Agriculture Easiest Way Of Earning Exchange

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30093, 29 March 1963, Page 10

Agriculture Easiest Way Of Earning Exchange

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 28. Urgent and wide expansion of New Zealand’s agriculture as the country’s best means of earning overseas funds was advocated tonight by the director of the Grasslands Division of the D.5.1.R., Dr. P. D. Sears. The country must be convinced that good grassland farming was the best, if not the only basic industry in which New Zealand had, and could hold, an international advantage, he said. It should be the real base on which to build economic processing industries and tertiary services.

Speaking to the Wellington branch of the Australian and New Zealand Economic Society, Dr. Sears said the country’s national catch-cry must change from one of “full employment” to one of “maximum efficient production.”

Its potential must be properly surveyed and serviced with the best research. Taxation and organisation must be devised to produce maximum efficiency and to absorb more capital and labour, and “one-man, one-farm” thinking must end. The market potential for New Zealand’s animal products was already there and growing, though such countries might need freer access to the market in this country as an inducement. , At present, Dr. Sears considered, New Zealand’s agricultural atmosphere did not offer enough possibilities for direct material reward. Because of that, many New Zealanders were ploughing their investment capital into other industries and abroad. It was, therefore, not unnatural for them to produce arguments for the protection of such industries. On the present methods of conserving the economy, he said: “I believe it is better to concentrate on earning overseas exchange than on trying to save it. “We must, in order to increase our earning capacity in the field of our greatest advantage, concentrate on a full expansion of our grassland agriculture and its products. “This is because of our great natural advantage for high-production pasture and continued outdoor grazing.” Natural Advantages Dr. Sears said a country’s standard of living depended largely on its natural advantages, how well it used them, and how well it could exchange them for other goods.

On that basis, dairy produce, meat and wool, all showed up well. The technical opportunities, in that New Zealand could grow pastures art least twice as well as any other country, were more encouraging than the economic and social factors operating here. While the very high pasture potential was being developed on a very narrow base, secondary industries in which New Zealand enjoyed no apparent relative international advantage, were often protected and enjoyed a wide investment and operation base.

One reason given for the expansion of secondary industry was that iit provided employment, and, clearly, there needed to be some examination of why labour was leaving the farms. Farms had to be brought to a stage where all were using advanced techniques and modem research results for a rapid and full development, and corporate fanning must be considered though keeping the best of the individuals. Gap In Development Dr. Sears said New Zealand had the “know-how” for better development of the potential and much had already been done, though the latter point missed an essential factor. Much of the green that impressed the visitor to this country was, in fact, weed—-low-producing pasture in relation to what could be grown. The good farms were only a small fraction of the total. Proper development could lead to many more ancillary jobs. “I have little doubt that most of the workers the New Zealand pottery industry gets so worked up about would find useful, congenial and profitable work in making field tiles for drainage, or assisting on the machines for

installing them. ar in processing the extra production from such drainage.” The present rate of farming progress could be seen in the static number of milking cows and the very slow increase in other livestock numbers, as well as the fact that only 3 per cent, of the ploughable land was put to new grass. It could also be seen in the recent call from Federated Farmers' leaders for more capital reinvestment in farming—-ait least £3O million —and internal arguments about farm size and efficiency, taxation and labour problems.

The problem was how to get the change of heart needed for an increase in agriculture, tor it would take at least five years to double the sheep population and a longer time to double the dairy herd. "To cater for a double output in 20 years, we will have to start now, and vigorously,” said Dr. Sears.