National shrimp policy and ground realities
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
The ministry of fisheries and livestock, according to a report published in this daily last Monday, has drafted the national shrimp policy (NSP). The draft is now awaiting approval of the council of advisers. The officials involved in the drafting of the policy have claimed that the NSP, if implemented in line with its stated objectives, would open a new window of opportunity for the shrimp farmers and also for the shrimp industry in addition to promoting environment-friendly shrimp farming. The policy, according to them, has tried to address the disputes that often surface between the landowners and the leaseholders involved in the southwestern districts where shrimp farming is highly concentrated.
Though contents of the NSP are yet to be made public, the officials and experts concerned have understandably consulted all stakeholders, including shrimp farmers and exporters, before finalizing the same. The NSP deserves special attention from the top policymakers since it concerns the wellbeing of the second largest foreign exchange earning sector. Owners of shrimp farms and hatcheries and shrimp exporters have tried in vain in the past to draw the attention of the government to problems they encounter very often. One has to admit the fact that shrimp farming and shrimp exporters are exposed to the vagaries of the nature unlike the country's top foreign exchange earning sector-the readymade garments (RMG). Cyclones and tidal surges, which are the recurrent phenomena in the southwestern part of the country, take a heavy toll on shrimp farms and seriously affect annual output and exports. So, the sector deserves more focused attention from the policymakers.
The environmentalists have, time and again, expressed their concern over the negative effect of ever-expanding shrimp farming in terms of loss of arable land and homestead and mangrove forests. It is expected that the proposed policy has, duly, addressed these issues while trying to reduce the conflicts between shrimp farming and rice cultivation. The NSP, if approved by the council of advisers, would be yet another addition to the pool of national policies prepared from time to time for various sectors. However, a serious death of sincerity and seriousness is witnessed at all levels of the government in the proper implementation of the policies. This, actually, makes such policies more or less redundant.
For instance, the government is yet to install necessary machinery and equipment at the Fisheries Inspection and Quality Control (FIQC) laboratory to facilitate all the tests of export consignments of shrimps. An FE report published last Monday said the European Union (EU) has threatened to block the entry of all shrimp consignments from Bangladesh if the same did not carry seven test certificates. Bangladesh exporters, who until recently used to send testing certificates on five chemicals along with their consignments, have alleged that only one machine available at the FIQC laboratory took a long time to complete all the tests. This leads to cancellation of export orders in some cases. Some EU importers following detection of some toxic chemicals, including nitro-furan, in frozen food exported from Bangladesh have become doubly cautious about laboratory test certification.
It is rather strange that the government behaves miserly in case of investments in areas that fetch handsome amounts of foreign exchange for the country. It should have equipped the FIQC laboratory adequately to facilitate prompt testing of export consignments, particularly when the frozen food exporters have to make payments for each and every test. It is interesting to note here that the import cost of the existing machine at the FIQC was borne by the frozen food exporters, not the government. The money paid by the exporters is now being adjusted with the laboratory test charges recoverable from them. The government, reportedly, did import a machine earlier at high cost but it was found non-operable. One, thus, can easily draw one's conclusion about the state of affairs in this particular sector, which, as it appears, needs more of proper official attention than that of a high-sounding policy.
Though contents of the NSP are yet to be made public, the officials and experts concerned have understandably consulted all stakeholders, including shrimp farmers and exporters, before finalizing the same. The NSP deserves special attention from the top policymakers since it concerns the wellbeing of the second largest foreign exchange earning sector. Owners of shrimp farms and hatcheries and shrimp exporters have tried in vain in the past to draw the attention of the government to problems they encounter very often. One has to admit the fact that shrimp farming and shrimp exporters are exposed to the vagaries of the nature unlike the country's top foreign exchange earning sector-the readymade garments (RMG). Cyclones and tidal surges, which are the recurrent phenomena in the southwestern part of the country, take a heavy toll on shrimp farms and seriously affect annual output and exports. So, the sector deserves more focused attention from the policymakers.
The environmentalists have, time and again, expressed their concern over the negative effect of ever-expanding shrimp farming in terms of loss of arable land and homestead and mangrove forests. It is expected that the proposed policy has, duly, addressed these issues while trying to reduce the conflicts between shrimp farming and rice cultivation. The NSP, if approved by the council of advisers, would be yet another addition to the pool of national policies prepared from time to time for various sectors. However, a serious death of sincerity and seriousness is witnessed at all levels of the government in the proper implementation of the policies. This, actually, makes such policies more or less redundant.
For instance, the government is yet to install necessary machinery and equipment at the Fisheries Inspection and Quality Control (FIQC) laboratory to facilitate all the tests of export consignments of shrimps. An FE report published last Monday said the European Union (EU) has threatened to block the entry of all shrimp consignments from Bangladesh if the same did not carry seven test certificates. Bangladesh exporters, who until recently used to send testing certificates on five chemicals along with their consignments, have alleged that only one machine available at the FIQC laboratory took a long time to complete all the tests. This leads to cancellation of export orders in some cases. Some EU importers following detection of some toxic chemicals, including nitro-furan, in frozen food exported from Bangladesh have become doubly cautious about laboratory test certification.
It is rather strange that the government behaves miserly in case of investments in areas that fetch handsome amounts of foreign exchange for the country. It should have equipped the FIQC laboratory adequately to facilitate prompt testing of export consignments, particularly when the frozen food exporters have to make payments for each and every test. It is interesting to note here that the import cost of the existing machine at the FIQC was borne by the frozen food exporters, not the government. The money paid by the exporters is now being adjusted with the laboratory test charges recoverable from them. The government, reportedly, did import a machine earlier at high cost but it was found non-operable. One, thus, can easily draw one's conclusion about the state of affairs in this particular sector, which, as it appears, needs more of proper official attention than that of a high-sounding policy.