Annex 1: Food Security in South Asia

Factors influencing food security in South Asia
Progress in ensuring food security
Public policies towards food security
Lessons from the South Asian experience
Scope for regional collaboration

Role of National Policies and Regional Collaboration

Banishing hunger from the face of earth as an objective has been repeatedly articulated in various national, regional and international fora. It was clearly enunciated in the World Food Conference (1974), which declared that "every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition." The 1996 World Food Summit sought, and received, commitment from the FAO member nations to banish hunger in its starkest form among half of today's hungry population by the year 2005.[12] Translating this commitment into concrete action requires information on the characteristics of those suffering from food insecurity, as well as the options available to them. Further, the role of public policy in this regard has to be carefully examined. It is the latter aspect of food security, i.e., public policy, to which this paper is addressed.

The locus of public intervention is the nation state, whose activities have a profound impact on the success or failure of the efforts to eradicate hunger at the household level. As nations progressively become integrated in regional and global groupings, regional and in many cases global initiatives acquire an added importance in several national efforts. It is in this perspective that we are examining the scope for national policies and regional cooperation in providing food security in the countries of South Asia.

This report draws heavily on the findings of case studies of five countries of South Asia.[13] Section 1 introduces the South Asia Region, provides justification for selecting this region for an intensive study on food security (FS) and spells out the similarities and dissimilarities of the selected countries. Section 2 traces the progress in achieving this goal in the five selected countries and points out what may be termed as the unfinished agenda, while Section 3 critically examines the public policies responsible for the given state of food security in respective countries. Section 4 draws lessons from past experiences and suggests needed reorientation in the policies. The fifth and final section suggests the scope for regional collaboration.

Factors influencing food security in South Asia

The concept of food security has evolved over a period of time. Until the early 70s, adequate availability of foodgrains at the national level was considered a good measure of food security. Emphasis was placed on food self-sufficiency at the national level, principally through domestic production. The 1974 World Food Conference added another dimension to food security when it emphasized, apart from the overall availability, stability of food supplies within and over the years. Later, and mainly due to the writings of Amartya Sen, the question of 'access' and 'entitlement' gained prominence. An agreed definition of food security suggests that all households should be able to avail at all times of adequate food for a healthy living. This interpretation of food security, apart from emphasizing the elements of availability, stability and access, also includes - while giving due attention to "healthy" living - the nutritional dimension. This paper looks into the four dimensions of food security.

The food security concept now in vogue stops at the examination of food security at the household level. It does not look at the food security issues within the household, i.e., the intra-household distribution of food. With the recognized gender bias prevailing in all societies this is a serious omission. Unfortunately the available data do not permit us to go below the household level.

Judged by the criteria of food insecurity and poverty, South Asia has the distinction of being the worst affected region. A large majority of the poor and the food-insecure people live in this part of the world (World Bank, 1990) where the incidence of malnutrition is very serious (UNICEF, 1996). The region is also backward in terms of other social development indicators (UNDP, 1996). Any effort of ensuring food security to the poor households should naturally look at the countries of this region.

The countries covered by this study (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) apart from their geographical proximity, share a common history. Mainly due to the hegemony of British Colonial power for nearly two centuries these countries have common structures and socio-political institutions.[14] There are marked similarities in their judicial and bureaucratic systems, as well as in their approach to education and health services and several other fields of public intervention. There is much that they can learn from each other. Also, there is vast scope for cooperation and complementary action. Some of the areas of cooperation will be identified in this paper. At the same time, and it bears repetition, action programmes in the area of poverty reduction and food security have to be grounded primarily within the countries, while regional collaboration may supplement country-level action.

The countries are medium to large, with the population varying from 17 million in Sri Lanka to 884 million in India (in 1991). The countries range in size from 6.6 million ha (Sri Lanka) to 329 million ha (India), each characterized by diverse and distinct regions. The northern part of Bangladesh is geographically different from its coastal areas; India is divided in 15 distinct agro-ecological zones; Nepal has three demarcated zones of Mountains, Hills and Terai; Pakistan's Indus plains are in sharp contrast to the arid regions of Sindh or hilly and semi-arid areas of the northwest; Sri Lanka's landscape is clearly defined by its dry and wet zones. These regional variations have to be taken into account when designing a meaningful programme for food security as the regions within the countries are distinct, and are subject to varying degrees of vulnerability.

Another remarkable feature, which has an important bearing on food security initiative, is that large areas in several of these countries are disaster-prone. Bangladesh and coastal parts of India are threatened quite frequently by cyclones and floods. Recurring droughts are a common feature in the arid and semi-arid parts of India and Pakistan. Incidence of natural calamities is more severe on the food insecure households. The respective governments also have to devote large resources to cope with frequent natural disasters.

In terms of human development, all these countries, with the exception of Sri Lanka, rank low. The UNDP Human Development Report states that of the 174 countries for which the Human Development Index (HDI) was calculated, the selected countries were ranked as follows: Bangladesh 143, India 135, Nepal 151, Pakistan 134, Sri Lanka, 89 (UNDP, 1996). More disaggregated indicators of human development, i.e., infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, illiteracy or life expectancy at birth tell the same story. The handicaps in the area of health and nutrition are further compounded with inadequate and inequitable access to health services. These countries have well developed institutional and administrative structures, but are weak in physical infrastructure. Some have witnessed frequent political upheavals and periodic negation of democratic institutions. But the commitment for poverty eradication and social justice is shared by important political groups in these countries. In some respect this commitment has not gone beyond rhetoric, yet the fact that the national consensus in these countries favours assigning high priority to poverty eradication should not be underestimated.

There are some similarities and significant differences in the economic structure of these countries. Two of the poorest countries, Bangladesh and Nepal, are located in this region. India occupies a middle position in economic terms among the countries; Pakistan and Sri Lanka are slightly better-off. But all these countries are classified "poor" by the World Bank. A redeeming feature is the respectable rate of growth in GNP registered during last decade - 5 percent or more per annum in India and Pakistan, and around 4.5 percent per annum in the remaining three countries. Furthermore, with the exception of Sri Lanka, all other countries improved their performance in the 1980s compared to the 1970s, although much of this growth was negated by the growth in population. As a result the per capita growth in GNP was modest even in the relatively faster growing countries such as India and Pakistan (Table 1).

Table 1. Growth in GNP and per capita GNP

Item		BGD	IND	NEP	PAK	SRL
Annual growth rate of GNP (1980-93)		4.5	5.0	4.6	6.1	4.6
Annual growth in agricultural production (1980-91)		2.7	3.2	4.9	4.2	2.3
Annual growth in population (1980-91)		2.2	2.1	2.6	3.1	1.4
GNP per capita annual growth rate
	1965-80	-0.3	1.5	-	1.8	2.8
	1980-93	2.1	3.0	2.0	3.1	2.7

Sources: FAO Yearbook, Production, 1994; Human Development Report, 1996.

