§ 89. Mr. Kimballasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the factors he takes into account when assessing the efficiency figure which he uses for the annual price review.
§ Mr. GodberAs indicated in the recent Annual Review White Paper, the annual gain in efficiency can only be assessed broadly taking one year with another but experience bears out the estimate of an annual gain equivalent to about 2 per cent. of the value of gross output. The estimate of £25 million for Review commodities is intended to cover such factors as improvement to buildings, drainage 95W and water supply, the development of farm mechanisation, improvements in feeding and breeding, disease eradication, improved varieties of crops, better use of fertilisers, the more economical use of labour, feedingstuffs and other resources, improvements in farm organisation and management and greater attention to marketing. The Government contribute substantially to the improvement of production methods through its expenditure on capital grants, advisory services and agricultural research.