Challenges of the Twenty-first Century: Bangladesh economy

Any paper written on the theme "Challenges Of The Twenty-first Century: Bangladesh Economy" would naturally highlight all the challenges----social, political, environmental, scientific and technological etc.---------that could be faced by the growing economy of Bangladesh. I have, however, chosen to highlight scientific and technological challenges not without reason. Planners, Managers and Economists of Bangladesh usually deal with all aspects of the challenges but the S & T challenges are usually overlooked. This is rather unfortunate in view of the fact the Nobel Laureate economist Robert Solow pointed out quite sometime ago that the real engine of economic growth is science & technology. Economists should note that it is science & technology that has acted as an instrument of change for all countries. Yet when our economists plan our economy, they tend to follow a stereo type methodology using all the economic jargons of the day and all the present day systems of loans and grants from the financial institutions of the world. The ideas of resource generation using science & technology have never been their strong point. It is with this view in mind that I have concentrated on the S&T challenges of the twenty first century which have already brought about economic revolutions in many countries.
S & T challenges of the twenty first century
It is true that the mastering of these technologies needs money. It is truer that the technologies mastered and practiced bring more money. Following this philosophy of using S&T as a money earner, some of the S & T challenges of the twenty first century are listed as follows:
i. to increase speed
ii. to increase the efficiency of energy transformations
iii. to reduce back-bending labour
iv. to increase the packing density in electronics
v. to store information for long within tiny spaces
vi. to produce more
vii. to control things from a distance
viii. to teach from a distance
ix. to produce high temperature similar to that inside the sun
x. to produce very low temperatures
xi. to produce very high and very low pressures
xii. to probe the minutest parts of matter (? 10 -13 cm)
xiii. to probe the outer reaches of the universe (1028 cm)
xiv. to examine the presence of foreign atoms at the trace level
xv. to excel in the non-destructive test of matter
xvi. to devise materials which can sustain high pressures, high temperatures, low temperatures etc.
xvii. to devise materials (at room temperatures) whose electrical resistance could be brought to zero (High Temperature Superconductivity)
xviii. to understand the complete Human Genome and to identity the genes responsible for different traits and to perform genetic engineering
xix. to understand better the interaction between radiation and matter (including the effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic interactions)
xx. to use various organisms as a labour force in doing things we cannot do (bio-technology)
xxi. to investigate new antidotes for deadly diseases
xxii. to increase the efficiency in food storage
xxiii. to understand the interactions between the living and non-living components of our environment.
xxiv. to recycle matter and to make non-bio degradable matter degradable
xxv. to look for new sources of energy
Some key issues for economists and planners
The challenges which were discovered in the twentieth century continue to be met also in the new millennium. The above list is only indicative and is by no means exhaustive.
It is not essential for us to go in for research in all of these fields. The key idea would be to identify areas of scientific research that would increase our capability in solving the problems faced by the common men of the country. However, there should be some groups in the country who would be able to undertake high level research and understand the jargons of the day in their field.
Keeping the above technologies in mind some of the questions that I would like to pose to the economists of our country are the following:
(a) If agriculture is one of the cornerstones of the economy on which 70-80% of our population are dependent for a living and if we really have to be self sufficient in the food sector, how is it that we have not been able to make our own tractors and our own water pumps. These are not high technology things and can be produced in the country with the help of mechanical engineers, for the training of whom we have a full fledged university called Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
(b) We are a riverine country and rivers have been the main stay of our life for long in terms of fisheries, navigation and irrigation. How is it that these rivers have not been dredged systematically over the years and we have not been able to build the dredgers ourselves?
(c) Ship building has been used by many countries as a source of generation of money. It is only recently that some entrepreneurs have been thinking of undertaking this task on a significant scale. Why were such steps not suggested earlier by the economists?
(d) We have natural resources like gas, coal, peat with a great possibility of discovering oil also; how is it that even after 36 years of the independence of Bangladesh, we have not been able to acquire the rigs necessary for the lifting of natural resources. These machines are expensive no doubt but in view of the fact that the exploration, lifting and use of these resources is a matter of life and death for us, one of the highest priorities should have been accorded to this sector. How often have our economist highlighted this problem?
(e) In the present world, services are a major way of earning money but there is no denying the fact that the manufacturing of goods is a greater source of income. Is it not painfully true that our country which could have been transformed into a manufacturing country has now been reduced to an indenting country? Have planners and economists really concentrated on building up a manufacturing base in the country.
(f) Universities all over the world have been recognized as generators of new thoughts and ideas. In fact, most of the recent S&T innovations have come from the Universities of the world. For this to happen, scientific resources have to be undertaken as a regular activity of the University system. Our Universities and Technical Institutions have been largely reduced to teaching institutions. The amount of money spent on the S &T sector is much below 1% of GNP. The S & T expenditure in countries which have shown significant rates of growth of economy varies between is 2 to 3% of GNP. The question is: why have not planners & economists understood the importance of S & T in the nation building task and have recommended the allocation of the right amount of GNP for scientific research?
