CHAIRMAN: Ministers, distinguished delegates, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/International Atomic Energy Agency Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. To mark the occasion, the Director-General of the IAEA has been invited to address the Conference. However, before he does so, I shall invite the Director-General to take the floor.
DIRECTOR-GENERAL: It is my great pleasure to welcome to the Conference my colleague, Dr Hans Blix, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who will be addressing this assembly in a few minutes.
I have had the honour of addressing the General Conference of the IAEA and I am happy that that honour is now being reciprocated.
The occasion for Dr Blix's visit is the celebration of 25 years of close cooperation between our two organizations which began on 1 October 1964 with the establishment of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division.
This Division, headed by an FAO director, is located at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna - we have the Director, they have the headquarters, which is a very fair arrangement - and is staffed by some 21 professionals working in collaboration with their 64 counterparts and technical staff in the Seibersdorf Agricultural Laboratory.
This joint activity is a prime example of what can be achieved through close, harmonious and effective cooperation between the two United Nations agencies, and our experience over the past 25 years could well serve as a model for similar activities between FAO and other agencies, within and outside the UN system, whose mandates touch on common ground.
I wish to pay tribute to Dr Blix for the way he has personally maintained and extended the efforts of his predecessors in providing an excellent and effective base for our joint endeavours.
The aim of the Division is to make available to developing and developed Member States of both FAO and IAEA the powerful research and development tools - isotopes and radiation - for enhancing food and agricultural production and protecting crops, livestock and food from pests and spoilage.
The Division concentrates its activities in the field of research where the associated laboratory plays a key role.
Increasingly, it has become a centre for training of young agricultural scientists, having accepted some 2 000 in the past five years through fellowships and training courses, 500 of whom are at the FAO/IAEA laboratory at Seibersdorf.
The Division is supporting and coordinating research in some 400 agricultural research institutes and carried out the major part of the IAEA technical assistance programme, reflecting the significant practical advances already made by this form of technology in food and agricultural production.
It is now making use of nuclear techniques in biotechnology applications for improving crop performance and animal health, with emphasis on environmental protection, of course, and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.
An exhibition of the activities of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division has just been opened jointly by Dr Blix and myself on the ground floor of this building. We were very much honoured by the presence of the Chairman of the Conference. I invite you to visit this exhibition. It will not take too much time but is really worthy of being seen. It will be open throughout the Conference and I would encourage delegates to take this opportunity to view its activities, being, as it is, the only Division in the Agriculture Department located away from Headquarters.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr Director-General.
It now gives me very great pleasure to call upon Dr Blix to address the Conference.
Hans BLIX (Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency): Mr Chairman, Mr Director-General, Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure and a honour for me to address the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization. I should like to thank Director-General Saouma for his kind words of welcome to me. I recall five years ago when the Director-General of FAO, Dr Saouma, addressed the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Vienna.
On that occasion, we commemorated 20 years of close cooperation between our Organizations. Now I would like to reflect on a quarter century of close and successful cooperation between FAO and IAEA for making useful nuclear tools available to Member States to accelerate food and agricultural development.
Even at the dawn of the atomic age it was known that an enormous source of energy and power was not the only thing that was becoming available to mankind. It was realized that the radio-isotopes and radiation which subsequently became readily available could make significant contributions in a variety of fields, including medicine, industry and food and agriculture, both in research and development and later in industrial-scale processing.
The so-called Atoms for Peace Programme launched in the mid 1950s led to the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna in 1957.
A programme on agricultural applications of isotopes and radiation was one of the initial activities of the new Agency; at the same time, FAO, recognizing the potential of this new technology, started its own Atomic Energy Branch, For a few years, these two United Nations Agencies thus operated parallel and overlapping programmes in applying nuclear techniques in food and agriculture.
Unfortunately there are still instances of parallel activities and unnecessary overlapping within the UN system although not between the FAO and the IAEA,
In this case, however, the then Director-General of the two Organizations, Dr Binay Rajan Sen of FAO, and my predecessor, Dr Sigvard Eklund of IAEA, decided to solve the problem by combining the two programmes.
Not only was their decision to prove to be eminently sound in serving the common goals of the two Agencies, but the joint programme also came to be an exemplary model of cooperation and coordination within the UN system.
The arrangements drawn up in 1964 called for the Joint FAO/IAEA Division to be located at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, with its Director appointed by FAO, the Deputy Director by IAEA, and the other staff consisting of both FAO and IAEA employees. The financial resources of FAO and IAEA are pooled for the operation of the joint programme, and all the activities involving nuclear techniques in food and agriculture are carried out and given recognition in the name of both Agencies.
The reasons for locating the Division at IAEA were primarily the existence of the IAEA Laboratory at Seibersdorf, near Vienna, and the IAEA's unique system of coordinated research, which today remains one of the pillars of the joint programme. The Agricultural Laboratory remains the only one of its kind in the UN system and has greatly contributed to the scientific success of the joint FAO/IAEA programme. It has also been a major centre for the training of agricultural scientists in the use of nuclear techniques.
As we look back over the 25 years of the Joint Division, we can rightly ask the question: was this merely a successful exercise in inter-agency cooperation, or did the Joint Division's programme make a real contribution towards improving the well-being of peoples in the Member States of the two Organizations?
The answer is that a large number of representatives of the recipient countries in our Governing Bodies have consistently expressed their satisfaction with the practical results of the nuclear applications and the impact of these techniques on the advancement of agricultural science and the resulting economic benefits to their countries. At our General Conference in September this year, for example, the representative from Pakistan said that a single variety of cotton developed in cooperation with FAO and IAEA, through the use of radiation-induced mutations, had revolutionized the cotton industry in his country and was adding some US$300 million annually to the income of cotton farmers in Pakistan,
The work of the Joint Division has led to the development of more effective methods of mutation breeding, with the result that there are now over 1 300 registered mutant crop varieties grown, by farmers worldwide, representing a significant part of world crop production.
The use of radiation for the sterilization of the Mediterranean Fruit fly fostered by the Joint Division and the IAEA Laboratory led to the eradication of this pest from Mexico and is being contemplated for the eradication of the Medfly in North Africa and elsewhere. Extensive pilot field programmes to control tsetse flies have led to their total eradication in the test areas chosen. In all these activities, there is close cooperation with the corresponding Divisions of FAO where the use of the sterile insect technique forms a part of integrated pest management programmes.
In animal science, the work of the Joint Division focuses on the use of immuno-assay techniques for disease diagnosis and the study of reproductive performance. The provision of diagnostic kits forms an important and integral part of FAO's Africa-wide Rinderpest campaign and is assisting the fight against a number of other serious livestock diseases.
The underlying principle in the use of isotope techniques is the ability to detect individual atoms by the radiation they emit or other physical characteristics which are different from the substances occurring in nature. This makes it possible, for instance, to follow the pathway of minute amounts of isotope-labelled fertilizer from the soil into the root system of crops, and finally to identify the fertilizer nutrient as it enters the leaves and grain or fruits. This is a unique method. In a number of world-wide research programmes sponsored by the Joint Division it has led to improved fertilizer practices, resulting in more economic use of fertilizers as well as a significantly reduced environmental impact.
Indeed, environmental protection and diminished reliance on chemicals is a prime objective of the joint programme.
Thus, isotopic tracer techniques are also used to monitor and study the fate and significance of pesticides and residues in the environment and help develop safer and better ways of using pesticides.
The use of irradiation to preserve food can in many cases be a substitute for the use of chemicals such as fumigants, some of which have been forbidden or restricted because of their harmful effects on health.
In contrast, decades of studies on the wholesomeness of irradiated foods have not revealed any toxicological, microbiological or pathological implications for human health when using the radiation doses recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Irradiation can also be used to kill pathogenic organisms like Salmonella in foods like chicken and seafoods.
As food-borne pathogens are, according to the World Health Organization, a major cause of child illness and death in the developing world, it has strongly recommended wider use of food irradiation to make food supplies safer.
It is therefore surprising and regrettable that this technique is still encountering opposition from some consumer groups and even from a few governments.
In summary, we can safely conclude that the peaceful uses of atomic energy in food and agriculture and the results of 25 years of the joint FAO/IAEA programme have lived up to the original promise and potential. Nuclear techniques are being used in agricultural laboratories throughout the world as complementary and often indispensable tools alongside other traditional and advanced research and development methods. They have an economic impact that is far beyond the combined investment made in this technology over the years.
What about the future? Are the techniques already introduced sufficient, or have other advancing technologies like biotechnology superseded nuclear techniques?
The answer is that radioisotope technology continues to play a key role in all advanced research and particularly in the new biotechnologies. Molecular biotechnology in fact would not exist without the use of radioisotope techniques as it is based on labelling DNA strands with radioisotopes for identification.
There appears to be enormous potential in molecular biology for scientific breakthroughs in a variety of disciplines, including medicine and industry. But perhaps the greatest potential lies in agricultural applications of molecular biology. These techniques promise to lead to improved plant and animal types, quicker and more reliable disease diagnosis and control, more effective vaccines, pesticides genetically built into crop plants and a ready availability of a number of useful chemical compounds, hormones, vitamins, industrial chemicals, etc.
In a high-level expert review of our joint programme which I requested last year, the strongest recommendation for future emphasis was indeed for agricultural applications of isotope-aided molecular biology. As a consequence, we will pay increasing attention to this aspect in the coming biennium and in the future.
We are also cooperating very closely with FAO and WHO on methods of monitoring radionuclide fallout from serious accidents - such as the one which occurred at Chernobyl - and on reducing their impact on agriculture. Through this cooperation, we have finally succeeded this year in establishing international norms for acceptable levels of radioactivity in foodstuffs moving in international trade.
On the occasion of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, an exhibit has been set up on the ground floor of this building - Mr Saouma mentioned it a moment ago - and I hope you will inspect to see some of the results I have referred to.
I would like to thank Dr Saouma for inviting me to address the FAO Conference and express the hope that we can jointly continue to make nuclear technology available to help accelerate progress in food and agricultural science in the developing countries and thus to improve the lives of their rural populations and the well-being of all nations. Thank you Mr Chairman.
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CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much Dr Blix. I, too, would join with the Director-General and urge all delegates to inspect the exhibition of the FAO/IAEA on the first floor.
I will now call on the Secretary-General briefly to make one or two points and then we will move into the general discussion proper.
SECRETARY-GENERAL: Thank you Mr Chairman. I would like first of all to recall to the Conference the announcement that was made this morning. The Chairman of the Standing Committee of Ministers of Agriculture of CARICOM will convene a meeting of the CARICOM delegations at 17.00 hours in the German Room, Building B, No. 269. German Room, B-269 at 5 o'clock this afternoon.
Secondly, I would like to call to the attention of delegations that the list of speakers in Spanish and their Journal has erroneously been given an alphabetical order, and the order of speakers will be as given in the English Journal.
Thirdly, I would like to call to the attention of all delegations and the speakers, as it appears in the Journal of today, that in order to alert speakers of the elapsed time and to enable them to keep within the agreed fifteen minutes, a white light will glow on the lectern after twelve minutes, and a red light after fifteen minutes. I thank you.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much Mr Alessi. We now move to the general discussion proper and I will give the floor to the heads of delegations who requested speaking time in advance. If time permits this afternoon, I will also give the floor to Representatives from Samoa, Chad, and Djibouti, but
it simply depends on how much time is taken up by the other speakers. As Mr Alessi has already said, please try to limit your statements to fifteen minutes. We have many requests for speaking time and this is the only way for us to proceed.
Without any further ado, I shall now call upon the first speaker, the Head of the Delegation of Italy, His Excellency Mr Calogero Mannino, Minister for Agriculture and Forestry.
Calogero MANNINO (Italie) (langue originale Italien): Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Directeur général, Messieurs les délégués, c'est pour moi un honneur et un motif personnel de satisfaction que de participer aux travaux de cette Conférence en ma qualité de Représentant du Gouvernement du pays hôte de la FAO.
Je souhaite avant tout exprimer mes très vives félicitations à Monsieur John Charles Kerin, qui a été élu président de cette vingt-cinquième session de la Conférence de la FAO. Je voudrais aussi féliciter les membres du Bureau.
Je tiens également à féliciter le Directeur général de cette organisation, Monsieur Edouard Saouma qui, avec la passion et l'engagement qui lui sont habituels, remplit la tâche prestigieuse et délicate qui consiste à coordonner les travaux de la Conférence.
Enfin, je voudrais souhaiter une chaleureuse bienvenue à tous les délégués et, en particulier, à mes collègues, les Ministres de l'agriculture des pays ici présents.
Je voudrais consacrer ma brève intervention à trois problèmes particuliers. Le premier est celui de la solidarité internationale et du rôle que celle-ci joue et doit jouer pour aider à renforcer la coopération mondiale. Des problèmes nouveaux et difficiles se sont fait jour cette année dans différentes parties du monde. Ils ont tous été affrontés dans un esprit raisonnable de respect réciproque et, bien souvent, dans l'attente de nouvelles formes concrètes et importantes de coopération économique et commerciale.
Les problèmes qu'affronte et que s'efforce de résoudre la FAO font partie de cette tendance mondiale à une compréhension réciproque accrue. C'est pour cette raison et pas seulement en tant que pays hôte que l'Italie tient à souligner tout particulièrement le rôle que joue la FAO et à dire combien elle est orgueilleuse d'avoir le privilège temporaire d'être le pays qui soutient le plus cette Organisation du fait des contributions qu'elle a volontairement ajoutées à sa contribution obligatoire. De ce point de vue particulier, qu'il me soit permis de souligner que, dans le cadre de la coopération entre l'Italie et la FAO, les projets et les programmes approuvés à partir de 1981 jusqu'à aujourd'hui ont dépassé le niveau des 30 millions de dollars par an. En outre, en ce qui concerne l'exercice biennal qui s'achève maintenant, mon Gouvernement a mis à la disposition de la FAO une contribution spéciale volontaire d'un montant supplémentaire de 30 millions de dollars afin de permettre à l'Organisation de faire face aux problèmes de trésorerie que pose le Programme de Coopération Technique.
