Future on Farming

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 204, 30 August 1938, Page 4

Future on Farming

ADJUSTMENT Or COSTS. “Any railing of the general level of coete in New Zealand must have the effect of driving second and third-class land out of production, thus decreasing tat) amount ox our exports," said Jlii. A. F. U 'tonet, Douuiuua Secretary ox tne isew neaianu Linion spooling to tuu x'auuiciston xNorin .notary ciuu yesteruay. 10 my nmiu taere r* o my out) soruuon of thus prouieiu. iMew xscaiana is to u great extern dtpenueut on ner 1 arming rnuustnes so tax as national production is concerned, and X would suggest tUat tlie only

solution oX tne prouieui is one wilicu recognises this lact. The primary industries ate tne basic industries, anu they snouid be txxe base on wflicu tue otner industries in xNew Zealand are founded.

As we are so dependent upon our primary industries, ana, therexore, so dependent on overseas markets, and as the prooability is tUat this state ox alxairs must continue lor a very long time, 1 would suumit that the tutiaiactoriiy solution irom a nutionux point oi view is to make our economy ut in with tne needs oX the basic industries. This is, tnat instead ox trying to insulate -New Zealand winch on the lace oi it is absurd, we should endeavour to make our economy as elastic and as responsible as possible to overseas influences. lou may say, that this would hate a disturbing eliect on Lusineas conditions in .New Zealand and that is quite correct. It would have a disturoing effect but 1 woulu submit that its effect would bo very much less disturbing than would periodic recurrences of readjustment which appear to bo inevitable, iX the present system continues to hold a place in the world’s markets New Zealand must aim at quality, and she must also aim at cneapnuss. “fcihe must be prepared tu iced the people oX the world better and cheaper than anyone else can do it. For, surely, it is a laudable desire to try to give the public cheap and wholesome food, in their*turu the public of New Zealand must be prepared to share with the :armor his period of adversity, and the tarmer must be prepared to share with the rest of New Zealand his periods ot prosperity. New Zealand must bo prepared to afford tho farmer and the rest of the community cheaper and cheaper costs, for it is only in this way that the products of science and invention and improvement in industry can be handeu on to the great mass of the people, lx people can obtain more with their wages then they are better off and no one can take that improvement away irom them. “If one looks at the great businesses of the world, one will see that they have prospered because they have given the people better and cheaper articles. 1 mention only two linns—the lord Motor Coy. and Boots Ltd. These businesses nave been built up on the idea of more and cheaper goods for the public and there is no suggestion oi their having sweated their employees to do it. Tne New Zealand tarmer has produced better goods all along the line but he has not produced more cheaply. He has not done this mainly xor the reason tnat New Zcaiaua lias been pursuing a policy which has not been in the interests of the farming community', nor in fact in the interests of the community as a whole. “The task before us in the future is to devise an economic system which will retain money wages as near as posable at their present level, but which will give people cheaper anu cheaper goods/' the speaker continued. “Thai is to say a policy which win make available to the people tho fruits of science and invention, it is no use thinking ot shorter hours until there is a sufficiency of commodities for everyone in the country. From time to time one nears references to “poverty in a land of plenty" or “the richest little country in the world." “In the January Abstract of Statistics the total value of production in New Zealand for 1936-37 is given as £136.1m. or £B6 per head, and it should be Kept in mind that nearly £l2£m. of

this was for building construction which would leave something under £BO per head of consumable goods available for distribution. Even granting that a large proportion of our population are children it should be manifest to anyone that this is a very small amount per capita, and it should also be evident that, if we desire & higher standard of living, it is absolutely essential that we produce more goods. We can do this by producing more and cheaper goods, that is by increasing our competitive power in the markets of the world and to do this it ia essential that we have low costs. There is no other way in which this can be done, it cannot be done by increasing the farmer’s costs without increasing his return, and it should be apparent to everyone that at the present time there is no incentive to the farmer to increase his production. “When the farmer’s production in-

creases his income should increase, and the income ot the rest of the community should increase, for the aggregate income is increased. What 1 suggest, therefore, is that tho wages of the rest of the community, and the Lasio rate of interest should be regulated so that they increase or decrease in accordance with tho fluctuations in the value of our exports. This is the only way in which we can keep our currency stable, and it is only by this metnod that we can keep the farming industry m a stable position. New Zealand by now should have learned the futility of high wages and short hour*, which have meant only more unemployment. There is work to be done on the farms, and if we can produce cheaply enough we can sell our produce. “The future of New Zealand is wrapped up in the future of our industries producing consumption goods,' concluded Mr. O'Shea, “and tho farming industries, as 1 have stated, supply €5 per cent, of our production. Unless we discover large supplies of oil or some other mineral, it would appear that this will be the case for a long time to come. New Zealand can progress only if her basic industries progress, but she will not progress if the economic policy of the country is designed to strangle them.’ 1