International Institute of Agriculture
Encyclopedia
The International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) was founded in Rome
in 1905 by the King of Italy
with the intent of creating a clearinghouse for collection of agricultural statistics. It was created primarily due to the efforts of David Lubin
. In 1930, the IIA published the first world census of agriculture. After World War II
, both its assets and mandate were handed over to the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations
.
, and his project found favor with the king of Italy. The latter gave a building in Rome and an annual income of $60,000. The king called the first congress in 1906, and delegates attended from 40 countries. At the congress, a treaty was formed making the institute a permanent organization and defining its scope and activities.
The work of the institute was divided among four bureaus:
The annual budget of the institute was $250,000 (c. 1915), contributed by the adhering governments on the basis of a number of units assigned to each country.
The IIA printed and published two annuals and three monthly and one weekly bulletins, together with a considerable number of monographs on special subjects. The annuals dealt with agricultural statistics and legislation, respectively. The monthly bulletins were on (a) agricultural statistics (b) agricultural intelligence and diseases of plants, and (c) economic and social institutions, and the weekly bulletin is bibliographical. The monthly bulletins were published in French
, German
, English
, Spanish
, Italian
and Hungarian
. French being the official language of the IIA, the editions in that language were paid for from the funds of the Institute.
Provision for the edition in the other languages was made by the countries interested. The congress of the United States made an annual appropriation of $5,000 (c. 1915) for translating and printing the English edition, the rest of the expense being borne by Great Britain
and her colonies.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1905 by the King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
with the intent of creating a clearinghouse for collection of agricultural statistics. It was created primarily due to the efforts of David Lubin
David Lubin
David Lubin was a merchant and agriculturalist. He was pivotal in founding the International Institute of Agriculture in 1908, in Rome.-Biography:...
. In 1930, the IIA published the first world census of agriculture. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, both its assets and mandate were handed over to the Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
(FAO) of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
History
In 1904 the idea of such an institute came to David Lubin of Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, and his project found favor with the king of Italy. The latter gave a building in Rome and an annual income of $60,000. The king called the first congress in 1906, and delegates attended from 40 countries. At the congress, a treaty was formed making the institute a permanent organization and defining its scope and activities.
Government
The government of the IIA was vested in the general assembly of delegates from affiliated countries, meeting every two years, and in a permanent executive committee, on which there was one representative from each country. This permanent committee had direct charge of the IIA. The general officers were the president (also chairman of the permanent committee), the vice president and the secretary general.The work of the institute was divided among four bureaus:
- Bureau of the secretary general had charge of the personnel, financial and other routine business, the building and its equipment, the printing and distribution of publications, the library and general bibliographical work, and, as a more recent service, the preparation and publication of an annual compilation of agricultural legislation in the different countries of the world.
- Bureau of general statisticsStatisticsStatistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
collected, collated and published statistics of production and commerce in agricultural products, both animal and vegetable, throughout the world. - Bureau of agricultural intelligence and plant diseases collected and published information regarding the progress of scientific and experimental investigations and practical experience in agriculture throughout the world and, as a branch of this work, gives special attention to the diseases of plants and to entomologyEntomologyEntomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
. - Bureau of economic and social institutions collected and published statistics and general information regarding agricultural co-operation, insurance and credit, together with other matters relating to the economic and social organization of rural communities.
The annual budget of the institute was $250,000 (c. 1915), contributed by the adhering governments on the basis of a number of units assigned to each country.
Publications
Those publications of the IIA which had a bearing on the formation of the price of the staples (such as crop reports and data on exports, imports and stocks) were based exclusively on official information, supplied direct to the institute by the adhering governments. Other publications were produced from (a) information officially communicated by the governments, (b) original articles contributed by eminent authorities designated by the adhering governments, (c) excerpts and abstracts of articles translated from the 2,225 official and unofficial periodical publications of the world received by the IIA.The IIA printed and published two annuals and three monthly and one weekly bulletins, together with a considerable number of monographs on special subjects. The annuals dealt with agricultural statistics and legislation, respectively. The monthly bulletins were on (a) agricultural statistics (b) agricultural intelligence and diseases of plants, and (c) economic and social institutions, and the weekly bulletin is bibliographical. The monthly bulletins were published in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
. French being the official language of the IIA, the editions in that language were paid for from the funds of the Institute.
Provision for the edition in the other languages was made by the countries interested. The congress of the United States made an annual appropriation of $5,000 (c. 1915) for translating and printing the English edition, the rest of the expense being borne by Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and her colonies.