Prospects of exporting agri-labourers abroad

M Mizanur Rahman Since the last few decades Bangladesh has been achieving a steady growth. This steady but significant growth rate is mainly based on the remittance the country is earning through its expatriate workers. Immediately after the present government came to power, the country was passing through a barren period of labour migration and we experienced a continuous fall of labour market. Even many countries sent back Bangladeshi workers. Recently there has been a significant achievement especially with the recent deal of exporting five hundred thousand labourers to Malaysia in next 5 years. Experiences say foreign remittance has been impacting positively on the economic development of Bangladesh both at the macro and the micro level. At the macro level, increase of remittance in Bangladesh has led to a decline in interest rate and has reduced financial constraints. At the micro level, along with the readymade garments (RMG) sector and non-farm activities in the agricultural sector; remittances have been identified as one of the key factors that has been responsible for reducing the overall incidence of poverty. We have huge surplus labour in agriculture. Unfortunately the wage rate in agriculture fails to pull the farmers up from the threshold of poverty. Almost 60 per cent of the rural labour force, where extreme-poverty is concentrated, is engaged in agriculture. If this massive labour force goes underpaid, graduating from poverty will remain a tough task. There are two ways to come out of this vicious cycle; firstly, reducing the surplus labour in agricultural sector i.e. creating alternative income generating sources where these extra labour can be engaged; and secondly, ensuring proper wage for the agri-laboures. But this increased wage can be ensured only when the farmers get proper price of their products. Unfortunately, there remains a declining trend in the prices of agri-products for the last couples of years. The farmers are not getting the price much above their production cost. This is not only discouraging them for agro-production, but also posing a threat to the livelihood of the farmers most of whom belong to the ultra-poor group. Again, the declining trend of subsidy on the inputs is increasing the production cost; on the other hand, the necessity of inputs for agro-production is increasing rapidly. Possibility is very remote that the authorities will be able to ensure proper price for the farmers. Apart from this, the technology intensive production system in Bangladesh is also making farmers unemployed. Creation of agricultural block will necessitate introduction of technology in greater volume which will ultimately make many more farmers jobless. So, creating alternative employment for these extreme-poor farmers has become critically important. It is good that the rise of corporate sector and privatisation have already created the place for accommodating more labourers, but this market is not capable of accommodating the huge surplus labourers of agricultural sector as they lack education and skill. Exporting labour force can be a good solution for solving this problem. Recently, Malaysia has withdrawn its ban on the labour recruitment from Bangladesh and the government has taken the opportunity to send a good number of workers without any middlemen, and at a service charge of Tk 40,000 only. Government sources say, five hundred thousand workers would be sent to Malaysia in next five years under government arrangements. Every six months 50,000 workers will be sent. The government will prepare a database of potential workers under a lottery system, train them, and provide them with orientation on Malaysian laws, culture and language. Despite this, there are extreme poor people who even do not have the ability to spend Tk 40,000 for going abroad. On the other hand, many of the lottery winners may be involved in some income generating activities and their withdrawal from those activities will also incur some loss to the economy. Rather, if we could create some space for the extreme poor workers who are not engaged or employed anywhere, it would be more beneficial for the country. How to reach those ultra-poor people? Many union parishads have their list of the ultra-poor, compiled with the help of NGOs and local people. This list could be useful to select labourers from the extreme poor segment who may acquire some working skill after receiving training. Of the five hundred thousand projected workers for Malaysia, one hundred thousand may be picked up from this ultra-poor group, and to facilitate them, the government may pay each Tk 40,000 as loan. This move can help one hundred thousand families come out of extreme poverty level. Besides the government, private institutions, micro finance institutions, NGOs should also come forward to help these people. Taking this as a pilot case, and depending on its success, similar initiatives can also be taken for labour export to other countries. Prevailing irregularities and corruption in the manpower sector cost an individual minimum of Tk 300,000 for finding an employment abroad. Moreover, there are chances of being cheated. The government move will automatically contain the dishonest and fake manpower agents. The government initiative has been well applauded. But Malaysia is not the last. We need to explore more labour markets for accommodating our work force. There are bright prospects for export of Bangladeshi manpower in all parts of the globe that can change the lot of the poor people and strengthen the economy of the country. The writer is a technical coordinator at CARE-Bangladesh. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the organisationhe works for. mithunmds07@gmail.com