The implications

15. Is rapid population growth a cause or a consequence of under-development? Except in extreme cases, population density cannot account for hunger. Let us look first at the following facts. It was in the over-populated deltas and valleys of Asia that the "green revolution" agricultural innovations were first applied. Yet, countries with small populations, like Zaire or Zambia which could have fed a population 20 times the size of their own without requiring any major irrigation schemes, are still short of food. The reason lies in the skewed measures imposed by governments and in economic management and policies, not in any objective causes or economic poverty. Today it is said that there is a greater chance of reducing excessive demographic growth by trying to reduce mass poverty than there is of combating poverty merely by reducing the population growth rate(²⁵).

The demographic situation will only evolve slowly so long as families in the developing countries believe that their production capacity and their security can only be guaranteed by having a large number of children. It should once again be reiterated that it is generally economic and social changes(²⁶) that enable parents to accept the gift of a child. In this area, developments depend to a very large extent on the parents' socio-cultural background. Thought should therefore be given to educating couples in responsible planning of family size and the spacing of births in full respect for moral and ethicalprinciples and in harmony with the true nature of the human being(²⁷).