NO FEAR OF OVERPRODUCING FOOD: INCREASE NEEDED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 53, 14 February 1949, Page 5

NO FEAR OF OVERPRODUCING FOOD: INCREASE NEEDED

World population was increasing at the rate of 55,000 a day, said Mr W. N. Perry, Dominion President of Federated Farmers, when reporting to the Dominion Council of the Federation ■ last week on his visit overseas last year as a member of the New Zealand delegation to that conference. Provided, therefore, suitable economic arrangements could be made, there should be no fear of over-production of foodstuffs if adequate international arrangements were made for the distribution of food and for, the exl- - of production complementary to agriculture. A large increase in food production was needed throughout the world, particularly in deficit regions and in low income regions. But the problems were: How could some such areas pay for the food produced, and how could the trading arrangements of nations be improved so as to facilitate a larger and more regular flow of products at prices fair to producers and reasonable to consumers? Mr Perry reported that a subcommittee under the chairmanship of Mr E. V. Fawcett, Director-Gen-eral of Agriculture in New Zealand, was set up to report on those problems. It was subsequently decided that F.A.O. should pay particular attention to the need for inter-gov-ernmental consideration of action when commodity shortages or surpluses were anticipated. F.A.O. planned the promotion of a stable and expanding economy and it was agreed to encourage the continuation of multilateral negotiations on such commodities as wheat and sugar. The overall future of the world’s food position showed, said. Mr Perry, the world supply was catching up with world demand in certain products and in certain areas. There was, however, still a very considerable shortage and that made it ne 1 - cessary for F.A.O. to ensure intergovernmental action to deal with both surpluses an shortages. A statement presented to the conference by the Secretary- General of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, emphasised that farmers would not be satisfied until the various resolutions of F.A.O. and other bodies calling for increased food production were replaced by concrete arrangements to stabilise prices and assure markets for the increased production requested, said Mr Perry. Farmers wanted to see international commodity agreements given a fair trial. That seemed the best method of ensuring stability of prices and markets, a pre-requisite to . the maintenance of adequate production.