provided by Research Papers in Economics
IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING AID PROGRAMS
TO U. S. AGRICULTURE
Raymond P. Christensen, Deputy Director
Foreign Development and Trade Division
Economic Research Service
U. S. Department of Agriculture
President Johnson’s message on foreign aid, delivered to Congress
on January 14 of this year, charted future directions of foreign aid
programs as they pertain to agriculture. Here at the highest level of
our government we see emphasis placed upon the important role that
agriculture plays in national economic development of the less de-
veloped countries. We see a commitment to share our agricultural
abundance to further economic growth abroad. We also see a com-
mitment to share our technical skills to assist the developing coun-
tries achieve rapid increases in agricultural output and productivity.
This sharing includes active participation by state universities and
land-grant colleges, the U. S. Department of Agriculture and other
agencies of government, and private organizations in planning and
carrying out foreign technical assistance programs. In addition, we
see emphasis placed upon the interrelationships between aid and
trade. It is recognized that economic growth abroad, made possible
in large part by improved performance of the agricultural sector, will
lead to increased trade and larger foreign markets for farm products
in the developing countries.
ECONOMIC PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURE
Contrary to what may be thought by many, the developing
countries generally have been successful in achieving outstanding
increases in agricultural production. Recently, the Economic Re-
search Service, in collaboration with the Agency for International
Development, completed a new set of index numbers showing changes
in crop production since 1948 for 26 of the less developed countries
located in southern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These
26 countries represent three-fourths of the people, food, and income
of all the less developed countries of the free world. The index
numbers show that total crop production increased at annual com-
pound growth rates ranging from 1.6 percent in Tunisia to 9.7 per-
cent in Israel. Many countries show increases of 3, 4, and 5 percent
a year (Table 1).
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