Solving food problem no simple issue

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32525, 8 February 1971, Page 14

Solving food problem no simple issue

Solving world food problems is not just a matter of growing more food, even inside the countries which are short of it. This - was made plain vesterday by Dr A. H. Boerma, a Dutchman who is Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Dr Boerma, who was formerly executive director of the World Food Programme, spent most of yesterday at Lincoln College in the course of a three-day visit to New Zealand at the invitation of the Government, the Visit ending when Dr Boerma flew to Australia last evening.

•Dr Boerma said that scientifically and technically there was the knowledge to feed vastly greater numbers of people. Already, new, high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat are alleviating food problems in countries Such as India and Pakistan—but in the same countries where food problems existed, fie said, there were also problems of unemployment and under-employment. As in the developed countries, said Dr Boerma, no-one in the under-developed and developing countries wanted to produce surpluses that could not be bought—and so m the latter countries there needed to be opportunities for better employment for people who did not have the ] money to buy more food. DIFFICULT PROBLEM

This was a very difficult problem that could not be solved by the Food and Agriculture Organisation alone. It required a broad approach aimed at expanding employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas. In discussing population control, Dr Boerma said that in many countries where living standards ■ were low people had had to work very hard to make a very poor living—and to spread this burden they had tended to have more children and because disease and malnutrition resulted in some dving early, they tended to produce even more than they would have otherwise. But now, because of improvement in health services and standards, they no longer needed to have as many children. Within his organisation, Dr Boerma said, there was a programme directed at encouraging better living in rural areas—by trying to help people make better use of the little that they had, and encouraging them in family planning. In this, F.A.O. was not forgetting the social aspects of raising living standards and was co-operating with other organisations involved in social and economic activities. Dr Boerma said it had been calculated that a 4 per cent annual increase in agricultural production was needed to cope with the requirements of increased populations and to allow for some improvement in living standards. Pointing to the need for even greater effort in the future was the fact that in the last decade the annual increase had been running about 2.6 to 2.7 per cent. But he was not pessimistic, and believed that this object could be attained, at least for cereals. DAIRY PRODUCTION

Although it might sound a little strange to New Zealand ears, Dr Boerma said it was felt that an area where special effort was needed was in raising dairy production in developing and under-devel-oped countries. This was because such countries could

not buy all their requirements overseas and would need to produce a part of their needs themselves. Because it was a slow process building up their production, it was predicted that aid in the form of dairy products for young children and expectant mothers would be wanted for a long time to come.

I Dr Boerma said that from the point of view of those conscious of dairy surpluses ] in the world, this might , sound good or bad. i Whereas most developed countries had committed themselves to aid programmes, Dr Boerma said it was suggested that where they had such purpluses they should be used to help fill their obligation. Thus, it was urged by his organisation that where the E.E.C. had large dairy surpluses, these should be made available for aid and emergency purposes instead of being dumped on world markets. But the availability of such surpluses tended to fluctuate considerably when it was claimed that outlets had been found for them in international trade—and it was important that stable supplies be available for aid purposes also. Such disposal of surpluses, at the same time as helping poorer countries, avoided harming trading patterns, Dr Boerma said. Asked if he had any

word for New Zealand farmers, Dr Boerma said he was conscious of the concern felt in New Zealand about dairy products and wool, and to a lesser extent meat, and also about Britain’s bid to join the European Economic Community. It was “anyone’s guess" what would be the outcome of the current discussions between Britain and the E.E.C. —but he felt confident that with Britain’s long traditional ties with New Zealand, she would not let New Zealand down.

In F.A.0., Dr Boerma said, they felt that the E.E.C. should not be inward-looking. The countries of that grouping had to export their industrial products, and the importers had to have the funds to buy them—and it would be in the interests of the E.E.C., as well as others for the E.E.C. countries to liberalise their trading policies.

Dr Boerma and his party, after flying from Wellington vesterday morning, went to Lincoln College where they met the chairman of the college council (Mr J. K. McAlpine), the principal of the college (Dr M. M. Bums), the Deputy Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. P. Smith) and a group of professors who have been connected with overseas projects. After lunch, the visitors—who were accompanied by the DirectorGeneral of Agriculture (Dr A T. Johns)—-returned to Christchurch Airport by way of Gebbies Valley and the Summit Road. Dr Boerma was on his fourth visit to New Zealand, but on his first as directorgeneral of F.A.O. He said it was normal for its director-general to visit as many member countries of the organisation as possible —but, as there were 120, it presented a problem in a four-year period.