INCREASED FOOD SECURITY FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISCUSSED IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE

25 October 1996

Press Release
GA/EF/2734

INCREASED FOOD SECURITY FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISCUSSED IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE

19961025 Remove Debt Burden, Discriminating Trade Practices, Says Costa Rica; Committee Takes Up Industrial Development, Food and Sustainable Agriculture

To help developing countries achieve food security, the international community should alleviate their debt burdens, increase capital flows and remove discriminatory trade practices against them, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was told this afternoon, as it began consideration of two sectoral policy questions -- industrial development cooperation and food and sustainable agricultural development.

The representative of Costa Rica, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that increasing food aid was important and it should be made compatible with the needs and priorities of recipient developing countries. The practice of using food aid to exert political pressure should be resolutely opposed, she said.

The representative of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said the existence of human rights, stable democratic political conditions and good governance were necessary to create an environment that attracted investment and improved food security. She stressed the importance of establishing institutions and regulatory frameworks, as well as active population and sound environmental policies.

The representative of Ghana stressed that, in line with the objectives of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa, the international community should strengthen industrial development cooperation with Africa. Such cooperation could be strengthened in the areas of industrial policy, investment, technology transfer, institutional and human resource development and small- and medium-scale industrial development.

The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Mauricio de Maria y Campos, told the Committee that within a short span of three years, his organization had refined the main focus of its work, restructured its organization, reduced its budget by more than 25 per cent and its staff by almost 40 per cent. Moreover, it had streamlined its service delivery processes and its administrative procedures.

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Statements were also made by the representatives of the Russian Federation, Bolivia (on behalf of the Rio Group), Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, India, Kenya, Colombia, Thailand, Norway, Iran, Philippines and Canada. The Committee also heard a statement from an observer of the Holy See. Representatives of the Food and Agricultural Organization, the World Bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) also spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Monday, 28 October, to continue its deliberations.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to begin its consideration of two sectoral policy questions: industrial development cooperation; and food and sustainable agricultural development.

The Secretary-General's report on industrial development cooperation (document A/51/340) states that such cooperation remains an essential dimension of the overall development process. Although with industrialization and growth of trade and investment flows some parts of the world have made significant progress, major challenges remain. Even as industrialization was increasingly market driven, governments continued to have a decisive role in furthering sustainable industrial development.

The report says that efforts were required to: overcome market deficiencies; create and upgrade institutions; augment the supply of skilled labour; and support policy-making to promote internationally competitive industries, technological development and the necessary infrastructure.

Despite setbacks, developing countries as a group have increased their share of global industrial production and trade, according to the report. The developing country share of world manufacturing value added rose from under 12 per cent in 1960 to 19.7 per cent in 1995 and was projected to rise to 29 per cent in the year 2005. Similarly, the developing country share of world manufacturing exports rose from 13 per cent in 1960 to 22.6 per cent in 1995 and is projected to reach 26.5 per cent by 1999.

However, the aggregate figures hid disparities, the report says. In 1980, Africa's share of global manufacturing value added stood at 0.85 per cent, but by 1995, it had fallen to 0.74 per cent. South and east Asia accounted for almost half of the manufacturing value added created in the developing countries. Furthermore, in 1993, a mere 10 countries received almost 80 per cent of the foreign direct investment in the developing world.

Much of sub-Saharan Africa continues to suffer form severe shortages of technical, managerial and entrepreneurial skills, acute infrastructure bottlenecks, weak institutions, limitations in capacity to import and dependence on exports of a few primary commodities, the report states. In Latin America, manufacturing value added shrunk by 0.8 per cent in 1995, compared with a modest growth of 6 per cent in 1994. In western Asia, manufacturing value added recovered from 1994, growing rapidly in 1995 despite weaker oil prices. In south Asia, manufacturing value added remained strong, with an average rate in excess of 7.5 per cent. Challenges for the region included rising inflationary pressures, infrastructure bottlenecks and current account deficits.

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A driving force for world manufacturing value added growth in 1995 continued to come from east and south-east Asia, the report says. That region, including China, accounted for slightly more than half the manufacturing value added of developing countries. It also drew major foreign direct investment. Overall, economies in transition managed to reduce declines in manufacturing value added from -8.8 per cent in 1994 to -4.1 per cent in 1995.

