Nirmal Ghosh, Straits Times 4 Apr 08;
They cite misdirected schemes and neglect for agricultural crisis
BANGKOK - MUCH of the responsibility for the current spike in the price of rice lies with governments in the region, with agriculture suffering from misdirected policies and neglect, food experts say.
And this has been compounded by the fact that the 'green revolution' has run out of steam.
That revolution in the 1960s boosted crop yields through selective breeding and intensive water and fertiliser-dependent farming, making food-deficit countries such as India self-sufficient for the first time. But yields have since hit a plateau.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), paddy production last year rose only 1 per cent, making it the second consecutive year that production growth had lagged population growth.
This means that less rice is being produced per capita.
'We do need to grow more food. The fact is that governments had become complacent. This neglect has to end,' FAO policy officer Sumiter Broca said during a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents Club here on Wednesday.
Taking a 'twin-track approach', governments have to direct immediate aid to people who need food now, while at the same time promote agricultural development for the longer term.
'We need stepped-up investments in rural infrastructure, in marketing infrastructure like rural roads, in conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, to get agriculture moving again,' Mr Broca said.
With self-sufficiency came complacency in many countries, coupled with a shift of focus to industry.
In India, for instance, the growth of the agricultural sector - on which around 70 per cent of the population still depends - declined from 3.8 per cent in 2006 to 2.6 per cent last year.
India produces 180 million tonnes of food grain each year, but studies showed its potential could be as much as 700 million tonnes.
Experts blame the difference on the lack of irrigation, financial and marketing infrastructure in rural areas as well as slowing research.
The government has extended US$15 billion (S$21 billion) worth of debt relief to farmers this year, but it has not addressed the basic lack of infrastructure or incentives in the shape of access to micro credit.
The failure of Myanmar's agriculture sector is also a major factor in the current rice crisis, said Mr Vichai Sriprasert, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
Myanmar, he said, had far greater resources than Thailand in terms of land and water, and could potentially feed the entire region. But there was no incentive to grow more as it was not a free market, leaving its agricultural sector a chronic underperformer.
And in Thailand's case, the shift to biofuels as a substitute for fossil fuels for the car industry had cut resources available for food production.
Analysts say that increasing subsidies to farmers across Asia to grow biofuels - such as a 325 billion baht (S$14 billion) loan package approved by the Thai Cabinet earlier this week - was making it artificially profitable to grow biofuels.
'Our priorities are not correct,' Mr Vichai said.
'We now have biofuels competing for the same land and the same limited fresh water. We have about enough land and water to grow rice for people, or a little less than enough over the last eight years.
'Food for engines now costs us more than food for human beings. That is how ridiculous it is.'
Thai farmers are being encouraged to plant oil palm and cassava for domestic fuel as well as for export - some of which go to China.
Many experts say genetically modified crops may be the answer to the crisis, though these face resistance from consumers.
But there are positive signs, with some governments targeting investments at the farm sector.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, for instance, announced a 5 billion peso (S$166 million) subsidy for farmers earlier this week.
'If this crisis acts as a wake-up call, if governments recognise the seriousness of the problem and take action on both tracks, then something good will come out of it,' Mr Broca said.
'In the longer term, over the next four to five years, we can do something about it.'
