Needed: Farm Reform

Like citizens of underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, many Latin Americans tend to assume that dependence on agriculture keeps their countries poor, and that the fast, easy way to national wealth is forced-draft industrialization. One result is that agriculture remains, by and large, woefully inefficient. Countries in which more than half the labor force grows crops or raises livestock use scarce foreign exchange to pay for imported foodstuffs--and are still ill-fed.

A case in point: Colombia. Some 60% of all Colombian breadwinners earn their living in agriculture, yet food production fails to keep pace with population growth. In a report issued last week, a World Bank mission urged the Colombian government to undertake a "mobilization of resources" to expand agricultural output. Among the recommendations:

P: Irrigation and drainage projects to make some 1,000,000 acres of underproductive land usable for cropping.

P: Land-tax reform to encourage more productive use of land. Much of Colombia's good crop land is owned by absentees who use it for low-yield grazing, or simply hold on to it as an investment. By taxing unused and underused land, the government could force big landowners to sell some of their holdings to farmers or go into farming themselves.

P: More credit to farmers.

P: Increased use of farm machinery, fertilizers, insecticides and high-grade seed.

P: Expanded agricultural education and extension services to spread knowledge of up-to-date methods.

Left unsaid by the World Bank mission was the unavoidable conclusion that a "mobilization of resources" for agricultural development would mean, for the time being, a slowdown of industrialization. With a whopping trade debt of $180 million piled up as of last week, Colombia is in no position to buy more farm machinery abroad without cutting down on imports of consumer goods and industrial equipment. The same hard choice confronts other Latin American governments. From the standpoint of economic growth, what is the best buy? Tractors, TV sets, or machinery for a new electrical-equipment plant? In many cases, the sound, unglamorous answer is tractors.

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