Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-Continued Commodity Series, Nos. 1-11 (including materials pertaining to ten commodities) Washington. Monthly Bulletin: Food and Agriculture Statistics. Washington. Unasylva: A Review of Forestry and Forestry Products. Washington, Bimonthly. Report of the International Emergency Food Committee to the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Second Session. Washington, March 1948. Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Secretary, Pan American Union, Washington, D. C. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT The Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences was created pursuant to a resolution of the Eighth American Scientific Congress held in Washington in 1940 and a recommendation of the Governing Board of the Pan American Union. The Institute was at first incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia, June 18, 1942, but now operates under the authority of a convention, which was opened for signature on January 15, 1944, and which entered into force on November 30, 1944.3 Field headquarters of the Institute, including farms, school, dormitory and farm buildings, and laboratories were formally established in Turrialba, Costa Rica, March 1943, on a 2,500 acre tract of land donated by the Costa Rican Government. MEMBERSHIP Membership in the Institute is open to governments of the 21 American republics upon ratification of the convention. The following countries are now contributing members: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, United States, and Venezuela. Additional countries, although not members, are cooperating informally with the Institute. PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS The purpose of the Institute, as set out in article II of the convention, is "to encourage and advance the development of agricultural sciences See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 48. in the American republics through research, teaching, and extension activities in the theory and practice of agriculture and other related arts and sciences." The Institute undertakes to carry out in this specialized field the broad objectives of the Organization of American States. The Institute, working on a graduate level, conducts study and research on agricultural projects which are of concern to more than one country and toward the solution of which more than one country may contribute. It carries on a program through (a) demonstration farms on which students receive practical training and on which modern methods and equipment are tried and adapted; (b) research on specified projects carried on by resident and visiting scientists; (c) teaching for graduate students who are selected with a view to their returning to their own countries to occupy scientific or administrative positions; (d) occasional inter-American technical meetings. STRUCTURE The Institute is governed by a Board of Directors identical in personnel with the Council of the Oas, which meets annually. The Board elects the Director of the Institute, supervises his activities, approves the appointment of the Secretary, approves the annual budget submitted by the Director, fixes the annual quotas of members, and appoints and defines the duties of an Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee is responsible for the general plan of development and activities, and meets twice a year. There is provision for a Technical Advisory Council, composed of one agricultural expert appointed by each contracting state for a 5-year term to advise the Director concerning the program, but the Council is not now active. The present Director of the Institute is Ralph H. Allee. The Chief of the Division of Agriculture and Conservation of the Pan American Union serves as Secretary. There are seven major departments through which the program of the Institute is developed: Departments of Animal Industry, Agricultural Engineering, Plant Industry, Economics and Rural Welfare, Extension and Vocational Education Service, the Inter-American Cacao Center, Library, and Publications. Each of the departments is headed by a scientist who is primarily concerned with organizing and conducting research and teaching a limited number of graduate students. English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish are the official languages of the Institute. Its publications are generally in Spanish and English. FINANCES Budget. The budget for the Institute is prepared by the Director and approved by the Board of Directors, The Institute's budget for the fiscal year 1949, which was approved July 8, 1948, amounted to $412,018 payable in United States dollars. This budget contemplates revenue from the quotas of the member governments, sale of farm products, and grants for particular work projects from private institutions such as the American International Association for Economic and Social Development, the King Ranch, Standard Oil Development Company, and the Cocoa Research Committee. Members' Quotas. The convention on the Institute provides that members' annual quotas "shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Institute provided the vote is unanimous with respect to the members representing the Contracting States. The amounts of the respective quotas shall be in proportion to the population of each Contracting State on the basis of the latest official statistics in possession of the Pan American Union on the first day of July of each year. The annual quota payment of each Contracting State shall not exceed one dollar United States currency per one thousand of the total population of that State. The following is the scale of contributions for the fiscal year 1949: *These countries have deposited ratifications, and their quotas for the fiscal year 1949 amount to $183,309.43. UNITED STATES RELATIONS Authorization. The United States participates in the Institute by virtue of its ratification of the convention deposited July 4, 1944. On July 11, 1946, the President designated the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences as an international organization entitled to enjoy the benefits of the International Organizations Immunities Act.* Payments. The United States contribution to the Institute is paid from funds appropriated to the Department of State for this purpose. Annual quota contributions since the fiscal year 1946 have been as follows: Agencies Chiefly Concerned. The Departments of State and Agriculture assume primary responsibility for United States policy toward the Institute. Participation. The United States has taken an active interest in the establishment of the Institute and through the former Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs has made capital contributions to finance the construction of buildings, purchase equipment, pay operating costs pending entry into force of the convention and finance further study and planning. The United States official representation is through the United States Representative on the Council of the Organization of American States. In addition many United States scientists and technical officials have participated in the planning and work of the Institute. RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS The Institute is an integral part of the Inter-American system and has been recognized as a specialized organization of the Organization of American States. A joint committee of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council of the OAs and the Board of Directors of the Institute is currently being organized pursuant to a decision of the Council of the OAS. Close relationships have been worked out between the Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, although no formal agreement has appeared to be necessary. 'See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 48. The two organizations are cooperating on several programs, such as the World Agricultural Census of 1950, particularly in Costa Rica. Joint meetings have been arranged at the Institute and others are planned for consideration of technical agricultural problems, control of infestation of food in storage, and agricultural extension work. The Institute has also established contact with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS U. S. Department of State. Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences: Convention Between the United States of America and Other American Republics. Opened for signature at Washington January 15, 1944. Effective November 30, 1944. Treaty Series 987. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1944. 29 pp. (58 Stat. 1169) International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669; 8 U.S.C. 203, 215; 22 U.S.C. 288 a, b, c, d, e, f, note; 26 U.S.C. 116, 1400, 1426, 1600, 1607 and notes, 1621, 3466, 3469, 3475, 3797; 42 U.S.C. 401, 409, 1001, 1101, notes) made applicable to the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences by Executive Order 9751, dated July 11, 1946. Pan American Union. Convention on the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences. Washington, 1944. Annual Report of the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences; Fiscal Year 1946-47. Washington, 1947. Fiscal Year 1947-48. Washington, 1948. Presupuesto Correspondiente al Año Económico de 1949. (Report of the Special Committee submitted for the approval of the Board of Directors in the July 30, 1949 session.) Washington, 1949. Report of the Meetings of the Administrative Committee of the InterAmerican Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Turrialba, Costa Rica, March 25-28, 1948; Washington, November 11-15, 1948. Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences. Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences Information Bulletin. (Technical and scientific studies on different subjects also obtainable from the Pan American Union, Washington 6, D.C.) International Seed-Testing Association Wageningen, Netherlands ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT The International Seed-Testing Association is an outgrowth of the European Seed-Testing Association, which was established in 1921 by informal agreement among 16 European countries for the purpose of standardizing methods and terms for the analysis of seeds in international trade. The organization assumed its present title in 1924 when its membership was expanded to include non-European coun |