therefore, was how to get sufficient food not only to feed the expanding world
population but also to feed people better. The advance of agricultural science
and technology had enabled more food to be produced with less labour. But
the rapid increase in population in certain countries posed a serious political
problem, and full weight had to be given to its bearing on food production.
The limiting factor was not the physical capacity to produce enough food but
the ability of nations to bring about the complex economic adjustments neces-
sary to make adequate production and distribution possible. The application of
science and technology while solving the problem of production at the same time
created its own problems. Industrialization should take place if unemployment
and under-employment in agriculture were to be avoided. The net result would
then be an increase in the numbers fully employed and to enlarge the world's total
wealth.
methods. The problem here was one of providing profitable employment in other
industries and of education in modern methods of cultivation. Underlying this
problem was that of providing the needed capital equipment. In countries where
modern agricultural science and technology had been applied, the main problem
was finding a continuous market at a remunerative price. A relatively small excess
of supply over demand was followed by a big drop in prices, as occurred in the
late 1920s. On the other hand, a relatively small excess in economic demand over
supply was followed by a big increase in prices. This was dramatically demon-
strated in times of war, when prices had to be controlled to prevent an excessive
rise. Besides these cyclical movements, there were weekly and monthly oscillations
in prices. In nine out of the ten years in the decade between 1928 and 1938, the
price of wheat on the world market fluctuated by 70 per cent. These fluctuations
were described as `the bane of agricultural producers'. It was recognized that the
wide variation in the prices prevailing in different countries made it difficult to
agree on a common price for the world market. But this was essential to ensure
that there was a world market for exportable surpluses at stable prices. It had long
been recognized that primary producers did not get a fair share of the world's
total wealth commensurate with the proportion they created.
of food producers was a limiting factor in the market for industrial products.
Conversely, limitation on industrial prosperity, and hence of the purchasing
power of industrial producers, limited the markets for agricultural products
(Table 3.1).
food and agriculture policy had therefore not only to reconcile the interests of
consumers and producers but also the interests of agriculture and trade. The crux
of the question was at which end of the chain should we begin? Food could
be treated as a normal tradable commodity but it was also an essential of life.