Reply to the 6th report on the activities of the World Food Programme of the United Nations / FAO
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 25 April 1978 (2nd Sitting) (see Doc. 4143see Doc. 4143, report of the Committee on Agriculture). Text adopted by the Assembly on 25 April 1978 (2nd Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Having taken note of the 6th report on the activities of the World Food Programme of the United Nations/FAO (
Doc. 4107), covering the period 1 November 1975 to 31 October 1977, and of the report of its Committee on Agriculture giving a reply thereto (
Doc. 4143) ;
2. Recalling its
Resolution 651 (1977), in reply to the 9th biennial report on the activities of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation ;
3. Recalling
Resolution 10/77, on the target for World Food Programme pledges for the period 1979-80. adopted on 13 November 1977 by the 19th Session of the Conference of FAO ;
4. Welcoming the steady growth in the activities of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the period under review, amounting to a nominal increase of 40% in the cumulative total of food aid committed, but concerned by the fact that the severe recession in the developed countries and the worldwide inflation have considerably reduced the real value of development assistance ;
5. Observing that the 1977 increase in food production is inferior to population growth, both in the world and in particular in the developing countries, and that, despite a 60% increase in cereal stocks since 1973-74, insufficient progress has been made to overcome the problems of world food security which had preoccupied the World Food Conference in 1974, and that little or no progress has been made towards the basic goal of the eradication of hunger and malnutrition ;
6. Noting that, since its inception, the WFP has assisted in Council of Europe member states' 45 development projects, involving a commitment of $173 million, and 13 emergency operations, involving a commitment of $11 million ;
7. Agreeing with the programme's concept of using food as capital for economic and social development, by linking aid with specific self-help development projects ;
8. Welcoming the fact that the administrative costs of the WFP are the lowest of any comparable operational programme in the UN system, representing about 5% of its total expenditure,
9. Supports the organisation of a World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development decided by the 19th FAO Conference in
Resolution 13/77, to be held in July 1979, which will discuss inter alia problems in social structures, measures for a better distribution of income and policies geared to increasing production and productivity, so as to help developing countries to raise their purchasing power and improve the economic and social conditions of the small farmer and other rural populations, and asks its Committee on Agriculture to report in due course on the results of the conference ;
10. Calls upon its members to urge national parliaments and their governments :
to strengthen the work of the WFP, by providing increased resources and granting it greater recognition throughout the world for the positive results it is achieving ;
not to consider food aid merely as a means of disposing of surpluses, but to undertake definite commitments ;
to enable the individual farmer in developing countries to benefit directly from the export stabilisation scheme set up by the European Communities ;
to increase substantially development assistance for agriculture, improve its terms and channel more of it to the most seriously affected (MSA) countries, the least developed countries (LDC) and to countries with a promising potential for agricultural development ;
to pledge in particular commodities which are widely acceptable, such as wheat and wheat products, dairy products, particularly dried skim-milk, pulses, dried, salted and canned meat, fish and vegetable oil ;
to regularly replenish the International Emergency Food Reserve of 500 000 tons ;
to contribute to the Non-Food Items Unit and to support the establishment of a Non-Food Items Fund.