Le deuxième problème que je voudrais aborder concerne le rôle de l'agriculture dans le domaine de la coopération pour le développement. Les efforts qui ont été faits au cours des dernières décennies en faveur du développement agricole sont nombreux et considérables. Malgré cela, un grand nombre de pays ont encore un long chemin à parcourir pour arriver à un rapport correct entre l'offre de denrées alimentaires et la consommation et pour mettre sur pied des systèmes agricoles suffisamment rationnels et avancés qui permettent de garantir une rémunération équitable pour les ressources investies et, avant tout, pour les travailleurs de la terre. Les dernières décennies ont fait apparaître un monde agricole du commerce subventionné, d'une part, et, d'autre part, celui du marché aléatoire.
Les aspects dramatiques aussi bien politiques que sociaux que posent les problèmes graves que connaissent de nombreux pays en développement, du fait des problèmes de leur balance des paiements et de la dette extérieure, devraient nous faire réfléchir sur le fait que la séparation nette qui existe entre ceux qui ont tous les droits et ceux qui ont tous les devoirs représente un attentat permanent à la coexistence pacifique mondiale.
L'Italie considère que l'on pourrait faire beaucoup en associant de façon continue et croissante l'aide alimentaire apportée aux pays qui ont des problèmes alimentaires majeurs à la fourniture de moyens de production, d'aide technique, de développement des technologies les plus adaptées aux conditions économiques, culturelles et agronomiques de ces pays. C'est là l'orientation que l'Italie a l'intention de suivre, de la manière la plus consistante pour l'aide qu'elle a l'intention de fournir tant sur le plan multilatéral que bilatéral.
Toutefois, il faut être conscient du fait que quelque chose de plus est nécessaire. En particulier, on ne peut stimuler la coopération technologique et ignorer ensuite le fait que la plupart des biens produits devront être vendus. Le moment est venu, pensons-nous, de faire quelque chose de plus significatif aussi sur le plan d'une plus grande libéralisation du commerce au bénéfice des pays en développement.
Le troisième sujet que je veux aborder concerne l'un des problèmes fondamentaux de la Conférence: celui des forêts et le lien qui existe entre les ressources forestières, l'agriculture et l'environnement. La Journée mondiale de l'alimentation qui, à l'occasion de l'anniversaire de la création de la FAO, a été célébrée dans le monde entier, il y a quelques semaines à peine, a été consacrée au thème suivant: "Alimentation et environnement.
A cette occasion - et je suis heureux de le répéter ici - le Directeur général, Monsieur Saouma, a affirmé ce qui suit: "La distribution des ressources naturelles est un problème mondial qui menace gravement la santé et le bien-être des générations présentes et futures. Le défi est évident: il nous faut trouver le moyen de produire plus de denrées alimentaires sans appauvrir le sol, d'élever plus de bétail sans transformer les pâturages en terres stériles, d'augmenter la pêche sans appauvrir les mers d'un patrimoine vital."
Je suis fermement convaincu, du point de vue moral et politique, que le temps est désormais passé où l'on pouvait se limiter à constater les catastrophes écologiques qui se produisent année après année et qui s'ajoutent les unes aux autres sur le plan mondial.
Je ne crois pas non plus qu'il soit possible de penser que le développement technologique, son contrôle et sa rénovation puissent servir à eux seuls à éliminer les menaces qui pèsent sur nos têtes et surtout sur celles de nos enfants et des générations futures, à savoir la menace d'une crise écologique qui pourrait frapper à mort notre planète et la biosphère.
Par conséquent, il faut travailler désormais à l'édification d'une conscience écologique mondiale, conscience dont l'acquisition exige que l'on arrive à percevoir comme une réalité et non pas une simple spéculation philosophique le fait que notre planète est un vaisseau spatial dont l'équilibre est délicat et qui dispose de ressources renouvelables limitées qu'il faut gérer avec prudence et sagesse. Je considère que ce passage exige un changement de culture énorme.
Néanmoins, je suis convaincu qu'il sera possible d'atteindre cet objectif si nous sommes capables, beaucoup plus que nous ne l'avons été jusqu'à présent, d'être solidaires sur le plan international afin de substituer à la culture de la concurrence et de l'agression celle de la conscience de faire partie d'un monde qui appartient à tous et où tous ont des droits égaux.
Pour toutes ces raisons, je considère qu'il vaut la peine de prêter attention au fait que le programme de travail de la FAO prévoit des activités directement conçues pour affronter le problème de la faim et de la malnutrition au moyen d'une exploitation plus judicieuse des ressources naturelles et humaines et grâce à une série d'activités liées à la protection et à la conservation de l'environnement parmi lesquelles il convient de citer le Plan d'action forestier tropical.
A plus forte raison par conséquent, il me semble nécessaire d'exprimer mon accord avec la position prise par la FAO sur l'ensemble du dossier sur la question, dans lequel il est dit que dans ses assises mondiales et compte tenu des grands dangers que présentent les nouveaux changements et qui mènent à de nouveaux équilibres démographiques, il serait trop simpliste de ne parler que du problème des forêts.
Celui qui aujourd'hui est appelé à donner sa propre contribution au choix de gestion, de la programmation, à l' élaboration d'une politique économique et énergétique ou à des plans de développement d'orientation, doit se placer devant ces grand binômes forêt/environnement et forêt/énergie et ne doit pas oublier un autre binôme aussi important: forêt/alimentation.
Le plan de l'environnement, par son importance même, ne peut devenir un élément de domination et de consolidation des inégalités existant dans les conditions de vie et de bien-être telles qu'on les voit encore sur notre planète.
Enfin, je ferai une déclaration finale. Etant donné le vif intérêt que porte l'Italie aux objectifs poursuivis dans les domaines agricole et alimentaire par la FAO de même que par d'autres institutions de la famille des Nations Unies qui ont leur siège à Rome, mon pays a décidé de présenter à nouveau sa candidature, au cours de cette Conférence, au Conseil et au Comité financier de la FAO.
J'ai pleinement confiance que les délégations des Etats Membres apprécieront le rôle que l'Italie pourra y jouer et accepteront notre candidature à ces deux organismes de la FAO.
Enfin, tout en respectant la position des pays qui voudront maintenir le budget de la FAO dans son statu quo, c'est-à-dire à la croissance zéro, l'Italie votera en faveur du budget présenté par le Directeur général, M. Saouma, car le gouvernement italien considère que le faible accroissement qu'il représente est justifié par le programme de travail intense qui est le corollaire du budget en question.
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Mrs Iris REZENDE MACHADO (Brazil) (original language Portuguese): Mr Chairman, I congratulate your Excellency on the occasion of your election to the presidency of this Twenty-fifth Session of the FAO Conference, which we interpret as a just tribute to Australia, a country that has been playing an important role in support of the liberalization of world trade in agricultural products, through the Cairns Group with which Brazil is associated, in the present Uruguay/GATT round of multilateral trade negotiations.
I am certain that, with your experience, your Excellency will know how to conduct the work of the Conference in a secure and constructive manner. I extend my congratulations to your distinguished predecessor.
I also wish to pay my respects to the Director-General who, now in the midst of his third term, has been completely justifying the hopes that we have repeatedly placed in him for a fruitful and competent administration as the head of our organization.
Mr President, in 1987, when I had the occasion to address this Conference for the first time, I emphasized the difficulties that are placed in the way of the legitimate desire for social and economic progress among the developing countries, especially among the still expressive sectors of our population that have in the fields, rivers and forests the principal reason for their existence and the only source of their sustenance.
Today, I have no other choice but to continue on this same course, and I shall do so briefly, bringing to mind some figures that express in a devastating fashion the state of general deterioration at which the economies of a large portion of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have arrived.
The estimate for the 1988 gross domestic product (GDP) is the same as that achieved a decade ago. In 1989 the growth rate will be nil, reducing per capita income by about 2 percent to which must be added a cut of 7 percent since 1980.
In Latin America and the Caribbean we still find ourselves a long way from seeing conditions materialize that will enable us to turn such an unfavorable situation around.
The massive transfer of funds abroad, that the burdensome servicing of the foreign debt requires of us, continues to impede us in recuperating satisfactory growth rates, a sustained balance of payments and a reasonable price stability.
Before the recession of 1980-82, our region which had received net funds in the amount of 2.6 percent of the gross domestic product, began to annually transfer abroad an amount corresponding to 3.9 percent of the GDP, which reached US$ 29 billion in 1988, a very high sum from any standpoint.
May your Excellency allow me to detail the case of Brazil, which transferred funds abroad amounting to US$ 56 billion over the last five years.
Mr President, will Latin America and the Caribbean, together with the majority of other developing countries, be faced with a Marshall Plan in reverse that will have a negative effect on. their march toward the more promising future that we have always desired?
Unfortunately, we still do not have a conclusive answer to that question.
All that we know, and we regret it very much, is that it has been impossible to move ahead with the concerned international community regarding a satisfactory negotiation of the problem of the foreign debt, one in which it is recognized at the policy level that there is a need for social and economic growth in the developing countries and for the principle of co-responsibility between the creditor and debtor nations.
It is evident that, in the absence of such a decisive step in dealing with the foreign debt of the developing countries, it will be difficult for us to establish a successful and long-lasting readjustment of our economies and, consequently, meet the demand in an adequate manner for credit, financing and investment, the essential elements for reactivating production and employment structures at a significant level in a sector as vital as agriculture.
I do not believe that there is a need for me to dwell at length in order to emphasize the importance of what I have just expressed. In the developing world, excluding China, there are still 740 million individuals among the poorest and undernourished populations on our planet, 30 million of whom are found in my own country alone.
Other tendencies observed in the economies of the industrialized countries serve to exacerbate the harmful effects of foreign indebtedness on the performance of agriculture in the developing countries.
For example, on the structural level, I may point out that the demand for agricultural products coming from developing countries is growing very slowly, even in its best phases, among the more advanced economies, due to the low population growth, to the high per capita consumer level, to trade protectionism and to the policies of subsidizing domestic production.
At the conjuctural level, we all have to worry about a cooling off of the economies in the industrialized countries following the unprecedented long period of economic expansion during the 1980s, which will surely lead to the adoption of policies restricting imports, in order to reduce the trade deficit.
Mr President, it has never been so necessary to transform the concept of solidarity into concrete initiatives for cooperation.
It has never been so urgent to see the principle of interdependence in effective operation among nations, in order to overcome the problems of underdevelopment that we are experiencing day after day with suffering imposed by misery and hunger.
Even while faced with the limitations of resources of every kind, we are implementing various initiatives in the agricultural sector, of significant impact on the integration, development and well-being of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Thus, at the subregional level, the process of expanding trade exchange is moving ahead through specific negotiations in the Association for Latin American Integration (ALADI). Argentina and Brazil are implementing an ambitious programme for economic integration and have been joined by Uruguay with the establishment of the Committee for the Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the Plata Basin. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are implementing a series of coordinated and effective measures to rid themselves permanently of this disease that affects our herds, with the Accord on Plant Health in the Southern Cone (Cosave). Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay are pooling their efforts to combat the pests which could harm crops and damage our forest patrimony.
Two other steps that are very important for the entire region were taken during the last two years, after the XXIV session of the Conference aiming at concentrated action in the farming sector.
Firstly, in 1988, in the city of Recife in my country, we had the privilege of hosting the XX FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, the organization and success of which we are indebted to the work of Doctor Edouard Saouma, at the head of a competent working team.
On that occasion, while launching the "Plan of Action for Farming and Rural Development in Latin America and the Caribbean" that synthesized an analytical basis so that the countries could elaborate their own development programmes, the Ministers of Agriculture, in the "Recife Declaration", reiterated the request for the support of the international community, in particular of the developed countries, emphasizing among other things, the need for the "elimination of protectionism, subsidies and other excluding and restrictive practices affecting a free and just international trade for the developing countries" and "relief from the burden of the foreign debt and its respective high servicing cost, as well as the re-establishment of the positive flow of foreign financial resources".
More recently, last October, in Sao Jose da Costa Rica, at the close of the V Ordinary Meeting of the Inter-American Group for Agriculture, within the ambit of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), the Ministers of Agriculture of the American Continent approved and adopted the "Plan of Joint Action for the Reactivation of Agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean " (PLANALO that, built up around specific projects for the four subregions of Central America, the Caribbean, Andine and the Plata Basin, basically strives to maximize national rural and farming development efforts by means of coordinated action.
The initiatives of FAO and IICA complement one another, and coordinated work between the two organs on the execution and monitoring of the aforesaid plans, which we exhort here, will only multiply the benefits for the developing countries on the American continent.
Regarding the world scene, I wish only to point out that within the Cairns Group, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay continue in their efforts so that the present Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations, in the GATT forum, conclude their work with the adoption of accords in favour of the liberalization of world trade in farm products.
In this regard, I also wish to emphasize that to date, with three quarters of the period formally planned for completing this important round (1987-1990), the negotiations in Geneva continue to be basically limited to the examination of suggestions on methodology, statistics and incomplete proposals.
In this context, we have observed with satisfaction the recent proposal presented by the United States of America and based on the concept of tariffs, and which we have examined with great interest. We hope that the European Economic Community will present before the end of the year, as expected, its proposal for negotiation, followed by other countries or groups of countries wishing to take an identical initiative.
Above all, we hope from the industrialized countries, in addition to a true disposition to negotiate, that their proposal be operationally possible and that they incorporate the principle of differentiated and more favourable treatment for the developing countries, along the lines of the Punta del Este declaration of 1986.
Mr President, with the inclusion, among others, of themes regarding the study of world food and agriculture, the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, the international commitment on genetic plant resources, the international code of conduct for distribution and use of pesticides, and the plan of action for integrating women into farm and rural development, the agenda of this Twenty-sixth session of the Conference that we are now beginning will surely occasion a profound examination and substantial contributions on the part of the participating delegations.
To this set of themes we should add a joint reflection on the question of the environment, an inseparable dimension of the concept of solidarity among peoples and interdependence among nations.
In its broadest aspects - changes in the climate, destruction of the ozone layer - this issue cannot and must not be reduced to the limited dimension of a North-South problem, in which there is a tendency to consider the developing countries as acting in a manner incompatible with the world's ecological balance.
We cannot accept that the concept of ecologically sustainable development assign the task of ensuring ecological balance of the planet solely to us, the developing countries.
In reality, it is the industrialized countries that have the past and present responsibility for the damage caused to the global environment. It is upon them, therefore, that the greater responsibility falls for a satisfactory approach to the question.
