The New Nation - Internet Edition

The food situation of Bangladesh was good until 2006. This ease has begun since late 70s of the last century and the Bangladeshis had no worry for food for a full quarter century. The year 2007 would not have been bad had their been no three natural calamities in the same year-two floods, one Sider clone. In a normal harvest year deficit of food is only 15 lakh metric tons or so. The country annually needs nearly three crore metric tons of food. In 2006 it produced two crore sixty-five lakh tons. Due to three natural disasters in 2007 food production has been almost halved. But that also would not have caused much difficulty since the amount of foreign exchange reserve was in abundance with the Central Bank to easily finance food import. Despite that people, especially the low fixed income group and the day labourers, had to face a brief difficult time due to high price. Escalation of price of rice in the international market and high carrying cost due to escalating price of fuel was one cause of rice price hike. But that was not the sole reason for the rise at an unusual level. There must have been a machination in the market outside the real market situation, that is demand and supply, which any man of common sense could realize. But nothing tangible could have been done for reasons beyond market principles.

Neverthless, the imminent Irri-Boro harvest is going to be good and as an impact price of coarse rice has already reduced. But there is no scope to be complacent. It must be regularly guarded that if nature does not turn to be inimical all the future crops should be as good as the current one. Not a very herculean task the government shall have to accomplish. Only regular supply of seed and seedlings, availability of fertiliser at fair price and also electricity or fuel as the situation demands shall be enough for good harvests in future. The government must start preparation from now and shall always have to be alert about regular supply of these inputs.

It should be borne in mind that not only in our country but all over the world food situation is precarious. Internationally food price has been doubled due not only to production shortage but also due to deployment or some fertile crop producing land for production of biofuel plant.

Biofuel producing food crops and plants are maize, wheat, sugarcane, palm oil seed and jetropha. Increasing price of petroleum has induced some western countries to produce biofuel p;lants and employ some human consummable foods to produce fuel. For countries who are not much concerned about cereals as food items, can think of alternative use of cropland. But Malaysia and Indonesia also deployed some of their fertile cropland to produce biofuel plant. These two Asian countries are moderately surplus but their experimentation has lowered crop production quantum in this part of the world. Floods and droughts have seriously affected food production in Vietnam, China, Australia and India in part. Many countries of Africa have suffered crop failure and informed people are writing that some African countries are already facing famine. They now need international help but cereal is scarce all over the world.

Food situation is so alarming globally that UN had to suo moto respond to the situation. The concerned UN agency-World Food Programme (WFP)-chief Josett Sheeran, the other day, said in London certainly biofuel is one of those things that is impacting it and we need the experts to sit down and look at low much fod is needed and make sure people can get it at affordable price." A journalist of excellence William Rees Mogg, former editor of The Times (London), recently writing on the subject has put, "………..if arable land is used to go for biofuels the prices of grains will rise to a level that cannot be afforded by the poorest." The food situation and the above evaluations shall hopefully enthuse the biofuel proponents to realise how risky it is to produce a little bit of fuel by sacrificing production of food.

Crop failure due to flood, drought or other kinds of natural acts cannot be stopped by human efforts. About them man can only take loss mitigation measures and rehabilitation programmes. But biofuel plant production and use of food crop for production of fuel have not really yielded good result. They have thrown many men to the threat of starvation. The UN, and other people of scruples are warning about biofuel and the potential threat of famine. All concerned must take it in its right perspective and go for action at the national and international levels so that none face death out of starvation.