Table 2. Role of agriculture in national economies in the selected countries, 1991

Item	BGD	IND	NEP	PAK	SRL
Agriculture's share in GDP (1993)	30	31	43	25	25
Percentage of labour force in agriculture (1991)	65	65	94	52	48
Agriculture trade as share of total trade (1991)	10	17	21	16	32

Sources: Human Development Report, 1996; FAO Trade Yearbook, 1994.

In addition to the marginal and small farmers there are a large number of landless households, accounting for 20 percent of all rural households in Bangladesh, 30 percent in India, 18 percent in Nepal, 30 percent in Pakistan, and 22 percent in Sri Lanka (Jazairy et al, 1992). These two categories (marginal farmers, and landless labourers) and a large number of traditional craftsmen constitute the bulk of food insecure households in the rural areas of the region. These are not only large populous countries; the population pressures on land are also very heavy. Per capita holdings are small and agriculture is characterized by intensive cultivation. The scope for further expansion of agricultural land is virtually exhausted in most of the countries in South Asia, and in most of their regions.

The countries in South Asia have a high rate of population growth, high concentration of poor households, low per capita income, and a modest rate of GDP growth. Agriculture is the dominant sector of their economies and, agrarian structure is dominated by landless labourers, small and marginal farmers, and the scope for extensive agriculture is more or less exhausted. Given these and several other social and political handicaps it will be instructive to see what they could achieve in ensuring food security for their people. Hence this review on the four dimensions of food security as listed above, i.e., availability, stability, access and nutritional status.

Progress in ensuring food security

Availability of foodgrains
Stability
Access to food
Nutritional dimension

Availability of foodgrains

An impressive achievement shared by most South Asian countries is in the availability of foodgrains at the macro level. There has been significant improvement in the per capita availability of food, in terms of calories, over two decades (1969-71 to 1990-92) in India, Pakistan and Nepal,[15] and a marginal decline in Sri Lanka. Only in Bangladesh was there a significant decline in the overall food availability. Such availability by itself is not a sufficient condition for food security for the poorer households. At the same time, adequate availability of foodgrains will facilitate more equitable distribution, while the reverse will occur if there is an overall scarcity of foodgrains. Table 3 shows the availability of food in terms of calories.

Table 3. Changes in foodgrains availability (calories per capita per day)

Country	1968-71 (I)	1990-92 (II)	II and % of I
Bangladesh	2118	1995	94.2%
India	2037	2331	114.4%
Nepal	1910	2144	112.3%
Pakistan	2177	2339	107.4%
Sri Lanka	2267	2233	98.5%

Source: FAO, Food Security Situation (mimeo, 1996).

Changes in diet composition generally take place with the rise in per capita income, due to higher income elasticity of demand for superior cereals and for non-cereal food (fruits, vegetables and animal husbandry products). Records of different countries are not uniform in this respect, but improved availability of foodgrains and of the quality of food is a common feature of most countries in this region (Table 4). However, per capita availability of low-cost nutritious food, especially pulses, has declined in a number of countries, e.g., India and Pakistan. This raises the question whether the improvement in quality of diet is also true to the poorer groups.

Table 4. Food supplies from vegetables and animal sources (in kcal), 1980 and 1990

		BGD	IND	NEP	PAK	SRL
Total (1)
	1980	1902	1959	1863	2144	2341
	1990	1994	2297	2302	2431	2205
Vegetable Products (2)
	1980	1847	1840	1725	1853	2231
	1990	1936	2136	2166	2109	2099
Animal Products (3)
	1980	54	119	138	261	110
	1990	59	162	135	323	106
(3) as % of (1)
	1980	2.84	6.07	7.41	12.17	4.70
	1990	2.96	7.05	5.86	13.29	4.81
(2) as % of (1)
	1980	97.11	93.93	92.59	86.43	95.30
	1990	97.09	92.99	94.09	86.75	95.19

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 1994.

Agricultural development policies in South Asian countries were directed to augment food supply from domestic sources on a priority basis. There were sound economic and political reasons to stress the augmentation of foodgrains production (Vyas, 1994), and most of the countries have made significant progress in achieving this objective. One indicator of this tendency is the decline in the share of imports in foodgrains availability (Table 5).

Table 5. Production, import, export of cereals and pulses in the triennium ending 1993 (in 1000 mt)

Country	Production (I)	Imports (II)	Exports (III)	Net availability (IV)	I as % of IV
Bangladesh	293037	1484	-	30788	95.2
India	211227	1139	938	211428	99.9
Nepal	5430	53	28	5455	99.5
Pakistan	23003	2145	753	24395	94.3
Sri Lanka	2472	1086	1	3558	69.5

Sources: FAO Production Yearbook, 1993; FAO Trade Yearbooks, 1993.

Table 6. Import of foodgrains and agricultural inputs as percentage of total merchandise exports (average for the years 1991-93), (in US$000)

Country	Total foodgrain Imports (I)	Total Agri. Input Imports (II)	Total merchandise exports (III)	I as % of III	II as % of III	I+II as % of III
Bangladesh	209901	247203	19111677	10.98	1.29	12.3
India	2806627	206395	202195333	1.39	1.02	2.41
Nepal	10600	17756	3161333	3.35	0.56	3.91
Pakistan	3754997	133580	6676800	5.62	2.00	7.62
Sri Lanka	2047477	228315	2448000	8.36	0.93	9.30

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, 1993.

Stability

The other noteworthy achievement in this regard is the strengthened capacity of these countries to cope with the yearly fluctuations, and thus periodic shortfalls, in foodgrains production. During last two decades, there were few instances of death from starvation even though some countries faced severe droughts, floods and cyclones which resulted in large shortfalls in agricultural production. This becomes more notable as the proportion of the food aid, which was never substantial except in the case of Bangladesh, became negligible over the period. A steady supply at the national level was possible in a number of countries by better management of available food stocks, integration of domestic food markets and judicious use of buffer stocks as well as of trade channels. General Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAP) and specially designed relief programmes further helped. Thus, the shortfall in foodgrains production was not translated as shortfall in foodgrains availability even when the former was of large magnitude.

