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Intellectual capital

Ahmed A Azad
THE government has recently set up a 27-member "recession task force" to periodically monitor international trends. The FBCCI has suggested a Tk 6,000 crore "salvage" package, a tax break for five years and requested the government to turn a blind eye to black money. I hope such a recovery package is not used to bail out companies that are in trouble because of greed or inefficiency. The stimulus package would be better utilised to support com-
panies that strive to become internationally competitive through technology and innovation, to create jobs for the unemployed including those forced to return home, and for infrastructure and capacity development.
In spite of a myriad of seemingly insurmountable problems Bangladesh has a reasonable chance of climbing out of the LDC pool into the ranks of middleincome countries. This optimism may seem misplaced for a country that keeps lurching from one natural or man-made disaster into the next, and where mere
survival remains the primary concern. In the past we have always reacted to emerging challenges and adopted band-aid solutions instead of acting on long-term plans. The in-coming government's Vision 2021, a pledge to transform Bangladesh into a self sufficient and technologically proficient state by 2021, is a welcome departure.
The current priorities of meeting food and energy shortages are also long term concerns with added pressures from environmental degradation and climate change. The prevalent high youth employment is bound to get worse with a decrease in the overseas job market due to the international recession. It is also clear that our export sector, dominated by RMG, needs to be diversified into new products and markets where wc can remain internationally competitive. "Digital Bangladesh" has been promised as a panacea for all our problems. Countrywide "digitisation" and availability of high speed internet is without any doubt highly
desirable and also a critical tool for modernisation, but by itself ICT can not provide sufficiency in food and energy, provide health equity, or protect our environment from the ravages of pollution and climate change.
The greatest asset our country has is our youth. Wc need to get over our national obsession of manpower export when there is an acute shortage of trained workforce to tackle the domestic challenges. We should also reverse the brain drain of our trained professionals and create conditions that allow them to create wealth for Bangladesh rather than for other countries.
The stimulus package could be best utilised for creating jobs for the increasing numbers of unemployed youth and for capacity development. Vast numbers could be employed in capital work programmes for infrastructure development. Youth with vocational training could be immediately employed in a variety of technology-driven SME throughout the country. Using already
available biotechnology it is possible to set up local manufacturing plants all over the country for the environmentfriendly production of bio-fertilisers from plant and agricultural waste, and biogas from animal waste.
The technology available in Bangladesh for improved food production has reached its limit in the face of environmental challenges such as salinity, flooding and drought, and biological challenges such as pest infestations and viral infections. In order to produce food crops that can counter the above challenges cutting edge genetic engineering technologies (agricultural biotechnology) need to be properly developed in Bangladesh.
The technology gap with the developed world is already too large and increasing exponentially with time. The Ministries of Education, Science and Industry should seriously consider setting up a joint Department of Postgraduate Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer that could host
independent Commissions in areas critical for future development such ICT, Biotechnology, Energy, and Climate Change. To bring us into the modern world each of these Commissions could set up a worldclass multidisciplinary research institute with a central core facility and R&D nodes in universities and industries throughout the country.
The realisation of Vision 2021 will require very substantial investment in education, science and technology, greater coordination between relevant science-related Ministries, and the establishment of partnerships between the government, universities and relevant industries in areas of national priority such as food, health, energy and environment. The recession instead of defeating us should give us the incentive and resolve to start on the way to a modern and self-sufficient Bangladesh.
Ahmed A Azad Is a contributor Io The Daily Star. Email: a azad05@yahoo com.au