I could go on raising more and more questions for economists. But let me not be misunderstood by them. All I mean to say is that since they are usually involved in the planning of our national economy they should be thoroughly conversant with the power of science & technology in bringing about changes for the betterment of life.
If we look at the economic scenario of some of the countries of South and Southeast Asia, we find that S & T really acted as Aladin's modern lamp and served as an instrument of change.
In many of these countries there is a lack of natural resources. But that do not impede their economic development. These countries bring resources from outside, make value addition to them and sell them in the world markets at competitive prices. These nations worked hard to acquire the scientific knowledge that made value addition possible. Thus, knowledge itself is being treated as the best raw material of the day. No wonder, the present age has been dubbed as one of Knowledge Economy. If we have to appear as a nation of middle economy within a short period of time, and if some of the Millennium Development Goals set for developing countries have to be achieved, there is no doubt that we have to invest more on education and S &T towards increasing our capability for value addition.
Knowledge Economy and generation of resources
In Bangladesh we can also use the same principle of Knowledge Economy provided we believe that we can do what others can. Our budgets (including the present one) have not reflected use the concept of Knowledge Economy in our development projects so far. Some of the practical areas in which knowledge economy can bring economic dividends are as follows:
(a) Development of skilled manpower:
Bangladesh earns a major part of its foreign currency income thorough the labour force exported to different countries. 'At present almost the entire labour force is unskilled. Our foreign exchange earning would be increased by orders of magnitude only if we could provide highly skilled manpower, specially to countries which are having zero population growth. This skilled manpower could be created in the areas of high grade plumbing, precision lathe work, glass-to-metal sealing, nursing, hotel management and tourism, learning of different languages (Arabic, English, French,, Chinese etc.).
(b) Use of natural resources
For purposes of use of natural resources, the A to Z of the overall operations of survey, exploration, lifting and utilization of the resources should be mastered by the Bangladeshi themselves. Bangladeshis are not really poor. Our poverty is the poverty of thoughts. Our poverty is the poverty of vision. In my opinion, we have politicians alright but we do not have statesmen. Anyone having vision would have insisted on acquiring capability to lift natural resources existing under our soil.
(c) Development of jute products:
Jute is a wonderful biodegrade fiber and as a great demand in the international market. All we have to do is to make knitted light jute bags as a substitute for polythene bags. If we could provided these bags to the Supermarkets of the world as a continuous basis, the economic scenario of Bangladesh would be completely different.
(d) Planting of trees:
If we can plant coconut trees along the entire costal belt of Bangladesh, not only would the intensity of storms be reduced and the intrusion of salinity be lessoned but the economic benefits would also be tremendous. We could also claim money from the international community in the name of 'Carbon Debt'.
(e) Software development:
In this age of ICT revolution our boys and girls could be given adequate training in all aspects of E-trade and E-Commerce and could also be encouraged to develop a software industry by providing them logistic support and by projecting their ICT strength to the international community through our diplomatic channels. The software developments would, of course, have to know the English Language well.
(f) Use of bio-technology
The various forms of bio-technology including tissue culture are now being used as money earners in many countries including Thailand. The orchid culture in Thailand has been a glaring example in this connection. The food processing industry in Thailand has also been an economic booster. There is no reason why Bangladesh should not use similar techniques for economic prosperity.
(g) Agricultural Production:
The agricultural production in Bangladesh can be greatly boosted if we can arrest the degradation of soil, use bio fertilizer and proceed towards "vertical agriculture" through the use of new genetic varieties with fulfillments of the requirements of water, fertilizer and insecticides.
Zakat as a financial institution
Our economists have not yet been trained to treat Zakat as a financial institution for purposes of poverty reduction. It is not simply in their curricula. It is estimated that billions of takas can be raised as Zakat in Bangladesh every year. If a proper system of collection is in place, this money can be used for reducing poverty of the huge section of the population, without taking help from international financial institutions thus reducing our debt burden also.
In conclusion it must be pointed out that the improvement of the economy of a country is not a simple matter. It depends on a number of factors including the vision to foresee things ahead of time, political stability, foreign investment, proper tax and vat collection, financial reforms in the banking and administrative sectors, facilitating the operation of trade and commerce (yet as the same time preserving the transparency of operation), increasing the capacity building in science & technology for making value additions to products and processes, arresting environmental degradation through adoption of environment-friendly measures in all social and economic activities and lastly through the creation of a knowledge-based society with equal opportunities for men and women and having regard for morality and ethical values.
In Bangladesh, the growth rate of economy (around 6.5%) has not been too bad at all. It could have been higher, if political stability could be achieved with consequent significant foreign investment. Garments industry has been a money earner alright even with the price of stitching but the backward linkages must be completed also for the future survival of the industry. Also, more innovative areas for economic investment have to be found out.

The author is VC Southeast University & President, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.