Discussion summary

In commenting on Scrimshaw's paper, La Rivi felt it necessary to record the effect of government actions upon factors affecting food production. The entire farming system in Western Europe and the United States depends on government subsidies to the extent that in the US some farmers have received subvention not to grow certain crops. Government subsidies might well be used to encourage the production of the bioconversion materials discussed in the papers at this conference.

The discussions closed with comments on the necessity of differentiating the qualities of energy in analyses of that factor. Although this is a complex evaluation, it is absolutely necessary if valid comparisons among different systems are to be obtained, a sine qua non for their practical application in rural communities.