The report says that the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) work programme to support industrial development focuses on geographical, sectoral and thematic dimensions. Under its geographical dimension, it is focused on low-income developing countries, in particular Africa. Its sectoral dimension has identified 32 industrial subsectors to which it would accord high priority, with emphasis on subsectors related to agriculture and basic industrial needs.

The seven thematic priorities for the Organization are: policies for global economic integration; environment and energy; small and medium enterprises; international competitiveness; industrial information; investment and technology promotion; rural industrial development; and linking industry with agriculture in Africa and the least developed countries. The private sector, which in 1992 represented 25 per cent of UNIDO's counterparts in technical cooperation, now represents more than 50 per cent. At the same time, 80 per cent of its project beneficiaries were in the private sector.

Also before the Committee was the Secretary-General's report on food and agricultural development (document A/51/431) which concerns the use of freshwater resources for food and agricultural production and the effect of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations on food production.

The report states that at its twenty-eighth session, in October 1995, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had called for the convening of a World Food Summit at the level of heads of State or government in Rome in November. The Summit's objective is to renew commitment to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition and the achievement of lasting food security for all. Water management is one of the important issues to be discussed.

Population growth, migration and urbanization will continue to have a significant impact on all aspects of development, including the demand for food, the report says. Water policies that led to past misallocations and wastage need to be continually reviewed and their implementation supported by an enabling environment, with adequately enforced laws. To that end, the FAO has established a major programme, entitled "Water-use efficiency", which focuses on the improvement of water management on farms, improvement of irrigation scheme management, dissemination of intermediate water development techniques and support to member nations.

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The section of the report devoted to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture which was signed at Marrakesh in April 1994 focuses on the implications of the reform of world agricultural trade for the development of global food production, agro-industrial products and international markets for agricultural and tropical products.

The report gives a brief overview of the main elements of the Agreement on Agriculture, including a table summarizing the main provisions and how they apply to developed and developing countries, and then discusses the likely effects of the Agreement on such things as: global production of and trade in food and agricultural products; global food security; and the income and food import bills of developing countries.

In the area of global production a number of outcomes are suggested, the report states. First, world prices for agricultural commodities, especially temperate zone products, will increase, although it is unclear by how much. Second, the Agreement will not by itself raise the volume of trade significantly. Third, there will be a shift in production from subsidized production to competitive production, from which developing countries could benefit. Fourth, gains will be initially concentrated in those countries that have the capacity to respond. Taking these effects into account, the net trade gains in the agricultural sector of some of the economically weaker developing countries are likely to be very small or even negative, the report says.

As for food security, the reports says that in general, developing countries should benefit from the Uruguay Round. Provided domestic policies are in place to spread around the gains and compensate the losers, trade liberalization can contribute to improving food security. The difficulties that developing countries might face during the reform process have been recognized. Those countries were provided with special and differential treatment, mainly in the form of longer periods to adjust. Where countries experience difficulties during the reform process, the provisions of the Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries, also part of the Uruguay Round, could provide a safety net, the report states.

The promise of that decision, the report explains, is that if food import prices rise because of the Uruguay Round, net food-importing developing countries and the least developed countries could be eligible for increased food aid, financial support to maintain normal food imports, technical support to raise agricultural productivity and eventually favourable treatment on agricultural export credits. The report also summarizes some of the many implications of the Uruguay Round that will be addressed at the World Food Summit.

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Statements

MAURICIO DE MARIA Y CAMPOS, Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), introduced the Secretary- General's report on industrial development cooperation (document A/51/340). As the United Nations agency devoted to promotion of industrial development, UNIDO had a particular responsibility in dealing with the challenges and priority issues of industrial development cooperation. With the aim of enhancing its capacity, it had embarked on a far-reaching programme of reform and renewal. Within a short span of three years, it had refined the main focus of its work, restructured its organization, reduced its budget by more than 25 per cent and its staff by almost 40 per cent. Moreover, it had streamlined its service delivery processes and its administrative procedures.

The UNIDO now had a more sharply defined focus, he said. Its work programme was geared towards building up the industrial productive capacity of the least developed countries, particularly those in Africa. Operationally, UNIDO's focus was manifested in thematic priorities that included: policies, strategies and institution-building for global economic integration; innovation, productivity and quality for competitiveness; industrial information, investment and technology promotion; human resources development with special attention to the integration of women in industrial development; rural industrial development; and industry-related environment and energy issues.