It is unjust that we be blamed for the damage to the ecosystem caused by standards of living and consumption that have never been within the reach of our societies.
The policy of my government regarding environmental protection is a firm one.
With the launching of the "our nature programme" establishing the basis for an environmental policy specifically aimed at the Amazon region, the burnings have been reduced by 40 percent, exportation of timber has been prohibited and predatory projects can no longer rely on incentives from the government.
Today, approximately eight million hectares are under a system of permanent preservation, and approximately 10 percent of the national territory is destined for a population of an estimated 200 000 Indians.
Based on the concepts and translated into the initiatives which I have just referred to, Brazilian environmental policy does not exclude dialogue or understanding within the context of cooperation in development.
We have reiterated this in the "Amazon Declaration" issued in Manaus on last May 8, by the presidents of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, the member countries of the Amazon cooperation treaty. We have demonstrated this by offering that Brazil host the United Nations Conference on the environment and development in 1992.
Even though it has not completed the task of readjusting the economy, due above all to outside restrictions which have already been pointed out, my government has made notable progress in the modernization of the farming sector since 1986, with the launching of the "Plan of goals for agriculture".
By favouring the market forces instead of the prodigal assistance provided by state paternalism, but always seeking equity and social justice, the new farm policy in my country soon resulted in a super-harvest of grains, at the level of 72 million tons in 1988/89, an increase of 40 per cent in just three years over a volume that had remained stagnant for a decade.
There were many instruments that we established or updated in order to produce such a performance, without precedent in Brazilian agriculture.
Among these were the establishment of a pluriannual farm policy, with compensatory minimum prices, the rural development fund and the rural savings fund, in order to gather funds for production and modernization of the infrastructure for storage, transport, and the rational use of microbasins with the growing participation of the private sector, accelerated expansion of irrigation projects that today cover an area of 3 million hectares.
There has been notable expansion in agricultural research, with new technologies, supported by an efficient system for technical assistance and rural extension, resulting in impressive gains in wheat, rice, soybean and corn productivity. The exporting and importing of these latter three products, along with cotton, were liberated by the government in May, 1988.
The small farmers have merited due assistance from the government, through stimulation to the reinforcement and expansion of cooperatives, an effective instrument for access to credit, to other input and to more favourable margins for commercialization.
With the launching of a broad "National Agrarian Reform Plan" in 1985, despite the lack of funds stemming from the readjustment of the economy, the government succeeded in establishing 452 projects in just four years, benefitting 81 989 families in an area of 4 234 018 hectares.
With the intention of making its contribution, my delegation will participate in this Twenty-fifth Session of the FAO Conference, knowing the challenges which today confront the more significant advances to be made in the agricultural sector of developing countries.
Challenges which are not routine ones.
Challenges which more than ever call for determined efforts to deepen international cooperation, most especially through an organ such as FAO, which we desire to see strengthened as an institution and enabled, by means of sufficient resources to expand its programmes for technical cooperation.
All are called to take part in this great and glorious task.
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Jaime WHEELOCK ROMAN (Nicaragua): Señor Presidente, Señtor Director General, señores Ministros, señores Jefes de Delegación, señores Observadores, señoras y señores.
En primer lugar, Señor Presidente permítame felicitarlo por su acertada elección para presidir las labores de nuestra 25o Conferencia, lo cual interpretamos como un homenaje a su digno país.
Estamos seguros que su conducción contribuirá a que alcancemos importantes logros. Puede usted contar con el apoyo de nuestra Delegación.
Señor Presidente, estamos celebrando esta Conferencia de FAO en el contexto de una situación alarmante. Por segundo año consecutivo la población mundial ha consumido más alimentos básicos de los que ha producido. Hasta ahora los inventarios de reserva han podido suplir el déficit. Sin embargo hemos entrado a un nuevo ciclo en el que la situación en vez de mejorar se ha deteriorado. Si la situación alimentaria mundial es grave, lo es aún más para algunas regiones en particular del Tercer Mundo.
Desde años atrás hemos venido insistiendo desde diversos foros sobre las causas reales que nos han empujado a esta situación. Hasta hoy es en realidad muy poco lo que se ha hecho para variarla.
Lo dramático de la situación de empobrecimiento creciente y hambre que aflige a millones de seres humanos es que está en nuestras manos resolverlas y revertirías, pero sigue ocurriendo lo contrario.
Primero, los países desarrollados han continuado sosteniendo todo un marco de políticas generadoras de graves desequilibrios. Sus déficits internos, altas tasas de interés, subsidios agrícolas, barreras proteccionistas, precios de dumping, etc.
Segundo, el deterioro de los términos de intercambio que caracterizó los años ochenta sigue presente al entrar a la década de los noventa.
Tercero, la deuda externa sigue creciendo mientras al mismo tiempo, no hay flujos adicionales de recursos frescos.
Estas tendencias están de hecho propagando hacia nuestros países violentas ondas de expansión, de recesión y de crisis.
Con especial preocupación, hemos subrayado en los diferentes foros de la cooperación agrícola y el desarrollo, los efectos que están teniendo sobre la actividad agropecuaria las políticas de ajustes macroeconómicos internos. Frecuentemente impuestas desde fuera, estas políticas programan la contracción del financiamiento agrícola de los salarios y de la demanda de alimentos, reducen la producción de bienes básicos y deterioran más gravemente la situación de inseguridad alimentaria que padecemos.
En un estudio reciente, los cereales importados al área centroamericana pasaron de un volumen de 112 000 toneladas en el año 1980 a más de 900 000 toneladas para 1988.
Señor Presidente, los países pobres en general dependen de exportaciones de productos primarios, y los agrícolas basan su dinamismo y esfuerzos de modernización en las agroexportaciones. Recientemente, hemos sufrido la ruptura del convenio comercial sobre el café entre los países de la OIC. Los precios y los ingresos de los países cafetaleros se han desplomado a la mitad. Este hecho tiene consecuencias que van más allá de lo meramente económico. Los países productores de café, casi todos del mundo en desarrollo, ya están sufriendo de por sí una crisis económica muy fuerte. La ruptura de este convenio viene a agravar la crisis con efectos políticos de incalculable magnitud. De otra parte, los países exportadores de América Latina de productos frescos, como banano y hortalizas, ven con muchísima preocupación las próximas medidas arancelarias que el Mercado Común Europeo implantará a partir de 1992, y que impedirán las exportaciones actuales de estos rubros que han venido creciendo en los últimos años considerablemente. Los cierres y quiebras en la industria azucarera, seguido por los del café se propagarán rápidamente en la presente década hacia otros rubros en los que se han refugiado los agricultores.
Las señales que vemos ahora son en realidad desconsoladoras. En la mayoría de los países latinoamericanos la tasa de crecimiento es negativa; ha crecido el desempleo y la pobreza rural; déficit comerciales y desfinanciamiento continúan ocasionando índices de inflación desbordados. Las políticas de ajuste no han sido efectivas y más bien ocasionan recesión y mayor pobreza a la clase trabajadora del campo y la ciudad. En los países de América Latina la inseguridad alimentaria es mayor ahora que hace diez años.
Señor Presidente, más grave es aún la situación de los países sometidos a políticas de intervención y agresión, contra los cuales se emplean medidas destructivas de su economia, como el embargo comercial y el bloqueo financiero, el minado de los puertos, el finaneiamiento de bandas armadas que atacan y matan a los agricultores y sus familias. Nicaragua es víctima de esta política agresiva. Hasta 1988, 11 260 campesinos cabezas de familia habían sido asesinados, sin contar con heridos y secuestrados.
En Centroamérica hemos vivido en los años ochenta el período más crítico de nuestro desarrollo. Las crisis externas, las políticas de ajuste y la agresión e intervención extranjeras han ocasionado distorsiones profundas en toda la región.
Desde 1980, la tasa de crecimiento del PIB ha sido negativa. El PIB regional de 1988 corresponde al registrado en 1972, según cifras de CEPAL.
Hay alrededor de 4 millones de personas que han salido hacia el norte por falta de empleo. Cada año emigran de la región cerca de 70 000 trabajadores. Sólo en Nicaragua, 350 000 personas, el 10 por ciento de la población, están refugiados y desplazados por la guerra.
En Centroamérica, una de las regiones en conflicto más explosivas, la paz es indispensable para establecer un clima adecuado para el desarrollo. Para ello, los Presidentes Centroamericanos desde Esquipulas y últimamente en las reuniones de Costa del Sol y Tela, han venido trabajando para sentar las bases para la solución política del conflicto. Se han logrado acuerdos muy importantes en materia de seguridad, democracia, cooperación económica e integración. Con la paz será posible iniciar, en un ambiente de reconciliación y concertación, una rehabilitación de lo destruido y una recuperación económica. La reactivación del sector agropecuario es un eje fundamental en esta nueva etapa de solución y distensión.
Sin embargo, Señor Presidente, tenemos obstáculos. Primero, continúa la ayuda oficial y abierta a las bandas que siguen asesinando y no aceptan la desmovilización acordada por los cinco presidentes. Segundo, la cooperación económica es muy pobre. Las bases del conflicto son la pobreza y el atraso. La región está hoy deprimida y requiere de un vasto plan de estabilización, rehabilitación y desarrollo. Nicaragua adicionalmente ha sufrido ocho años de desgaste económico y destrucción como consecuencia de la agresión externa.
A lo largo de este año de crisis y dificultades, y de búsquedas, tenemos que reconocer el papel de apoyo sobresaliente desempeñado por FAO. En octubre de 1988, los Ministros de Agricultura de la región aprobamos la XX Conferencia de FAO en Recife, el Plan de Acción para la Reactivación de la Agricultura. Este esfuerzo para enfrentar conjuntamente la crisis económica es un ejemplo de cómo los organismos multilaterales especializados pueden asistirnos en la búsqueda de opciones a problemas capitales. Como paso siguiente estamos trabajando con FAO en un plan de acción país por país.
Nuestras necesidades son múltiples. Vivimos en un entorno económico mundial y frecuentemente en climas tan cambiantes que la acción flexible, oportuna y directa es indispensable. Queremos reconocer como país el mérito que la acción rápida de los TCP han tenido en ocasiones de sequía o inundaciones, huracanes o bien en las circunstancias que debemos enfrentar con asistencia técnica muy calificada. Los problemas que se nos presentan en la agricultura, tanto en los ajustes macroeconómicos, como con la planificación así como los grandes avances tecnológicos.
En un mundo en el que todavía dominan, por desgracia, los conflictos por razones ideológicas, religiosas, raciales, etc., y que afectan las relaciones de cooperación entre los países, las organizaciones de las Naciones Unidas deben más bien fortalecerse. Nosotros venimos aquí y nos sentimos con confianza. Nicaragua apoya decididamente el fortalecimiento de la FAO para que pueda continuar desempeñando su asistencia vigorosa en la reactivación de los sectores agropecuarios, forestal y pesquero para los años noventa. Este organismo debemos perfeccionarlo, y para esto estamos aquí. Sus problemas no son tan grandes como los que nos plantea el tremendo desequilibrio mundial creado por el actual orden económico internacional injusto, o la deuda externa. En cualquier caso, debemos reforzar la acción de la FAO.
También tenemos que valorar la contribución del PMA. Durante estos diez años, como muchos otros países, Nicaragua ha sido socorrida oportunamente. Tanto en las situaciones de emergencia recurrentes en países tropicales de clima inestable, como en los programas que se dirigen a luchar contra el hambre y la malnutrición, importantes recursos del PMA se han canalizado para financiar adicionalmente proyectos de desarrollo.
Por las mismas razones que anotamos antes, y en las circunstancias en que estamos trabajando por la paz y la rehabilitación, es indispensable que el apoyo del PMA a los países centroamericanos no disminuya: especialmente el relativo a los refugiados y desplazados. Nos preocupa que los recursos asignados al PMA para 1990 sean insuficientes. Hay que decirlo claramente: menos recursos para el PMA, menos recursos para el desarrollo y la lucha contra el hambre.
Señor Presidente: Nicaragua respalda la declaración del Director General de que el problema actual de FAO excede sus limitaciones presupuestarias. También que es preciso recoger las recomendaciones suficientes de los expertos de ampliar las operaciones de campo de la FAO. Debemos implementar estas recomendaciones. Sin más. Pongamos fin a este ejercicio de examen, y concentremos nuestros esfuerzos en fortalecer verdaderamente a la Organización proporcionándole los recursos necesarios, sin condicionamientos, para que pueda hacer frente a las cada vez más crecientes necesidades del mundo en desarrollo. Esto en definitiva redundará en beneficio de toda la humanidad.
A pesar de las dificultades que hoy vivimos, debemos tener confianza en el futuro, confianza en que predominará la sensatez y cordura entre los hombres y que el próximo decenio tendrá características totalmente opuestas, en que habrá paz y desarrollo. Nicaragua trabajará incansablemente para lograrlo.
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Gabriel OBA-APOUNOU (Congo): Excellence Monsieur le Président, Excellence Monsieur le Directeur général de la FAO, Mesdames, Messieurs.
Les Nations Unies ont permis de mettre à la disposition de nos Etats Membres des structures de concertation, d'interrelations, au sein desquelles des réponses positives ont été données aux nombreux problèmes qui se posent à nos peuples, au-delà des différences de structures, de niveau de développement, d'options politiques et économiques.
Dans ce cadre, la FAO, institution devenue en quelques décennies une organisation incontournable au service de la paix et du développement, symbolise la réalité du multilatéralisme, précieux instrument de solidarité agissante entre les peuples, et de compréhension mutuelle.
C'est pourquoi, à l'occasion de la tenue de la 25ème session de nos assises, la circonstance nous paraît-elle toute indiquée pour rendre du haut de cette tribune, au nom de la délégation de la République populaire du Congo que nous avons l'honneur de conduire et en notre nom personnel, un hommage particulier à notre Organisation, dont l'oeuvre au service de l'humanité, et particulièrement de l'Afrique, traduit dans les domaines essentiels de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation l'espoir que nous avons placé en elle.
C'est également pourquoi nous ne pouvons nous empêcher de constater avec bonheur que les différents pays de notre planète sont fort bien représentés à notre rencontre: avec confiance, nous mêlerons notre voix à celles des autres dans la recherche des réponses aux questions qui seront abordées durant notre session.
