MACHINERY POOL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 2, 7 March 1947, Page 6

MACHINERY POOL

ORIGINATED IN PERU To speed up food production, Agriculture Minister Luis Rose Ugarte, is working on plans for the setting up of a system of machinery “pools” throughout principal farming areas of Peru. Modelled on a pool that has been working successfully for some time in Haucho, Peru, the plan would enable groups of neighbouring farmers to purchase needed machinery for joint use. Latin American farmers long have been interested in increasing the efficiency of their operations through the use of North American equipment, but have found it difficult to pay for it on an individual basis, with prices boosted by freight charges and unfavourable exchange rates.

The pool idea was developed by the joint Peruvian-United States In-ter-American Co-operative Food Production Service, to which the Institute of Inter-American Affairs has assigned a party of agricultural technicians.

The need of Peru to step up its production of foodstuffs for local use has been underlined by the current world food shortage, which resulted in the cutting of normal United States exports of wheat to the neighbour nation.

Emergency measures to insure the best possible distribution of scanty wheat supplies were taken by the Government, but the serious situation also called attention to the need for increasing the nation’s production of basic foodstuffs.