SMALL FARMS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 85, 11 April 1933, Page 10

SMALL FARMS

PLAN IN OPERATION

MR. COATES'S STATEMENT

CONFIDENT OUTLOOK

Confidence that important results would follow the operation of the small farm plan was expressed by the Minister of Finance (the Et. Hon. J. G. Coates) in a statement issued last evening. Mr. Coates originated the scheme and was in charge of the legislation when it was before Parliament, and although he is not a member of the Cabinet committee which is to administer the Act he will continue to be closely interested in the operation of the plan. . "The setting up of tho Small Farms Board, and bringing into effect of the Small Farms Act, mark a milestone in the efforts of New Zealand to meet the depression by recourse to the laud," said Mr. Coates. "The-plan was initiated last year, largely in an experimental and tentative way. At the outset a few farmers, who were anxious to help the country in meeting its difficulties, co-operated in the pioneering work of the Small Farm Plan. They made land available, free of rent or for a nominal charge; they supervised in providing buildings and equipment ana in helping the new families to make a start; and t"hey showed what eou}d be done for very small cost." Once tho plan was launched there was every evidence that it met a need in the Dominion. From one end of the country to the other there were applications by well-qualified' persons who were anxious to find an opening on the laud. : . GRATIFYING RESULTS. "The results of"the experience over the past months," said Mr.. Coates, "have been most gratifying. They show what can be done. In all, some 750 families have actually been placed on the land, or are in the course of taking up their sections. All, or practically all,-of these had little or no capital; and yet, with scarcely an exception, the.'reports show that they are doing well and are completely, satisfied. The "experience to date certainly shows the possibility of settling families on more limited areas of land than is widely supposed to bo the necessary minimum, area of,, some hundreds of acres. . "It is well understood by those who go on the land under the Small Farm Plan, and by the ■ country generally, that this plan is distinct and different from land . settlement as ordinarily understood. Tho emphasis is on assisting the unemployed who are anxious to make a start on the land. They do not expect to start at once in a large way. They regard it as a real step forward if, instead of the uncertainty and , tho disheartening .conditions that go with unemployment, they and their families are given direct access to the land, even in a modest area, and their children have a healthier and happier environment. They can soon raise a part, and an increasing part, of their requirements from the land. They feel-that their feet are firmly placed on the road to independence." ' ' .■-■.:. The' Minister paid a tribute to all who had- contributed towards bringing tho plan to its-present stage, and. especially to the various officials of tho Department of Agriculture,, and in particular Mr. A. H. Cockayne, who had acted up to the present as chief executive officer of the scheme. USING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE. "The intention is to make full use of the machinery that has been built up, and to imprpye on it, "he added. " The Government will look to the local committees that aro already functioning; and where their members are interested and ready to continue, we will be anxious to take advantage of their iocal knowledge as tho basis of,tho extension of the plan.. "Personally, I. attach the greatest importance to keeping local, practical farmers in the closest touch with all that'we are doing, in placing new settlers on the land. The placing of suitabla families on the land, under the Small Farm Plan, is a main item in the Government's attack on unemployment. ,It is a policy which will bring new hope to the families so placed.. It will assist those who are already on the land, particularly those —and they, are many—who are today burdened with more laud than they can effectively handle. It will bo of service to the Dominion as a whole in putting us in. a stronger position, to cope with the depression; and when better times return . our country will show the advantage of the healthier distribution of its population. DEPRESSED MARKETS. "It happens that at tho moment the markets for most of our 'products are in a depressed and unsettled state; But these discouraging conditions will not last. .Despite all the talk and the fears of- 'surpluses' and so-called • overproduction, it is clear that the people of the world stand in need of more of the products than wo can supply. Dislocation of trade, the failure in. buyingability where needs are pressing, stand in the way of the proper utilisation of foodstuffs and other supplies. This cannot be other than a temporary condition. "Out of the difficulties and the necessities of today, ways and means will be found for putting into good use the commodities which we can produce and which the world requires. Prices canuot and will not remain at the present low and unrcmunerative levels. "There is in the' present marketing situation, disheartening though it is at the moment, no reason for our slackening in the proper development of our country's resources, and if due appreciation is given to the factor of cost of establishing men on tho land, no time could be more opportune than the present. ACQUISITION OF LAND. "The Lands. Department will be directly responsible in tho acquisition and disposal of land; offers of land; may be made to the Lands Department, thie Commissioners of Crown Lands, and the Department's fields officers, as well as to tho Department of Agriculture, whose officers will continue to be associated with tho Small Farm Plan. Applications by registered unemployed persons who are desirous of taking aclvantago of the Small Farm Plan are to bo addressed, as hitherto, to the officer in charge of the Labour Department, or the certifying officer under the Unemployment Board. Applications that have already been sent in will bo properly recorded, and do not require to be renewed." : In'commenting on the extension of the Small Farm Plan, Mr. Coates said he acknowledged particularly the loyal co-operation which he had received from- his colleagues in the Ministry in applying the then untried experiment. "Had it not been for my taking over more and new.portfolios I would have continued personally to direct the administration of the Small Farm Plan," he said. "All the same, I will be close- J ly associated with my colleagues, and I know nothing else that offers so much promise, both in meeting immediate needs and yi laying a foundation for the future."

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