Basic HTML Version
advance
news
in
the wake of today's WORLD EVENTS
•
World Food Outlook Bleak
A disappointing t.rend in the world food picture is now
apparent. During 1969 - latest statistics available - there
was no increase in the combined output of the world's farms,
fisheries and forests.
It was the first time in 12 years a zero increase was
recorded. Meanwhile the world's population continued to
g.row with a net yearly increase of 70 million people.
According to a su.rvey conducted by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) this standstill in
food p.roduction resulted largely from reduced output in the
developed countries "where surpluses rather than shortages
are the problem."
This stagnation contrasted with a four percent increase in
1968 and a 10-year average increase of almost three percent.
Agriculture showed a small gain in production but fisheries
output fell by 3 percent.
It
was the first time since 1950 that
world fish production had suffered a setback.
Unless this trend can
be
dramatically reversed, the FAO
predicts unavoidable worldwide famines. Birth control pro–
grams will have a negligible effect on the problem for a long
time, and the underdeveloped countries cannot afford massive
food purchases. The world organization, headquartered in
Rome, predicts that these nations will have to increase their
own food production at least 80 percent in the next fifteen
years in order to avert massive famine.
A regional breakdown shows how the underdeveloped
world fared in 1969.
The situation was brightest in the Far East where the
food problems had been most serious. There was a four per–
cent increase in food production among the underdeveloped
nations exceeding the 10-year rate of 2.6 percent. India,
whose teeming population often faces severe hunger, again
had a solid five percent increase in food production.
Latín American nations registered a meager one percent
increase in food production, after another season of severe
drought. This fell considerably behind the region's 2.9 per–
cent population increase.
Food production in the Middle East showed no increase
at all. In Africa, excluding South Africa, production actually
fell by about one pe.rcent.
World wheat production is a good example of the prob–
lems besetting agriculture. The 1969 harvests fell
5
percent
below 1968 yields. During 1970, three major wheat produc–
ing nations - Argentina, Australia, and France - all expe-
rienced problems, and face another five percent decline in
harvests. Canada and the United States are being depended
on to supply the bulk of the world wheat export market.
With American farmers having to reduce wheat acreage by
almost half over the Jast three years, and Canadian growers
being pressured to diversify away from wheat, any future
crop failure in North America could seriously affect world
wheat supplies.
•
Trouble in Arabia- European
Oil Supply at Stake
The northern tip of Oman on the Arabian Península is
a crucial piece of real estate because here líes a strategic gate,
the Strait of Hormuz. Through it flows the black gold - oil
- necessary to power the industrial might of Western Europe.
Evcry day, tankers which take on 1.3 million tons of Persian
SAUDI
ARABIA
--·
.~MBI:IN
~F..~
Gulf oil to partially supply the voracious European industrial
appetite, sail the narrow passagc.
Europeans are now anxiously keeping tabs on the deter–
mined guerrilla bands seeking to overthrow Sultan Qabus bin
Said, the current ruler. The guerrillas in Dhofar, the south–
ernmost province of Oman, number about 1,600.
What really frightens Europeans is the fact that the
guerrillas are being supported both by
Soviet and Chinese
Comnumists.
If
the Communist-supported guerrillas should
take over, it could spell real trouble for European industry.
One goal of the communists would be to "liberate" the entire
oil-rich and vital south Arabian area.
Aiding the Communist cause is the failure of the small