Partly because of foodgrains availability in domestic and international markets as well as judicious price policies, the real prices of foodgrains did not rise to any significant extent from the mid-70s to the early 90s. For a large proportion of the households, particularly in Nepal and Bangladesh, domestic production or in-kind wages accounted for a large part of food supply. Households which practised self-provisioning were not directly affected by the level of foodgrain prices. Foodgrains prices did not exacerbate the incapacity of even other sections of the population to obtain food. This factor further assisted the poor and food insecure households.

The same cannot be said about the seasonal fluctuation in foodgrains supplies which was reflected in sharp price fluctuations. Part of such fluctuations is inevitable, even desirable, in agricultural products. Excessive fluctuations however hurt the poor. Instability in foodgrains prices over the seasons could not be muted. Seasonal fluctuations in foodgrains prices were more severe compared to intra year fluctuations in the general index of prices. These fluctuations hit the households which were not in a position to stock foodgrains. The incidence of such fluctuation was particularly serious on the marginal and small farmers, wage labourers, and impoverished craftsmen and workers in the informal sectors whose employment varied over the seasons.

Access to food

The most important aspect of food security is household access to food. Some progress has been made in this direction. The clearest evidence is provided by the reduction in the proportion of households below the poverty line. In most of these countries poverty line is defined in terms of expenditure on food plus other essential expenditures; the former can be translated in terms of calorie intake at the household level. The ratio of the households below the poverty line is therefore a sensitive indicator of the state of food security. Methodologies in estimating poverty ratios differ; therefore, the estimates of poverty also differ. Some broad indications are however available from Table 7, which indicates a general decline in the poverty ratio during last two decades in all five South Asian countries. However, a hard core of poverty, ranging from 25 percent in Pakistan to 49 percent in Nepal, still persists. Clearly, some countries are doing better in this regard.

Table 7. Trends in poverty: Estimates of poverty ratio

Country	Early 1970s	Late 1970s	Early 1980s	Late 1980s/early 1990s
Bangladesh	-	73.0	58.0	47.0
India	56.4	53.1	56.0	33.7
Nepal	-	40.0	40.0	49.0
Pakistan	-	38.93	20.0	24.9
Sri Lanka	27.7	22.7	21.9	27.0

Source: PRAG, 1997; Report of the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation, SAARC, November, 1992.

Nutritional dimension

These countries have failed not so much in abolishing hunger but in their inability to control widespread malnutrition. The UNDP Human Development Reports reflect the dismal state of nutrition and nutritional related aspects (Table 8).

Table 8. Indicators of malnutrition

Item	BGD	IND	NEP	PAK	SRL
Pregnant women aged 15-49 with anaemia, %, 1975-91	58	88	-	-	-
Low birth weight infants, %. 1990	50	33	-	25	25
Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births), 1993	850	570	1500	340	140
Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), 1993	106	81	98	89	17
Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births), 1994	117	119	118	137	19
Underweight children under five (%), 1985-95	66	53	-	40	38

Source: NDP, Human Development Report, 1996.

Public policies towards food security

Macro policy interventions
Population growth
Agricultural growth
Poverty alleviation programmes
Public distribution of foodgrains

A number of measures towards food security were implemented by the selected South Asian countries. Important among these are macro policy interventions, including policies on population growth. The others include the following:

• Agricultural growth in general and growth in foodgrains production in particular;
• Agricultural price policies;
• Poverty alleviation programmes; and
• Public distribution of foodgrains.

Macro policy interventions

The success in ensuring food security, or the lack of it, was conditioned by macro-economic developments as much as specific policies and programmes addressed to resolve this problem. Macro-economic policies in the countries in this region were pursued in the context of progressive liberalization, rather than de-bureaucratization, careful sequencing of reforms (starting from the industrial and financial sector reforms), and concern for stable price levels (i.e., curbing excessive inflation). An important aspect of these reforms was to remove the special treatment given to domestic industries by way of tariff, quotas and licenses, which had tilted the terms of trade in favour of industry and to the disadvantage of agriculture. The vigour with which the policies were pursued differed from one country to another, but the main thrust of the macro economic reforms was similar.

An important feature of the macro-economic development in the countries of South Asia is that none of them achieved spectacular growth in national income. With rapid growth in income it is easier to "spread" the effects of growth. GDP did grow rapidly in some regions within these countries leading to a remarkable decline in poverty in those areas and to that extent, in food insecurity.

The case of Punjab State in India is an example. With an annual growth rate of nearly 7-8 percent during the 1970s and the 1980s, the poverty level in that State declined to less than 20 percent of the rural households. Most of the South Asian countries had to cope with food insecurity with an overall annual rate of growth of 4-6 percent. When translated in per capita terms the growth rate was hardly 2-3 percent per annum.

Another important feature of economic growth in South Asia is the relatively low level of inflation. During most of the 70s and the 80s, inflation remained in the early tens, coming down to single digit in a number of years. This distinguished the growth experience of this region from that in the developing countries of Africa and Latin America.

Population growth

Apart from a modest improvement in the rate of growth and low rate of inflation the other factor which contributed to food security was the slowdown in population growth in four out of five countries. Sri Lanka had already achieved a low annual rate of growth of population (1.3 percent, which comes close to China's 1.2 percent) reflecting its high standards in education, health and nutrition. Bangladesh, India and Nepal also slowly moved in that direction. Pakistan only marginally improved in this regard, even though the rate of population growth in this country was already very high (3.1 percent per year). The result was that even when economic growth in general and agricultural growth in particular was satisfactory, especially in the context of South Asia, progress was quite slow when translated into per capita growth.

Agricultural growth

Faster development of their agricultural sector enabled the countries in South Asia to make some dent in poverty and food security. Majority of workers in these countries derive their livelihood from agriculture, and the food expenditures account for a high proportion of the total expenditure of the poor households. The experience of these countries suggests that direct and indirect effects of agriculture growth are positive in terms of poverty reduction (Ahluwalia, 1985). Other things being equal, the key to the success of the low-income food-deficit countries in ensuring food security lies in the extent to which they are able to increase their agricultural production. In the 1980s the record of the countries of South Asia, with the exception of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, was encouraging, both in terms of agricultural and food production. But in the early 1990s their agricultural growth started faltering (Table 9). It is important in this context to review the contribution of agriculture, or its lack, by assessing changes in agrarian structure, technology and the price policies in influencing growth.

