§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the area of agricultural land where the existing drainage system is more than 50 years old and more than 100 years old, respectively.
§ Mrs. FennerWe do not collect information on the area of agricultural land which is drained, and so I regret that I cannot provide the estimate requested. I understand, however, it has been estimated that by 1880 between 4.85 and 5.7 million hectares had been drained and that, by 1939, 2.17 million hectares were still being effectively drained by old drainage systems.