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By the Lumbers

Saarc food bank imperative for the region

ANM Nurul Haque
THE South Asian heads of state -- in the 15th Saarc summit that ended on August 3 with the adoption of a 41 -point Colombo declaration - have agreed to start the operation of the Saarc food bank. The soaring prices of food grains across the world have emerged as a serious concern for most developing countries, prompting Saarc leaders to act decisively.
Continuing high prices of grains in the international market and domestic drawbacks in food production due to recurring floods in many South Asian countries are the reasons for the looming crisis. India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka faced heavy floods in the last year -- two consecutive floods damaged crops of some 8,19,985 acres of land in Bangladesh in 2007 alone.
Global food security is likely to face enormous challenges and the South Asian countries are most vulnerable to it, as they do not have adequate food reserve to face it. Further liberalisation of global agricultural trade will make food grains costlier for net importing countries like Bangladesh, and will worsen its food security.
Rice plays a very important role in food security in Asia, as it is the major cereal crop here. With an annual world production of about 576 million tonnes, rice feeds more than half of the world's population. But the stock of rice with major exporters worldwide is on decline.
The pre-summit meeting of the Saarc council of ministers, held on April 2, 2007 in New Delhi, signed the deal to finalise the establishment of the Saarc food bank to
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security of more than 1.5 billion people in the South Asian region. The summit also adopted a declaration for establishing the Saarc food bank. But no effective steps were taken to establish it or to start its functioning.
The establishment of the Saarc food bank was designed to aid its member countries in meeting the emergency food crisis due to the destruction of crops by natural calamites or other such reasons. The Saarc food bank was to initially start off with 241,580 tonnes of foodgrains, which would then be increased gradually.
According to the proposal, Bangladesh and Pakistan were to contribute 40,000 tonnes of foodgrain each, while Sri Lanka and Nepal were to contribute 4,000 tonnes each. Maldives was to contribute 200 tonnes and Bhutan 180 tonnes. India was to contribute the highest quantity, 153,200 tonnes.
The proposal for the establishment of a regional food bank was first broached at the third summit held in Kathmandu in 1987 in a different form. An agreement was then signed for the establishment of the Saarc Food Security Reserve (SFSR). The agreement, which came into force on August 12,1988, provided for a reserve of food grains in case of an emergency situation of food shortage in member countries.
The paper concept of the Saarc food bank was prepared during the 12th summit in Islamabad, held in January 2004, and formalized in the 13th summit held in Dhaka. The heads of state or government noted the proposal for establishment of the regional food bank proposed by India and agreed to exam toft the proposal. Only four
member countries have ratified the idea so far since the 13th summit held in Dhaka in 2005.
An FAO report said that. South Asian countries are likely to face a food crisis due to climate change. Jacques Diouf, the Director General of FAO, said recently in an interview with The Financial Times that increases in the prices of basic food products could spark unrest.
FAO is helping many countries to promote regional food security. Regional Programmes for Food Security have been working to boost regional integration among neighbouring developing countries to enable them to successfully confront the challenges of globalisation and to solve regional problems through collective action. FAO works directly with Regional Economic Organisations to achieve these goals.
The devastating flood that had hit Zambia, Angola, Mozambique and other African counties, posed a challenge to food security in the region. The regional body, Southern African Development Community successfully faced that unexpected shortage of food.
Floods and droughts are major causes for food storage in South Asia. About 300 million people in the region, who are chronically hungry, desperately need food security. A firm pledge by the Saarc leaderships, backed by pragmatic policies and appropriate plans, is needed for the operation of the food bank to provide regional food security.
A landmark UN sponsored report said on April 15 that the world would face social upheaval and environmental disasters if agriculture is not reformed to better serve the poor and hungry. The warning, in the reports which
was compiled by about 400 experts from the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, comes amid growing discontent among the world's poorest people over rising food prices.
Continuously soaring prices grains is a stark reality today f South Asian countries, which has been making life miserable for an increasing number of people in the region. The global shortage in grain supply has prompted grain-exporting countries to curtail exports so as to suppress domestic inflation. On the other hand, declining productivity of grains due to climate change has made most of South Asian countries dependent on importing grains.
The South Asian region, which is the home to 43% of an estimated one billion poor people in the world, has a dire need for the food bank, as a huge majority of the populace has no food security. The Colombo declaration that focused on collective regional efforts in core areas like food, energy security, trade, combating terrorism and climate change, must strengthen cooperation among the members to avert hunger and misery.
The Colombo summit issued a separate statement on food security. There is also a great need for regional cooperation for long-term forecasting, including early warning and vulnerability assessment for food security. Bangladesh should play a central role in formalising regional food security and seek better ways to spearhead the programmes under t the Saarc food bank.
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***The Colombo summit issued a separate statement on food security. There is also a great need for regional cooperation for long-term forecasting, including early warning and vulnerability assessment for food security. Bangladesh should play a central role in formalising regional food security and seek better ways to spearhead the programmes under the umbrella of the Saarc food bank.***