Table 9. Annual growth rate of GDP, GNP per capita, agricultural production, food production and population in five South Asian countries

Item	Years	BGD	IND	NEP	PAK	SRL
Average annual GDP growth rate	1980-90	4.3	5.8	4.6	6.3	4.2
	1990-94	4.2	3.8	4.9	4.6	5.4
Average annual population growth (%)	1980-90	2.4	2.1	2.6	3.1	1.4
	1990-94	1.7	1.8	2.5	2.9	1.3
Average annual growth of GNP per capita (%)	1980-93	2.1	3.0	2.0	3.1	2.7
	1985-94	2.0	2.9	2.3	1.3	2.9
Average annual growth rate of agriculture	1980-90	2.7	3.1	4.0	4.3	2.2
	1990-94	1.9	2.9	1.3	2.7	2
Average annual growth rate of food production per capita (%)	1979-93	1.5	1.2	-0.1	1.2	-1.8

Sources: World Development Report, 1996; Human Development Report, 1996.

All these countries introduced redistributive land reforms, i.e., ceilings on landholdings and redistribution of surplus land, together with other agrarian reform measures, such as protection of tenants, consolidation of holdings etc. These reforms did not accelerate growth in agricultural production. It is instructive to refer in this context to the example of China where the introduction of structural reforms in the countryside, i.e., introduction of the "households responsibility system," led to a steady upsurge in agricultural production from the late 70s to the mid-80s.

The main reason for the negligible impact of agrarian reform on production in the South Asia countries - apart from several lacunae in legislation and in implementation - were the weaknesses in the supportive systems, i.e., input supply, extension, credit and marketing. These institutions were basically geared to the requirements of medium to large farmers and bypassed the small landholders (Vyas, 1994). Agricultural growth in South Asia was largely attributed to the medium to large farmers who had viable landholdings and access to support institutions.

While the structural reforms did not have a measurable impact on agricultural growth, the other policy measures did have a salutary impact. Public interventions to raise agricultural production could be divided into two categories: [a] the non-price factors and [b] the price factors. In all these countries the non-price factors contributed significantly to agricultural growth.

The most important among the non-price factors was technology. From the mid-60s onwards, high-yielding varieties (HYV) of wheat, and later of rice, became popular. HYV technology had a significant impact on the production of wheat and rice, more so in the former. Because of improved factor productivity, this technology also contributed to increased income.

HYV technology was a package which included assured supply of water and adequate application of fertilizers, together with improved seed. Being input-intensive, it required better access to credit. Because of natural limitations and institutional inadequacies, not many agricultural producers could directly benefit from this technology. A large number of producers in the rainfed, non-irrigated areas or inaccessible regions where inputs could not be brought easily, and agricultural producers who could not avail of credit, did not benefit from the Green Revolution. Whatever its impact on income distribution, HYV technology increased domestic production of cereals in the countries of South Asia.

An equally important contribution of the public policies was in terms of public investment in improving rural infrastructure, particularly in extending irrigation. This also attracted private capital formation which was supplementary in nature. Capital formation in agriculture, led by public investment, plays a major role in agriculture growth in the region. Unfortunately, with misplaced emphasis on curtailing government expenditure, public investment in agriculture has slackened in the 1990s, resulting in the faltering growth of agriculture.

Most of the countries in this region also introduced price incentives by subsidizing inputs and guaranteeing remunerative minimum support prices. With an improvement in minimum support prices, the terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture sector which were heavily biased against agriculture started improving. The macro economic reforms, particularly since the beginning of the 1990s, also contributed to this process. Favourable agricultural prices and guaranteed minimum support prices created a conducive environment for the adoption of input-intensive high-cost technology. This indirect effect of price policy was more important than the direct impact of the rise in agricultural prices on agricultural production. As is well established, the aggregate supply response vis-a-vis the rise in prices is weak in agriculture.

In the context of food security, price policy is a double-edged sword. The countries in South Asia used price policy to create an environment conducive for the producers. However, that also meant high prices for the consumers of foodgrains. It should be noted that few agricultural producers in these countries have a marketable surplus and few therefore benefit from the high prices. Others who depend wholly or partially on the market for their food supply pay a heavy price. The bulk of such "net buyers" which include landless agricultural labourers and marginal farmers, i.e. the poor majority of the rural areas, are losers in the first instance.

The impact of high prices on these sections, however, could be neutralized to the extent that rise in prices leads to higher production and larger employment, and agricultural growth leads to improved demand for non-agricultural goods and services and consequent rise in non-farm employment. Such developments, however, did not take place to any remarkable extent.

Poverty alleviation programmes

Another important influence on ensuring food security was the Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAP). The South Asian countries have a long tradition of such programmes[17] which are normally divided into three categories: those that provide social safety net; those intended to create assets for the poor households; and those that generate wage employment. The success of these programmes varied from country to country but was not spectacular.

The programmes which could provide safety nets to the destitute, disabled or poor households in other indigent categories, were not prominent in these countries. Only in recent years, and not in all countries, were the programmes (such as help to the widows, old persons and other disabled) instituted. One programme in this category which is gaining popularity is the mid-day meal programme for the school going children. In many countries either foodgrains are distributed free or cooked food is provided to those attending schools. Such programmes not only supplement food available to the poor households but also encourage children to attend school.

All these countries have accepted the responsibility of coping with food scarcity during emergencies such as natural disasters, when food is distributed free among the affected households. The record of disaster management in the South Asia countries has been praiseworthy. As noted earlier there have been few deaths from starvation, though the frequency and intensity of natural calamities remain unabated.

The more sustainable programmes of poverty alleviation and food security are those which involve the distribution of assets among the needy households, or provision of gainful employment. Land redistribution among the landless has not achieved its objective to any remarkable degree in the countries of South Asia. The emphasis is now on the distribution of reproducible assets (livestock, tools and implements, credit) among the poor. The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) of India, and its variants in other developing countries are becoming important in this context. Evaluation studies on such programmes, especially the IRDP reports in India, indicate that their contribution in eradicating poverty has not been significant. Another finding is that they only benefit those poor households with a minimum of wherewithal. Resourceless households are unable to take advantage of these programmes, although there are exceptions, like the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh or SEWA in India which reach the "unreachables" (Report of the South Commission, 1996).

For the asset-less poor households the selected countries sponsor a variety of employment schemes, most of which are variants of the food-for-work programmes. The employment generated by these programmes is not substantial (except in regions such as Maharashtra State of India where an Employment Guarantee Scheme is operating). Lack of funds has limited the countries from launching employment guarantee programmes for all needy sections. Even where employment programmes with limited coverage are launched, public works are generally non-sustainable because of the inadequacy of complementary capital inputs. However, the countries have devoted large amounts from their regular budget for the PAP (as in the case of India and Sri Lanka) or have imposed special taxes to fund these programmes (as in Pakistan). The scope of such programmes and their geographical coverage are widening, and their effectiveness in sustaining employment is improving. Measures such as decentralization of planning and implementing such works (as in Sri Lanka) and dovetailing these works with the natural resource development (as in India) have improved their effectiveness.

