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production methods and by the great technical
advances in synthetic rubber. In a similar
way, silk is being displaced by man-made
fibres, and cotton and wool producers may
face a similar threat from a further expansion
of output of these fibres.
It is easy to deal with such situations, as
was done before the war, by international
restriction schemes which penalize both pro
ducer and consumer. That is a negative
approach and should be resorted to only on
rare occasions. The Preparatory Commission
on World Food Proposals gave much time to
this question and developed a twofold answer.
On the one hand, reorientation of agricul
tural production must constitute the central
feature of any positive programme for aiding
fanners whose product has become really
“ surplus ” . Instead of paying farmers more
to produce less of the surplus product, it is
advantageous to the community and to the
farmers themselves to find other agricultural
enterprises or other occupations in which the
redundant producers can turn out goods that
are wanted. The framing of a reorientation
programme often poses difficult technical
problems of agricultural science and practice,
economic problems of fitting the new enter
prises into the general market structure, and
social problems of modifying long-established
patterns of life. Since all this takes time,
whereas market situations may change rapidly
on account of the speed of present-day tech
nological progress, many Governments are
assisting farmers who have to cope with these
problems of adjustment and reorientation.
Such problems are likely to be increasingly
frequent in the future. Where Governments
wish to seek technical aid or advice from
outside, FAO is now equipped to provide these
services.
The second series of recommendations put
forward by the Preparatory Commission con
cerned intergovernmental commodity agree
ments. The Commission considered such
agreements to be a useful type of administer
ing machinery for dealing with surpluses. In
the Commission’s view, it is not intergovern
mental agreements that are bad, but restric
tion. Agreements may and should be con
cluded for positive purposes : to expand
production, reduce costs, increase consumers’
purchasing power, and achieve a supply-
demand balance at a high level.
Intergovernmental consultation is as desir
able and necessary for the expansion of pro
duction as it is for dealing with surpluses ;
indeed, surpluses are just an occasional and
local offshoot of expansion and it may often
be convenient to bring Governments together
to deal comprehensively with both. The
importance of international action for orderly
expansion as well as for surplus disposal is
now recognized in the Geneva draft of the
charter of the proposed International Trade
Organization (Draft Charter, Chapter VII).
Under the terms of that chapter, restrictions
would be imposed only when burdensome sur
pluses or unemployment or under-employment
exist or are expected to develop. What the
chapter emphasizes is the value of formal or
informal commodity agreements for a wide
variety of purposes. In the case of certain
agricultural products there might, for exam
ple, be no more than agreement to exchange
statistical information through FAO. There
might be a joint programme of regional
activities — irrigation, soil conservation, crop
estimating, marketing reform, nutritional edu
cation — such as are contemplated, for
instance, in the Rice Study Group’s report.
There may be a permanent intergovernmental
study group to watch and advise on changes
in the world market situation for a particular
product. Or there may be a fully elaborated
commodity control agreement.
FAO can be of service in all these fields.
It will keep Governments regularly informed
of changing world commodity situations, and
the annual Conference will provide all mem
bers with an opportunity to discuss the issues
as they arise. The Conference can be used
as a forum for the examination of many
aspects of commodity problems: the expansion
of production, the stimulation of consumption,
the modernization of marketing. There is
advantage in examining these various aspects
concurrently, whether in the annual Confer
ence or in a study group. For example, effective
progress in achieving an expansion of pro
duction may, in many instances, depend on
some guarantees and assurances being given
in respect to export markets. Conversely, the
positive remedy for a condition of burdensome
surplus on the international market may
frequently lie in agricultural reorientation or
in special programmes for stimulating con
sumption.
In the latter connection, the attention of
the Geneva Conference is especially drawn to
the proposal of the Preparatory Commission
concerning special price sales. This type of
arrangement would, in the Commission’s view,
“ improve the nutritional standard of recipient
countries during their period of development
and might avoid the necessity on the part of
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