FOOD SUPPLIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25238, 29 May 1943, Page 5

FOOD SUPPLIES

, i PRODUCTION IN. AUSTRALIA (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent) (Rec. 11.45 p.m.) SYDNEY, May 28. Four major problems face Australia’s newly-appointed Food Controller, Mr J. F. Murphy, in the fulfilment of his pledge of “ample food for civilians, for the Australian and Allied fighting forces in the South-west Pacific, and the maintenance of our commitments to Britain.” These problems are:—(l) Lack of organisation. (2) Shortage .of manpower. (3) Shortage of fertilisers. (4) Shortage of agricultural machinery. Already orders have been placed in America for hundreds of new type agricultural machines, tit is hoped, too, that • some of Austria's implement factories which were swung over to munitions production in the crisis days may be transferred back to the production of agricultural machinery, which is being granted high war priority. . x It is hoped to overcome the shortage of man-power by the wider use of “ contract machinery.” Under this system, agricultural machinery too expensive for the average farmer will be mobilised in each district and let out to farmers under contract £O/ work to be done. ’About 50,000 men have been withdrawn from Australian primary production by the services and war industries. Mr Murphy expects to obtain the release of some of these men to relieve the man-power shortage, particularly in the hard-pressed dairy industry. Australia’s pre-war reserves of imported fertiliser is rapidly nearing exhaustion. Shipping to bring superphosphates from North Africa and nitrates from Chile is unlikely to be available. Fertiliser deposits within Australia will, however, be exploited.