252 THE FUTURE OF ARID LANDS 
ation of arid zones. This new organization, it was proposed, would 
study problems affecting the dry areas and serve as a center for 
the collection and dissemination of information to all FAO 
members and other interested countries. I believe the FAO has 
already undertaken to collect results of the experiments and 
observations at present available from several countries and to 
analyze such results in order to advise other countries in matters 
of land utilization, conservation of forest, and afforestation poli- 
cies. | have no doubt that these developments will make a great 
advance in the direction of a methodical and scientific reclamation 
of arid and semi-arid lands. 
But maximum benefit can be achieved by bringing under culti- 
vation vast areas in arid and semi-arid regions. Moisture is essen- 
tial for this purpose. In a number of regions of the world both land 
and water exist. What is needed is to marry these for the good of 
mankind. 
Arid Lands as a Source of Food 
The total land area of the world, excluding ice-covered regions, 
is about 33,500 million acres. Less than 10 per cent of this is 
cultivated, giving a per capita figure of about 1.25 acres. Our 
Indian vegetary dietary can be produced from about 0.8 acre per 
head, although the Chinese have been managing with 0.5 acre per 
capita. The British require 1.4 acres per head to satisfy their 
needs, whereas the people with higher standards of nutrition will 
require two or more than two acres per capita. 
One of the chief maladies of present day agriculture has been 
that in many countries the area under the plow has been de- 
creasing instead of increasing owing to greater demand on land 
from other quarters like expansion of cities, highways, canal 
systems, industries, and other matters of defence or strategic im- 
portance. The world stands in great need of an increase in crop 
acreage and better exploitation of water resources. This can be 
done by reclamation of arid wastes, marginal and saline lands. 
In India, for example, there is a considerable area of unculti- 
vated land which can be utilized to advantage. Out of 810 million 
acres, about 330 million acres are sown at present. Only 12 per 
cent of the surface flow rivers have so far been used. 
In any arid land, the problem is definitely the limitations of 
