International Task To Overcome World’s Hunger

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30294, 21 November 1963, Page 3

International Task To Overcome World’s Hunger

(N Z.P A. -Reuter— Copyright)

ROME, Nov. 19. ( President Julius Nyerere, of Tanganyika, told the I United Nations Food and 1 ; Agriculture Organisation yesterday that it must either have the power to plan the; worlds food production and; marketing or “remain what; it is now—a charity organ-i isation.” He urged "a planned world attack on poverty,” otherwise the poorer countries! ; would have to retreat into de- j liberate economic isolation, 1 (he said. The F.A.O. director-general I (Mr D. R. Sen) said 300.000,000 Ito 500,000.000 went hungry; and up to half of the world’s! ; population of 1,500,000.000 sufi fered from hunger or mal-i nutrition. International aid. although; ! increasing, was still far be-; low the level necessary “to | ! achieve the dramatic break- ; (through required in the de-i : veloping countries. “The time may not be so! far distant when a system of voluntary international taxa-; tion or 'contributions- for de- i velopment,’ similar to that:

which applies on a nationalscale, will be regarded as a logical development for the grant of international assistance," he said. Earlier, Mr Nyerere said; the present combination of! aid and free international competition would never defeat the poverty in underdeveloped nations. “A continuation of the pre-i sent chaos in which the rich' get richer and the poor stay' poor is unacceptable to those: of us who are conscious of! our poverty,” he said. “The only alternative to a world plan is, therefore, an! acceptance of our economicquality and deliberate isolationism while we build ourselves up." Isolationism was a depres-' sing prescription for the! world's economic ills, when' “only the law of the jungle; reigns, the struggle for existence must naturally end up! with the survival of the fit-: test,” President Nyerere said.'