PERGAMON ON THE NEW INTERNATIONAL POLICY ECONOMIC ORDER STUDIES UNITAR/CEESTEM Library on NIEO Laszlo/Kurtzman EUROPE AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo/Kurtzman POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo/Kurtzman THE STRUCTURE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo/Kurtzman/Tlkhomirov THE SOVIET UNION, EASTERN EUROPE AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo/Lozoya et al. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo/Lozoya et al. THE OBSTACLES CONFRONTING THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo/Loxoya et al. WORLD LEADERSHIP AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Laszlo et al. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Lozoya/Bhattacharya THE FINANCIAL ISSUES OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Lozoya/Estevez/Green et al. ALTERNATIVE VIEWS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER: A Survey and Analysis of Major Academic Research Reports Lozoya et al. AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Lozoya et al. ASIA AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Lozoya et al. INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INDUSTRALIZATION AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Lozoya et al. LA TIN AMERICA AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Lozoya et al. THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER Food and Agriculture in Global Perspective Discussions in the Committee of the Whole of the United Nations Edited by Toivo Miljan with the cooperation of Ervin Laszlo Joel Kurtzman A volume in the New International Economic Order (NIEO) Library Published for UNITAR and the Center for Economic and Social Studies of the Third World (OEESTEM) Pergamon Press NEW YORK · OXFORD · TORONTO · SYDNEY · FRANKFURT · PARIS Pergamon Press Offices: U.S.A. Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, New York 10523, U.S.A. U.K. Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford 0X3 OBW, England CANADA Pergamon of Canada, Ltd., 150 Consumers Road, Willowdale, Ontario M2J, 1P9, Canada AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press (Aust) Pty. Ltd., Ρ Ο Box 544, Potts Point, NSW 2011, Australia FRANCE Pergamon Press SARL, 24 rue des Ecoles, 75240 Paris, Cedex 05, France FEDERAL REPUBLIC Pergamon Press GmbH, 6242 Kronberg/Taunus, OF GERMANY Pferdstrasse 1, Federal Republic of Germany Copyright © 1980 UNITAR Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data United Nations. Committee of the Whole. Food and agriculture in global perspective. (Pergamon policy studies) Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. Food supply. 2. Agriculture—Economic aspects. 3. Food relief. I. Miljan, Toivo. II. Laszlo, Ervin, I932- III. Kurtzman, Joel. IV. Title. HD9000.5.U43 I979 338.Γ9 79-23163 ISBN 0-08-025550-7 All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publishers. Printed in the United States of America Second Printing 1981 Foreword The unfortunate reality is that as much as 40 percent of the world's population still must struggle at the edge of pov- erty. Poor sanitation and health care, lack of suitable hous- ing, unemployment, impoverishment and undernourishment are realities which face the world's millions, indeed billions, daily. These perennial problems have so far defied solution in spite of the fact that the world is rich enough and well en- dowed enough to feed, clothe, house, and offer employment to populations even in greater numbers than we currently have. To solve these problems various United Nations fora have been created and in 1978 the Committee of the Whole was estab- lished by the General Assembly (Res. 22/174) to negotiate issues crucial to the New International Economic Order and the future well being of mankind. In March of 1979 the Committee of the Whole met to discuss the world's situation with respect to Food and Agriculture. Under the Chairmanship of Mr. Thorvald Stoltenberg of Norway, the Committee met to look at strategies for feeding the world's hungry. Various bold and energetic programmes were presented during the Committee's meetings by the member States to achieve a more equitable distribution of the world's Food and Agricultural resources. This volume, one of sixteen on various aspects of the New International Economic Order, under the general editorial directorship of Professor Ervin Laszlo of UNITAR, documents the historic activities of the Committee of the Whole's Food and Agriculture deliberations, and it serves to illustrate the world's resolve to eradicate hunger. Hunger is a complex and difficult problem and it is highly unlikely that it can be solved in the discussions and delibera- tions of only one committee within the United Nations alone. Yet it is a problem which must be solved and solved quickly. Each day that passes sees scores of people not only driven to vii viii FOREWORD despair but also to death through starvation. Each day also sadly sees thousands of children unable to develop and thrive and live out normal, healthy lifespans for want of food. To eradicate these problems, once and for all, is the purpose of the deliberations presented in this volume, and to that end the account of those deliberations is presented by UNITAR for the benefit of all. Davidson Nicol Executive Director Foreword The Committee of the Whole was established by the 32nd General Assembly as a high-level political committee with the purpose of providing necessary impetus to the negotiations for a New International Economic Order. These negotiations - known as the North/South dialogue - had for almost two years to a great extent been conducted outside the United Nations at the Conference on International Economic Cooperation (CIEC) in Paris. To many countries, not least developing countries, the outcome of the Paris negotiations was disappointing. The need was there- fore felt to bring the dialogue firmly back to the UN system so that all Member Countries could participate actively in the efforts to shape a new and more equitable world order. To em- phasize the importance of these efforts the Committee of the Whole was made responsible directly to the General Assembly. The Committee was to deal in a comprehensive manner with the questions relating to the establishment of the NIEO until the 1980 Special Session of the General Assembly. It was as- sumed that from the very outset the Committee would take up substantive issues, discuss and negotiate in a constructive manner and produce practical and action-oriented conclusions. Unfortunately, differences of view about some aspects of the Committee's role hampered its work during its first year of existence. Thanks not least to the resolute efforts and skill of my predecessor as Chairman, Mr. Idriss Jazairy, to whom I would here like to pay a special tribute, a clarification of the mandate of the Committee was reached towards the end of 1978. The Committee thus moved into a new phase of constructive discussion and negotiation, the first result of which was the text adopted in January 1979 on the transfer of resources to developing countries. When the Committee at the March session took up the prob- lems of food production and agriculture it was the first time ix χ FOREWORD that any committee under the General Assembly had devoted a full session to these questions. Food and agriculture is a subject matter of major importance, not only on its own merits but also in the wider perspective of the North/South dialogue. The political nature of problems like reaching the set targets for food production and contributing to a more equitable food distribution and consumption is becoming increasingly clear. I am convinced that the Committee of the Whole at its March ses- sion contributed both to bringing these problems into the centre of development discussions and to pinpointing some areas of urgent concern. By doing so, the Committee's competence to negotiate and adopt decisions on outstanding economic issues of global dimensions was also demonstrated. As Chairman of the Committee of the Whole I am deeply con- cerned about where to go from here in terms of the follow-up of the conclusions reached at the March session. The World Confer- ence on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, which was held in July of this year, represented a new and positive step forward. However, further efforts on the part of Governments and of United Nations organs of a more technical nature are clearly called for. I do hope that the headway we made at the March session will prove valuable in tackling the many formidable challenges still ahead. As Chairman of the Committee of the Whole I have done - and intend to continue to do my utmost - to see that the Com- mittee functions according to its mandate on North/South rela- tions within the United Nations system. At the same time I have tried to make it clear beyond any doubt that we are engaged in a common effort where all parts of the United Nations system have a role to play and where cooperation and mutual support are of the utmost importance. The role of the Committee re- quires that all Governments as well as officials working in the United Nations system pay very special and urgent attention to its work. Furthermore, I see a need to establish a much greater public awareness of the Committee's work and of the issues in which it is engaged. I am convinced that this study will contri- bute to this end and would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Toivo Miljan for his dedicated work and to thank UNITAR for having undertaken this study. Thorvald Stoltenberg Chairman Committee of the Whole Introduction— A World Without Hunger The slow progress in agriculture has impeded the narrowing of the wide gaps between rich and poor countries that is envis- aged under the New International Economic Order. The consequent slow growth of incomes in the developing countries has affected the developed countries as well. It has limited the markets for their exports, and has thus restricted incomes and employ- ment in these countries. Shortages and high prices of food and agricultural products in world markets have also added to in- flationary pressures in the developing countries, hampering their efforts to achieve the economic growth required to over- come their employment problems. The majority of the people in the developing countries, indeed the vast majority of the world's poorest people, live in rural areas and derive their meagre employment and livelihood from agriculture. The slow progress in agricultural production in these countries has therefore been a major constraint on the reduction of poverty, and on the achievement of the basic social as well as economic goals of development.