Food procurement

THE government's food procurement drive has fallen into a sphere of uncertainty due to the slow speed of procurement. The target of procurement is 200,000 tonnes but in more than one month the Ministry has only procured 23,000 tonnes. The procurement drive began on 25 November.

The peak months of paddy and rice purchase are December and January. Irrespective of the time-frame of the government to procure rice, the cereal will not be much available after the month of January. If the matter is looked into from this practical point of view only one good month is left for the government to pursue its procurement drive fruitfully. The quantity so far procured does not indicate that the food ministry shall be able to fulfil its procurement target.

The main reason for the slow pace of procurement is the difference between the government price and current market price. The government price for rice is Tk.14, and for paddy the price is Tk.9.40 per kg. But the price of medium quality rice in rice producing areas is Tk 15 and above, and that of paddy per kg is above Tk 10. Due to this difference millers prefer to sell their rice in the open market where the payment procedure is also simple and direct. Same is the case with paddy. Paddy producers and small farmers sell their paddy in the open market for above 10 Taka per kg and here also the payment they get is direct hand cash.

The impact of the anticipated failure of the government in food procurement shall be very serious. Since the government is buying less, a major quantity of rice and paddy is being reportedly bought by private individuals for hoarding and windfall profit. This year the Aman harvest was good. But during the months of June and July there is likely to be crisis for food among the marginal farmers and agricultural labourers. If a maximum stock of rice and paddy goes to the hands of private traders they may have a tendency to form syndicates and create artificial crisis. The government needs to keep in check this motive of foodgrain hoarders.

To avoid an inevitable crisis the government should immediately speed up its food procurement drive and try to achieve its target of two lakh tons of food procurement. If necessary, the price of rice and paddy may be enhanced a little to attract millers and farmers. This will be good on a number of counts. First, the money will go to producers and farmers. Secondly, during times of crisis the government will be able to fix a price which will not cause financial harm to it. The government must act right now so that an anticipated danger can be averted.