He said UNIDO was also sharpening the focus of its programmes of cooperation with rapidly developing regions and sub-regions. The high priority that UNIDO attached to Africa had led it to initiate the launching of the Alliance for Africa's Industrialization in close cooperation with African governments. Launched two days ago in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivorie, the Alliance aimed to accelerate Africa's industrialization through capacity-building and partnerships between governments and private industry at the national, regional and international levels. At the core of the Alliance was African ownership of the initiative and the mobilization of Africa's own resources, savings and investments. If the slogan of developing countries in the sixties had been "trade not aid", today that slogan could be transformed to "investment and partnerships, rather than aid".

KHALIL RAHMAN, Senior Economist, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), introduced the Secretary-General's report on food and sustainable agricultural development (document A/51/431).

ANA TERESA DENGO (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the primary responsibility for development rested with developing countries themselves, but the international community also had a crucial role in redressing disparities by fostering an

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economic environment conducive to sustainable development in the third world. By strengthening their industrial base, developing countries could export higher value manufactured goods, reduce their dependence on commodity exports and achieve improved international competitiveness.

She said that the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China, at a meeting in New York on 27 September, had adopted a declaration reaffirming the continued urgency to promote industrialization as a dynamic instrument essential to the rapid economic and social development of developing countries. They noted that the role of UNIDO had assumed greater relevance and importance. The Group supported the emphasis placed by UNIDO on the least developed countries, particularly those in Africa, and looked forward to the successful implementation of its integrated programmes.

Speaking on food security issues, she said the international community should help the developing countries achieve food security by alleviating their debt burden, increasing capital flows, especially official development assistance, and remove discriminatory trade practices against developing countries. She welcomed the FAO sponsored World Food Summit to be held in Rome in November and noted that the meeting was expected to lead to the adoption of policies and strategies. Increasing food aid was important. It should be made compatible with the needs and priorities of the recipient developing countries and without conditions. She said the practice of using food aid to exert political pressure or as sanctions should be resolutely opposed.

HELEN BROWNE (Ireland), speaking for the European Union and its associated States -- Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia -- said food security was essential if the vicious cycle of poverty and malnutrition was to be broken. The World Food Summit was an important and timely recognition of the multifaceted nature of food security and of the need to encourage cooperation at the international level to support government efforts. Governments had the responsibility to promote food security and to follow development policies that promoted an equitable distribution of income and food entitlements. Domestic food and agricultural sectors needed to be promoted through macroeconomic and sectoral policies which enhanced respect for the environment. Governments also had a crucial role to play in creating an enabling environment for the development of those sectors.

She said respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, stable democratic political conditions, good governance, appropriate institutions and regulatory frameworks, active population policies, sound environmental policies and the provision of basic infrastructure were essential to the achievement of the environment necessary for improving food security and attracting investment. She stressed the central role of women in food

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production and marketing and in related decision-making and underlined the importance of removing discriminatory practices against girls in food allocation and nutrition.

She said the European Union recognized the importance of food and agricultural trade policies and the need to implement the Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on the Least Developed Countries and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries. She said governments and civil society would need to work together in monitoring the implementation of commitments undertaken at the World Food Summit, as would the United Nations system.

VASSILY NEBENZYA (Russian Federation) said UNIDO should be the central organ of the United Nations for industrial development cooperation. Moreover, it should increase contact with the Commission on Sustainable Development on environmentally sound technology. He stressed that the reality of ongoing reform within UNIDO and the transparency of that reform were important to its effectiveness. He also welcomed the inclusion of the transitional countries in UNIDO's focus, which would strengthen development and cooperation with those countries.

A positive assessment should also be given to UNIDO's investment promotion efforts in countries in transition, he continued. An effective solution to the problem of lack of food and sustainable agricultural development could only follow from stability and sustainable development. So far, the efforts of governments and international agencies had proved inadequate in checking the spread of hunger around the world. It was timely, therefore, to hold the World Food Summit in Rome this year. The Summit should identify the ways and means to deal with the primary reasons for hunger, but it should not play the role of an agency or new international machinery. Today, 12 eastern European countries were among those that suffered from food insecurity. Also, the transit countries were entitled to expect special measures to promote food and agricultural development and he hoped that the Summit would address that subject.

