plan was less than $11 billion. Judging from all available data and experienced
observations, the structural imbalance in US agriculture was likely to continue
for `the next 510 years'. While US agriculture was characterized by an excessive
productive capacity, much of the developing world was suffering from insuf-
ficient agricultural production to meet its needs, even at the existing level of
economic activity. At the same time, there was a substantial amount of unem-
ployment on both rural and urban areas. This `surplus' labour represented total
waste of a valuable and highly perishable productive resource as well as a social
problem creating `persistent and, at times, dangerous pressures'. The central ques-
tion with which the conference was concerned was whether it was feasible to use
the substantial food surpluses produced in North America in a way that would
utilize the surplus labour in the developing countries in the development of
social overhead facilities and improvements and thereby contribute to economic
growth.
tion, trade and consumption trends, and appraisal of factors underlying them,
indicated that surpluses, or the persistence of production in excess of effective
demand, `may now be considered as a chronic feature of the present world grain
economy'. The heart of the problem was seen to lie in the level of price or income
guarantees to grain producers in many exporting as well as importing countries.
These guarantees, combined with other aspects of national agricultural policies,
if maintained substantially unchanged, would continue, together with technolo-
gical advance, to stimulate output year by year larger than could be absorbed by
normal effective demand. Independent measures of surplus disposal might there-
fore assume `a semi-permanent character', thereby affecting an increasing part of
international grain trade, thereby adding to the marketing difficulties experienced
by exporting countries.
finance their economic development. Stored food was capital that could help in
speeding up the rate of economic development. However, there were two funda-
mental conditions. First, under-employment or unemployment among people to
be put to work. Second, the need to have projects that are planned and ready to
go that would put buying power in the hands of the workers. Surpluses could help
provide more money to spend without causing inflation. But there were limita-
tions to the use of surpluses. One was that when people get more money they
do not spend it all on food. Another was that development projects do not start
producing right away. A third was that additional capital was needed for other
demands that can not all be met with surpluses.
surplus products should be as broad as possible and should include more than
just grains. Second, if a country has unused industrial capacity that can be put to