Monsieur le Président, nous voudrions aussi et surtout très sincèrement rendre un vibrant hommage à votre auguste personne pour votre désignation à la tête du présidium des présentes assises.
Nous sommes tout particulièrement heureux de saluer Son Excellence Monsieur Edouard Saouma, Directeur général de la FAO, et son équipe, pour le travail accompli depuis la dernière session et pour les résultats obtenus dans l'exécution des tâches, en dépit d'un environnement global marqué du sceau de la crise.
Excellences, Mesdames, Messieurs, aujourd'hui, dans le monde, la faim est devenue une réalité cruelle, un fléau dévastateur qui requiert l'attention particulière de notre Organisation.
Nous n'apprenons rien à personne en soulignant avec force qu'en Amérique, en Afrique et en Asie, il ne se passe pas de jours sans que l'on ait à déplorer des cas de maladies graves ou de décès causés par la faim.
Chacun de nous frémit sans doute en affrontant directement, ou par le biais du petit écran, les images dramatiques de cette réalité.
La pénurie alimentaire et nutritionnelle ainsi constatée est singulièrement exacerbée par la hausse des cours internationaux des céréales.
A ceci, il faut ajouter que la diminution du volume de l'aide alimentaire, à laquelle nous assistons depui peu, ne fait qu'accroître les difficultés des pays à déficit vivrier et importateurs de céréales.
Et, comme si tout cela ne suffisait pas, ces mêmes pays, victimes de la famine, ne cessent de connaître parallèlement des guerres fraticides, une dégradation constante des termes de l'échange, une chute des recettes d'exportation, une baisse continue du pouvoir d'achat.
Dès lors, il importe à présent que nous ne perdions plus un seul instant de vue cette dimension préoccupante de l'équilibre alimentaire mondiale.
Nos partenaires du Nord, dorénavant un peu moins préoccupés par la course aux armements grâce au climat de détente qui s'est instauré dans le monde voici un peu plus de trois ans, devraient faire un effort sur eux-mêmes afin que cet équilibre alimentaire, fondement même de l'humanisme, devienne la priorité de nos temps.
Mesdames, Messieurs, nous sommes intimement convaincus que, malgré les échecs et les erreurs dans les actions de promotion de l'agriculture, l'amélioration de la production agricole demeure l'objectif majeur à atteindre pour un développement socio-économique harmonieux dans les pays en voie de développement.
S'agissant précisément de mon pays, le Congo, l'agriculture y a été clairement reconnue priorité des priorités.
Notre Président de la République, Son Excellence le Général Denis Sassou-Nguesso, justifiait ce choix en disant:
"L'agriculture constitue le passage obligé pour le redressement de l'économie car nous ne pouvons relancer notre économie qu'à partir des ressources maîtrisables, donc précisément celles que nous avons à tirer de notre sol, de nos forêts, de nos cours d'eau et de notre façade maritime..
Qu'il nous soit permis de préciser ici que ce choix relève sans conteste d'une volonté politique forte.
Nous n'en voudrions pour preuve que l'application effective, dans notre pays, des mesures telles que l'exonération des droits et taxes de douane à l'importation des produits, matériels et équipements agricoles.
Le rapide aperçu que nous venons de donner confirme, s'il en était besoin, l'importance de cette 25ème session de la Conférence de notre Organisation. Mieux, les principaux points retenus dans le calendrier de travail dénotent le caractère impérieux de la présente session.
De ce point de vue, en nous fondant sur les situations que nous avons décrites au départ, nous sommes naturellement enclins à penser que la FAO doit plus que jamais poursuivre, en l'amplifiant, son soutien au traitement des problèmes liés à l'agriculture, à l'alimentation et à la nutrition. Elle devrait aider aux transferts de ressources et de technologies du Nord vers le Sud, de sorte à promouvoir une agriculture performante, usant à bon escient de tous les progrès de la science et de la technologie moderne.
- l'encouragement des agents de la Fonction publique à entreprendre des activités productives dans le secteur agricole longtemps déserté par les bras valides;
- et enfin, la création d'un Ministère de la jeunesse et du développement rural. Ce ministère, dont nous avons la charge, a principalement pour mission de promouvoir l'agriculture, de rationaliser sa pratique, et d'organiser le retour à la terre des jeunes désoeuvrés et de ceux en quête du premier emploi dans les centres urbains et périurbains.
La tâche est certes difficile, mais nous comptons sur la bonne volonté, le dynamisme de notre jeunesse et l'appui personnel de notre Président de la République, le Camarade Denis Sassou-Nguesso, pour mener à bien cette mission.
Dans le même temps, nous osons espérer que la FAO et les autres institutions internationales compétentes conjugueront leurs efforts avec ceux résultant de la coopération bilatérale, afin que ce double pari sur le développement rural et sur l'intégration socio-économique de notre jeunesse soit tenu.
De même, notre Organisation devrait intensifier à tous les niveaux la formation des hommes afin que la maîtrise des technologies transférées soit aisée. Plus particulièrement, la FAO devrait renforcer son assistance à l'Afrique, dont les besoins en technologies de production, de conservation et de transformation des ressources agricoles demeurent si importants.
En définitive, toutes ces missions commandent que notre Organisation dispose de moyens financiers importants. Avant de donner notre point de vue sur ceux proposés pour l'exercice 1990-91, nous tenons à déplorer le fait que certains pays refusent délibérément de s'acquitter de leurs cotisations.
Quant au budget qui nous est présenté, tout en étant en deçà des exigences des pays en développement, il constitue, à notre avis, un compromis acceptable. Bien sûr, les tenants de la croissance zéro, apparemment peu préoccupés par la situation réelle du monde en développement, le trouveront peu raisonnable.
Ceux qui pensent que les efforts de la FAO doivent être plus substantiels le jugeront moins engageant. Mais il n'en demeure pas moins vrai que l'augmentation, même symbolique, du niveau de ce budget constitue un signe réel de progrès devant permettre la mise en oeuvre d'un programme répondant à nos préoccupations.
Nous souhaitons nous exprimer du haut de cette tribune sur "l'Examen de certains aspects des buts et opérations de la FAO". La Délégation congolaise exprime par ma voix, sa satisfaction quant aux conclusions arrêtées. A ce propos, nous félicitons les deux Comités qui contribueront à l'aboutissement des débats.
Nous sommes également reconnaissants au Directeur général pour ses observations éclairées.
En tout état de cause, le Congo, qui abordera les discussions sur tous les points à notre ordre du jour dans un esprit d'ouverture, espère sincèrement que nous parviendrons à un consensus.
C'est en renouvelant notre confiance au Président de la Conférence et à ceux qui ont été désignés pour diriger les travaux des Commissions que je souhaite plein succès à nos travaux, tout en formant le voeu de voir nos délibérations redonner espoir aux millions d'enfants, de femmes et d'hommes, qui souffrent de la faim et de malnutrition à travers le monde.
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CHAIRMAN: I will make two points before I call the next speaker. First, it might save time if speakers did not say what a good Chairman I am; there is no need. The second point is that the Minister of the Philippines has asked for a postponement.
M.A. MUNIM (Bangladesh): Mr Chairman, Mr Director-General, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to take part in this 25th Session of the FAO Conference. Mr Chairman, on behalf of the Bangladesh delegation and on my own behalf I offer you our warmest congratulations on your election as Chairman of the 25th FAO Conference. Your election to this high office is indeed a tribute to your personal qualities and vast experience and also to your great country, Australia. I assure you, Mr Chairman, of our fullest cooperation in ensuring the success of the Conference. I would also like to thank the other members of the Bureau whose collective experience will, I am sure, assist you in carrying out your onerous responsibilities. In your opening address, Mr Chairman, you have given important guidelines which will immensely benefit the Conference in reaching the desired objectives.
I would like to convey our heartiest felicitations to the Director-General, Mr Edouard Saouma, for his illuminating statement which, in fact, has set the tone for guiding our deliberations in the Conference. I would also like to put on record our appreciation for Dr Saouma for his total dedication in upholding the Charter of the FAO and his efforts in strengthening the FAO as an instrument for providing succour and relief to the needy people of the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization has indeed justified its motto, "Let there be bread". Bangladesh is particularly thankful to FAO and its distinguished Director-General for the sustained assistance she has been receiving from this organization.
I would like to begin my statement with some comments on ecology and environment. On ecological and environmental issues in general, we in Bangladesh have good reasons to be alert. Our country is very densely populated. We value our limited land and water resources.
Despite its high man-land ratio, Bangladesh has some areas of undeveloped and protected forests. We recognize the Sundarbans mangrove forest as a world heritage. As is the case with other undeveloped enclaves in the world, the Sundarbans contain plant genetic resources which may be of use to subsequent generations in medicine, in agriculture, or in some other applications. Bangladesh is the steward of this territory with its unique ecology. Our Government is taking steps to protect the Sundarbans and to preserve its mangrove forests and other plants and animals.
Any change in the sea level will affect not only the Sundarbans but also much of the populated and cultivated areas of my country. We in Bangladesh are acutely concerned about the "greenhouse effect". A sea level rise of even a metre, would inundate vast areas of the country. We encourage research to estimate more exactly the magnitude of the greenhouse effect. All such information will be of immense value in planning land development policies in Bangladesh. As one of the lowest consumers of energy per capita in the world, Bangladesh contributes very little to the greenhouse effect, but we may be in the forefront of the countries which will be most adversely affected.
In recent years, as development has brought wider use of agro-chemicals as well as embankments for flood protection, we have become more aware of the need to protect the environment for fish. As we pursue projects to increase the productivity of our open water, freshwater fisheries, we remain concerned about trade-offs between crop agriculture and flood protection on the one hand and fisheries on the other.
In this connection, I would like to recognize and to endorse progress on one important issue before this Conference. I am gratified to note continued discussions on procedures to implement the clause concerning "Prior Informed Consent" in the "Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides." Guidelines as presented for approval at this Conference would give support to Bangladesh and to other developing countries in their efforts to identify the most dangerous pesticides.
Mr. Chairman, now I would like to discuss the impact of national agricultural policies on agricultural growth.
As we can see, every year in different member countries, agriculture is never a simple business. Despite our best efforts and sound policies, weather, pests, and other factors which are difficult to control may bring disappointment. I extend the concern and sympathy of the people of Bangladesh to the peoples of countries with floods, droughts, desert locusts and other difficulties affecting agriculture this year.
Just over a year ago, Bangladesh suffered one of the worst floods in its history. Roughly 20 per cent of the major monsoon rice crop was destroyed. The response of the international community as well as the multilateral agencies supported efforts of the Government to prevent famine and to help those whose farm and cattle were damaged or destroyed by the flood to reestablish their means of livelihood. Though farmers in particular suffered tremendous losses, prompt and persistent efforts by the Government with support from donors prevented famine.
In this respect, please note the need for a correction in paragraph 52 of the report "The State of Food and Agriculture". This is an otherwise excellent publication which has been prepared by FAO staff for this Conference. Contrary to what is stated in the report in paragraph 52, Bangladesh did not suffer famine last year after the floods.
From the experience of Bangladesh in this last year through the floods, we have thanks to give to the peoples of many other countries who have provided food aid and other flood relief assistance which has been very much appreciated.
Mr Chairman, in our appreciation of the International Community for their assistance and support to Bangladesh we must express our gratitude to UN/FAO/WFP for its continued support. In fact WFP is at present the largest single donor to the Government for coordinating food aid from multilateral and bilateral sources. The targeted food assisted programmes of World Food Programme not only bridge the food deficit of the country but also contribute to the rural works and maintenance programmes and generate rural employment. In the year 1988-89 the volume of food aid, monitored and coordinated by WFP for development projects stands at about 500,000 metric tons of wheat, worth about US$93.7 million. The Food for Work Programme generates about 40 million days of employment per year in the dry season. On
the other hand the Vulnerable Groups Development Programme provides food aid to about 455,000 destitute women and the Rural Maintenance Programme benefits about 61,500 poor rural women, employed through monetized food aid per year.
From the experience of Bangladesh, since the floods of just over a year ago, we offer not only thanks, but also offer hope. Today, not yet one and a half years after experiencing the devastation of unprecedented floods, farmers in Bangladesh are beginning to taste the fruits of high rates of agricultural growth.
Within the past year, our Government has made major changes in policies towards agriculture. These new policies have for the most part, liberalized private import trade and also domestic trade in agriculture inputs. The most important input affected by policy changes has been small diesel engines, which farmers use to lift ground and surface water for irrigation. The Government has also taken steps to give the private sector a larger role in fertilizer trade. With these new policies, 1989 saw a record expansion of irrigated areas, and indications are that expansion of irrigated areas in 1990 may be equally impressive. We anticipate substantially larger foodgrain production in 1989-90.
Recent agricultural growth in Bangladesh has come with big increases in South-South trade. Among major trade partners supplying agricultural inputs, China, Republic of Korea, Italy, India, supply diesel engines; China supplies power tillers, and Thailand and India supply seeds. As suppliers of agricultural inputs, these countries have made major contributions to agricultural growth in Bangladesh. We appreciate their interest and initiatives to sell agricultural inputs to farmers in Bangladesh. At the same time, we follow an open trade policy, and we invite other countries to compete in our market.
The experience of Bangladesh over the past year and a half can be taken as an example of what is possible with new policies in agriculture. Bangladesh removed duties and restrictions on private imports of key agricultural inputs and also removed regulations protecting public monopolies limiting trade in key agricultural inputs. These were not easy changes. To some extent, the disaster of the 1988 flood helped to generate support for new policies to break out of stagnation. Changes in policies brought immediate and large increases in imports of diesel engines for irrigation and power tillers for land preparation. Private fertilizer sales have grown beyond expectations.
For governments facing hard choices to break public monopolies, to reduce restrictions on private trade, or to introduce market oriented import policies, I invite you to take a closer look at the experiences in our country, to see some of the benefits that come with such changes in policies.
This brings me to the third topic, Mr Chairman. New policies favouring private trade in agricultural inputs do work. They work so well that the Government of Bangladesh is now in a position to ask donors to redesign their policies in turn. We have four suggestions and requests concerning policies in the area of international agriculture trade and development aid.
