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Publications Division (including Publications Revolving Fund)

521. The Conference noted the list of publications and main documents proposed for issue in 1970-71, which, together with the documentation for and reports of sessions and conferences for the biennium, constituted the Organization's publications and documents programme. It felt that greater stress should be laid upon the issue of priced publications and main documents having a permanent value than upon working papers and reports of interest to restricted groups.

522. The Conference reaffirmed the criteria adopted at previous sessions in the selection of what was to be published and issued by the Organization. In particular, all material to be issued should bear direct and specific relation to the projects, activities and priorities in the approved Programme of Work. As a means of ensuring that FAO publications were of the highest possible quality and usefulness, monographs should continue to be submitted for expert scrutiny to a selection of national bodies (e. g. national FAO committees) before publication, such national bodies being selected so that the three working languages of the Organization were represented, as decided by the Conference at its Ninth Session. Each FAO publication and main document should be directed to an identifiable audience, i. e. government officials, specialists and persons concerned with economic, social and technical development in both the developing and developed countries, or farm and teaching level workers, especially in the developing countries. The principle of parity between the Organization's three working languages should be maintained, while certain priced publications and documents would also be issued in Arabic. The greatest possible restraint should be exercised to limit the output and length of working papers in the interests of economy, timeliness and usefulness to readers.

523. The Conference noted that the policy on publications and documents would be before the Programme Committee at its spring session in 1970, and that the Committee would be reporting on it to the Council.

524. The Conference approved the proposed publications and documents programme and requested the Director-General to report any substitutions or cancellations which became necessary during the biennium.

525. With regard to co-publication arrangements with outside institutes and commercial publishers, the Conference stressed that work done by FAO which was worthy of publication in permanent form should generally be undertaken by the Organization itself in its working languages. On the other hand, where it had not been planned to issue such material in published form, co-publication might be considered. It was stressed that the allocation of resources should be balanced in such a way that, where work was to be undertaken to prepare publications, the resources for translation and printing should also be made available in the Programme of Work.

526. The Conference noted with interest the inclusion in the budget estimates of the sum of $5 000 to enable the Director-General to award token subsidies to assist in the publication of suitably selected FAO publications in languages other than FAO working languages. Some delegates felt that this amount might prove insufficient, even for token subsidies, and urged that additional funds, if needed, be found from savings. The Conference agreed that subsidies should be provided for the publication in non-working languages of publications expected to have a significant impact on an important sector of the agricultural economy of one or preferably several countries with substantial agricultural populations; that the country or countries using a given language should have a special need for publications on the subject treated in the FAO title in question, demonstrated by requests for advice or information; and that it could be shown that none of the working languages was well known to the prospective users of the publication in question.

527. With regard to the sales policy for publications, while recognizing the principle that a need for information in published form rather than profit was the primary reason for the issue of publications, the sale of a publication was in itself evidence of its value and should be encouraged as a means of making useful information more widely available.

528. With regard to the Publications Revolving Fund, the Conference adopted the following resolution:

The Conference

Approves the budget for the 1970-71 biennium for the Publications Revolving Fund as presented by the Director-General and contained in Annex X to the 1970-71 Programme of Work and Budget including an allocation not exceeding $60 000 for sales promotion purposes and an allocation not exceeding $181 530 for the development of the FAO Magazine (CERES) provided that expenditures from the Fund for this magazine are at all times kept within the amount of firm advertising commitments and sales.

529. One of the essential functions of the Department of Administration and Finance is to handle personnel relations on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and the Conference again endorsed this function as a primary concern to the department.

530. The Conference noted the improved productivity of the department, as illustrated by the declining ratio over recent years of Chapter IV posts to the total number of posts in the Organization: this ratio stood at 8. 3 percent in 1962-63, fell to 6 percent in 1964-65, rose slightly to 6. 2 percent in 1966-67, falling to 6 percent in 1968-69, and the estimate for 1970-71 was 5.9 percent. In terms of finance, there had been the same downward trend: administration and finance costs represented 4.07 percent of total costs in 1965, 3.83 percent in 1966, 3. 63 percent in 1967, 3.95 percent in 1968, and 3. 59 percent in 1969. Comparable figures for 1969 for Unesco and ILO were 4.65 percent and 4.91 percent respectively.

531. Information was furnished on the department's new programmes and responsibilities, in particular in respect of training and the Associate Expert Scheme. The Conference was gratified to learn of the excellent response of the staff to the language training programme with over 700 staff members attending courses and several hundred on the waiting list . The Conference welcomed the Junior Professional Training Programme, which had been inaugurated recently with the arrival of nine young men from nine separate developing countries, most of which were previously unrepresented on the staff.

532. General support was expressed for the Associate Expert Scheme, which not only contributed to the work of the FAO experts in the field at the present time, but also served to provide a source of recruitment to meet future requirements for experts, whether for FAO or for bilateral programmes. However, some delegations expressed reservations regarding the utility of this scheme to some developing countries, and would have preferred a scheme which laid further stress on the training of counterpart personnel. The Conference noted that the Associate Expert Scheme involved the Organization in no extra expenditure.