GUSTAJO PEDRAZA (Bolivia), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela), said that policies and actions required to tackle problems of food insecurity had been discussed at a recent regional conference. The forthcoming World Food Summit marked the first time that heads of State would gather to reaffirm the need to eradicate poverty and the need for food security. The Rio Group attached great importance to the Summit and hoped that consensus would be achieved on a programme of action.

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Continuing, he said national governments should undertake a decisive role to foster industrial development. The Latin America and Caribbean region had recently seen a decline in manufacturing value added. He stressed the particular relevance of UNIDO in the industrialization of developing countries and welcomed reforms it had undertaken. It was time the international community recognized its important role.

M. AMINUL ISLAM (Bangladesh) said that despite the rapid progress of trade, technology and industry, 800 million people in the developing world remained chronically undernourished. More than 80 countries failed to produce enough food for their peoples, and some even failed to import sufficient quantities to meet the short-fall. Bangladesh was one of the countries that spent heavily on the import of food grains. That huge expenditure exerted heavy pressure on its foreign exchange reserves and diverted scarce resources from vital development projects, including those aimed at increasing the production of food grains.

The solution to that problem lay in breaking the vicious circle by enabling the countries concerned to buy their food without having to divert resources from development projects, he said. The concept of sustainability demanded an objective understanding of the situation in North and South, since their resource endowments and consumption and production patterns were different.

THANE MYINT (Myanmar) said that through the 1980s, his country's population multiplied and production had not increased accordingly. Thus, its agro-export, especially of rice, had started to decline. Meeting the increasing consumption demands and generating income from exports became a primary concern. The fall of global prices for agricultural exports in that period also aggravated matters.

To reverse that downward trend, his country had established policies to boost agricultural production, he said. While continued priority was given for the expansion of rice cultivation, the country had also undertaken measures to diversify crops and increase production of oil seed crops, industrial raw materials and beans and pulses. The programmes of agronomic reform had included: expansion of cultivated areas; provision of sufficient and sustainable water supply; encouragement of the mechanization of agriculture; and adoption of improved agro-practices and utilization of quality seeds.

Implementing appropriate national policies had placed his country on a sustained growth trend, he said. Global food security, sustainable productive agriculture and the alleviation and subsequent eradication of poverty required the urgent and full implementation of the agreements contained in the Uruguay Round.

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SHIGEAKI TOMITA, of the Economic Policy and Resource Strategy Department, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said the organization believed that reducing rural poverty was critical to ensuring sustainable human development. The rural poor should not be viewed as a burden to national economies, but as potential contributors. Given the right tools, public infrastructure and access to credit and training, their productive capacity could be harnessed. Providing rural financial services to smallholders, rural women, village artisans, traditional fishermen and other target groups was perhaps one of the most effective ways to increase self- reliance, economic well-being and nutritional standards among the rural poor.

The IFAD had joined with the World Bank and a number of bilateral donors in the consultative group on assisting the poorest to distil the lessons of micro-finance programmes and replicate them as widely as possible, he said. It was also working closely with non-governmental organizations and other civil society institutions to more effectively tap into the large potential that micro-credit offered to the poor. He said a popular coalition to implement an action programme to combat hunger and poverty was established at a conference convened last November in Brussels by the IFAD.

He said a special and coordinated strategy was needed to avert a monumental human and environmental calamity of food deprivation, and overuse of fragile land, water and forest resources. Sufficient food supply alone could not, however, solve the problem of rural poverty and hunger. Access to food for poor rural households was crucial. The investment projects of IFAD increasingly addressed poverty and food security in an integrated manner, he said.

YU QINGTAI (China) said UNIDO was the central coordinating agency in the area of industrial development cooperation. Reforms within that organization had been carried out in the past few years, and it was hoped that UNIDO would continue those reforms to enhance its effectiveness. Such reforms within the organization should get the full support of Member States.

He expressed concern that the present level of food production per capita was lower than the 1980s. That had gravely affected the least developed countries. A solution to the problem of food security required that developed countries correct the trend towards declining food aid. The Uruguay Round had negatively impacted the food security situation of developing countries. The holding of the World Food Summit was important. China hoped that the Summit would provide an action-oriented document to settle the problem of world food security. It was noteworthy that China had successfully achieved food security for 1.2 billion people. It had fed 22 per cent of the world population on 7 per cent of the world's arable land. That success of Chinese agriculture was also a contribution to world food security.