First, we endorse a trend towards more programme aid. One of the papers which has been distributed for this Conference (International Agricultural Adjustment: Progress Report on Guidelines 7, 8 and 12, para 50 on page 17) notes an ongoing trend for official commitments for agriculture to shift from project aid to programme aid. This trend suits current developments in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh businessmen import more agricultural inputs, the Government of Bangladesh will need more programme aid to ensure that it has enough foreign currency to sell to private businessmen bringing in agricultural inputs.
Second, we ask donors to look carefully at their policies for food aid to Bangladesh, and in particular to explore options to increase non-food aid as food aid falls. Bangladesh expects to achieve foodgrain self-sufficiency within a very few years. This current year we may be able to reduce our dependence on imported foodgrains by more than 1.5 million tons compared to last year.
Shipments of food aid to Bangladesh have generated counterpart funds which have supported Government Taka expenditures for development projects. As agricultural growth continues, we will be looking for increased commodity aid, programme loans, or other equivalent aid to generate counterpart funds lost as food aid falls. Bangladesh asks donors to recognize the impact of reduction in food aid on the Government budget and to redesign their programmes to support efforts by the Government of Bangladesh to generate sufficient Taka funds for rapid development.
Third, we ask that donors and other agencies involved with food aid targeted at the poor in Bangladesh redesign their activities to procure foods for such very important programmes from domestic markets. Although Bangladesh as a whole is rapidly approaching foodgrain self-sufficiency, many of the poor in Bangladesh will continue to need individual and family food aid. World Food Programme, the United States, CARE, Canada, Australia, EEC and other donors have supported large, effective, and very much appreciated programmes such as Food for Work and Vulnerable Group Development, and these need to be continued.
Donors are currently supplying, through imports, most of the foodgrains which are distributed through such programmes. As Bangladesh nears foodgrain self-sufficiency, continued high levels of imports could drive prices in Bangladesh far below world market rates.
Procurement from within the country will ensure the necessary price support incentive essential for continued increase in foodgrain production. Government appreciates continuation of food aid programmes targeted at the poor. As Bangladesh nears foodgrain self-sufficiency, continuation of such programmes will be in jeopardy as imports fall. We ask donors to develop procedures to buy food grains from the local market. We invite donors to coordinate their activities with the Government's local procurement programmes.
Bangladesh does not want to hold foodgrain prices above world market rates; we are merely asking for cooperation to keep prices from falling far below world market rates. Low foodgrain prices would be very unfortunate in that they would weaken incentives that have been encouraged by recent policy changes.
Fourth, Bangladesh supports initiatives to reduce barriers to trade in agricultural commodities. In this respect, it is heartening to see strong efforts to promote international trade in agricultural commodities on commercial terms, as described in current Progress Reports on International Agricultural Adjustment and on GATT Multilateral Trade Negotiations. With international negotiations and agreements on agricultural trade, we are optimistic that trade among all FAO member countries will expand on commercial terms. With current rapid growth in agriculture in Bangladesh, we look forward as well to taking a larger part in such trade.
The Technical Cooperation Programme of FAO has been found to be quite effective for a developing country like Bangladesh where needs are enormous and of an immediate nature. Right at this moment our Fertilizer Demonstrations and Distribution Project is being implemented under TCP assistance. There are other projects also, which are in the pipeline and awaiting TCP funding. Mr Chairman, I would like to emphasize that there is a need to strengthen the Technical Cooperation Programme of FAO for providing funds for small and relatively short-term projects of immediate impact. I am sure, many of the distinguished delegates from the member countries will share with me my views.
Before closing, I would like to say a few words about CIRDAP, the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific. FAO played a key role in establishing this organization during the 1970s.
Bangladesh is the host country, and its head office is located in Dhaka. This past July, CIRDAP completed its first decade of operation with an expanding programme of project activities in 11 member countries in the region.
And finally Mr Chairman, I would like to conclude with my thanks to the many FAO staff and functionaries in Dhaka, Rome and other places who have individually and collectively made a significant contribution to the agricultural development in Bangladesh. Amongst us today we have many friends who have visited my country and shared in our development process. I would like to take this opportunity to invite them to come to Bangladesh again and witness the progress that has been achieved.
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Andreas GAVRIELIDES (Cyprus): I am very pleased and honoured that I have the opportunity to address this significant Session, the 25th Session of the FAO Conference.
On behalf of the Delegation of the Republic of Cyprus, I would like to congratulate you for your election to chair this present Session of the Conference. I would also like to extend my congratulations to the elected Vice-Chairmen. You have, no doubt, a difficult task before you but I am certain that with your wisdom and patience you will guide the Conference to a fruitful final outcome.
This year's Conference is, indeed, a significant one as it comes at an optimal time as the world food and agriculture situation is not at the desired levels but regrettably has tended to deteriorate from year to year in the last decade. In many instances we have confirmed that concerted action is required by all of us, developed and developing countries. We need to ameliorate this situation to the benefit of the hundreds of millions of our fellow human beings that have not yet tasted the fruits of development.
The world population will reach 6 billion by the end of this century, most of them in the developing nations. At the same time, the world production of basic foodstuffs has fallen below aggregate consumption levels, for the second consecutive year. Poverty, hunger, persistent malnutrition and famine, especially in developing countries, are still on the rise.
The situation of food and agriculture and the associated problems in several parts of the world are issues of important studies by the FAO. The member countries of FAO should fully assist these efforts, in parallel with the efforts to support and maintain its leading role in the provision of specific and relevant assistance and advice to the countries that need such help.
With regard to the work of other agencies I should like to refer particularly to the World Food Council which has unanimously adopted during its last two Ministerial meetings the "Cyprus Initiative Against Hunger in the World" and the "Cairo Plan of Action". These are also two important steps towards alleviating hunger and malnutrition provided all countries follow their recommendations. In this respect, a very positive step has been the adoption of the "Cyprus Initiative" by the Ministerial Conference of Non-Aligned Countries late last year.
The problems associated with these conditions are deeply rooted and very complex, and I believe that two major underlying causes are the present economic situation and the world trade environment.
In considering the international economic situation it can be concluded that economic recovery in many developed countries during the last few years had little impact on developing nations. Many of the latter are still facing critical economic difficulties. The staggering debt burden, in particular has exceeded $1 000 billion, steadily draining huge resources from them.
Foreign exchange shortages also negatively affect development efforts. Therefore, measures should be taken to secure sufficient capital for developing countries to mitigate the difficulties they are now facing.
We have noted, and welcome, initiatives to alleviate the debt problem and to encourage the flow of financial resources. International, regional and bilateral efforts should, however, be intensified for results to be achieved. In this respect, I believe that there is an urgent need to proceed a step further and take concrete action to implement the many recommendations that have accumulated. The final outcome will depend on the degree and timing of our unilateral and collective actions, and the choices we shall make. Signs of hope are the easing of tensions, the spirit of detente, the cosmogonic changes that are currently taking place, and the progress in the disarmament negotiations. As a result, human and financial resources will be redirected away from military build-up, towards improving the quality of life on this planet.
Cyprus has always advocated the peaceful solution of regional problems and has always supported cooperation among nations. Only in such a spirit could it be possible to maintain sustainable development which will lead to prosperity and wellbeing.
With regard to the world trade situation, conditions are far from satisfactory. High levels of protectionism in agricultural commodity markets still persist. They are mostly due to macroeconomic imbalances, impunities in by-passing GATT rules, shifts in the balance of economic power, trends for regionalism and bilateralism. As a result they negatively affect food availability and security, induce rising costs, distort and destabilize world prices and trade, and lead to misallocation of resources, causing great discontent.
Subsidized products from industrialized countries continue to create enormous problems to developing countries, whilst depressed agricultural prices also result in reduced foreign exchange earnings for most of them.
In this context, trade negotiations need to be shaped to enhance the developing nations' export prospects. Food exporters must be enabled to compete in international markets and importers be assured of a regular flow of supplies. Liberalization of world agricultural trade stimulates world trade and benefits developing countries. It needs, however, to be pursued with structural changes in national economies in order to be sustainable and have lower short-term costs.
In the same sense, greater efforts and assistance are required to improve the living and working conditions of the small farmers who constitute the backbone of the agricultural economies of developing countries.
Another crucial issue which calls for our attention is the protection of the environment. In this respect, I would like to congratulate the FAO Director-General for selecting "Food and the Environment", as the theme of this year's World Food Day.
The international community has steadily come to realize that the world is characterized by the ever-increasing economic, political and environmental interdependence. Economic growth can turn out to be ephemeral, particularly when the ecosystems that sustain such a growth are over exploited.
We should therefore concentrate our efforts on evironmentally sound agricultural practices. They are dictated by common sense and cannot be sustainable if they lead to the deterioration of the environment. Global environmental problems affect, after all, food production, and usually the people who suffer are the poor and underprivileged.
More international efforts and collaboration are therefore required in the area of environmental protection. It is now time, I believe, to implement what has already been agreed and needs to be done.
Turning to the agenda of this Conference I would like to refer briefly to some issues which are of particular importance to my delegation.
First, the item on the introduction of the "Prior Informed Consent" (PIC) clause in the Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides is of major importance. It is our belief that the inclusion of the PIC clause will make this code of conduct more comprehensive for the mutual benefit of all the parties concerned, and we give our full support.
Second, the consideration for the return of the FAO Regional Office for the Near East back to the Region meets with our approval. The third comment is on the Review of Certain Aspects of FAO's Goals and Operations. My delegation has always seen the review process as an effort to ensure that all possible means are found to enable FAO to face the challenges of the future. We are pleased that the review has been completed on time and that sufficient consultations have taken place between all interested parties. We support the conclusion of the report and I would like to appeal to all Member Nations to approve it by consensus.
Concerning the major item in the Conference agenda, the proposed Programme of Work and Budget is in line with the fundmental goals of FAO to promote food production, increase food security and assist farmers to share in the progress of the past decades. My delegation is in agreement with the priorities set out, and welcomes the untiring efforts of the Director-General for directing additional resources to the technical and economic programmes.
With regard to the proposed Budget for 1990-91, my delegation believes that it needs to be seen in the light of the heavy cuts effected in the 1987-88 biennium. We therefore consider the proposed net programme increase to be the absolute minimum required. FAO needs resources to tackle its mission to assist nations to respond to the legitimate aspirations of their people.
The increased allocations to TCP are welcomed, as this programme enabled the Organization to respond quickly to urgent needs. It also proved catalytic in generating larger and longer term assistance for the development of agriculture. I note with concern, however, that its share in the overall Regular Programme budget is declining - a trend that needs to be reversed in future TCP appropriations.
I would also like to emphasize two very significant prerequisites if our efforts are to be successful.
The first, is the urgent need for a strong political will and commitment to increase cooperation between developed and developing countries.
The second, is the urgent requirement to take practical steps towards a more pragmatic interaction and co-ordination between the various executive United Nations and other international agencies.
Such an integration of policies, objectives, and programmes can only be secured if they really become mutually consistant and supportive. The preparations for the International Development Strategy for the Fourth UN Development Decade offer a unique opportunity for such an interaction. It should be guided by the pursuit by all concerned of sustainable development, encompassing the integration of economic development, alleviation of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, and protection of the environment.
The shrinking financial resources available to our Organization is an area of major concern. I believe that all countries should make every effort immediately to fulfil their responsibilities to the Organization so as to enable FAO to implement its work programme and to continue its highly significant mission for the betterment of mankind.
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Michael O'KENNEDY (Ireland): First of all, I should like to congratulate John Kerin, Minister for Agriculture of Australia, on his election as Conference Chairman. I should also like to congratulate the Vice-Chairmen and the Chairmen and members of various committees. I wish them well in their work in the days ahead. The Director-General is also to be complimented on the content, format and presentation of the major Conference documents. I have no doubt that these will play an important role in the quality of debate at this Conference.
Ireland has participated in the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations almost from its inception. From the beginning we fully supported the Organization's aims of raising nutritional levels, of improving the production and distribution of food and agricultural products and the living conditions of rural people. The priorities and direction of FAO's efforts today to eliminate hunger and poverty are the product of more then forty years ' experience in dealing with these problems. However, Ireland remains today fully committed to the Organization's work.
In document C 89/12 setting out the arrangements for the Twenty-Fifth Session of this Conference it is suggested that country statements concentrate on a few selected issues. I propose to do this in outlining some recent developments in Irish agriculture and in dealing with agenda items of the Conference.
Irish policy in relation to agriculture and rural development has been aimed up to now primarily at modernization of farms and increasing production and particularly since our accession to the European Community, considerable progress has been achieved in this area. Major expansion has taken place, especially in the area of livestock products.
For the future our objectives, as set out in our National Development Plan are to increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve quality and stimulate diversification of production, while protecting, and enhancing the environment and natural resources - the last objective being the subject of a major public investment programme at this point. It is also intended to encourage the introduction and maintenance of environmentally friendly farming practices in order to protect the ecology of sensitive areas and to maintain the landscape.
In order to ensure that rural communities remain vibrant economically and socially, we are in the process of developing a broadly based rural development programme involving agriculture and other complementary economic activities. Already in 1988 we introduced a pilot integrated rural development programme with the objective of developing vigorous self-sustaining rural communities by stimulating and encouraging new initiatives and indigenous enterprise and by promoting a sense of community spirit through improvements in economic and social conditions. The strategy of the programme is based on a greater involvement by the local community in determining the priorities for its own development, and in accepting responsibility for bringing its aspirations to reality. While final results from the pilot project are still some way off, I am very confident that it will be the basis of further successful rural development initiatives.
In order to facilitate the new agricultural orientation and the greater emphasis on rural development, we decided to establish in 1988 a single body to be responsible for providing advisory, training, research and development services for the Irish agriculture and food industries. This was to emphasise the need for a co ordinated approach to agricultural development and to give greater prominence to research and development in food processing. We believe that we have in place now the institutional structure to see Irish agriculture successfully through the next decade and into the next century.
Following the brief description of the current orientation of the Irish agriculture and food sector, I would like to turn now to one of the items on the agenda of this Conference - the world food and agriculture situation.
