Accentuated need for greater storage capacities
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Humayun Kabir
THE realisation of the need for food security, specially, should be a sharp one for Bangladesh in the backdrop of its experiences in the recent past. Only one year and a half ago, the country was faced with a havoc with its cereal production down by a large amount and costs of imported food grains at all times high levels.
Even the importing of such food grains at the exorbitant prices became uncertain from a situation of worldwide shortages that afflicted the traditional exporting countries. Indeed, the food grain related worries in 2007 was a rude reminder of the strategic importance of food security as basic to economic security of the country. Thus, any decision taken to maintain a large food reserve is a sensible one. The only aspects to be considered in the scheme are observing economy and cost-efficient methods at all stages in building, using and replenishing such food stocks.
A recent report in the media indicated that the aim of the government would be to double its food grain holding capacities. Annual food grain production was estimated at a record 29.8 millions tons in fiscal year 2007-8. The yield in the current fiscal year is projected to be an all time high at 32.5 million tons. This has paved the way for planners to hold some 3.0 million tons at any one time. The present capacity is 1.5 millions tons but a part of this capacity is unusable for different reasons including the one of poor maintenance of the warehouses and silos. So, both creation of new stock holding capacities and improvement of the existing ones assume a great deal of importance.
In this context, it would be relevant to note here that an important objective should also be to reduce waste from bad storing. The capacities will have to be dispersed with neat planning to gain advantages in procurement from surplus food grain producing areas by being near to these areas as well as facilitating distribution to beneficiaries through traversing shortest distances. This planning would likely reduce transportation costs at both ends, from reducing time and length of journeys from procurement centres to the storing places as well as similarly achieving efficiency in reaching the grains to the beneficiaries. The highest attention should be paid to ensure that the grains would be stocked certainly at high and dry places well above the highest recorded flood levels in those areas. Regular and efficient maintenance operations of the stocks will have to be conducted at reasonable costs.
Attaining the targeted stock levels will be inexorably linked to encouraging productivity. The higher productivity in turn depends on farmers' remaining motivated for greater production from different incentives. The same calls for reaching inputs to farmers at fair or pledged prices and the benefits of subsidies efficiently and scrupulously. The farmers will need to be also vitally assured of getting sound procurement prices for their produce and to get them promptly at the government-operated procurement centres. Higher productivity also essentially requires planned activities to enable farmers to sow the better type of high yielding varieties of seeds.
Farmers need to be educated about the fact that they can get the same output from using a far smaller amount of urea than what they now use on the soils through applying urea granules and spraying urea. The less application of urea would be also safe for the soil by helping to preserve its natural nutrients. The new types of seeds that have been developed to withstand flood and drought should be made ready for large scale availability to farmers. Farmers will have to be acquainted with these seeds and their utility for them to start using them extensively throughout the country.
THE realisation of the need for food security, specially, should be a sharp one for Bangladesh in the backdrop of its experiences in the recent past. Only one year and a half ago, the country was faced with a havoc with its cereal production down by a large amount and costs of imported food grains at all times high levels.
Even the importing of such food grains at the exorbitant prices became uncertain from a situation of worldwide shortages that afflicted the traditional exporting countries. Indeed, the food grain related worries in 2007 was a rude reminder of the strategic importance of food security as basic to economic security of the country. Thus, any decision taken to maintain a large food reserve is a sensible one. The only aspects to be considered in the scheme are observing economy and cost-efficient methods at all stages in building, using and replenishing such food stocks.
A recent report in the media indicated that the aim of the government would be to double its food grain holding capacities. Annual food grain production was estimated at a record 29.8 millions tons in fiscal year 2007-8. The yield in the current fiscal year is projected to be an all time high at 32.5 million tons. This has paved the way for planners to hold some 3.0 million tons at any one time. The present capacity is 1.5 millions tons but a part of this capacity is unusable for different reasons including the one of poor maintenance of the warehouses and silos. So, both creation of new stock holding capacities and improvement of the existing ones assume a great deal of importance.
In this context, it would be relevant to note here that an important objective should also be to reduce waste from bad storing. The capacities will have to be dispersed with neat planning to gain advantages in procurement from surplus food grain producing areas by being near to these areas as well as facilitating distribution to beneficiaries through traversing shortest distances. This planning would likely reduce transportation costs at both ends, from reducing time and length of journeys from procurement centres to the storing places as well as similarly achieving efficiency in reaching the grains to the beneficiaries. The highest attention should be paid to ensure that the grains would be stocked certainly at high and dry places well above the highest recorded flood levels in those areas. Regular and efficient maintenance operations of the stocks will have to be conducted at reasonable costs.
Attaining the targeted stock levels will be inexorably linked to encouraging productivity. The higher productivity in turn depends on farmers' remaining motivated for greater production from different incentives. The same calls for reaching inputs to farmers at fair or pledged prices and the benefits of subsidies efficiently and scrupulously. The farmers will need to be also vitally assured of getting sound procurement prices for their produce and to get them promptly at the government-operated procurement centres. Higher productivity also essentially requires planned activities to enable farmers to sow the better type of high yielding varieties of seeds.
Farmers need to be educated about the fact that they can get the same output from using a far smaller amount of urea than what they now use on the soils through applying urea granules and spraying urea. The less application of urea would be also safe for the soil by helping to preserve its natural nutrients. The new types of seeds that have been developed to withstand flood and drought should be made ready for large scale availability to farmers. Farmers will have to be acquainted with these seeds and their utility for them to start using them extensively throughout the country.