Public distribution of foodgrains

The South Asian countries have a long tradition, dating back to the Second World War, of distributing food to the poor households at below-market prices. An earlier arrangement was rationing foodgrains; and in later years, maintaining a regime of dual prices and giving the poor the benefits of lower-than-market price.

All countries in this region have instituted Public Distribution Systems (PDS) to achieve this objective. PDS is run through food procurement in the domestic market at a pre-announced procurement price, although imports have been resorted to in some countries, e.g., Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Foodgrains are distributed through PDS (or 'fair-price' shops) at the "issue price" which is generally lower than the market price. As the gap between procurement and issue prices is usually narrow, the State subsidizes the PDS operations.

A major objection raised against this method of ensuring food security is that it becomes difficult to target supplies to the poorer households, and the arrangement becomes, in effect, universal. The poor get only marginal assistance. The cost of running such a "universal" system becomes prohibitive. At the same time, the experience in Sri Lanka which switched from cheap food delivery through PDS to the "food stamps" system suggests that such an alternative did not ensure food security to the needy households. Furthermore, with inflation the effective purchasing power through food stamps (which had a fixed nominal value) was severely eroded. Even in countries where PDS in its original form continues, the difference between the market price and the issue price is reduced to curtail subsidies on food and save budgetary resources. Such a move takes away the benefits of PDS as far as the poor are concerned. Apart from the income transfer to the poor which the cheap foodgrains imply, PDS also acts as market outlet in areas where private trade is reluctant to operate. Finally, it can discipline the market by providing effective competition to private trade.

The countries of South Asia used all the above discussed modes to ensure food security to poor households. The efforts were in right direction, but because of faulty implementation, the benefits accruing to the poor were not commensurate to the resources expended.

Three major criticisms against these programmes are as follows:

• These are not cost effective programmes.
• They have generally benefited the near-poor but not the abject poor.
• As they do not involve genuine participation of the poor, they encourage a dependency syndrome.

There are important lessons to be learned from the experiences of the South Asian countries in ensuring food security for the poor households. These lessons are summarized in the next section.

Lessons from the South Asian experience

The experience of the past two decades in South Asia has thrown some important lessons to ensure food security to the poorer households. It may be recalled that these countries are medium to large in terms of size and population. A large section of their households, ranging between 22 and 49 percent, is still below the poverty line. Economic growth is modest and rate of population growth is high. Agriculture is the mainstay of their economy. These countries are either food deficient or barely self-sufficient. The lessons drawn from the experience of these countries are as follows.

In medium to large developing countries a large degree of food self-sufficiency is desirable to ensure food security.

Agriculture is the dominant sector of these economies, in terms of its contribution to national GDP, share in international trade and share in employment. Foodgrains production is the dominant sub-sector of their agriculture, except in Sri Lanka where plantation crops are equally important. Growth in agricultural output, particularly in foodgrains production is important from the point of view of availability, stability, as well as access to food for the large masses. The countries in this region could make a dent in the problem of food insecurity by raising the level of domestic foodgrains production, particularly of cereals. At lower income levels, cereals and other vegetable products are the main source of calories. It is only at a later stage of development that non-cereal foodgrains, i.e., animal husbandry and fisheries products, gain in importance.

The option of importing foodgrains in any but marginal quantities is not an easy option for most of these countries, due to the foreign exchange constraint which can be relaxed in most non-oil exporting economies only by a higher level of agricultural production and export. At their present stage of development, substantial foodgrains imports would drain their meager foreign exchange earnings. Added to this is the inadequate and poor state of infrastructure, e.g., port, transport, warehousing, etc., which result in higher cost of imported food.

On the supply side, the bulk of the surplus foodgrains is located in the developed countries. Foodgrains prices in the international markets are likely to rise once the developed food-exporting countries implement the conditions proposed in the Uruguay Round and dismantle the subsidy regimes. The prospects of food aid are not bright and they are becoming progressively dimmer. Raising domestic production of foodgrains is the only viable alternative to ensure adequate availability.

From the point of view of availability and to ensure stability, major reliance will have to be placed on government stocks. The countries need sufficient quantities in "buffer stocks" to support stabilization programmes in the face of fluctuating production. Fluctuations in foodgrains production would put a severe pressure on the poor households. Importing foodgrains would drain the meager foreign exchange resources. Within the countries, foodgrains production will have to be given high priority in inaccessible regions which face serious problems in the event of production shortfalls in any particular year.

The main argument for augmenting domestic agricultural production rests on the fact that a large proportion of the workforce is employed in agriculture. Their gradual withdrawal is generally conditioned on the availability of surpluses from agriculture for investment in non-agricultural sector. The direct and salutary impact of growth of agricultural output would be on the income and employment of these workers. Growth in agricultural production will also generate secondary effects as the demand for non-agricultural goods would rise and provide conditions for faster growth of non-agricultural sectors. Implicit in the policies pursued by these countries in recent years, especially after their disenchantment with the "forced industrialization" approach to economic growth, is a notion of agriculture-led growth. Because of their comparative advantages (dynamic, if not current) this model is valid even in an era of progressively integrating world economies.

The route to food self-sufficiency should be through improved agricultural productivity.

These countries have reached the limits of extensive cultivation, and the scope for further expansion of cultivated area is not very bright. In fact, there is a need to withdraw some of the marginal lands as cultivation has been extended to areas which are ecologically unsuitable for crops. At the same time, the possibility of encouraging foodgrains production by raising productivity is quite substantial, primarily because the yield levels of most crops grown in these countries are still fairly low. The countries have used non-price as well as price measures to induce farmers to produce more. The experience has shown that the route towards increasing agricultural productivity in a sustainable and equitable manner lies mainly in the improvement of technology and institutions.

The large scale adoption of superior technology e.g., the spread of HYVs in areas suitable for their adoption, has increased the chances for raising agricultural production. But there is now a growing apprehension that "technology shelf" is almost empty. It is important to raise the level of yield-augmenting technology. It is also clear that a few precautions not exercised in the past, have to be taken to make agricultural growth sustainable.

These include, first and foremost, a greater concern for environmental and ecological factors. Care has to be taken that the natural resource base for agriculture is not damaged. This particularly applies to the efficient use of water resources. Raising productivity in water use in a cost-effective way is as important as increasing land productivity.

Secondly, research and development efforts should be geared towards evolving labour-intensive yield-augmenting technologies, i.e., the type of technologies which could be more easily adopted even on the small resource-poor, farms.

Thirdly, to the extent feasible, research should be geared to develop more robust varieties, i.e., those which can stand the vagaries of nature.

