Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1940, Page 111

THE PRESENT FOOD SUPPLY IN FINLAND 105
If nothing had arisen to arrest this process, it is quite probable
that within a brief period Finland would have become entirely
self-sufficient in regard to cereals and her food production in
general have approached a 100 per cent. degree of self-sufficiency.
The outbreak of war, however, between the Great Powers and
especially the outbreak of hostilities between Finland and the
Soviet Union at the end of November, 1939, interrupted this
favourable development and thrust Finland back to about the
level of self-sufficiency that she had reached in the latter half
of the 1920’s.
For under the terms of the Treaty of Moscow, Finland ceded
to the Soviet Union 32,265 sq. kms of territory or 9.3 per cent.
of the total area of the country. And in this territory dwelt
about 450,000 inhabitants, who moved from their homes into
the territory left to Finland.
With the ceded territory went 264,786 hectares of plough-
land and 51,641 ha. of natural meadow. These losses represent
about 1 o per cent. of the total arable area and about 15 per cent.
of the natural meadow area. As the population of Finland re-
mains the same as before, for the inhabitants of the ceded terri-
tory all moved into present Finnish territory, whereas the area
of field and meadow is appreciably reduced, it is obvious that
the production of foodstuffs per inhabitant has been adversely
affected to a serious extent.
The significance of the loss of territory for the most im-
portant element in food self-sufficiency, namely the cereal
harvest, is shown to some extent by Table 1, which gives the
area under cereals in 1938 in the whole of Finland, in the ceded
territory and in the territory now left to Finland, and the re-
duction expressed in percentages.
Table 1.
Area under cultivation ha. Total for whole of Finland Ceded territory Remaining territory Loss %
Winter wheat 26,100 1,100 25,000 4.2
Spring wheat 109,000 16,283 92,717 14.9
Rye 230,000 27,664 202,336 12.0
Barley 123,700 7,693 116,007 6.2
Oats 488,000 45,261 442,739 9.3
Mixed crops 9,900 408 9,492 4.1
Total 986,700 98,409 888,291 10.0