§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether he will make a statement about the new system of locust control in Africa and the Middle East; and what part is being played by the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. VosperLocusts have no regard for international boundaries and research has now clarified many of the factors affecting the pattern of movement of swarms from one country to another. It is increasingly recognised that effective locust control can be achieved only by international co-operation and it is towards the establishment of a system of international control organisations that efforts are being directed under the
212Wstate, in respect of the most recent convenient 12 month period, how many public inquiries were held on behalf of his Department; how many days the hearing took in each case; how much time elapsed between the conclusion of the hearing and the receipt of recommendations; and what fee was paid.
§ Mr. NobleDuring 1961 a total of 262 inquiries were held at the instance of my Departments. Particulars of duration and of time taken for completion of report are shown below. Most of the inquiries arose out of planning appeals, for which the usual fee was 14 guineas a day (except that advertisement appeals were taken by professional officers of the Department); but higher fees, up to 25 guineas a day with sometimes an extra allowance to cover preparation of the report, were paid for specially complex or important inquiries.
general leadership of F.A.O. An important advance towards this objective was recently made when a Convention for the establishment of a Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa was signed by Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika in Addis Ababa on the 20th August. A further step in this direction was the holding of a meeting in Teheran on the 1st October to initiate the formation of a regional locust control organisation for Western Asia. In West Africa a similar regional organisation called O.C.L.A., based on Dakar, has been in operation for some years. The international basis for the organisation controlling the migratory locust in its outbreak area in Mali has recently been broadened under a new Convention subscribed to by sixteen 213W African states and the analogous organisation for the control of the red locust in Northern Rhodesia is seeking increased African support.
In these developments the British have played a leading role, both in encouraging international collaboration and in supplying information and advice. Most of the scientific impetus for new thinking on locust control has come from the Anti-Locust Research Centre in London and the pioneering work of its founder, Sir Boris Uvarov. I am very glad of this opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of the Centre, which is wholly supported by my Department. My Department is also ready to supply further technical assistance in locust control and has accepted some responsibility for the equipment and financial
— 12 months ended 31st March, 1962 12 months ended 30th September, 1962 Quantity thou. tons Average value per ton c.i.f. Quantity thou. ton Average per ton Value c.i.f. £ £ Imports of Australian wheat into:— United Kingdom 626.5 24.94 630.0 25.34 Italy 393.4 24.21 Not yet available Western Germany 265.0 25.04 France — — Belgium-Luxembourg — — Netherlands — — — = Nil or negligible