Hard times, followed by more of the same. In a country where the poor make up most of the population, survival gets even tougher with every fluctuation in the economy, however small. Other lingering effects of the floods aside, the public is finding it difficult to even be able to pay for basic food items. The problem, to borrow the theory from the economists, isnt with the supply side – we have enough of food to go around – but with the demand side, with the poor and middle classes unable to buy a days ration.
The situation has been highlighted with a UN report that says a large segment of Pakistanis are forced to seek credit just for food. Governments fix high crop prices to shield the growers from the prospect of profit-killing low rates in closed economies. And to protect the consumers in open economies in case the international prices rise too much. Given the rising prices of food items the world over, there is something to be said for letting the international markets decide the rates. This would keep the growers happy on one hand and life would be slightly less difficult for the consumers on the other. The prices of a number of crops, for instance, have been fixed by the government at a higher rate in Pakistan than several countries in the region. The international prices wouldnt sound all too bad to the poor and the middle class right about now.
True, the policy of high prices have brought affluence in the rural areas, trickling from owners of large land holdings right down to sustenance farmers. But there is a catch as well; this agricultural affluence is not pervasive throughout the country. Areas in central Sindh, for one, are facing acute malnutrition.
Urgency in action is the call of the day. For what good a surplus is if it cannot be consumed? Infrastructure improvements in the agriculture sector, equality based treatment, with priority to the areas struck by malnutrition and extreme poverty, are required. Only targeted subsidies could ease the burden on the poorest of the poor. Steps like income support programmes and food stamps could deliver results without causing too much of a negative impact on the growers either.
