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Focus on agriculture for food security

Syed Nasim Manzur
As we await the announcement of the Budget for 2008-9 let us spare a thought for what the honourable finance adviser has to contend with: record oil prices, soaring food prices and shortages, financial crises and recessionary economies and major natural disasters. Compounded with the political crisis in Bangladesh pre 1/11, the heightened expectations of the people after 1/11 and the current political crisis, delivering this budget is a daunting task. Especially as this next budget must deliver on certain key areas.
First and foremost, learning from the challenges of 2007, the budget must have a very strong agricultural focus to ensure food security for the nation. This must include ensuring efficient delivery of seeds and fertilizers, supporting R&D initiatives to boost productivity, better land management, encouraging crop rotation and diversification, and government procurement. A related issue will be delivering the diesel subsidies
to the farmers in an effective and timely manner.
This leads onto the second focus area which must be employment generation . As our ability to contain prices is limited we need to create and boost purchasing power in the economy and an investment friendly budget will help create new jobs in the economy. Enhancing ADP utilization capacity will boost the rural economy in particular. Export basket diversification with an emphasis on labour rich sectors and setting up a Skills Development Bank must also
be prioritized.
The third focus area should be widening the social safety net for the most vulnerable segments of our society. Here also we need innovative and effective delivery systems so that the target groups are the true recipients of the support and not middle men and agents.
Fourthly , this budget must provide clear and significant incentives to attract substantial long term investment in the power sector, by both public and private sector players.
Education is at the core of all
social sector reform and investment in education and health must continue to be a priority.
In conclusion we hope that there will be a move towards a wider, flatter and simplified tax structure as well as minimal use of distortionary supplementary taxes. The huge withdrawals from the banking system by the government should also be reduced to alleviate the liquidity crisi in the market.
Irrelevant and duplicative programs should be terminated and mandatory and
discretionary spending clearly segregated for better accountability.
Ronald Reagan once said that a government bureau is the closest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth. He identified during his tenure 130 programs serving the same constituency and cut them to 10 ! Exactly what we want -smaller .better and more effective government.
The writer is the managing director of Apex Adelchi Footwear Limited and welcomes feedback at nasim@apexadelchi.com