§ 27. Mr. Peter M. Jacksonasked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will increase the level of technical assistance given to developing countries to assist that section of their population working in the field of subsistence agriculture; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OramAs is indicated in paragraphs 11–12 of the recent White Paper Cmnd. 3976, it is already my right hon. Friend's policy to increase aid and technical assistance for food and agricultural development, including the subsistence sector, which is of course predominant in the agriculture of most developing countries.
§ Mr. JacksonI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply, but will not he acknowledge that between 70 and 90 per cent. of the population of developing countries is employed in agriculture, and that the highest priority should be given to development in subsistence agriculture?
§ Mr. OramI fully acknowledge the overwhelming importance of this sector of agriculture for developing countries, but I ask my hon. Friend to bear in mind that we cannot devote our technical assistance exclusively to this, because foreign exchange earnings through the export of cash crops are also very important to the budgets of developing countries.