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1946 NEW ZEALAND

THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND REPRESENTATIVE ON THE SPECIAL MEETING ON URGENT FOOD PROBLEMS, HELD AT WASHINGTON, 20-27 MAY, 1946

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave

New Zealand Legation, "Washington, 8 D.C., 14th June, 1946. The Right Hon. the Minister of External Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand. Sir,— . , I have the honour to append hereto a report on the special meeting on urgent food problems, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and held in Washington, 20-27 May 1946. This Conference was the outcome of discussions in the United Nations Assembly in London, where a resolution was unanimously passed requesting international organizations concerned with food and agriculture to intensify efforts to obtain as full information as possible on the-world food position and' the future prospects in order to assist Governments in determining their short- and long-term policy. It was suggested that the initiative in this task should be taken by.the Food and Agriculture Organization. When this special meeting was first proposed it was contemplated that it should be confined to a few specially selected countries, among whom it was not contemplated that New Zealand should be included. After this Legation had reported to you on this aspect of the matter, your desire for representation was conveyed to the Director-General of FAO and we were accordingly extended a formal invitation on 15 May. I should add that similar action was taken by a number of other countries and the final membership was very much larger than originally proposed. The following countries were ultimately represented at the Conference — namely, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, India' The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Siam, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and representatives were also appointed from the following organizations: UNRRA, United Nations, EECB, Combined Food Board, International Labour Office, and the International Bank. The New Zealand representation at the Conference was originally comprised of Sir Carl Berendsen and Mr. R. W. Marshall. Subsequently, Miss B. A. Foster, of the Legation staff, was added in a secretarial capacity, and when in the course of the Conference it developed that three separate and