Change priorities

EVERYONE in Bangladesh is aware of the increasing cost of food. Most people find it difficult to make both ends meet. This problem is not confined to Bangladesh only, but is also, perhaps, spread all over the third world. In Bangladesh, these problems are always associated with some local factors. Rogue traders always take full advantage of any crisis, and make life miserable for the common people.
There are limits to the extent the government can respond to the situation. It may allow import of more food grains to ease the situation, and may even arrange alternative channels for marketing and distribution. These are short-term measures that may bring some temporary relief, but will not provide a permanent solution.
In a free world economy the government should not try to dictate the market. It has to identify the process of transformation and try to ride it out in a smooth and orderly manner, with minimum suffering of the common people.
The increasing cost of energy and food is now a global crisis. There have been a number of conferences to discuss the issue and try to find some solution. The biggest conference took place in Rome at the FAO headquarters in the first week of June. The world leaders failed to come out with any outright solution. The only possible solution is a new economic order.
For many years, the US and the Western world have been flooding the third world countries with their subsidised agricultural products, thereby destroying their agricultural potential. People got used to cheap food-stuff. Farmers left their lands and flocked into the cities for their living.
In third world countries, a new trend developed for quick industrialisation. In many cases, vast tracts of agricultural land were sacrificed for industries or for unplanned housing. We got into the habit of buying cheap food-stuff from abroad, and now we are suddenly faced with a crisis.
It all started with energy prices. Fertiliser prices immediately jumped up. Because of higher transportation cost the price of food started going up and up. The western world wants to reduce its dependence on Middle-East oil and gas. They are using a lot of grain to produce energy (ethanol). So, cheap food is no more available. We are in a crisis. For the western world it is just a case of minor adjustment, and not a serious crisis.
What we are witnessing may be termed as change of power. From nuclear power it came to energy power, and we can now see food power. The world in general is going through a financial crunch. The petroleum rich Middle-East is definitely out of this crisis. The Russian Federation is, in fact, enjoying a booming economy. Food exporting countries like Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia will have a healthy surplus in their balance of trade.
How long it will continue? Probably a year or two, until the new economic order becomes stable. The demand for conventional energy sources will soon slow down. It will find a new equilibrium where we will get used to higher energy and food prices. In our social and family life we will now be spending more for food and travel, but less on other things (such as housing, clothing, electronic products etc).
What do we do as a nation? We have to adjust to the new reality. We have to change our priorities. Education is the key to success. We must continue to spend more for education. The next important sector is energy. We have to diversify. We have to go for nuclear power for energy. We must make all efforts to search for oil, gas and coal. We should go for offshore exploration of oil and gas. We should also try for solar energy and wind turbines.
We must not forget that we have been an agricultural country, and that is what we remain even today. We have to make massive investment in this sector. These investments have to come in the form of good irrigation systems, pumps, fertiliser, good quality seeds and easy loans for the farmers. We must utilise every inch of our land.
We should grow various types of food, including seasonal fruits and vegetables, instead of depending totally on rice. The farmers and growers must get value for their efforts, and this will bring the farmers back to the land. In the revised social order, the farmers may be earning more than many civil servants. That is how it should be. We will slowly get used to it.
Bangladesh has witnessed lot of political turmoil. Most of the time we failed to utilise our democratic rights in a disciplined and peaceful manner. Instead of arguments and reasoning within the parliament we take to the streets, with violent and destructive results. Now we have a difficult time. We have to undergo the process of transformation to democracy. We cannot afford to resort to street violence.
We have to ride out the present crisis through hardship. For a country like Bangladesh, it is a difficult time, and we have to work together to live through it. We must shun luxury and wastage. Let us tax them heavily. We cannot afford to go for MIG-29 or new frigates. We should identify our priorities and concentrate on those.

F.R. Chowdhury is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.