533. The Conference requested the Director-General to develop a long-term manpower policy indicating the future needs for experts in order to be able to carry out the steadily increasing number of projects, and further requested the Director-General to keep the Associate Expert Scheme under periodic review.

534. It was noted that the newly created Management Services Division had been entrusted with responsibility for ensuring the implementation of the Management Consultants recommendations.

535. The Conference expressed satisfaction with the efforts exerted to increase the efficiency of this department, and approved the proposed programme and budget.

536. The Conference approved the programme proposed for this chapter. It noted that, in order to obviate delays in delivery, project managers had recently been empowered - within certain limits and subject to prior authorization in appropriate cases - to purchase locally materials and equipment required for field projects.

537. The Conference approved the following changes in the list of meetings contained in document C 69/3 Sup. 2 Rev. 1, as revised by C 69/LIM/3 Rev. 1, and requested that the full revised list be circulated to Member Nations:

538. The Conference adopted the following resolution:

The Conference

Having discussed the Director-General's Programme of Work and Budget and the conclusions of the technical committees and commissions:

Approves the Programme of Work proposed by the Director-General for 1970-71;

Resolves that for the financial period 1970-71:

1. Appropriations are voted for the following purposes:

2. The appropriations voted in paragraph 1 above should be financed by contributions from Member Nations and Associate Members after adjustment as provided in the Financial Regulations; for this purpose it is assumed that:

3. The contributions from Member Nations and Associate Members in 1970 and 1971 should be paid in accordance with the scale adopted by the Conference at its Fifteenth Session 1

539. The Conference noted the great effort that had gone into the preparation of The Work of FAO, 1968-69, and considered that a report of this nature was useful particularly as a reference document. It considered, however, that there was scope for improvement and especially that it could be split up into two parts: one dealing with the accountability report of the regular programme activities which could possibly be integrated with the accountability report of the field programmes. the second part dealing more generally with the activities of FAO for a wider public.

540. The Conference suggested that the Programme Committee and the Council at their forthcoming sessions review again the future form and content of the document, along with that of the Review of Field Programmes.

541. The Conference welcomed the initiative taken by the Director-General in submitting proposals for medium-term programmes, as part of a longer-term planning effort, recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts to Examine the Finances of the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies and accepted by General Assembly Resolution 2150 (XXI).

542. The Conference noted that in formulating these proposals the Director-General was guided by the recommendations of the Programme and Finance Committees that while it was desirable to plan ahead, "too detailed a plan would be unrealistic for long-term projections but that a broad outline of programme objectives and trends would have considerable value." These recommendations were noted by the Forty-Eighth Session of the Council and endorsed by the Fourteenth Session of the Conference.

543. The Conference considered that the Director-General's proposals for a medium-term programme and especially for the biennium 1972-73, although only outlined in document C 69/33, were well selected. These included emphasis on activities under the five Areas of Concentration, including the development of human resources, and the field of investment. The Conference further indicated its approval for the special fields suggested by the Director-General, namely, to expand and deepen FAO's working relationship with the world scientific community to accelerate the application of new scientific findings in the field of agriculture, including also attention to environmental improvement (control and reduction of pollution, erosion, misuse and over-exploitation of natural resources over settlement, including nomadism, etc.). In addition, the Conference generally felt that consideration should also be given to a further expansion of the Fisheries and Forestry Departments consistent with the recommendations of the Conference, and to an increased attention to land reform and development planning, including assistance to Member Nations and cooperation with the Second Development Decade The Conference recommended that a more detailed statement on the various proposed medium-term activities be prepared by the Director-General and be circulated to all Member Nations prior to the session of the Council in 1970.

544. The Conference noted the probability of further increases in FAO's activities under the programmes financed from voluntary funds, especially UNDP, and the Director-General's statement that this would require adequate technical backstopping both at Headquarters and in the field. The Director-General also assured the Conference that he would continue his efforts to eliminate low priority activities as well as to increase the general managerial and administrative efficiency of the Organization.

545. The Conference noted that the future plans with respect to financing of senior agricultural advisers/FAO country representatives would have to wait for the results of the independent review to be jointly arranged by FAO and UNDP toward the end of 1970. The way in which the senior agricultural advisers/FAO country representatives would be financed in the biennium 1972-73 was still to be decided and the budget would have to be adjusted accordingly, once the decision was known.

546. The Conference welcomed the Director-General's proposal to present the next budget, at least in part, on a "programme budgeting" basis. Instead of presenting proposals chiefly on the basis of organizational structure, the main programmes. should be clearly stated, both in terms of objectives and targets to be achieved and the required resources of manpower and funds. At the same time there would also be a presentation of the necessary materials by main organizational units but in a more concise manner than in the past.

547. The Conference noted with satisfaction that the Director-General proposed to hold all the five regional conferences before the 1970 session of the Council, and that one of the main items of discussion during these Conferences would be future programmes. The Director-General would be prepared to summarize the main recommendations of the regional conferences at the above mentioned 1970 Council session. The Director-General also indicated that he would of course consult with and ask for suggestions from the two Member Nations of the North American Region prior to the above mentioned Council session, as these countries were not formally members of any of the regional conferences.

