Reply to the 4th report on the activities of the World Food Programme of the United Nations-FAO
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 3141, report of the Committee on Agriculture. [2]. See Mr. McNamara's statement at the 3rd United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 14 April 1972, Santiago, Chile. [3]. See statement by Mr. Ertl at the FAO Conference in Rome, November 1971. Text adopted by the Standing Committee acting on behalf of the Assembly on 29 June 1972.
The Assembly,
1. Having taken note of the 4th progress report (
Doc. 3044) addressed to the Council of Europe by the World Food Programme (WFP) and of the report of its Committee on Agriculture in reply thereto (
Doc. 3141) ;
3. Noting with the President of the World Bank[2] that the process of development of the third world is less and less acceptable ;
4. Noting that the resources of the wealthy countries made available to developing countries fall far short of the targets set by the United Nations ;
5. Considering that food aid is particularly necessary to meet the urgent needs of the least-favoured populations of the third world ;
6. Desirous, like the German Minister for Agriculture,[3] for FAO to prepare an accurate balance-sheet of the world food situation ;
7. Regretting that in 1970-71 the contributions actually made to the World Food Programme were less than governments had originally promised and less than in previous years, particularly in regard to foodstuffs rich in protein, which have grown scarcer in relation to cereal products ;
8. Believing that everything must be done to ensure the steady pursuit of the activities of the World Food Programme ;
9. Considering that to attain that goal, the governments of member States might consider :
9.1 reducing the foodstuffs rich in protein fed to livestock ; or
9.2 arranging for mountain farmers faced with the prospect of leaving their farms to produce high-protein foodstuffs for developing countries, as this would have the additional advantage of helping to preserve the European landscape and might be regarded as a public service ;
10. Considering that Europe's food aid to poor countries might be increased if Europe's potential were fully exploited,
11. Instructs its members to take action in national parliaments and approach their governments to the end that :
11.1 the contributions promised by the various European governments are made and the targets set by the Intergovernmental Committee of the World Food Programme (WFP) really attained ;
11.2 contributions of foodstuffs rich in protein are increased ;
11.3 member States participate in the "Emergency Food Supply Scheme" (EFSS) ;
11.4 governments add to their aid in kind more generous financial contributions than in the past designed to :
11.4.1 enable WFP to buy agricultural produce from developing countries ;
11.4.2 enable WFP to pay for the transport, supply, stocking and distribution of available foodstuffs ;
11.4.3 train the local population for duties closely connected with the implementation of WFP projects.