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RENUKA CHOWDHARY (India) said the pace and quality of industrialization had become an increasingly important issue in today's world, when attempts were made to shift attention from international development cooperation and towards private capital flows and the market mechanism. The Secretary- General's report indicated that while private flows had increased significantly, they still continued to be concentrated in a few countries and sectors. It had also highlighted that in Africa there had been an actual decline in the share in manufacturing value added.

She believed that UNIDO, since its inception, had played an important role in promoting and accelerating the industrialization process in developing countries. She also welcomed the structural changes that had been carried out in UNIDO over the past few years. The UNIDO's capacity for assisting developing countries now needed to be further strengthened. Moreover, its unique role and identity needed to be preserved.

NJUGUNA M. MAHUGU (Kenya) said his country supported efforts towards industrial development cooperation and encouraged South-South cooperation at the level of intergovernmental and private sector/entrepreneurial groupings. He recognized UNIDO's efforts in promoting small- and medium-term enterprises and urged enhanced networking through national and regional sub-contracting schemes, under the aegis of UNIDO's investment promotion programme.

He hoped the outcome of the World Food Summit would receive the international community's support. Also, he welcomed the renewed focus on the use of freshwater resources for food and agricultural production and the analysis of the impact of the Uruguay Round on food production, including agro-industrial products and global food security in developing countries. He called for the exploration of new avenues to expand production on irrigated and rain-fed lands, incorporating water and conservation measures. He also called for enhanced technical support to enable developing countries to incorporate new irrigation methods and water harvesting techniques in their agricultural activities.

JAIRO MONTOYA (Colombia) said that food security was clearly linked with poverty eradication. While global food production was more than abundant, food deficits persisted. Clearly, the key issue was not supply, but access to food. Access to adequate and safe food was a component of the fundamental human right to an adequate standard of living. It should not be linked with participation in global markets that excluded those lacking adequate purchasing power.

He said developing countries with food deficits should be assisted to become better equipped in the global market. The current decline in cereal stocks would lead to higher prices, as well as reductions in food aid. Meanwhile, some multilateral institutions encouraged poor nations to grow cash

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crops to produce the dollars needed to repay foreign debt, while at the same time importing food. Food security could not be achieved using such strategies.

The World Food Summit should not be limited to an education campaign, he said. The Summit should incorporate clear and effective commitments from the international community into a policy designed to achieve: food security; access to food; humanitarian assistance; sustainable agricultural production; trade in accordance with food security objectives; and investment in human resources. Food aid should be an essential instrument of development policy, affecting the production and commercial structure of recipient countries. South-South cooperation should be fostered, and food production in developing countries increased. The eradication of hunger depended on political will at the international level.

MESSIE Y. AMOAH (Ghana) said that to arrest the further marginalization of African countries, industrialization should be promoted as a key element in their development. In line with the objectives of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa, the international community and the United Nations system should strengthen industrial development cooperation with Africa in the areas of industrial policy, investment, technology transfer, institutional and human resource development and small- and medium-scale industry development. Support was also required to promote regional and sub- regional cooperation as a practical means of enlarging markets and establishing multinational projects. She hoped adequate support would be extended to developing countries for the removal of structural deficiencies that impeded the transformation of their industrial sectors and in creating the conditions for sustainable, self-reliant industrialization.

She said the forthcoming World Food Summit should focus on how hunger and malnutrition could be eliminated and food security provided for all. It should also address such issues as capacity-building, human resource development and the transfer of appropriate technology in agriculture, as well as the development of endogenous capacity in agricultural research and sustainable food production. Equally important was the adoption of relevant policies to strengthen the contribution of small farmers, local and indigenous communities in food production. Finally, the Summit should adopt an effective follow-up mechanism to ensure the implementation of commitments.

RENATO R. MARTINO, Observer of the Holy See, said the right to food was one of the most important human rights. He hoped the right to food would be once more enshrined in the document to be approved by the World Food Summit.