* THE ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURE Two statements characterize the work of the Committee of the Whole on food and agriculture. The first Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Idriss Jazairy once observed, "The New Inter- national Economic Order implies a continuous process rather than an act to be accomplished in a determined period of time." *Nurul Islam, Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Policy Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, speaking to COW on 19 March 1979. xi xii INTRODUCTION Two hundred years ago the German poet Goethe raised the proposi- tion, "The question to ask is not whether we are perfectly agreed, but whether we are proceeding from a common basis of sentiment.11 There can be no doubt that the common basis of sentiment to build a world without hunger was strongly expressed in the statements by all the participants in the COW delibera- tions on food and agriculture. But, there is equally no doubt that there was not perfect agreement on the methods whereby to wipe out hunger. But, again, there was a common sentiment that there exists a high degree of inter-relationship between hunger and the structures of national and international economies and that concerted international political action is necessary to eradicate hunger, its causes and effects, from the earth. Clearly the continuous process that is the NIEO continues, and COW is an active participant in it. The General Assembly of the United Nations by Resolution 32/174 established the Committee of the Whole to assist it in the establishment of the New International Economic Order (see appendix). The mandate of the Committee was clarified during the 33rd Session of the General Assembly by the President of the Assembly; "Consultations held with the Member States on the question of the clarification of the mandate of the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174 led me to the conclusion that in fulfilling its mandate as set out in resolution 32/174, operative paragraph 4, essentially under subparagraphs (b) and (c), the Committee will negotiate with a view to its adopting guidelines on central policy issues as well as achieving agreement on the resolution of fundamental or crucial issues underlying problems related to international economic co-operation. The results of the negotiations will be expressed in the form of action-oriented agreed conclusions of the Committee addressed, in accordance with paragraph 5 of re- solution 32/174, through the General Assembly, to States and international organizations concerned." At its second session the COW dealt with the problems of food and agriculture in an integrating manner and arrived at a set of Agreed Conclusions on these issues. The Committee iden- tified inter alia specific questions to be further considered at the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development in July 1979, The World Food Council meeting in September 1979 and in the New International Wheat Agreement and the new Food Aid Convention. Through its discussions and Agreed Conclusions the Committee also made a valuable contribution to the elabora- tion of the International Development Strategy. From the documentation - the statements of inter-national agencies and States Members and the reference documentation provided by the international agencies - presented in edited form in this collection, as well as from the Agreed Conclusions it is clear that the Committee of the Whole is fulfilling its functions in accordance with its mandate to negotiate funda- INTRODUCTION xiii mental issues underlying problems related to international eco- nomic cooperation. To the question, posed by Chairman Thorvald Stoltenberg in his introductory address to the Committee, "Can the Committee of the Whole be of assistance in renewing the goals and objectives for food and agriculture in the light of the increasing interdependence in the world today?" the docu- mentation gathered in this collection answers a resounding "Yes". The Committee did not replicate the work of the specialized agencies within the United Nations system in the field of food and agriculture; rather it established a basic framework - a unifying idea - which brought together the expert work of the different international agencies and the views of the different States Members in the Agreed Conclusions of the committee on Some Aspects Concerning Food and Agriculture. THE NEGOTIATIONS ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Mexico Declaration of the World Food Council was used as a reference text by all sides during the negotiations, and provided a basis for a common language on controversial issues. A comparison of the Agreed Conclusions text and the Mexico Declaration shows progress in several areas: The COW test calls for the Governing Council of IFAD to decide on replenishment of its resources at the end of 1980 and states that the Council should con- sider the need for an increase in real terms of the resources of the Fund. - The COW text appeals to donors to increase their con- tributions to the Special Account for the Action Pro- gramme for Prevention of Food Losses. The COW text asks that donor countries support the FAO programme to assist developing coastal states in developing their fisheries within their economic zones. The COW text urges that special consideration be given to the establishment of adequate provisions for special international assistance to developing countries in establishing food reserves. - The COW text recommends the developing countries' proposal that a reserve stock financing fund be kept under consideration. - The COW text makes a plea for the resumption of nego- tiations on the New International Wheat Agreement in order to stabilize the cereal markets. The COW text urges that maximum efforts be made to create conditions which would allow for the early conclusion of a new Food Aid Convention.