Food urgently needed

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33665, 15 October 1974, Page 10

Food urgently needed

(New Zealand Press Association—Copyright) LAUSANNE (Switzerland). If what is shaping up as a large-scale human disaster is to be avoided in countries like India, they will need considerable financial help to facilitate commercial exports and substantially increased food aid, according to the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (Mr Addeke H. Boerma).

Addressing delegates from 33 countries at the European regional conference of the F.A.O. in Lausanne, he said that floods and drought had caused reduced outputs of rice, sorghum, millets and other grains. India, Bangladesh and several other developing countries would simply be unable to pay for all that they urgently needed, he said. The rebuilding of stocks, which were now at rockbottom levels, must also be delayed another year, Mr Boerma said.

In the light of the current situation the World Food Conference in Rome next month could be one of the most crucial international conferences ever held. He said that the F.A.O. estimated that if food pro- ■ duction was not accelerated Iby more than one-third, ■ developing countries might

lin about 10 years face ! annual cereal deficits approaching 85m tons in normal years. The executive director of the World Food Programme (Mr Francisco Aquino) told the conference that no food deficit was likely to appear •at the world level, according to projections up to 1985. The problem was to channel surpluses in the developed world to poorer countries. The six-day conference considered land use, inland fisheries development, global food policies and how to improve farm incomes in I Europe without accelerating inflation.

Tennis.—The United Statei hae won the first round of the 1975 Davis Cup competition before the final of this year’s competition has been decided. A double* victory gave the United States a winning 3-0 lead over the ComI monwealth Caribean team