Fourthly, systematic efforts should be made to bring the fruits of technological advances for crops grown in the poor regions by the poor farmers.

Finally, to the extent possible, research on, and extension of, nutritionally superior crops and varieties should be encouraged.

Many of these considerations were ignored in the past, with the result that only a small section of producers benefited from advances in technology and that too in a manner that was not sustainable.

There is an equally important need to strengthen the delivery systems.

The agrarian structure in these countries is dominated by small and marginal holdings. On the other hand, the delivery systems, i.e., institutions for input supply, credit, marketing, and extension, serve medium to large farmers rather than those with small farms. Once their operations are brought to the level of the marginal farmers, the transaction costs of these institutions rise. This makes them bypass the small farmers. A congruence between the recipient system characterized by the small and marginal farmers, and the delivery systems geared to the requirements of large holdings, does not exist. This has to be provided principally through institutional innovations.

Genuine cooperative institutions could meet the requirements of the small farmers. However, cooperatives in most of the countries have degenerated into inefficient state enterprises in which people have no participation nor involvement. Strengthening these institutions should be taken as a priority task. Similarly, NGOs have an important role in achieving the objective of "reaching the unreachable" but their efforts, with the exception of a few NGOs, are sporadic and non-sustainable.

Price policies should not be used as a vehicle for transferring incomes.

While the importance of non-price factors should be fully appreciated price policies have an important role in attaining food security. The countries in this region generally used price policies for a purpose, i.e., for income transfer, for which it is not the right instrument. In recent years they have instituted high procurement prices as an instrument to raise agricultural output. Such policies benefit only those farmers with marketable surplus. High prices by themselves may not be effective in raising agricultural production as the aggregate supply response of agriculture is low. High foodgrain prices will hurt the small and marginal farmers as other poor households in the rural and the urban areas depend on the market for the bulk of their food requirements.

The main function of prices is to act as the signal for allocation of resources, to which function it is legitimate to add the "insurance" function by declaring and implementing the Minimum Support Prices. Beyond these two functions, price policies should not be pressed to improve producers' incomes. In other words, by encouraging technological improvement and reforming institutions, efforts should be made to raise crop yield in cost-effective ways and thus achieve higher productivity and enhanced production. The important objective should be to improve the income terms-of-trade rather than the barter terms-of-trade.

There is a lively debate in these countries on what may be considered as "fair price" for agricultural produce. The mainstream thinking in these countries is that to define fair prices as those equal to "border prices" is not tenable in most of the circumstances (Nayyer and Sen, 1994, Vyas, 1994, Acharya, 1997). Apart from the well-known defects of border prices as the operational guide for domestic price policy interventions, the view of "comparative advantage" on which the notion of border price principally rests, is basically a static one. Once a dynamic view of comparative advantage is taken, border prices lose their role as the only, or even the principal guide, for domestic price policy.

Other considerations become important. A reasonable stability in market prices, an environment conducive to the adoption of superior technologies, an insurance element provided by measures such as minimum guaranteed prices, need for procuring grains for public distribution system, a reasonable incentive element for producers, plus the state of international prices - these are the factors to be plugged in to develop the price policy guidelines. Any mechanistic view is neither feasible nor desirable.

An important aspect of price policy as practiced in these countries in recent years is to remove the discrimination against agriculture. This was done, rightly, by correcting distortions in the exchange rate and in industrial policies. By bringing the value of currency closer to its value in the market, the disincentives of certain types, e.g., for exports, were removed. Similarly, by dismantling tariff and quota regimes which kept industrial prices unduly high, the terms of trade were made favourable, at least less unfavourable, to agriculture. Success achieved by the countries in these reforms has helped agricultural producers without causing distortions in the economy.

Public investment in agricultural sector has a unique role and it should not be slackened.

Agricultural growth as suggested above requires strong infrastructure support, R&D efforts and enhanced institutional capability. These are capital-intensive efforts. One of the undesirable features of the recent developments in these countries is the slackening in the pace of public investment in agriculture. The limited resources available are being diverted to subsidize inputs or output of agriculturists. Subsidies are "crowding out" investments on agricultural development. Such subsidies may be important in the initial phase of introduction of an input or a cultural practice, and only for a limited period of time. Today it has been realized that subsidies should be "capped" and be time-bound.

Growing shortfalls in public investment in agriculture cannot be compensated by private investment. In any case, private sector investment in agriculture is generally complementary to public investment; private investment is attracted when public investment makes returns on private investment attractive. Generally, private resources will not be invested in lumpy or long-gestation or low return activities, or in activities where benefits cannot be ascribed to an identified group or individuals, i.e., in investments which create public goods or externalities. Much of the investment in agriculture is precisely of this nature. A certain proportion of the State's revenue has to be earmarked for public investment in agriculture. This should be emphasized because of the recent tendency of withdrawal of the State from economic activities. Such withdrawal has convincing logic in certain types of economic activities, but the investment in creating infrastructure etc., is not one of those. The state cannot abdicate its responsibility of creating basic infrastructure, strengthening research and extension and development of institutions for enhancing human capabilities.

Rural development programmes should be continued and strengthened.

Experience in South Asian countries shows that growth in GDP, unless the rate is very high, will be unable to generate measurable "spread-effects." Wherever the trickle-down effect has taken place, the rate of growth of the economy has been substantial. Apart from the rate of growth, its composition also matters. In this respect the growth led by agriculture is more effective in fulfilling the objectives of poverty alleviation and food security. However, it is not realistic for a large portion of the poor households in these countries to assume that economic growth would make them food-secure. These countries need to have direct public interventions to eradicate poverty.

Output growth in agriculture and non-agricultural sectors does not generate sufficient employment. Employment elasticity of agricultural growth is low, and is probably declining. For small and marginal farmers as well as landless labourers and poor artisans, employment opportunities outside agriculture are becoming progressively more important. Looking to the slow growth in the non-farm sector, employment opportunities cannot be provided on the requisite scale in non-farm activities for some years to come. Thus, other opportunities either in the form of self-generated or wage employment have to be created by public programmes, mainly in the infrastructure building activities. All the countries in this region recognize this fact and have launched various schemes to provide employment. The outcome is positive but the costs are high. It is important to bring down costs and ensure that employment is self-sustaining. This needs, apart from a more comprehensive micro-level planning, the use of labour to strengthen the agriculture base and enhance the value of natural resources. In the absence of such long term strategies the "employment for the sake of employment" would prove to be unaffordable in time to come.

The scope of poverty alleviation programmes should include not only a rise in wages or in current income. It should also aim at providing assets and skills to these sections. The poor households will be able to respond to economic stimuli only if their capacity is enhanced. Without access to productive assets, which also include the marketable skills, the poor cannot contribute to, and benefit from, the growth process.