The FAO has pointed out that, despite significant increases in world food production over the past ten or twenty years, malnutrition and hunger continue to grow, especially in low income countries. Furthermore projections for the next fifteen years indicate that the situation will remain a cause of great concern. Structural adjustment programmes, essential though they often are to create conditions for future growth, have involved reductions in health and social programmes which, in turn, affect most severely the most vulnerable sections of the populations. We share the FAO view that special efforts are needed by the countries concerned and the entire international community to address these problems. These efforts must include, but should not stop at, food aid. Furthermore, in a context in which food aid will continue to be necessary for the foreseeable future, an important part of our efforts to ensure an adequate level of nutrition for all will be to ensure that the flow of information about the needs of the poorest, the most remote, the most vulnerable, is accelerated and deepened.
Every delegate at this Conference will agree that the continued existence of hunger in the world into the twenty first century is unacceptable. It is unacceptable in terms of human suffering and also because, by virtue of its associated - and often appalling - health problems it hinders development. To this extent, it is self-perpetuating. We must for that reason, as a community of nations, redouble our efforts to strike at the roots of hunger. The initiative of this organization in convening an international Conference on nutrition in 1992-93 is timely and, with the assistance and expertise of other UN agencies, I have no doubt it will make a worthwhile contribution to our common objective.
This goal of eliminating hunger and malnutrition will play an important role for many years to come. The achievement of this aim requires progress towards other related goals, and depends on developments outside the agricultural sector, including, of course, improvements in the international economic situation. Among those other goals I would like to refer to two in particular - the conservation of natural resources and environmental protection and improvement of the international trading system for agricultural commodities.
Ireland does not have a particularly intensive agriculture. Compared to the standards common in many developed countries we have a very favourable relationship between total animal units and land area. Furthermore we do not have heavy industry which can be environmentally hazardous. Food production in our country does not risk the environmental hazards which are more prevalent elsewhere. It is, in fact, my Government's policy through strict controls to maintain this position. As a small country we are, however, concerned that factors not of our making, and outside of our control, such
as global warming, acid rain and radioactive particles, can have a detrimental effect on our environment. Environmental protection has now become a truly international issue. Such problems can best be dealt with at an international level. I fully support FAO for that reason, an organization which has the expertise and the global influence, in giving high priority to this issue.
In most low income countries, agricultural exports are vital for foreign exchange earnings, incomes and employment, and to pay for imports of food and agricultural raw materials and other goods that cannot be produced domestically. Agricultural policies in developed countries must find the right balance between policies to maintain farm incomes and preserve rural communities and those to prevent the re-emergence of structural surpluses of several major agricultural products which could damage, in particular, the agricultural economies of some low income countries. They must also seek to control budget expenditures and achieve more efficient overall use of resources. The GATT Uruguay Round provides the opportunity for these objectives to be vigorously pursued.
Ireland has a small open economy, highly dependent on international trade and, in particular, on agricultural trade which accounts for over 40 percent of our net export earnings. The current GATT Round is clearly a very important issue for us, particularly as, for the first time, agricultural trade is being addressed in a very fundamental way.
Through our membership of the European Community we are participating constructively in the GATT discussions. The Community wants a successful outcome to the round and is flexible and open in its negotiating stance. We have already tabled a significant short-term offer in compliance with the timetable set by the Trade Negotiating Committee last April, and position papers have also been submitted by the Community on the aggregate measurement of support and on GATT rules and disciplines. We are now working on preparation of a comprehensive global document on the agriculture negotiations as a whole. We envisaged and expect a result which will ensure more balanced and more market-oriented development of agricultural trade and greater discipline and transparency on the way in which necessary subsidies are applied. At the same time, I have to make it very clear that we are not prepared to abandon the basic principles of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Community's capacity to maintain a viable rural society.
The GATT negotiations are entering a critical time as Ireland resumes the Presidency of the Community on 1 January next. We are fully committed to progressing the negotiations and will be working at Community level to ensure that the end-1990 deadline for conclusion of the agricultural aspects of the Uruguay Round is facilitated.
A fundamental condition for a successful conclusion is that the needs of developing countries are adequately and indeed fully met. The Community's attachment to this ideal has been clearly set out in a number of its submissions to the negotiating process. We in Ireland particularly, for historical reasons, have very good reason, not only to appreciate, but to be deeply committed to, those ideals. We are clearly committed to affording developing countries special and differentiated treatment according to their needs.
As one would expect, the FAO is playing an important part in the Uruguay Round. Help has come from the FAO through the provision of statistics, analytical documents and other supports to the GATT Secretariat. Technical assistance to interested countries, including developing countries, has also been provided in computing the Producer Subsidy Equivalent. The FAO's main involvement in the GATT negotiations will be in the area of sanitary and phytosanitary regulations where a specific role has been suggested for international organizations. A successful outcome to the current GATT Round will, therefore, require not only the full commitment of the Contracting Parties to the GATT, but also the help of various international bodies such as the FAO.
Another major problem affecting the developing countries continues to be the international debt problem. In 1987 resource transfers from the developing to the developed countries greatly exceeded transfers in the opposite direction. This led to an increased awareness of the plight of the least well-off countries. In particular, there was a growing agreement that economic growth, particularly in some countries, had proved insufficient in itself to resolve the debt problem. Greater understanding emerged as to the social and political constraints facing countries carrying out economic reform programmes. Multilateral development agencies channelled an increasing proportion of their resources to the worst-affected countries and also a number of industrialized countries took measures to ease the debt burden. I hope that these developments taken together foreshadow more comprehensive moves in the future, designed to resolve the debt crisis.
Finally, the challenge still remains as to how to solve the problem of both hunger and poverty within the context of sustainable development. Natural resources must be preserved while, at the same time, producing adequate food for both the present and the future. Land resources are in constant decline due to erosion, desertification, greenhouse effects and urbanization. While technological progress can increase output, quality and wholesomeness must be maintained. Much has been achieved by the FAO and others. But much -very, very much - remains to be done. All of us must rededicate ourselves to the task of securing adequate and sustained development throughout the entire world.
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Mian Ata Mohammed MANEKA (Pakistan): Mr Chairman, Mr Director-General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is for me a great pleasure and a privilege to address this distinguished audience. First and foremost, on my behalf and on behalf of my delegation, I would like to congratulate you Mr Chairman and your three Vice Chairmen on your election. We are confident that you and your Bureau, with your experience and skills, would see us through to meaningful and fruitful conclusions.
The FAO Conference not only provides opportunity for discussion of major issues and policies in the field of Food and Agriculture but also enables delegates from different countries to exchange and learn from each others' experiences. My delegation looks forward to a constructive participation in these exchanges and deliberations.
Pakistan, as you know, is a predominantly agricultural country, with 70 percent of its population residing in rural areas and dependent directly or indirectly on agriculture. The agriculture sector consequently holds great significance in our development, planning and policy interventions. The Democratic Government of Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is determined to modernize this sector, to move out of its subsistence pattern into a more productive and income generating system, attuned to the benefit of our poor rural masses. It has placed before itself as its goal the vision of our great leader, 'Shaheed Zulfigar Ali Bhutto', the former Prime Minister of Pakistan.
His dream of a prosperous Pakistan is best portrayed in his own words and I quote:
"I have a vision that, one day, fields in our country will blossom with abundance, the rolling fields and orchards and village squares will ring with the songs of happy children... children with the colour of blood in their cheeks and with books held proudly under their arms".
To translate this vision into reality, the Government has formulated a comprehensive frame work of objectives and strategies for attaining self-sufficiency and boosting agricultural production.
We expect positive results from these policy objectives. In fact, the progress so far achieved is encouraging. In 1988-89, the agriculture sector registered a growth rate of 6.1 percent which was much above the population growth rate of 3.1 percent. The package incentives consisting of appropriate combination of farm inputs and support prices culminated in the high yields of our major crops: wheat, cotton and rice.
Mr Chairman, turning to the Agenda, we note several important items. However, keeping the constraints of time in view I would confine my reflections to a few.
The biennial Programme of Work and Budget, in our view, is extremely important, as what we approve during the Conference gives direction to FAO in the performance of its mandated tasks of increasing agricultural incomes and alleviating hunger, poverty and malnutrition in the world. We are pleased to note that a well-balanced Programme of Work and Budget prepared in line with the advice of the regional conferences, the technical committees and the intergovernmental bodies of the organization has been placed before us. Given the fast growing world population and the numerous needs of poor countries, we would have liked to see a Programme increase of more than 1 percent. We would have also liked to see a larger allocation for the Technical Co-operation Programme than the proposed level of 11.8 percent. In our own experience the TCP has always responded most usefully to our emergent and other requirements. We do realize the constraints behind the present Programme size and hope that future progammes of work and budget would be much larger, envisaging a natural growth both in terms of activities and resources. We also hope that during the 1990-91 biennium, the Programme of Work and Budget would be augmented through extra budgetary and supplementary funds, particularly on TCP.
The review process set up in the 24th Conference has now reached its conclusion. The report allays the apprehensions of some Member Nations held at that time, regarding the solidity and dynamism of the Organization, and we must now bring this programme to an end through meaningful implementation of the recommendations contained in the report. It is important that the implementation remains within the confines of Resolution 6/87.
These conclusions would be the focus of our attention during the Conference session. I would, however, reiterate that the importance of the technical assistance role needs to be maintained in complementarity with the policy advice and the information dissemination role. TCP is a highly valuable activity which responds appropriately to the needs of developing countries and must be further strengthened. The recommendations do entail costs, which certainly would be difficult to obtain within the already constrained resources of the Programme of Work and Budget and have to be met through extra budgetary resources.
The effectiveness and efficiency of an Organization no doubt depends on an adequate availability of resources. We the members, have to see FAO out of its present financial crisis, by ensuring early payment of assessed contributions and arrears.
Pakistan is a Muslim country. Our religion, Islam, places women in a position of high esteem with enunciated and guaranteed rights in all spheres of life. We are governed by these enunciations through our Constitution, and our policies and actions accordingly manifest themselves. We are happy to note that FAO has evolved a comprehensive Plan of Action for the integration of women in development and on our own part we assure you that we will appropriately incorporate its recommendations in our development and other strategies. We have always been supporting the principles and programmes of the World Conference on Agrarian Reforms and Rural Development. We strongly believe and are doing our utmost to ensure that women have equal access to national resources.
The world economic situation portends serious implications for food deficit developing countries. The prevalent scenario for the developing countries is characterized by uncertainty as to the inflationary pressures, international price fluctuations, volatile exchange rates, and heavy external debts and consequent high debt service ratio. The major agricultural export items of developing countries have registered a decline in prices. On the other hand, the rise in cereal prices on the international market in 1988-89 proved detrimental to most of the developing countries that normally import cereals causing severe financial strains on their exchequer.
Disconcertingly, the World Food Security situation continues to hang in a precarious balance. Despite reported recovery in world cereal production in 1989 primarily due to better harvests in most of the developed countries, stocks at the end of 1989-90 are expected to remain at around 17 percent of the trend consumption, the minimum threshold considered necessary by FAO for world food security. Reduced availability for export, higher international prices, and possible reduction of food aid supplies could create serious difficulties for low income, food deficit countries, many of whose import needs are on the constant hike.
We must now prevent further aggravation of the situation by preparing a concerted plan of action based on solid measures. We feel that FAO has a leading role to play here in view of its rich experience. The developed countries on their part need to contribute significantly in this regard by stepping up pace of their economic growth, providing debt reliefs, making their markets accessible and according preferential trade treatment to the developing countries. Our hopes are pinned on the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations, and we look forward to their early conclusion.
Many developing countries are now undertaking economic stabilization and structural adjustment programmes. While the need for these programmes cannot be denied, they often entail great social costs. FAO, as the lead Agricultural Agency, needs to be associated with such programmes right from the time of their initiation.
Mr Chairman, Distinguished delegates, availing this opportunity I would like to briefly refer to one of the largest and most protracted refugee situations in the World. Pakistan, as you know, has been hosting over 3.5 million Afghan refugees for a decade now. The UNHCR, WFP and a large number of other multilateral, bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations have been assisting us generously in this humane effort. These refugees, contrary to international expectations, continue to stay on in Pakistan. It is difficult for Pakistan to maintain such a large refugee population alone from its own meagre resources. We hope this humanitarian cause would continue to receive generous donor support based on the actual requirements till the honourable return of the refugees to their homeland.
In conclusion Mr Chairman, I would like to remind us of the noble ideals and aspirations with which the founding fathers had set up this Organization in those dark post-war days. The admirable manner in which the Organization has conducted itself to realization of these ideals and aspirations is well recognized. The current management headed by Dr. Edouard Saouma has no mean share in these efforts and deserves our commendation. However, the organization alone and without our support cannot perform miracles. Today we are standing at the crossroads with possibilities of a greater international peace and nightmares of widening international economic disparities.
Let us reflect together during this session and contemplate how best we can support FAO in its noble cause and how best we can orientate our national policies and actions to the furtherance of the entrustment bestowed on us by the founding fathers.
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Hüsnü POYRAZ (Turkey) (original language Turkish): Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like first to convey to you, Mr Chairman, our most sincere congratulations for your election and our best wishes for success in the tasks that you have just assumed. I also extend our good wishes to the other members of the Bureau. My delegation is convinced that under your able guidance this session of the Conference will take the proper action on the main issues of the day, however complex and difficult they may be. There is no doubt that FAO which has registered a great number of successful achievements for more than forty years, will
today again be in a position to find substantive solutions to the many difficult problems that cloud the international scene on food and agriculture. It would thus pave the way for increasingly fruitful results in the future.
The sessions of the Conference are always events of singular importance, but, on this occasion, there are a constellation of factors which make it likely that this session will be an event not just of importance, but of particular significance, because of the fact that its agenda contains this time, along with the traditional items that the conference examines usually, the item concerning the Conclusions of the review of certain aspects of FAO's goals and operations.
I will come again to the Review of FAO later. Now let me touch upon the world economic environment which directly affects the world food and agriculture situation. Indeed, a few years ago it was widely assumed that an improved international economic environment would play a basic role to solving existing global problems, to facilitate the resumption of growth all over the developing world and to increase considerably the international cooperation in the fight against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. However this assumption is far from being confirmed by the recent developments of the world economy. It is a fact that today the world output and trade are apparently in good health. The industrialized countries seem to have entered a new phase of sustaining growth. They are now in their seventh year of continuous growth, associated with the expansion of employment and the acceleration of both export and import volumes. The economic environment has also improved considerably in some of the developing countries as a result of policy reforms, world trade expansion and overall improvement of commodity prices. However, a number of important problems still exist on both sides. On the one hand, the industrialized world faces increasing inflationary pressures, difficulties of adjustment to the large international payment imbalances, risks of further volatility in exchange and interest rates, as well as persisting trade interventionism and protectionism. On the other hand, many developing countries continue to be in the grip of depression and macro-economic disorder. Indeed, they have not shared in the revived economic growth. The slow growth has often been associated with high inflation rates, heavy debt burdens, structural adjustment challenges and population pressures. Furthermore, in some regions hunger and malnutrition are still growing in absolute terms.
