THE COLOMBO PLAN

4. The present state of development in South and South-East Asia is probably as low as anywhere in the world. International comparisons are difficult and preclude precise conclusions, but it is possible to give a broad picture of the disparity between the national incomes of countries in the area and those of more advanced countries. From such information as is available, it appears that average national income per head in most of South and South-East Asia ranges around £2O, whereas in the United Kingdom it is over ten times as large, and in the United States it approaches £4OO. 5. By far the largest element of national income in South and South-East Asia is derived from agriculture, which in all the countries provides the livelihood for more than half, and in some for as much as 80 per cent., of the population. The heart of the problem is the under-employment which results from the pressure of population on the land. In Ceylon, for example, there are nearly 1,200 people who depend upon agriculture for every 1,000 acres of cultivated land. This contrasts with about 60 in Great Britain. 6. What this difference means in terms of output can be illustrated by a comparison between India, with 306 million acres under cultivation, and the United States with 360 million. In India there are 73 million agricultural workers of all kinds, while in the United States only 8 million are actively occupied on the land. In spite of the much more intense application of manpower, agricultural yields per acre are far below those in the United States ; for instance, the yield of wheat is less than 600 lb. compared with over 1,000 lb., and the yield of cotton is only 66 lb. compared with 313 lb. This disparity cannot be explained simply by natural differences of soil fertility ; it is the application of capital which enables the farm worker in the United States to produce so much more than the peasant of South and South-East Asia. For example, in the United States there are over 2,400,000 tractors, whereas in India there are only 10,000. Again, the United States uses, on an area only one-sixth greater, over 13 million tons of fertiliser a year against some 200,000 tons used by India. 7. In communications, fuel and power, and industry the scope for development is illustrated by the comparative examples given in the following table: Table 3. —Levels of Economic Development in 1949: Comparative Indicators Unit United United per 'OOO India Pakistan Ceylon Malaya Kingdom States population (a) Electricity production ...'OOO kWh 13 1-9 9-6 117 1,033 2,296 Coal consumption tons 80 18 28 85 3,884 3,473 Petroleum consumption ... tons 7-8 11 23 99(b) 327 1,638 Steel consumption tons 3-8 1-3 6 16 194 364 Cement consumption ... tons 7-2 3-6 19 25 148 229 Locomotives nos.(c) 22 16 32 31 410 309 Carrying capacity of railway tons 10(d) 8-8 4-5 13 276 556 wagons Rail freight 'OOO 65 .. .. 32 446 4,568 ton miles Load-carrying road vehicles nos. 0-18 0-17 1-41 3 16 43 All-weather roads miles 0-32 0-1 0-87 0-93 3-7 2-2 Telephones nos. 0-37 0-21 2-2 7-7 98 261 (a) In most cases, figures refer to 1948. (b) Excluding Service supplies and bunkers. (c) Per million population. (d) Excludes 16,516 wagons for which no carrying capacity is recorded. 8. The scope and the need for development are great, but so also are the potentialities of the region's underdeveloped natural resources. In India it is estimated that improvements in agricultural practices and technique alone, through the use of better seeds and fertilisers and through irrigation works, could by 1956-57 secure increases over the current estimated levels of production of 8 per cent. (3,000,000 tons) in foodgrains, 30 per cent. (195,000

10