1949-1970 Postcolonial Phase

Independence of colonies, the Green Revolution, trade and emerging international development cooperation

In the post-colonial /early independence era of former Dutch colonies as well as other countries in Asia, Latin-America and Africa, the contours of development cooperation emerged. Colonial trade relations needed to be renegotiated and realigned. International organizations focusing on food and agriculture were founded, partly as a response to increasing concerns about impending famine due to rapid population growth especially in Asia. During this period Green Revolution thinking prevailed- a science and technology driven approach - to increase agricultural productivity to meet the food needs of a growing population.

The three main courses of action adopted by Dutch policy makers at the time were (1) increase food production in these countries, (2) facilitate importation of food products and (3) provide food assistance to consumers. Priority was given to enabling countries to increase production, mainly through technical assistance and capacity building. Initially the focus was on multilateral channels but increasingly efforts were developed through bilateral channels. The primary reference point was the UN/FAO Indicative World Plan for Agricultural Development 1965-1985.