United States policy in making its surplus food products available to underdeveloped countries came in for warm praise here today at the biennial conference of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Administration.
Dr. David Horowitz, Governor of the Bank of Israel and head of the Israel delegation to the FAO, told the General Assembly that U.S. food surpluses had prevented social and economic deterioration in many underdeveloped lands and had warded off danger to the democratic way of life there.
The Israel delegate stressed the advantages of dealing with agricultural and food problems on a regional basis, but warned that regional organizations established for that purpose must be “universal in character and accessible to all nations of the region.” His reference was to a proposed agreement between the FAO and the Arab League which would give the latter body recognition as an FAO regional organization. This would exclude Israel.
Mr. Horowitz told the assembly that Israel had increased its agricultural production 315 percent in ten years and was presently maintaining a 15 percent annual increase. Israel today produces 70 percent of its foodstuffs requirements, he said, compared to only 50 percent in 1949. “Israel,” he commented, “is a small country, but it could well serve as a laboratory to show the effectiveness of proper application of large-scale assistance and self-help.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
