Agricultural numbers: The statistics of the international institute of agriculture in the interwar period

Abstract

This article examines the statistics produced by the International Institute of Agriculture in connection with the economic conferences that were held under the auspices of the League of Nations in Genoa (1922) and Geneva (1927). Established in 1905 in Rome, the International Institute of Agriculture formed an important institutional framework for the exchange of knowledge on agriculture in the first half of the twentieth century. By examining the Institute's reports and enquiries and the planning for the world census of agriculture (1930), the article argues that the Institute held a particular vision of the relationship between agriculture and industry that differed greatly from the perspective of the Anglophone experts of the League of Nations. It will be shown that whilst the League addressed the issue of famine and food shortages, the Institute focused on stabilizing farmers' income