The Assembly,
Noting :
that the agricultural economies of the Mediterranean countries members of the Council of Europe closely resemble one another in farming structure, climate, nature of the soil and traditional farming methods;
that, owing to the density of the population, crops of these countries, frequently illsuited to the soil or climate, provide a poor standard of living for farming communities ;
that changes in method, organisation of markets, guidance of production, better planning of crops and stricter selection of varieties or seed would in a short time, as experiments have shown, have most beneficial effects on the economic development of these areas ;
that a great effort must be made to develop irrigation, improve soils, combat erosion and promote re-afforestation;
Believing :
that all member countries of the Council must work together to help these less favoured areas to raise their production to the level of that of the other countries of the European continent;
that one of the surest ways of promoting productivity in the Mediterranean areas of the member countries, harmonising, guiding and controlling production methods, obviating the accumulation of surplus stocks due to uniformity of crops and facilitating the disposal of standard products is to provide additional training for agricultural experts familiar with the general problem;
Considering :
that, to attain this end, it is advisable to set up and organise a centre or foundation which would take a limited number of graduates from leading agricultural colleges or particularly well qualified officials who, carefully chosen, would for a given period receive instruction designed to give them a general insight into the problem of the Mediterranean economy ;
that such an institution would undoubtedly contribute greatly to the development of a European outlook among the rural population who, through the agricultural experts - their regular advisers - would more readily become alive to the interdependence of the agricultural economies of the Mediterranean basin ;
that it is fitting for the Council of Europe, which is noted for its achievements in the university sphere, to do something for future agricultural teachers, whose influence extends over a large section of the population ;
that, while it is essential to continue to increase the technical assistance supplied to the Mediterranean areas by other international organisations, including the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (F.A.O.), the European Productivity Agency and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (O.E.E.C.), it is equally important to take suitable political action to promote the idea of European fellowship ;
that the Council of Europe is the only body capable of undertaking the necessary action in support of technical assistance and ought therefore to take the initiative by setting up a centre or foundation for the further training, in the framework of its member countries, of selected agricultural teachers,
Recommends to the Committee of Ministers :