuelva a ser un buen negocio.
Steen SØNDERGAARD (Denmark): First, I should like to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on your election. Secondly, I should like to thank the Secretariat for the two very instructive documents.
The state of food and agricultural production and trade gives rise to very serious concern. There is general agreement among all the speakers that the situation is very unsatisfactory. Also, there is, more or less, consensus about the reasons for the present situation. Many factors are influenci the food and agricultural production, and the trade for these products. It is the economic situatio in the world, the agricultural policy in regions and individual countries, changes in the production structures in some countries and the debt problems in some developing countries. The worsened economic situation in the world is, for the time being, a matter of concern. It has the effect that developing countries in some regions are net capital exporters. This means that investment in agricultural production has decreased to a low level. The lack of input such as fertilizers, pesticides management and expertise in agricultural production will, of course, lead to a decrease in production, as we have seen, and paradoxically, in some cases a growing pressure on the environment and the semi-arid land.
The agricultural policy in the different countries and regions is of great importance to the development of agricultural production. Especially in Africa there is a tremendous need for increasing local food production. I want to stress "local food production". We believe FAO has a very important role to play, not only in providing knowledge, technical knowledge, at all levels, but also in supporting the efforts to create agricultural policies which encourage especially the small farmers to increase their production. We believe in policy advice connected with technical assistance of a substantive nature.
With regard to the trade in food and agricultural products, certain international events of great importance have taken place, in particular the Declaration from the OECD, Ministerial Council in May this year, the Venice Economic Summit in June and above all the launching of the GATT trade negotiations, the Uruguay Round. This gives the institutional framework to comprehensive discussions on how to solve basic international issues. We should certainly not miss the opportunity to prepare lasting solutions in the agricultural field, and to reach agreements which will ensure a better global market balance.
For our part, we, as members of the EEC, are prepared to take part in this process. Basic elements in the agreements we are looking for should include stability on the international market, food security, fair treatment of the producers, and, of course, not least, the assurance of a better food supply for people in all countries.
On the question of stability, we would like to see international agreements put into force. In this context we would, in particular, refer to the International Dairy Agreement, and we would express the hope that all important exporters would join the Agreement. Further, we would like to see a revision of certain elements of this Agreement. We agree that there is a need to look at the support: measures for agricultural production in developed countries. At the same time it is important to keep in mind the effect on individual producers to include in the consideration human and social respect of the adjustment process. The rural social structures are vastly different in different parts of the world, and due account should be given to this fact. We believe that protection of consumer interests in all countries is essential; not least the consumers should be assured of the quality of the products offered to them. The agricultural sector has a great responsibility in this respect, as is the case with the question of conservation of the environment. There are many markets in this area. Therefore, we urge that a short-term solution should be found as soon as possible, while at the same time longer-term solutions are being prepared.
What kind of contribution can FAO and this Conference offer to promote the important discussions and negotiations in GATT and other fora, apart from the important analytical work carried out by this Organization? We think that this Conference should send very clear signals to the international community that we are deeply concerned about many elements in the present state of affairs, and that we wish meaningful and realistic negotiations to move ahead and be concluded with a view to bringing stability to international markets.
Mme Cristina Isabel DUARTE (Cap-Vert): Tout d'abord , ma delegation voudrait vous féliciter de votre élection à la Présidence de notre commission.
Les documents C 87/2 et Sup. 1 qui sont soumis à notre examen traitent de la situation de crise de surproduction des pays industrialisés et de ses conséquences.
Cette crise présente les caractéristiques suivantes:
- excédents de production et accumulation de stocks;
- stagflation;
- chômage.
Toutes ces caractéristiques reflètent un excédent relatif de capacité installée.
Etant donné le degré élevé d'internationalisation des économies, la crise qui a explosé dès le début dans les pays industrialisés s'est propagée partout comme une tache d'huile.
Le fardeau de la crise pour les pays en développement, en particulier ceux d'Afrique, n'est pas du tout facile à supporter. La quasi-stagnation du PIB, la diminution de plus de 12 pour cent du revenu par habitant, la détérioration des termes de l'échange, l'aggravation croissante de la dette extérieure, tout ceci nous donne à penser que le redressement recherché de la croissance économique implique aussi un assainissement de l'économie mondiale.