Public distribution of foodgrains in a reformed way is essential for ensuring food security to the poor.

All the countries in this region have had long experience in public distribution of foodgrains. These programmes have helped a segment of the vulnerable households. As pointed out by several critics, the public distribution system in these countries suffer from severe defects. Needy households are not covered under PDS, or they avail only a part of their foodgrains requirement from PDS. It is the non-poor urbanites, civil servants etc. who take the maximum advantage of the system.

The objectives of PDS will be served only when it is targeted to the poor. This is difficult to achieve in societies where the poor constitute a large segment of the population and the non-poor are only marginally better off. Efforts to link PDS with some measure of income, for example, denying PDS supplies to the income-taxpayers, etc., have not been successful. The only realistic way to target PDS for the poor is by some method of self-selection. Combining PDS with rural employment programmes and to make it an adjunct of PAP is one promising way.

The other feature of PDS which prohibits the poor from taking maximum advantage of the system is the recent tendency to push up the issue price of the foodgrains distributed through PDS in order to reduce food subsidies. The margin between the market price and the issue price is being narrowed, and in many instances there is hardly any difference between the two. As such tendencies go against the very logic of public distribution, there should be a substantial margin between the market price and the issue price. A corollary to this strategy is to be watchful about the likely leakages due to the price differential between the PDS issue price and open market prices.

Efforts should be made to economize on the cost of PDS by looking closely into existing arrangements for procurement, storage and distribution, and by ensuring that the really needy groups are informed of such arrangements. In order to achieve the latter, PDS for example can be related to the extent of poverty in a region, or to the groups who volunteer for rural employment work. Another way is for the commodities and varieties which are generally consumed by the poor to be distributed through PDS. The alternatives to PDS, including food stamps, have not succeeded in ensuring food security for the disadvantaged section.

The dimension of nutrition should be added to the food security issue.

The case studies of the five South Asian countries show that deprivation in terms of hunger is not a widespread phenomenon. Malnutrition is the more pervasive deficiency. Also, while there has been improvement in ensuring food to the people, little progress has been done to improve their nutrition. A major cause of malnutrition is poverty which has to be tackled by rapid growth, preferably in the agricultural sector, and by the PAP.

But poverty by itself does not explain the high prevalence of malnutrition. There is a need to supplement poverty alleviation programmes with specific nutrition enhancing programmes. Dissemination of information is an important part of such efforts. The countries have learned that an effective way to deal with the issue of malnutrition - which also partially takes care of the intra-household distribution of food - is to give mid-day meals to the schoolchildren. This helps strengthen their nutrition, and also acts as an incentive for the spread of education. Similar innovative ways should be developed to reach women in the poor households on whom the incidence of malnutrition is the most severe.

Nutrition is not just a matter of adequate intake of calories or protein or micro-nutrients. Two other factors are important to extend food security to nutrition security: availability and access to health services, and environmental hygiene and sanitation. Provision of these should also form a part of the food security agenda.

Most of the corrections, as well as new initiatives, in public policies have to be instituted at the national level. However, there are some areas where regional cooperation may make these efforts easier as well as more effective. The next section outlines the areas of regional collaboration in achieving food security.

Scope for regional collaboration

Early warning systems
Conservation and proper utilization of natural resources
Collaborative activities and mutual learning in agricultural research
Sharing experiences in rural development
Dovetailing price policies and liberalizing border trade
Establishing a common buffer stock
Taking a common stand
References

Alleviation of poverty as an important goal of public policy is shared by all countries of South Asia. Progressively greater emphasis is placed on food security for the poor households in their policies and programmes. Several common points in the development strategy are pursued by the South Asian countries to achieve these goals. This in itself is a promising start for collaborative action. Added to that is the fact of geographical proximity which can facilitate coordinated activities in a variety of fields.

The more promising among the areas of collaborative action, from the point of food security, are the following:

• Instituting Early Warning Systems and facing natural calamities with coordinated action.
• Conservation and proper utilization of natural resources, especially water.
• Mutual learning and collaborative action in agricultural research.
• Sharing experiences on poverty alleviation and food security.
• Dovetailing pricing and trade policies.
• Establishing common reserves for emergency relief.
• Taking a common stand in international fora.

Early warning systems

South Asia is a disaster-prone area. Large parts of the region are subject to floods and droughts, sometimes both. Volcanic eruptions, fire and frost are common occurrences. There is a view that deforestation and extension of cultivation on marginal lands have increased the incidence of natural disasters. The countries of the region have perfected the art of coping with natural disasters to a great extent, but each country has to fend for itself, even when a calamity is spread over more than one country. The region will benefit from an early warning system that will forewarn the countries about the impending calamity. With modern advances in techniques and instruments of surveillance, this would be a manageable undertaking

As a next step the countries may think of establishing a Disaster Management Authority (DMA) for the region as a whole. International organizations, e.g. FAO, can help in establishing and later strengthening DMA.

Conservation and proper utilization of natural resources

In this resource poor region priority should be given to the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. One of the most important areas for collaborative action from this perspective is the integrated use of the water of international rivers. Basins of major rivers in the region straddle across national borders. Upper as well as lower riparian states can make best use of these waters in irrigation, hydro-power generation, navigation, fishery development, and for drinking purposes if they can agree on comprehensive planning of water resources in their common rivers. The Indo-Pak treaty on the Sindh river system, mediated through the World Bank, provides an excellent example. Serious attempts are afoot to arrive at such understanding on the use of international rivers between India, Nepal and Bangladesh. An encouraging beginning has been made in the case of the waters of the river Ganga at Farraka. A few other similar projects on international rivers are in the offing. It will need political sagacity and farsightedness on the part of all concerned to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions.

Even if a comprehensive understanding on all aspects of river waters cannot be arrived at, a beginning can be made by exchanging information on vital aspects of rainfall, river flows, evapo-transpiration, ground water regimes etc. High level commissions on integrated water use have been or are being established in a number of countries of the region. There could be mutual consultation and exchange of information among these bodies right from the start.

Collaborative activities and mutual learning in agricultural research

The National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in some of these countries are fairly well developed and have reached international standards. India's agricultural research system is considered one of the best in the developing countries. Pakistan has made significant advances in the use of water in agriculture while Sri Lanka has a fairly well developed system for plantation crops.

Other countries have also specialized in some crops or resource use. All countries of the region can benefit from information exchange and collaboration in organizing relevant research activities. Such collaboration has great potential in the region because of the large, contiguous, agro-ecological tracks; two Punjab in India and Pakistan, West Bengal State of India and Bangladesh, Tarai region of Nepal and the eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India, share more or less similar agro-ecological features. Research findings applicable to one part could be of use to other parts.