548. The Director-General indicated that for the kind of planning under discussion he felt it necessary not only to give attention to programme needs, but also to a probable increase in budget level which the member countries were willing to support. In this connexion the Director-General indicated that an annual growth rate of 5 percent, or 10 percent for the biennium 1972-73, in addition to the mandatory increases, would seem to be reasonable to him. The Conference discussed this matter in detail and came to the conclusion that it was not the time to indicate a percentage figure, but nevertheless it agreed that the Director-General should develop his preliminary plans on the basis of a real and substantive increase in the budget for 1972-73 which would allow a reasonable growth in the Organization's activities taking account of the views expressed by member countries during the discussions of the medium-term programming at the Fifteenth FAO Conference.

549. The Conference therefore adopted the following resolution:

The Conference

Considering the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts to Examine the Finances of the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies concerning the adoption of the medium term programmes of work;

Having heard the statement of the Director-General on medium-term work plans of the Organization, especially for 1972-73, and on the probable trends of increase in the cost of services provided by the Organization;

Approves the principle of medium-term planning or programming;

Recommends the adoption of a real and substantive increase in the budget for 1972-73 which would allow a reasonable growth in the Organization's activities, taking account of the views expressed by member countries during the discussions of medium-term programming at the Fifteenth FAO Conference;

Requests the Director-General to circulate a more detailed statement on medium-term activities prior to the next session of the Council in 1970, and to be prepared to summarize the main recommendations of the regional conferences for the same session of the Council.

550. The Conference noted that the report of the Director-General on matters arising out of United Nations General Assembly, ECOSOC, UNDP Governing Council and the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) discussions during 1969 2/had been reviewed by the Fifty-Third Session of the FAO Council in the light of certain additional information made available to it. The Conference generally endorsed the manner in which FAO was contributing to interagency cooperation, and looked forward to further reports to the Council and Conference on important developments in this respect.

551. It also heard statements from the representatives of ILO and Unesco, the former on ILO's World Employment Programme and the latter on the International Education Year, and noted the recognition given to FAO's important contribution to each.

552. In the context of the increasing emphasis being given to strengthening cooperation among members of the United Nations system, the Conference was in favour of all appropriate measures which would lead to effective coordination at the country level, with the UNDP resident representatives assuming the central role The Conference urged, however, that the UNDP resident representative's role as the primary channel to the host government and in achieving coordination at the country level should not weaken the technical functions of FAO country representatives and their access to the appropriate ministers with regard to the execution of their specialized activities. It accordingly urged that the latter should retain their separate identity whilst respecting the role of the UNDP resident representatives.

553. The Conference was informed of the recent General Assembly resolution concerning the celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the United Nations. This coincided with the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the creation of FAO, and it was noted that FAO was planning to make important contributions to both occasions, for instance through its continuing work on youth in connexion with the United Nations proposal of a World Assembly of Youth to mark the occasion, and its contribution to international development strategy in the preparation of the Second Development Decade, and in respect of FAO's own celebrations, through the Second World Food Congress and the World Conference on Agricultural Education and Training both to be held in the Summer of 1970.

554. The Conference considered the Agreement concluded between the Director-General of FAO and the Executive Director of UNIDO in the field of industrial development, as endorsed by the Fifty-Third Session of the FAO Council.

555. It expressed satisfaction with the Agreement as providing a good working basis for harmonizing the activities of the two Organizations in the best interests of the developing countries. The Conference also stressed the importance of planning for a balanced development between agriculture and industry, and the need for continuous consultation between experts of the two Organizations to promote this objective.

556. The Conference noted that the Agreement was not final with respect to forest industries and concurred with the view expressed by the Fifty-Third Session of the Council that an integrated approach to forestry and forest management and the production, processing and marketing of forest products was essential. It urged that the outstanding issues be resolved expeditiously in a pragmatic manner, having regard to the considerable expertise built up over many years by FAO in this field.

557. Noting that the respective responsibilities of the two Organizations had been stated in rather broad terms in certain areas, such as food industries, the Conference stressed the importance of the Inter-Secretariat Committee as an instrument for resolving difficulties as they arose' and expressed the hope that the members of the committee would have adequate powers to take a pragmatic view of such cases.

558. Finally, in endorsing the Agreement, the Conference subscribed to the view of the Council that, in addition to the Secretariat's efforts, Member Nations had a contribution to make toward the successful implementation of the Agreement, and that for this purpose, it be transmitted to governments when it had been approved also by the UNIDO Industrial Development Board. With the same objective in view, the Conference welcomed the Council's request for periodic reports on the progress of implementation of the Agreement.

559. The Conference then turned to the matter of the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit Reports, and noted the procedure endorsed by the FAO Council for a more expeditious handling of such reports.

560. In commenting on the content of such reports, the Conference recognized their value in focusing attention on problems and their possible solution, with a view to improving efficiency of resource-use within the United Nations system.

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