FOOD-PRODUCTION AND POPULATION-GROWTH

Rapid population increases are threatening the food supplies of the Th ird World. The better lands are already overcrowded by low-yielding su bsistence agriculture, reducing the size of farms and spreading to are as marginal for crops. Continuous cropping without replacement of plan t nutrients has already caused abandonment of many millions of hectare s of exhausted soils. With their populations set to double, survival w ill depend on plant nutrients and responsive varieties to increase cro p yields. Unnecessary suffering could be reduced by scientific and adm inistrative improvement of family planning services. Regrettably at Ri o family planning was deleted from the UNCED Plan of Action.