817 



economic growth and that both the West and Communist bloc are 

 starting with major handicaps." "* 



Not all authorities are in agreement that the unemployment problem 

 in the LDCs will be exacerbated by the Green Revolution. Lester R, 

 Brown, as previously noted (page 21), suggests that it may result in 

 an increase in agricultural labor requirements : 



Where the new seeds are in use, two or three crops are becoming the norm 

 where only one crop grew before. Cultivation of the new seeds, and the harvest- 

 ing of bigger crops both require more labor. Higher yields encourage, even neces- 

 sitate, more investment in land reclamation, irrigation, construction of storage 

 facilities and warehouses, road building, marketing and transport. All these 

 factors are leading to a sizable increase in the demand for labor, pushing wages 

 up to higher levels, and providing employment throughout the year rather than 

 only seasonally." 



However, it seems a likely conclusion on the basis of experience in 

 both the United States and in Europe, that "the great advances in 

 agricultural technology have made the small-farm structure * ♦ * 

 obsolete for the production of most basic crops." *' 



The Impact of Food Programs on U.S. Diplomacy 



The food situation in the less developed countries impinges on U.S. 

 diplomacy and the conduct of that diplomacy in countless vrays. In 

 their everyday relations with host countries, U.S. missions in under- 

 developed feoiintries may be called on to make recommendations aS to 

 whether U-S. food sliipments "are needed in that country, or whether, 

 for example, improvements in local food processing might suffice to 

 overcome specific food shortages. A U.S. mission in an underdeveloped 

 country will need an agricultural capability that extends beyond the 

 reportorial :f unction. It may be asked for advice on broad problems of 

 agricultural policy, or on technical methods of food fortincation and 

 similar problems of limited scope. If U.S. assistance is furnished, 

 the mission will want to observe its distribution and use. In short, U.S. 

 diplomatic activity in countries where food supplies are inadequate 

 and malnutrition is common will probably be concerned to a consid- 

 erable degree with the problems arising from this situation. The 

 information garnered by U.S. agricultural attaches and other naission 

 personnel may be useful in stimulating research on the solution of 

 these problems, particularly if there are well developed relationships 

 between the U.S. foreign affairs establishment and the U.S. scientific 

 community. Conversely, U.S. missions may be able to stimulate re- 

 search by scientists in the LDCs. 



However, massive and complicated impacts on U.S. diplomacy will 

 result from the concerted attack launched on hunger m the LDCs 

 represented by the Green Revolution. Some of these changes are 



» "Can Politics Keep Up with Technology? — Feeding the Hungry." In Ibid., page 187. Mr. 

 Critchfleld, author of "The Long Charade," is on leave from the Washington Star to write 

 a book on world hunger. His article was reprinted in the hearing from The New Republic 

 October 25, 1969. 



« "The Social Impact of the Green Revolution." International Conciliation (No. 581, 

 January 1971 ) , page 49. 



*Boerma, ''Address to the Eighteenth General Conference of the International Federa- 

 tion of Agricultural Producers . . ." op. cit, page 12. Although he was speaking of Europe, 

 the same trend is obserrable In the United States. See part 3 of this series : U.S. Congress. 

 House Committee on Foreign Affairs. "Science, Technology, and American Diplomacy : The 

 Evolution of International Technology." Prepared for the Subcommittee on National Se- 

 curity Policy and Scientific Developments of the. ... by the Science Policy Research and 

 Foreign Affairs Divisions, Legislative Reference Service, Library of Congress. December 

 197'> (Washington. U.S. Government Printing Offlce. 1970). especially pages 31-33. 



