‘DISMAL FAILURE’ TO INCREASE OUTPUT OF FOOD

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 October 1948, Page 2

‘DISMAL FAILURE’ TO INCREASE OUTPUT OF FOOD

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 19. Opposition members were critical of the Government’s approach to increasing food bi/oduction when the Agriculture vote' was before the House of Representatives today. . Mr W. H. Gillespie (Opposition, Hurunui) said that since the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organisation so inany forms of food distribtion had been set up internationally and internally that necessary measures to increase food production seemed to have b'een lost sight of. Mr R. G. Gerard (Opposition, Ashburton, agreed and questioned whether the prolonged visit overseas to F.A.O. and other conferences by the Director-General of Agriculture (Mr E. G. Fawcett) would be of much benefit to the country. The outcome of F.A.O. conferences was that mahy committees had been set up and that was all there was to it. The Minister of Agriculture (Mr E. L. Cullen), replying, said that the Government considered it necessary that New Zealand should be represented at F.A.O. conferences. The Director of Agriculture would also attend a further conference in Washington. He would be accompanied on this occasion by Mr W. N. Perry, who had been selected by Federated Farmers. . Mr D. C. Kidd (Opposition, Waimate) said the Government “couldn’t run a lien farm let alone a country.” In Canterbury more crawler tractors were needed if more wheat Was to be grown. He knew one man who would grow another 100 acres of wheat if he could get a crawler tractor, but this man had been waiting three and a half years for one. Mr T. P. Shand (Opposition, Marlborough) said it was useless sending officers to international conferences when New Zealand had failed dismally to expand food production. New Zealand was succeeding in growing less and less wheat each year and pig meat production was declining every year because the Government would not allow the farmers a sufficient return and because the cost of supplementary foodstuffs was too high. Mr Cullen said the production of pig meats was one of the hardest tasks a farmer could undertake. The big was one of the most difficult animals to handle.

Mr R. M. Algie (Opposition, Remuera): And prices are low. Mr Cullen said the present prices for pig meat were quite good.