The co-existence of a favourable world economic growth and the increasing number of unresolved problems has therefore become an important feature of the world economy and has added another element of uncertainty to the international economic environment.
All these problems, risks and uncertainties, reinforced by poor weather conditions as well as the low level of agricultural investment in the major producers, have considerably affected the agricultural sector. Indeed, while global agricultural production has stagnated, cereal production has declined and not responded to the current consumption trends for the last consecutive three years. As a result, carryover world stocks have significantly fallen to the levels under that of the world food security requirements. Is it not embarrassing to deal today with the replenishment of depleted food stocks and the reestablishment of minimum levels of global security, while only two years ago we were discussing how to balance abundant surpluses and serious shortages. Furthermore, reduced availability for export in major producers, higher international prices and reduction of
food aid supplies have created additional difficulties for most of the developing countries where domestic production shortfalls increased food import needs and where the necessary foreign exchange to respond to these needs has often been lacking.
These issues call for improved international cooperation in an increasingly interdependent world. Such cooperation should aim at maintaining and strenghthening a global system within which all countries can achieve their agricultural development objectives. In this respect, developing countries should first assume their own responsibilities in reactivating their agricultural development. However, regardless of how determined they are, recent developments have proved once again that these countries cannot achieve their fundamental objectives without the appropriate and timely support of the industrialized world. A more favourable external environment for developing countries means solutions corresponding to their needs for higher levels of exports, improved terms of trade, more access to external capital sources, lower net resources outflows and increased food aid and external assistance to agriculture.
In this context, the recent efforts towards debt restructuring and relief, as well as changes in some agricultural policies directed to reducing barriers to trade and diminishing subsidies on production, are of particular importance. We believe that today there are good opportunities to give a new impetus to these efforts. For instance, hunger and poverty elimination should be one of the major themes of the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Economic Co-operation and of UN International Development Strategy for the 1990s. Moreover, the Uruguay Round of multilateral trends negotiations is especially important because it involves the need for reform of agricultural policies, as well as the possibility of improvements in the conditions of international agricultural trade. Since the support provided for agriculture has remained extremely high, and mainly in the form of measures related to distortions of trade in most of the countries, we fully back the effective follow-up of the decisions reached in GATT at the Trade Negotiations Committee held in April 1989. There is no doubt that success depends primarily on the political will of the main interested parties to enhance international responsibilities and to strengthen the multilateral economic system.
Despite the existing economic environment, where improved international co-operation seems to be the only way to deal with different problems, risks and uncertainties, FAO continues to make an important contribution to Member States' efforts to address the challenges confronting the world food and agricultural development. This contribution proves to be notably significant when we take into account the difficulties of the Organization in implementing complex and wide-ranging activities with a very fragile financial situation. In this frame work we believe that the restoration of the financial health of the Organization is of primary importance.
Turning to the coming biennium, Turkey approves the strategies, priorities and programmes proposed by the Director-General in his Programme of Work and Budget for 1990-91. We think that the establishment of a fruitful dialogue between Member States on the one hand and member countries and the Secretariat on the other hand seems to be the main precondition for ensuring consensus on the Programme of Work and Budget. For this reason, as also recognized by the Programme and Finance Committees, we appreciate the approach adopted by the Director-General during the preparation of the budget aimed at, from the start, helping Member Nations to unite in a
consensus for approval. We consider that, given the present budgetary and financial constraints the proposals before us are realistic and balanced enough to deserve a consensus, including the budget level, which forsees a modest increase.
As far as the Review of certain aspects of FAO's goals and operations is concerned my delegation is pleased with the work which has been done by the Programme and Finance Committees, together with the experts who were called upon to assist them. It has been very encouraging to observe the fact that the Committees have adopted a common line in almost all matters under consideration. This demonstrates the positive and constructive attitude which has prevailed in accomplishing the substantive tasks which were assigned to them.
There is no doubt that the main functions of FAO, such as the collection, analysis and dissemination of information related to agriculture, the promotion of national and international action on agricultural policy issues and technical assistance preserve their importance. The evolution and trends in the world food and agricultural situation call upon us to devote an increased and balanced emphasis to all of them.
We believe that the recommendations put forward by the Programme and Finance Committees deserve our particular attention and may contribute to the better functioning of our Organization. Now we should examine them in depth and see in which way we can assure their implementation for the strengthening of the organizations. We are ready to participate in a constructive manner in this debate, which, we hope, will be concluded by consensus and will yield satisfactory results for all the Member States.
Coming to the relations of my country with FAO, let me underline Turkey's full commitment to FAO's objectives and activities. Turkey, which has had excellent relations with FAO for almost forty years, attaches a great deal of importance to all the activities of the Organization and contributes actively to them. She mainly offers her experience in the field of agriculture to the benefit of other developing countries in order to help them build up their competence and confidence. Indeed, Turkey's TCDC activities have been expanded gradually to cover a wide ranging spectrum of developing countries. Turkey, with its large agricultural potential, its rich experience and highly improved technical level, is at a position to enlarge the scope of such activities in the future, and she is looking forward to doing so.
For the information of the distinguished delegates, I would like to indicate that Turkey has experienced this year the worst drought conditions of the last 52 years and we have handled this situation without any difficulty. For the first time of our history, Turkey was able to distribute to needy farmers a quarter of a million tons of seeds in wheat and barley. This was due mainly to its high productivity level and modern facilities available in the country.
I believe it important in my concluding remarks to underline the fact that there will be no easy solution to the problems facing food and agricultural policies. We cannot be so optimistic as to expect that there will be a spontaneous upturn in this regard. The problems that have been brought to the forefront are proving to be of more deep seated character and call, in turn, for increased cooperation. We believe that the work of FAO in the period ahead will become more crucial to the needs of world food and agricultural development. The global appreciation of this role for FAO will
help ensure that it will be successful in discharging the mandates and responsibilities entrusted to it. That is why, this session of the Conference requires our utmost attention, and on that score I would like to wish it every success.
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CHAIRMAN: The Executive Director of the World Food Council is now going to deliver a message from the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Gerald Ion TRANT (Executive Director, World Food Council): I take pleasure in sending greetings to the FAO Conference on the occasion of its Twenty fifth session.
You are meeting at a time when dramatic and fundamental changes are taking place. The prospects for peace in many parts of the world offer us all a challenge and an opportunity to take effective action to turn back the growing scourge of poverty and hunger which afflicts so many of the world's people. We must ensure that lasting peace is sustained through the creation of better living conditions for the hungry and the deprived.
As we prepare to embark upon a new decade leading to a new millenium, let us take the opportunity to reflect on the record of our efforts to create a better world. It is clearly an unfinished agenda. While many of the problems, such as poverty and hunger, have been with us for a long time, these problems have become more complex and the international environment within which solutions must be found has also profoundly changed. It is imperative that we adopt new and more effective approaches for their solution. I should like to pay special tribute to FAO and its distinguished Director-General, Mr Edouard Saouma, for their contribution in promoting international cooperation in food and agriculture as well as in our common endeavour to combat hunger and malnutrition. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and respect for the contributions of IFAD and its President, Mr Jazairy, and of WFP and its Executive Director, Mr Ingram.
The General Assembly will convene a special session in April 1990 devoted to seeking such new approaches and to adopting a new framework for international economic cooperation, particularly for the revitalization of economic growth and development of the developing countries. At the same time, efforts are under way for the preparation of a new international development strategy for the 1990s. It is gratifying to note that food and agriculture, as well as the eradication of poverty and hunger, have been identified as priority areas for the elaboration of the new strategy. In both of these areas, FAO, together with the other food organizations, has an important contribution to make. As pointed out in the FAO Secretariat report on a long-term strategy for the food and agriculture sector, it will be necessary to develop effective policies for food and agriculture and the rural sector, in order to break the vicious circle of economic stagnation and poverty.
The world is now feeding more people than ever before• Despite this, hunger and malnutrition are growing, and will continue to do so unless nations take more effective action in favour of the hungry poor. It is this concern that prompted the World Food Council to adopt a Programme of Co operative Action in its Cairo Declaration last May. The Programme supports many of the activities promoted by the United Nations as a whole and, in particular, by FAO, the World Food Programme and IFAD, and contains many recommendations that are relevant to your deliberations. National food strategies targetted to the hungry should include measures to emphasize domestic research and extension, provide inputs at prices farmers can afford and offer appropriate producer incentives. In addition, food strategies should seek to strengthen rural infrastructure and institutions, more equitably distribute productive assets and introduce and expand effective food, nutrition and health programmes targetted to vulnerable groups. At the same time, the potential for the active involvement of the hungry small farmers, the landless and the urban poor - through employment and income generation, is a critical element for the success of such strategies. Women must be enabled to play a central role in the development process.
To assist the developing countries in this process, it is necessary to increase resource flows and to achieve a speedy resolution of their debt problems.
Equally important is the need for improvement in agricultural trade. In this regard, while progress achieved so far in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations is to be welcomed, greater efforts should be made to take into account the concerns of developing countries.
For many developing countries, particularly the least developed among them, the trend has been towards marginalization and non-participation in the growth process. If the 1980s have been a lost decade of development for most if not all the least-developed countries, we must make sure that particular attention will be paid to addressing their problems in the 1990s. Given the often overwhelming weight of agriculture and the rural sector in the economies of least-developed countries, an effective agricultural and rural development-based strategy is vital. The United Nations will convene a conference on the least-developed countries in Paris in September 1990 and we look forward to the active participation and support of FAO.
Another issue of increasing urgency and importance is environment. Most of the environmental problems that face us today have an important bearing on food and agriculture. Deforestation, desertification, ocean and fresh water pollution, global warming and ozone depletion are all threats to our eco-systems and our food and agricultural production. We must focus more of our attention on the relations between environmental protection, natural resources management and agriculture, and promote more effective ecologically-sustainable agricultural practices. The proposed United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 and its preparation will provide an opportunity for all of us to address these problems. FAO's mandate and technical competence put it in a unique position to contribute to our common endeavour and I look forward to its active participation.
In the past few years, the organizations of the United Nations system have been undergoing adjustment and adaptation to new challenges. Your Conference will consider at this current session the future role of FAO and its relations with other organizations of the system. FAO has been and
will continue to be a very important member of the United Nations family. The United Nations attaches great importance to maintaining good relations with its sister organizations to promote our common objectives. The suggestion of the Director-General of FAO for the creation of an inter-secretariat mechanism among the Rome food organizations to share information and to co-ordinate initiatives is very constructive. It deserves the serious consideration of all concerned for its early and effective implementation. In this area and others, I am confident that your discussions at the Conference will result in further strengthening FAO and its relations with other organizations.
There are many challenges facing us in the next decade and the next century. You, the members of the FAO Conference, have a heavy agenda before you and vital opportunities to seize. I wish you much success in your deliberations.
Gouara LASSOU (Tchad): Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Directeur général, Honorables délégués, Mesdames, Messieurs. La délégation tchadienne se fait un agréable plaisir de féliciter tout d'abord l'élection de M. John Charles Kerin à la Présidence de la 25ème session de la Conférence de notre Organisation. Elle est convaincue que Monsieur John Charles Kerin, dont les talents et capacités sont reconnus de tous, mènera avec objectivité et sérénité nos travaux à leur fin.
Notre Organisation, depuis sa fondation, s'est attelée avec acharnement et efficacité aux nobles idéaux humanitaires qu'il me serait superflu d'énumérer ici. L'accomplissement de ces idéaux n'est certes pas aisé du fait de la mutation rapide de notre monde et des problèmes nouveaux qui en résultent. En dépit de ce constat, le Tchad appuie et soutient résolument tous les efforts déployés par la FAO dans la recherche de leur solution durable.
Au moment où se tient cette 25ème session de la Conférence, mon pays, après l'Unité nationale retrouvée, et dans sa recherche permanente de la paix et de coexistence pacifique avec ses voisins dans le respect de ses droits fondamentaux, a signé le 31 août 1989 à Alger l'accord cadre Tchad-Libye.
Cette voie pour la paix définitive sera maintenue afin de permettre au Tchad de s'atteler à son développement en général et au développement rural qui occupe 85 pour cent de la population active en particulier.
L'autosuffisance et la sécurité alimentaire sont parmi les priorités du gouvernement; mon pays s'est résolument engagé dans un vaste programme de réajustement structurel.
Pour le court, moyen et long terme les orientations majeures que le Tchad entend imprimer à son économie en matière de développement rural peuvent s'énoncer comme suit:
Garantir et sécuriser à l'échelle du pays et des régions ou zones naturelles l'autosuffisance alimentaire du pays et réduire sa vulnérabilité sur ce plan.
Améliorer et diversifier les capacités de production existantes de façon à dégager des excédents de production affectables à l'exportation et au développement des capacités agro-industrielles.
Améliorer le potentiel productif par une meilleure gestion et exploitation des ressources naturelles et de l'espace rural, de façon à combattre les tendances d'appauvrissement et de dégradation du milieu naturel en luttant contre les phénomènes de désertification.
Créer les conditions de croissance et d'évolution satisfaisantes des revenus du secteur rural, à même de générer une croissance des échanges, des investissements et de l'épargne de ce secteur.
Appuyer les initiatives des productions du secteur rural, susciter et encourager les dynamiques d'organisation des producteurs en vue de la prise en charge progressive des fonctions nécessaires au développement de leur secteur.
Je voudrais ici exprimer au nom de mon gouvernement mes sincères remerciements à la Communauté internationale et en particulier à la FAO qui est constatement à nos côtés dans cette lutte contre la famine et la misère.
Pour ne citer que la politique de sécurité alimentaire dont entend se doter mon pays, grâce au concours de la FAO, la première phase de l'étude portant sur le diagnostic et l'évaluation de la situation actuelle vient d'être achevée.
