Remarks to Participants in the World Food Forum.

I WANT to express my welcome to all of you, those of you who are from the Department, those of you who are from American universities, land grant colleges, and others--and those of you, especially, who have come from abroad, from Scotland, from The Hague, from Belgium, from New Zealand, from Australia, from Cairo. All of this indicates what a great international challenge and opportunity we have.

Our agricultural problems and opportunities are different from those of much of the world. We have a tremendous capacity to produce, which has really been the most extraordinary revolution, really, in a sense, of a kind that we have had in the last 15 years. In other countries their problem has been different: an inadequacy of supply. So how we shall maintain our production, how we shall improve our consumption, how we shall maintain the income of our farmers, how we shall take care of those who no longer are needed to produce our food, and how other sections of the world shall be able to market their surpluses in those countries where they have them, in concert with us, in a way which serves the very basic needs of the people of the world--all that is worth your attention and effort, and in most cases your lives.

So we're very proud to have you here. We're very glad that this is recognized, on this occasion, as a world problem. We are anxious to work in the closest concert with you. None of us feels very happy at having food stored away while others need it, and the way that we can solve that problem is a very human one which transcends national frontiers.

So, gentlemen and ladies, you are most welcome here on this occasion, because this is a matter of particular concern to this administration. We're glad to see you.

Thank you.