The international community and national governments were obligated to see that every person had sufficient food, he continued. Solutions bringing only temporary or occasional relief to hunger were not satisfactory. Nobody

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was exempt from the duty of providing immediate aid, particularly when food- producing countries had an abundance of goods at their disposal. Food security must be based on universal solidarity and should include such components as the continuous and stable production of sufficient amounts of food, proper and equitable distribution, and a commitment to a healthy diet in keeping with local nutritional practices.

He said that true agrarian reform, including a more equitable distribution of land, was necessary for any solution to the problem of food scarcity. Women must have access to land. Proper training and education should be provided, particularly to small farmers, in order to maximize the effects of labour. Training should stress sustainable agricultural practices suited to local realities and cultures. High-yield crops should be developed and made available in areas where food production was deficient. Economic policies that led to the inadequate distribution of existing food, which was sufficient to feed the world's population, could not continue.

Wars brought about poverty and famine by forcing large-scale displacement and by rendering land unsafe for food production, he said. He wished to stress the need for the cessation of all aspects of land-mine production and use. Economic policies could not be separated from ethical considerations. Pope John Paul II had recently stated that "technical solutions, however elaborate, are not effective if they lack the necessary reference to the central importance of the human person" and had called for "action aimed at promoting a life consistent with the demands of human dignity".

THAKUR PHANIT (Thailand) said that industrial development was a vital engine of economic and social progress. He agreed with the view expressed by UNIDO that the eradication of poverty must build on long-term industrial development, which raised incomes, created employment and provided resources for investment in social development. International cooperation was vital to achieving industrial development. As such, emphasis should be placed on African countries, which lagged behind the other regions.

He strongly believed that promoting small- and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas could facilitate poverty alleviation and equitable development. The expertise of UNIDO could help ensure sustainable development for developing countries by fulfilling the particular objectives of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). His country was currently designing a pilot plan for the production of iodized soybean oil, aimed at reducing the number of people suffering from iodine deficiency disorders. His country's cooperation with UNIDO was not confined to the domestic arena. It had assisted in the industrial education and training of its immediate neighbours, and was considering contributing $100,000 to UNIDO's Industrial Development Fund.

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FREDERICK H. WEIBGEN, of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that, for more than 50 years the FAO had been at the forefront of promoting agricultural and rural development as a means of achieving food security for all. In order to meet the needs of rapidly expanding populations, agricultural production and productivity needed to be increased. The use of natural resources should be more efficient, rather than more extensive. Agriculture and rural development must be pursued in a sustainable manner.

He said the FAO's global information and early warning system continuously monitored food supply and demand conditions, and made it possible to prevent famine through timely interventions. More than 800 million people were undernourished at present. If trends continued, the number would only be reduced to 680 million by the year 2010. Food insecurity remained the world's greatest contemporary problem. Technical and financial constraints to the goal of food security could be overcome through strong and concerted policy commitment at the national and international level. The FAO viewed the World Food Summit as a synthesis of past initiatives, the implementation of which could "contribute to overcome the scourge of hunger and malnutrition".

SVEIN AASS (Norway) said that the plan of action approved next month at the World Food Summit must be a long-term action plan that reflected all the various environmental, economic, social and political aspects of food security. Moreover, it was crucial that the Summit build upon and reinforce the commitments already made in the area of food security.

Food insecurity and malnutrition problems were immense and urgent challenges to the world community, he said. More equal distribution of resources among citizens was the responsibility of all national governments. The poorest segments of the rural population must be given increased access to land, technology and credit. Agricultural education and the development of human resources, particularly for girls and women, needed to be emphasized. Also important was the utilization and conservation of living aquatic resources.

For a number of years his Government had made great efforts to establish joint management regimes to protect marine resources and promote their long- term sustainability, he said. For two decades, it had supported a number of developing countries in marine research and fisheries management. Also, the role of women in achieving food security could not be overestimated. The implementation of plans to increase food production must not undermine the health and well-being of women nor their critical contribution to ensuring adequate child nutrition.

Reducing poverty was still the main task that lay ahead, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, he said. Combatting poverty required an increased

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investment in agriculture, which held the greatest unexplored potential for increased employment and income for the rural poor. Food security -- linked to a sustainable system of production and distribution -- needed to be stressed not only at national and global levels, but at household and local levels as well.

