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M. SMITH 16

411

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

November 16, 1945

The Honorable

The Secretary of State

DEAR MR. SECRETARY:

There is transmitted herewith in quadruplicate the report of the United States Delegation to the Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture, held in Caracas, Venezuela, July 24 to August 7, 1945.

In transmitting this report, I wish to express appreciation both personally and on behalf of the other members of the United States Delegation for the opportunity to participate in the Conference. The work of the Delegation was characterized throughout by complete harmony and accord among the members. Further, the Conference itself was rather remarkable in the spirit of cooperation on the part of all delegations and the uniform desire to find common ground for agreement on the many perplexing problems with which the Conference was confronted.

The United States Delegation left Caracas with the feeling that the Conference had veered too far in the direction of processing resolutions and did not give adequate opportunity for an exchange of views and information on technical subjects. As a result, the Conference did not go as far as it should have in advancing an understanding of the technical agricultural problems and programs of the various countries.

With regard to the Fourth Inter-American Conference on Agriculture, which, according to Resolution No. VI, would be held not later than July 1948, we respectfully offer the following suggestions:

(1) That the Fourth Conference should place greater emphasis upon technical agricultural matters. To assure this emphasis and to provide for the necessary preparatory work, it is believed desirable to undertake at an early date the necessary international conversations and arrangements respecting the Fourth Conference.

(2) That these arrangements should involve the establishment well in advance of the next conference of technical commissions in such fields as agricultural extension; human nutrition in relation to production, processing, and utilization; agricultural marketing economics and statistics; animal sciences and practices; plant sciences and prac

tices; soils and climatology; land use and conservation; agricultural engineering; rural institutions, family living, and community organizations; and forestry, including wildlife and watershed protection. These commissions, in collaboration with the Division of Agricultural Cooperation of the Pan American Union, would develop agenda for their respective sections of the conference and would arrange for the preparation of technical papers and formal discussion of these papers.

(3) That the language problem, which always confronts the United States Delegation at an Inter-American Conference, would be reduced by providing for the advance issuance of all papers and prepared discussions in the four American languages.

(4) That the consideration of resolutions be deferred until the technical discussions have been held, rather than taking precedence as was the case at Caracas.

Sincerely yours,

J. B. HUTSON
Under Secretary

Report of the Delegation of the United States of America to the Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture

ANTECEDENT CONFERENCES AND PREPARATORY WORK

T

HE THIRD Inter-American Conference on Agriculture, held in Caracas, Venezuela, from July 24 to August 7, 1945, stemmed directly from a long series of inter-American meetings. Beginning fully a century ago, these gatherings have progressively demonstrated an increasing emphasis upon inter-American problems. In more recent years, agriculture has emerged as a field of common interest warranting separate and specific conferences apart from other problems of a more general economic or political character.

In the Sixth International Conference of American States, which met in Havana in 1928, the resolution was adopted which led by a succession of events to the current series of Inter-American Conferences on Agriculture.

On March 7, 1928, in conformity with this resolution, the Governing Board of the Pan American Union authorized the creation of a Special Committee on Agricultural Cooperation, upon whose recommendations the Governing Board subsequently voted to create the Division of Agricultural Cooperation in the Pan American Union and to convoke an Inter-American Conference on Agriculture, Forestry, and Animal Industry.

THE FIRST INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON

AGRICULTURE

THE FIRST Inter-American Conference on Agriculture was held in the city of Washington, D.C., in 1930. The expressed aims of the conference, largely technical in character, were threefold: "(1) to define the outstanding problems in each country which may be solved by inter-American cooperation, (2) to discuss the policies and methods of procedure to be followed in the cooperative solution of these problems, and (3) to consider the establishment and location of

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