STATE VEGETABLES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 82, 6 April 1944, Page 4

STATE VEGETABLES

SUPPLYING SERVICE NEEDS The primary object of the State in nroducing vegetables was to supply New Zealand and Allied services, stated an officer of the Department of Agriculture in a reference to the Makara-Hutt Valley Farmers' Union resolution urging the Government to cease vegetable production which it considered was being operated on uneconomic lines. He recalled the shortage in vegetables in 1940-41, when the requirements of the services created a difficult position in the civilian market both in price and supply. "To avoid a repetition of this, the Government decided to produce fresh vegetables for the Allied Fighting Services by establishing State gardens and to leave the commercial gardens to cater for civilian requirements," he said. "The scheme has worked very well, and despite the ever-increasing demand of the Armed Forces, both in this country and the Pacific area, the State has been able to fill very largely their requirements, while there have been ample supplies for the civilian market. "A definite undertaking has been given to the American authorities, and State gardens will require to be carried on to meet these obligations."