JUDY GRAYSON, of the World Bank, said the Bank's Board of Directors had yesterday been presented with an action plan to provide a new and dynamic framework for future Bank activity in rural development. Its key recommendations were that the Bank needed a broad rural focus and should abandon the narrow sectoral focus of the past. Also, the Bank should work with partner countries and the broader international community to integrate rural concerns in overall country development strategies. Other recommendations were that the entire World Bank Group should address long- ignored issues, such as land reform and increased commitment to food consumption policy. The Bank should also recognize gender questions and involve those with a stake in projects in their development and execution.

She also said that the plan focused on developing the country assistance strategies to recapture a renewed country and World Bank commitment to rural and agricultural growth. The strategies should be well-defined and treat agriculture and the total rural economy comprehensively. At the international level, the plan called for world-wide liberalization of agricultural trade to ensure, among others, access to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) markets for agricultural and agro-industrial products. She said the Bank's objectives of poverty reduction, widely shared growth, food security and sustainable natural resource management could not be met unless rural development in general, and a thriving agricultural economy in particular, were nurtured and improved.

MOHAMMAD A. ZARI ZARE (Iran) said that although the developing countries as a group had increased their share in global industrial production and trade, the aggregate figures did not show the enormous disparities that still existed. In fact, Asian newly industrialized countries contributed about 60 per cent of the total manufactured exports of the developing countries. Moreover, there was a huge gap between developed and developing countries regarding their industrial and manufacturing products. It was imperative to narrow that gap by providing a fair share of exports and market access for developing countries.

Speaking on UNIDO, he said it should intensify its efforts to strengthen South-South cooperation, as a complement to North-South cooperation. He also stressed the need for mobilization of sufficient resources at different levels to support productive agriculture and food security. In the management of water resources, regional cooperation was important. The World Bank and related organizations and bodies of the United Nations system should increase

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their collaboration at the regional level to address the problem of freshwater scarcity, especially in the arid and semi-arid Middle East.

MIGUEL ROMERO (Philippines) said that underpinning its industrialization efforts, his country had emphasized strategies that included poverty alleviation, employment generation, small- and medium-scale enterprise promotion, and technology transfers.

In the face of the turnaround in the Philippine economy, he expressed appreciation for the support of the United Nations system, in particular of UNIDO, in promoting industrialization as a key element in the development process. In view of an increasing demand for UNIDO services, he expressed serious concern over the withdrawal of the United States from that body.

He affirmed the crucial role of the international community in ensuring the increase of food production and improving access to food. His Government had undertaken a number of measures that underscored the importance it accorded to the issue. Those included an increased budget for agricultural research and development, the promotion of farmers' cooperatives in the rice and corn stabilization programme, and expanded training and retraining opportunities for agriculture and fishery workers.

The attainment of food security could not be left to global market forces alone, he said. Its social development aspects merited the support and cooperation of the international community. Another matter that deserved further consideration was that of farmers' rights and the rights of local and indigenous communities to land.

ROSS HYNES (Canada) said that in today's world, in which 800 million people suffered from hunger and malnutrition, there was but one overriding objective for any action plan -- universal food security. The World Food Summit must strike a balance between issues of food access and sustainable production.

The availability of food was not enough, he said. The economic, political and social conditions necessary to reduce poverty must be created. Further, measures should be undertaken to strengthen the critical role of women farmers in food security. Protecting traditional food sources for indigenous people was critical, as was an open and well-functioning multilateral trade system. Regarding trade reform, Canada was opposed to export taxes and restrictions that limited the supply of agricultural products on world markets.

Second Committee - 16 - Press Release GA/EF/2734 16th Meeting (PM) 25 October 1996

Exchange of Views

Responding to concerns raised during the Committee's discussion, Mr. RAHMAN, Senior Economist, UNCTAD, said a concern had been raised in the Uruguay Round that liberalization might lead to higher food prices. If such a situation did indeed occur, both the least developed countries and developing countries with food shortages would be eligible for food aid.

MAURICIO de MARIA Y CAMPOS, Director-General of UNIDO, said his organization would continue to inform Member States about its reform and how the resources freed as a result of reform were being used. Speaking on sustainable development, he said UNIDO was assisting developing countries and countries in transition to transform technology. They were being assisted in using technology that would avoid harming the ozone layer. In the area of investment promotion, UNIDO was committed to balanced regional development. It was also helping African States with their industrial development programmes.

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