Food Gifts ‘Limited'

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31125, 30 July 1966, Page 23

Food Gifts ‘Limited '

(N.Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, July 29.

It was misleading to divorce food aid from the economics of efficient food production or from the aims of maintaining commercial trade at a high level, the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said today.

He was commenting on a statement by the retiring president of Federated Farmers (Mr E. W. McCallum) that New Zealand could do

much more to assist developing countries by increasing donations of primary produce. “The support of the Government and voluntary organisations in New Zealand for international and private programmes to provide food for needy people is well known,” Mr Holyoake said. “Food aid is supplied broadly for humanitarian relief purposes or as a means of development assistance to poorer countries. But in many of these countries national tastes and customs are not geared to many of the foodstuffs produced in New Zealand. “This is a factor which limits the amount of direct food aid we can provide.”

The Prime Minister said it was not generally appreciated that New Zealand provided about £250,000 annually in direct food aid under various programmes. This included commodities and cash totalling £85,000 each year to the world food programme.

Earlier this year the Government made a direct gift of milk power worth £lOO,OOO to India for famine relief. “However, straight cash contributions without tags can often be more valuable so that developing countries can purchase food from the most competitive sources,” Mr Holyoake said. “Over-all, New Zealand’s aid programme is based on grants of overseas exchange—the most acceptable form of aid —and these are often used to finance food production schemes within the underdeveloped countries themselves.”

Mr Holyoake said the milk schemes in India were well known examples of this. “It is worth noting that one of the results has been to open up an export opportunity for New Zealand secondary industries through the supply of milk tankers and other items of dairy equipment,” he said.