The United Nations Conference on Desertification was the first occasion on which the nations of the world turned their concerted attention to the need for a comprehensive plan to halt and reverse desertification. The global annual loss to desertification is in the order of 60,000 km2. It is Man's action that degrades the land by misuse as he seeks to wrest a living from fragile ecosystems. A change to a more arid climate could be another cause, but no firm evidence is available that the climate is so changing. The Conference concluded that both the causes of desertification and the technical solutions to combating it are known. The key to combative measures is to be found in proper land-use. If desertification is to be brought to a halt by the end of the century, considerable financial resources will, however, be necessary.The paper includes a comprehensive summary of the unpublished statements of the various national governments and some international agencies regarding their problems, an analysis of the findings of the Conference, and a brief discussion of action taken since its conclusion.
There is no doubt whatever that changes in the development strategies in the agricultural sector will be essential if mankind is to eliminate world hunger—at least if human populations continue to grow as currently envisaged. In this review an attempt has been made to outline some of the criteria on which new approaches should be based. It should also be realized that the changes which it will be necessary to adopt for an alternative form of development will not be easy, because any such changes are bound to affect some segments of the population adversely, and one can be assured that vested interests will oppose them strongly. Thus, it is somewhat naive to assume that even an obviously improved policy will be automatically adopted. The proponents of the change will have to convince the people at large that such changes will be beneficial and necessary. It will not be an easy task, but certainly worth while to accomplish.In order for land, water, and various inputs, to be used most efficiently for maximizing agricultural production on a sustainable basis, it will be essential to have an effective organizational infrastructure as well as a well-trained cadre of people. While bringing new land under cultivation is a viable alternative to solving the food problem in some countries, in many others far more effective use than at present must be made of existing land, especially addressing the problem of soil-loss. Failure to introduce terracing is a good example of failure to use existing technology, while on the other hand inappropriate technologies are liable to be introduced. South-south transfer of technology can present as many problems as north-south transfer of technology, as the attempt to transfer the processing of cashew-nuts from India to Tanzania has demonstrated.
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