Dans ce contexte, on a conscience que la situation actuelle du continent africain, caractérisée par une économie d'autosuffisance, constitue un obstacle important à la sortie de la crise. Ceci pourrait entraîner éventuellement la destruction du capital installé, mais impliquerait nécessairement l'élargissement du marché international.
Dans ce cadre, s'inscrivent la mercantilisation des économies africaines souvent défendue et la monétisation de l'agriculture. En d'autres termes, cela signifie le passage à une agriculture tournée vers le marché. Ceci mènera tout simplement à une augmentation de la demande en biens de consommation et, sans aucun doute, provoquera le déblocage de la situation en faveur des pays développés et industrialisés.
Une éventuelle solution de fond devrait mener à une Afrique utilisatrice de biens d'équipement en libérant les pays africains de la situation d'exportateurs de matières premières et d'importateurs de biens manufacturés.
Dans ce sens, les pays en développement se battent non seulement pour l'augmentation de l'aide, mais également pour une révision du concept et des pratiques de cette même aide. Pour que celle-ci permetti la réduction effective de la dépendance, elle devrait être orientée vers la construction d'une base d'accumulation, ce qui signifie donc la monétisation de l'aide alimentaire, les flux financiers à des conditions de bonification intéressantes, etc., encadrés par une vraie pratique de la planification économique. Il s'agit d'une mesure indispensable si l'on veut sortir de la crise dans un cadre de plus grande justice.
Adel Helmy EL-SARKI (Egypt) (original language Arabic): Having reviewed paragraphs 3 to 6 of this document, we should like to express our concern at the prevailing economic situation at the world level. The negative trends witnessed influenced agricultural and economic performances, as has been mentioned in paragraphs 7 to 23. We all agree that the main cause for these negative trends is the problem of foreign debt, from which all developing countries suffer. It is now like an avalanche sweeping all before it. Therefore we need both coordination and solidarity in order to do away with this problem. We should concentrate on the best way out instead of confining ourselves to parochial interests. We are gratified to see that the developing countries understand better the importance of the agricultural sector and all the serious efforts that have been undertaken to imporve agricultural policy. This is mentioned in paragraph 36. We are looking forward to more efforts in order to put an end to the problem of protective policies so as to enable economic growth to regain its force. Here, since we are talking about negative trends for the debt problem and the service of the debt, we can but hail the countries which agreed to rediscuss the debt problem, because both developing and developed countries are in the same boat.
My country's delegation has looked at paragraphs 45 to 53 on fisheries and we have noticed that a substantial increase in total world fishery production was reported in 1986. The same trend may be true for 1987.
Mention was made in paragraph 54 of the first year of the UN-PAAERD, and we are satisfied to see what was mentioned in paragraph 58 as regards the revival of the agricultural sector in Africa. We hope that the tendency will continue, and this can only be achieved through depending on our own forces through the formation of appropriate cadres and agreeing on appropriate programmes. In fact, what was mentioned as far as resource flows are concerned is something very encouraging.
This document discussed the economic condition in the Near East region, and we agree with the review prepared by the Organization. We should like to express our appreciation for the effort in preparing this review.
After looking very closely at paragraph 139, which mentions the agricultural policy in my country, I am gratified to mention that we have achieved a certain measure of self-sufficiency in food crops. We are even exporting some of them. We are also trying to implement one of the executive programmes under our agricultural plan with the aim of achieving a greater measure of self-sufficiency and implementing vertical development programmes in order to increase production, as well as attaching more importance to small farmers.
CHAIRMAN: I find that in the schedule for the Commission's work four sessions have been earmarked for this item, 6.1. Out of the 158 members, 26 have so far spoken. There are roughly twenty more speakers. I would suggest to the Secretariat, with your approval, that possibly we could complete discussion on SOFA, 6.1., in the morning session and take the other items in the afternoon session.
I adjourn this session.
The meeting rose at 16.20 hours
La séance est levée à 16 h 20
Se levanta la sesión a las 16.20 horas
