DIG FOR VICTORY

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 270, 10 August 1943, Page 4

DIG FOR VICTORY

Growing Of Vegetables In Home Gardens APPEAL BY MR. FRASER The importance of the “Dig for Victory” campaign was emphasized by the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, in an address last night. He said the object of the campaign was to make sure that New Zealanders grew the greatest possible supply of vegetables in their home gardens. ’By doing so they could help in one more way to contribute to aud to speed the day of victory. “At the beginning of the war New Zealand pledged itself to supply Great Britain with the greatest quantity of foot! that it could spare,’’ said Mr. Fraser. “Since then the Dominion has done its utmost to ship as much as possible to Great Britain. In the first three years.of the war New Zealand shipped in butter, cheese, afid meat to the Mother Country one and two-third millions of tons —a wonderful achievement in production by our primary producers. When America entered the war we undertook another great responsibility, for we decided to feed as far as our resources would allow, the forces assembled in the South Pacific.

“One of the splendid achievements of New Zealand has been its record in the production of food for the war effort. Today the demands on us are even greater, and we are challenged to work with even greater energy. To feed the fighting forces in the South Pacific New Zealand has undertaken a gigantic project of vegetable growing. Thousands of pounds of cabbages, cauliflower, beets, carrots, lettuce, turnips, tomatoes, peas and beans must be grown to feed United States and New Zealand’troops. In the coming year we have undertaken to supply almost twice as much food to the Pacific area as previously. To meet these needs the Government has established thousands of acres of vegetable farms. Requirements of Forces. “The market gardens are producing all they can,” said Mr. Fraser, “but the present requirements cannot be met by the ordinary organization of peacetime production, even when this is supplemented by many thousands of acres grown by the Department of Agriculture, it follows, therefore, that all our citizens as individuals must busy themselves in an effort to alleviate the position, lhe Dig for Victory’ Campaign hopes to ensure that our citizens have a supply of vegetables independent, as far as possible, ot those sources,.which will be fully extended to supply the requirements of the fighting forces of our country and of our Allies. , , . “To encourage and help people to grow their own vegetables home gardening organizations have been preparing themselves for some months. They have arranged regular radio talks and have prepared written instructions, demonstration plots are being established, and expert advice will be available to all. Women whose husbands are away with the forces or engaged in essentinl work elsewhere, will be assisted in preliminary hard digging, and in some districts the E.P.b. organization is undertaking this work. “There is need for the utmost effort by everyone with any garden all. and I have no hesitation in appealing to all to do all they possibly can to assist once more in an important national duty, to help directly the men who are fighting for us in the Pacific, to help the people of our own country by preventing a shortage of food because of the prior need of the forces, to relieve the problem of road and rail haulage of vegetables in our own country, and to save the need for valuable shipping space for the carriage of food between the United States and New Zealand.”