Mon pays est d'ores et déjà reconnaissant aux institutions et bailleurs de fonds qui vont contribuer à l'exécution effective et dans les meilleurs délais de ce programme.
De même, mon pays attend de ces mêmes institutions et bailleurs de fonds leurs contributions pour le complément nécessaire en céréales locales et leurs apports en fonds indispensables à la gestion du stock de sécurité alimentaire dont la constitution a déjà commencé.
En parlant d'autosuffisance et de sécurité alimentaire, il ne me paraît pas superflu de rendre un hommage mérité au Programme alimentaire mondial dont le rôle et les activités en Afrique ont connu depuis 1963 à nos jours une évolution significative, notamment dans:
La coordination des aides alimentaires dans les opérations d'urgence.
La coordination et l'appui technique de l'information logistique dans le cadre des opérations d'urgence et des projets de développement.
Le soutien aux projets de sécurité alimentaire à travers la monétisation et le système Food For Work (Vivres-contre-travail).
La promotion de la production, commercialisation et consommation des céréales locales en effectuant des achats locaux et les opérations triangulaires pour ravitailler les projets soutenus par le PAM.
Il convient également de rappeler que cette évolution du PAM a été aussi possible grâce au dynamisme de Monsieur James Ingram à la tête de l'institution depuis 1981.
En ce qui concerne le Tchad, le Programme alimentaire mondial a dépensé de 1968 à nos jours 52 milliards de francs CFA. Les activités sont variées et s'inscrivent dans les domaines prioritaires arrêtés par le gouvernement, à savoir:
. le développement rural,
. le développement des ressources humaines,
. la sécurité alimentaire par la constitution de stocks de réserves céréalières,
. la santé par une assistance continue aux groupes vulnérables,
. la lutte contre la désertification.
Au regard de ce qui précède, mon gouvernement lance un appel renouvelé aux donateurs pour augmenter leurs contributions en nature et en espèces au programme pour permettre au PAM de maintenir et d'augmenter le niveau de l'impact et de l'efficacité de son assistance dans les pays bénéficiaires. Mon gouvernement souhaite par ailleurs que les structures administratives et financières du PAM soient adaptées à la dimension du volume et de la complexité de ses activités pour lui permettre d'être encore plus efficace.
Qu'il me soit permis de faire brièvement le point sur la situation de la campagne agricole 1989/90 dans mon pays.
Malgré les efforts inlassables que déploie mon Gouvernement pour maintenir la production agricole à un niveau satisfaisant, le Tchad, pays sahélien et de surcroît enclavé, est soumis constamment aux aléas climatiques et au fléau acridien.
La pluviométrie enregistrée au cours de cette campagne a été peu abondante et mal répartie. Les pluies ont été quelque peu régulières dans le sud du pays mais moins importantes par rapport à celles de l'année dernière.
D'une manière générale, il a été enregistré sur l'ensemble du pays un déficit pluviométrique par rapport à l'année 1988. La situation phytosanitaire a été également préoccupante, particulièrement les attaques des sauteriaux et des oiseaux granivores. Dans certaines localités, les dégâts causés par les sauteriaux sont estimés entre 70 et 80 %, certains champs ont été abandonnés. La production des céréales pour cette campagne est estimée à 674 000 tonnes contre 825 000 tonnes en 1988.
Monsieur le Président, la précarité de notre sort nous oblige une fois de plus à faire appel à la solidarité internationale pour nous permettre de maîtriser notre production agricole.
Je ne saurais clore mon intervention sans rendre ici un hommage mérité à M. Edouard Saouma, Directeur général de la FAO, et à ses collaborateurs pour leur dévouemement et leur disponibilité dans l'accomplissement de la lourde et complexe mission qui est la leur.
Ayant foi en notre organisation, mon pays ne cessera de lui apporter son appui et son soutien total.
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Mohamed Moussa CHEHEM (Djibouti): C'est un plaisir et un privilège pour moi de prendre la parole devant cette auguste assemblée où se trouve réunis tous les principaux responsables de l'agriculture mondiale.
Qu'il me soit permis tout d'abord d'exprimer mon immense plaisir de vous voir, Monsieur le Président, occuper ce fauteuil pendant cette importante session et je vous félicite pour votre élection. Nous savons tous que vous-mêmes et votre grand pays êtes convaincus de l'efficacité de l'effort collectif pour la réalisation de la croissance et du développement équilibrés que nous visons.
Si nous sommes venus de toutes les régions du monde pour nous réunir aujourd'hui et nous concerter, c'est à cause de notre commune préoccupation de la menace que la pauvreté, la malnutrition et la faim font encore malheureusement peser sur une grande partie de l'humanité, notamment dans l'hémisphère sud.
D'éminents orateurs m'ont précédé et ont souligné, de façon éloquente, les aspects inquiétants de la situation alimentaire actuelle et les perspectives qui ne s'annoncent guère meilleures, alors que les manifestations organisées de par le monde à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale de l'alimentation ont montré avec quelle ardeur l'humanité aspire à un meilleur état des conditions de vie.
La solidarité internationale ne devra-t-elle pas commencer par l'alimentation et l'agriculture, comme à l'aube de l'histoire quand l'apparition d'une agriculture sédentaire et productive a déterminé l'essor de la civilisation.
De même, à l'aube du vingt et unième siècle, il ne saurait être question de bâtir une société planétaire si nous ne commençons pas par résoudre le problème millénaire de la faim et de la malnutrition et participer ainsi, et de façon efficace, à sauvegarder la paix dans le monde.
Il peut paraître paradoxal de voir encore, et surtout en Afrique, que la faim est le lot quotidien de millions d'âmes, alors que les progrès technologiques enregistrés au cours des deux dernières décennies sont considérables.
Mais en fait il n'y a rien d'étonnant à cela quand on sait que le progrès technique reste très inégalement réparti et de vastes régions du monde en développement en demeurent à l'écart.
Monsieur le Président, en évoquant ce contraste qui existe entre la tendance positive des progrès technologiques réalisés dans l'agriculture et l'absence relative de résultats significatifs dans la lutte contre les facteurs contraignants tels que la sécheresse prolongée, la désertification, la dégradation des terres ou les parasites, je pense à mon pays, la République de Djibouti, où les conditions naturelles sont extrêmement rudes et qui espère, malgré tout, tirer profit de ces progrès techniques afin d'améliorer la production agricole et le niveau de vie des couches pauvres de la population.
Mon gouvernement a inscrit parmi les principaux objectifs de sa loi d'orientation économique et sociale, la lutte contre la pauvreté et la réduction du taux de dépendance alimentaire.
Beaucoup d'efforts ont été déployés au cours de la dernière décennie et des résultats encourageants ont été enregistrés puisque la production agricole et halieutique ont fait l'objet d'un accroissement substantiel, mais nous sommes conscients aussi que le chemin restant à parcourir demeure long et les objectifs lointains.
En effet, pour mon pays les facteurs contraignants sont nombreux et de taille, qu'il s'agisse de l'eau, facteur clé du développement agricole, et qui est très rare, ou des pâturages déjà fragilisés par les problèmes de la nature et souffrant d'une pression constante et permanente du cheptel, ou des terres agricoles déjà rares et de nature salée et qui sont soumises aux effets connus de l'irrigation mal conduite que sont la salinisation et l'alcalinisation conduisant à la stérilité.
C'est dans ce contexte, Monsieur le Président, que la jeune République de Djibouti où les traditions agricoles sont relativement récentes, oeuvre pour améliorer la gestion de ses ressources naturelles, hélas fort limitées.
Nous avons mis au point plusieurs programmes et projets visant entre autres à rationaliser l'utilisation des ressources en eau, à préserver l'environnement, à expérimenter et développer des espèces résistant à la salinité et à la chaleur et à vulgariser des nouvelles techniques simples de cuisson utilisant l'énergie solaire.
Nous avons également initié des programmes pour le développement du secteur de la pêche qui offre des possibilités relativement importantes et qui peut contribuer de façon significative à la réduction de notre déficit alimentaire.
Le secteur de l'élevage, activité traditionnelle dans mon pays, a trouvé une place de choix dans nos programmes aussi bien en ce qui concerne la santé animale que pour la valorisation des produits et sous-produits animaux.
Pendant la dernière décennie, nous avons à Djibouti, pu voir avec admiration comment la FAO a réussi à rester à la hauteur de son mandat en inscrivant à son actif des résultats remarquables et a fait preuve d'une coopération exemplaire, ce qui a eu un impact largement positif sur nos efforts aux profits des agriculteurs, éleveurs et pêcheurs.
Comme je disais au début, malgré les efforts louables entrepris, il nous faut bien malheureusement admettre que nous devons encore faire de gros efforts dans notre lutte contre la pauvreté et la faim et c'est pour cela que nous devons mettre en commun toutes nos forces, toute notre sagesse, et par-dessus tout notre détermination de remédier à cette situation et de donner à tous, les moyens de vivre dans des conditions raisonnablement acceptables.
Notre Organisation a beaucoup de défis à relever et son avenir, que nous sommes en train de modeler, dépendra des ressources dont elle disposera pour faire face à des besoins toujours croissants.
Notre sagesse et notre détermination dont je parlais il y a un instant, Monsieur le Président, doivent se traduire par le soutien effectif et constant que nous devons apporter à notre Organisation pour lui permettre d'intensifier ses efforts pour faire face aux dangers qui menacent l'avenir de l'humanité.
En effet, chaque année des millions d'hectares de terres arables deviennent déserts, plus de dix millions d'hectares de forêts sont détruits dont une bonne partie devient de mauvaises terres qui ne permettent même pas à ceux qui s'y installent de vivre, les précipitations de pluies acides tuent forêts et lacs et ont sans doute acidifié d'énormes étendues de terre au-delà de toute récupération.
La combustion de combustibles fossiles dégage du gaz carbonique qui réchauffe petit à petit la terre, ce qui pourrait provoquer un relèvement des températures moyennes tel qu'il modifierait les grandes régions de production agricole. D'autres gaz d'origine industrielle menacent d'appauvrir la couche d'ozone qui protège la planète, à tel point qu'ils pourraient multiplier le nombre de cancer chez les hommes et les bêtes et perturber la chaîne alimentaire des océans. L'industrie et l'agriculture déversent des substances toxiques dans la chaîne alimentaire de l'homme et dans les nappes phréatiques, au-delà de tout espoir de récupération.
L'appauvrissement des ressources à l'échelle locale peut se répercuter sur des régions plus vastes: la dégradation des terres arides crée des sinistrés par millions qui se réfugient dans les pays voisins, la déforestation provoque des inondations de plus en plus dévastatrices dans les pays aval, les précipitations acides ou les retombées nucléaires ne respectent nullement les frontières.
L'environnement planétaire est un tout indissociable, dont les éléments s'imbriquent et se complètent, et sa sauvegarde, condition sine qua non pour le développement économique, exige de nous tous une concertation plus accrue et une solidarité plus active pour parer à ces menaces planétaires.
Dans cette perspective, nous lançons et souscrivons à l'idée de créer un mécanisme de concertation et de coordination interagences notamment entre la FAO, le PNUD, le FIDA et le PAM, pour assurer une meilleure efficacité et complémentarité des actions tendant à augmenter les productions vivrières tout en préservant l'équilibre écologique.
Ce type d'action concerté notamment à l'occasion de la célébration de la Journée mondiale de l'alimentation permettrait de mieux sensibiliser l'opinion internationale aux problèmes de la faim et de l'environnement tant dans les pays du Nord que du Sud.
Malheureusement et en dépit des bonnes dispositions affichées, l'écart entre le Nord et le Sud ne cesse de s'agrandir. Pour la majorité d'entre eux, les pays en développement ont actuellement un revenu par habitant inférieur à celui enregistré au début des années 80 et l'explosion démographique a accentué la pression sur des ressources déjà soumises à un épuisement perpétuel.
Dans beaucoup de pays, les dépenses militaires absorbent un tel pourcentage du revenu national qui pourrait être utilisé pour assurer la sécurité alimentaire. La course aux armements ne fait qu'exacerber les rivalités et entraîne les conflits inter-Etats jetant dans la misère des millions de réfugiés affamés et sans emploi, et qui constitue un véritable facteur de déstabilisation de la sécurité des Etats, notamment ceux démunis de ressources.
Nul pays dans le monde n'est à l'abri du danger militaire, mais nul pays non plus n'est à l'abri des dangers liés à l'insécurité alimentaire.
Rien n'en appelle aujourd'hui à la conscience des hommes et au sens de la responsabilité collective, dont nous avons la charge, que l'image de ces millions d'âmes soumises aux affres de la faim et tant qu'elle existe nous ne pouvons aspirer à la paix et la sécurité dont nous avons tant besoin.
Je voudrais, Monsieur le Président, exprimer, du haut de cette tribune, mes vifs et sincères remerciements à tous les pays frères et amis et aux organisations internationales et régionales qui ont apporté, de près ou de loin, un soutien technique ou financier aux Programmes de développement de mon pays et souhaite aux travaux de notre Conférence plein succès sous votre conduite.
Applause
Applaudissements
Aplausos
CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. I do not want to say too much; I will quickly summarize the statements so far. It is quite obvious that the themes are coming out very clearly. Against the background of ever-present tragedy, poverty, hunger and disease, speakers this afternoon have stressed, first of all, general environmental concerns such as desertification and the concept of sustainable development, international debt, trade deterioration, agricultural subsidies and armed conflict, and what these are doing to diminish food production. Two delegates mentioned that if the arms race is diminishing, this does provide opportunities for funds to be diverted to food production.
Another theme has been the need to liberalize world agricultural trade and the importance of the Uruguay Round of GATT. There have been various proposals on delivery of, and best forms of, development assistance and aid. Some speakers have raised the question of technical cooperation and the role of in-country training.
Lastly, many speakers have expressed concern about FAO's financial situation and zero real budget growth for FAO, given the burgeoning demands being put on it. It would appear that most speakers think that the Programme of Work and Budget for the two years ahead has been commented on favourably.
Ministers, distinguished Delegates, this meeting stands adjourned until 9.30 tomorrow morning.
The meeting rose at 18.15 hours.
La séance est levée à 18 h 15.
Se levanta la sesión a las 18.15 horas.
