Their Wasted
pp. 114-115 · Read in the full issue
Lands
Laissez-Faire in N. Caledonia
Prom a Special Correspondent NOUMEA, April 30.
IN an important review of the agri cultural situation in New Caledonia— which has aroused much comment— Monsieur Barrau, head of the Agricultural Department, confesses that, having regard to the native Melanesian population and the extent of their reservations, their holdings are in general better employed than those in possession of Europeans.
He drew attention to the difficulty under which agriculture labours, from droughts and floods and cyclones, and the growing menace of erosion. The culti vable alluvial lands—which are, however, specially liable to flooding—amount to a mere 80,000 hectares out of a total surface area for the whole Colony of 1,612,000 hectares.
M. Barrau also drew attention to the dangers of deforestation.
He estimates that no more than 1,000 out of a European population of 20,000 can be termed agriculturalists, and the exodus to Noumea is thinning their ranks.
Nevertheless this rural population had, on the initiative of the General Council, benefited during the past three years in direct or indirect grants to the extent of 40 million Pacific francs.
The agricultural set-up now included 80 tractors and more than 200 motor culti vators which are working less that 1,500 hectars. Local production is also pro tected, rice for example being bought from the producer for 15 francs the kilo, to be sold to the public at the price of imported rice, which is only from 10 to 11 francs the kilo. For wheat, the producer is paid 9 francs the kilo; and the potato grower received on an average between 6 and 7 Pacific francs. The price of maize paid to the grower is 5,500 francs the ton.
Besides these, at the moment the market price for coffee and copra i» favourable. Loans made by the Agri cultural Credit organisation during 1949 alone amounted to 16,421,377 francs.
It is to be regretted that with all this land aid, production has not in creased, and M. Barrau gives it as his opinion that the present sad situation may have been brought about by the: artificial conditions under which the: country has been colonised.
The General Council, through its; President, protested against M. Barrau’si charge that the native population utilise; their reservations better than the Euro pean settlers. Other critics charge the; report with being over pessimistic. The; almost total lack of cheap labour since; the war is referred to as one cause ofi under-production, farmers before the war having relied on cheap coolie labour frorm Java and Indo-China.
Australians and other outsiders who, maybe superficially, look the country over, are generally astonished that this great) island, blessed with a generally kind; climate (though its disadvantages fromr floods and deforestation are obviousX should be incapable of feeding its? relatively small population.
It is certain that a different story would: be told were the Colony cut off from Aus tralian supplies for ten or twenty years; for then the islanders would be forced to drop their lazy, parasitic ways, and really get down to work; and the Noumea com munity would have to make up its collective mind to live on the products ob the country.
Such a happening, however, is most un-j
likely. The New Caledonian French people will be using—or misusing—their lands years hence, in just the same un scientific, dilatory way as prevails to-day: and the General Council—the Colony’s Assembly—no doubt will display the same lack of realism, and the same futility,
when it debates the subject. This will go on as long as the Colony continues to make an easy living out of the sale of its metals.
Those who know the New Caledonian mentality regard M. Barrau’s report as rather a brave one.
The NZ waterfront dispute, now three months old, is causing increasing diffi culties in the Chatham Islands and Western Samoa. The Chathams have had only one ship this year; 20,000 sheep and 1,500 bales of wool are waiting to be lifted.
In Western Samoa there are growing food shortages.