Experts warn of severe 'monga' this year
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
FE Report
Floods, crop damage and food inflation spike are likely to make the monga severe this year, economists and donor representatives warned Tuesday, urging the government to take contingency plans in the fight against seasonal hunger.
Only field level actions, not outsider-driven projects, will help make monga history, they told the conference dedicated to finding a comprehensive approach to monga solution.
"There should be a contingency plan for mitigating the monga, given this year's floods and price hike of essentials," noted economist Wahid Uddin Mahmud said.
Country representative of the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) Chris Austin said with the second phase of the floods, damage to aman crop and a global rise in the price of basic food commodities, the monga is likely to be a severe one this year.
Ministry of Agriculture, Local Government and Engineering Division and Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) jointly organised the two-day conference in the city, with chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre Hossain Zillur Rahman in the chair.
"Monga has exposed the weaknesses of the local economy. So, it's possible to mitigate monga through field level actions and programmes, not with paper work, nor with dictation from outsiders," Mahmud insisted.
He pointed out that it will require government-NGO partnership to help new momentum into the local economy.
He, however, slammed the local government for inefficient distribution of public resources which, he says, often exacerbates monga situation in the northern districts.
Mahmud, who teaches economics at Dhaka University, suggested that an early warning system of monga should be developed to reduce its severity.
He also suggested that the government should look into the possibility of introducing the Employment Guarantee Scheme following India's example.
In his address, agriculture adviser CS Karim said, "It's difficult, but not impossible to make monga history. Solutions can be thrashed out from the bottom-up. Coordination among ministries is key and we need to move from short term relief to long-term and sustainable solutions."
Karim also said monga-mitigating approach needs to be taken in consultation with the people, not with prescription.
"We accept that there is monga and we'll fight it," he maintained.
Awami League leader Motia Chowdhury berated large non-government organisations (NGOs) for their reluctance to undertake credit programmes in monga-prone char areas.
Sharing an experience with the audience, Motia, a former agriculture minister, blamed one large NGO for its non-cooperation to buy maze from farmers to help drive the prices down.
Although NGOs work for reducing poverty, they do not hesitate to haggle with the poor when it comes to profit, she observed.
In his prepared speech, Chris Austin said the 2007 floods have had "a significant impact" in five monga-prone districts-Kurigram, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, and Nilphamari.
Keeping the flood damage in mind, the DFID official said his development agency would create 2.0 million person days of work by mid-December in char areas to reduce vulnerability of the poorest. "This will mean 30,000 families will get paid work for 45 to 50 days."
He underscored the need for a mix of approaches involving stipends, assets transfers, and training to help eliminate monga.
"There needs to be an improvement in the business climate, especially in the North West, so there is increased investment, This requires government measures and initiative by the private sector," Austin noted.
While presenting the keynote paper, Hossain Zillur said only relief-oriented approach would not work in mitigating monga, rather it would require a comprehensive mechanism.
Floods, crop damage and food inflation spike are likely to make the monga severe this year, economists and donor representatives warned Tuesday, urging the government to take contingency plans in the fight against seasonal hunger.
Only field level actions, not outsider-driven projects, will help make monga history, they told the conference dedicated to finding a comprehensive approach to monga solution.
"There should be a contingency plan for mitigating the monga, given this year's floods and price hike of essentials," noted economist Wahid Uddin Mahmud said.
Country representative of the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) Chris Austin said with the second phase of the floods, damage to aman crop and a global rise in the price of basic food commodities, the monga is likely to be a severe one this year.
Ministry of Agriculture, Local Government and Engineering Division and Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) jointly organised the two-day conference in the city, with chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre Hossain Zillur Rahman in the chair.
"Monga has exposed the weaknesses of the local economy. So, it's possible to mitigate monga through field level actions and programmes, not with paper work, nor with dictation from outsiders," Mahmud insisted.
He pointed out that it will require government-NGO partnership to help new momentum into the local economy.
He, however, slammed the local government for inefficient distribution of public resources which, he says, often exacerbates monga situation in the northern districts.
Mahmud, who teaches economics at Dhaka University, suggested that an early warning system of monga should be developed to reduce its severity.
He also suggested that the government should look into the possibility of introducing the Employment Guarantee Scheme following India's example.
In his address, agriculture adviser CS Karim said, "It's difficult, but not impossible to make monga history. Solutions can be thrashed out from the bottom-up. Coordination among ministries is key and we need to move from short term relief to long-term and sustainable solutions."
Karim also said monga-mitigating approach needs to be taken in consultation with the people, not with prescription.
"We accept that there is monga and we'll fight it," he maintained.
Awami League leader Motia Chowdhury berated large non-government organisations (NGOs) for their reluctance to undertake credit programmes in monga-prone char areas.
Sharing an experience with the audience, Motia, a former agriculture minister, blamed one large NGO for its non-cooperation to buy maze from farmers to help drive the prices down.
Although NGOs work for reducing poverty, they do not hesitate to haggle with the poor when it comes to profit, she observed.
In his prepared speech, Chris Austin said the 2007 floods have had "a significant impact" in five monga-prone districts-Kurigram, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, and Nilphamari.
Keeping the flood damage in mind, the DFID official said his development agency would create 2.0 million person days of work by mid-December in char areas to reduce vulnerability of the poorest. "This will mean 30,000 families will get paid work for 45 to 50 days."
He underscored the need for a mix of approaches involving stipends, assets transfers, and training to help eliminate monga.
"There needs to be an improvement in the business climate, especially in the North West, so there is increased investment, This requires government measures and initiative by the private sector," Austin noted.
While presenting the keynote paper, Hossain Zillur said only relief-oriented approach would not work in mitigating monga, rather it would require a comprehensive mechanism.