DROUGHT RELIEF TALKS

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32209, 30 January 1970, Page 8

DROUGHT RELIEF TALKS

REPRESENTATIVES of ’'the four drought relief committees in Canterbury and of the North Otago committee met members of an inter-departmental committee at a meeting in Christchurch this week .The interdepartmental committee was set up late last year by the former Minister of Agriculture, Mr Taiboys, to recommend measures to assist farmers who had been hard hit by the drought. The meeting was chaired by the fields superintendent of the Department of Agriculture in Christchurch, Mr A. R. Dingwall, who said afterwards that it was largely an exchange of views.

Each of the drought relief ’ committees was represented ' by its chairman and another - member and the inter-de-i partmental committee under - the chairmanship of Mr M. ■ L. Cameron, the director of ■ the farm advisory division > of the Department of Agri- ! culture, comprises five mem- - bers. Invited to attend were - also Mr F.' C. McMullan, the t chairman of the local mar- , ginal lands committee, and Mr H. King, supervising aporaiser for the State Advances Corporation. I t Discussions, Mr Dingwall . said, had been about procedures and policies about financial assistance to farmI ers and sources of finance, i and in particular assistance ' by way of loans from Government sources.

Members of the committees had pointed out that while up to this stage there Had not, been many applications for assistance, the position on some farms could well become critical in the course of the next two or three months as the effects of the prolonged drought became more apparent. The difficulties of cropping farmers as well as those concerned with livestock had been pointed out. The committee representatives and also members of the inter-departmental committee had expressed their appreciation of the useful discussions that the meeting had made possible, and Mr Dingwall said that in general it had been found that the thinking of both parties was very much along the same lines.