Secondly, cropping patterns in these countries are dominated by rice and wheat for which generic research would be useful for large areas in different countries. It should be recalled that the Green Revolution came to this part of the world on the strength of adapting the results of the generic research conducted in different parts of the world, for wheat in Mexico and rice in Philippines.

Third, some countries in the region, India in particular, have made significant advances in frontier research in biotechnology, tissue culture, plant genetics etc. Other countries in the region should be enabled to take advantage of these advances in crop and animal sciences, rather than reinvent the wheel.

Sharing experiences in rural development

All countries in this region have implemented a variety of rural development and poverty alleviation programmes. They have made several innovations in their programmes on asset distribution, employment generation, social security and public distribution. Many of these innovations have succeeded while quite a few have failed. Other countries can learn valuable lessons from these successes and failures. Experience in targeting the programmes, in involving people in identification and management, and in making the projects and the schemes financially viable, are of relevance to the countries with similar objectives.

Such exchange of experiences should not be restricted to government-sponsored schemes and activities. Many NGOs and people's organizations have done exemplary work with the poor and food insecure, of which the. Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan, SEWA in India, and Grameen Bank in Bangladesh are the better known. All such organizations have valuable lessons to teach in the most difficult areas of poverty alleviation i.e. in evolving people friendly, economically viable and sustainable delivery systems. Periodic meetings and, wherever feasible, exchange of personnel will be of mutual help.

Dovetailing price policies and liberalizing border trade

Due to the lengthy and porous frontiers particularly between India, Bangladesh and Nepal, any effort to isolate the agricultural economies of these countries will only lead to distortions, and defeat the intent of the policy. The fertilizer price policy of Nepal is an illustrative example. Both India and Nepal gain from a common understanding on fertilizer prices. Dovetailing prices of fertilizers in these two countries could prevent large scale smuggling from the country with low prices to that with high prices. Looking at the lengthy and porous borders, it will be difficult to police such activities. Such examples can be multiplied. What is true in the context of India and Nepal also applies perhaps to a lesser extent, to other contiguous countries. The countries of the region cannot pursue input or output price policies without taking into account the repercussions across borders. A machinery for regular and comprehensive consultation on the price policies should be evolved. In its absence, ad hoc and limited discussion will be mutually beneficial.

The same applies to trade policy. For a variety of reasons - diversity and complementarity of their agriculture, more or less similar stage of development and similar growth strategies - these countries can mutually benefit by promoting preferential trade. In this respect they lag behind the other regional groupings. To start with, they should legitimize, in fact encourage, border trade which is large, informal and brisk. This could be a cautious first step towards better economic coordination.

Establishing a common buffer stock

As argued earlier, food security becomes a reality only at the household level. The food insecure households should be supported by national policies and programmes. The latter can be more effective with coordinated action at the international, more particularly at the regional, level. An important plank of the national food security programmes is the creation of a foodgrains buffer stock to counter fluctuations in agricultural production. On the principle that risk shared is risk reduced, the ideal solution is to emphasize global reserves more than regional reserves, and regional rather than national reserves. However, in this imperfect world, greater emphasis will have to placed on the national level buffer stocks. Regional food reserves also have a role to play, basically to supplement national efforts.

Several attempts have been made in different parts of the world to institute regional food security programmes. The most important initiative in Asia is the ASEAN Emergency Food Reserves. ASEAN member countries have a formal agreement on these reserves and the modality of the operations, for which a Food Security Board has been constituted.

The relative success of this mechanism in the ASEAN region can be ascribed to two important conditions: a growing political cohesion and economic coordination among the member countries; and much greater complementarity in the food economy of ASEAN. There is a major food surplus country (Thailand) and a major food importing country (Malaysia).These conditions provide a strong ground for regional cooperation (Vyas, 1990).

In South Asia both these conditions are more or less absent. In the absence of an established surplus food economy in the region, the stocks earmarked for regional emergencies cannot be relied upon in the event of food deficit in a participating country. Such schemes, under the prevailing circumstances, are likely to prove "fair weather friends." A second difficulty arises due to paucity of resources to operate such schemes which require large investment on grains procurement and on the infrastructure to store and issue these grains.

Under the circumstances, the sights will have to be lowered. The possibility, and even the justification, of regional stocks are limited. Other forms of regional cooperation are more useful as well as more practical, such as coordinated action on the following:

• Promotion of a buying organization to procure food on economic terms;
• Arranging investment for transnational infrastructure for agricultural development;
• Cooperation in evolving and exchange of technology for food production is likely to contribute greatly to the emergence of an integrated regional food economy.

Taking a common stand

Momentous changes which have serious implications for the food security in the developing countries are taking place on the international plane. Most important among these are the Uruguay Round (UR) agreements and the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). UR agreements have, for the first time, brought agricultural trade under international discipline. Developed countries have made firm commitments to bring down the level of subsidies and give larger access to their markets. Also, some provisions have been made to help developing countries, especially the poor food importing countries, during the transitional period, gradually adjusting their trade regimes to the changed economic environment.

As the countries of this region are either large food importing countries, e.g. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, or marginally surplus countries, e.g., India and Nepal, they have to be vigilant so that the concessions allowed them under the UR Agreements are not nullified for one reason or other.

Similarly, all these countries are large exporters of non-food agricultural crops, e.g. plantation crops, cotton, sugar etc. They have to see to it that their products are not denied access to developed markets on fair terms. So far developed countries have not yielded much on the provisions which may hurt their agricultural producers. Only with collective bargaining can the developing countries of this region obtain fair conditions.

In the changed economic environment, WTO and its specialized committees[18] have acquired great importance. The countries of South Asia whose interests converge should act with solidarity. They have to watch that the developed countries do not take away the gains of tariff liberalization by imposing non-tariff barriers, or by bringing in extraneous matters such as environmental concerns or child labour, in trade negotiations. WTO is one forum in which the countries of this region have to take a united stand. There are other international organizations where these countries have to collectively watch out for their interest.

There is an equally urgent need, in fact, an opportunity, to organize coordinated action to take maximum advantages from UN agencies and other international organizations. This includes CGIAR institutions a few of which are located in Asia (ICRISAT and IMI are in India and Sri Lanka respectively). Many other international research centres have outreach programmes in this region. NARS in these countries should take full advantage of the research capabilities of the international centres.

There is a worldwide move towards regional economic blocks with varying degrees of economic integration. South Asia lags in this respect. Meaningful regional cooperation can be forged around the fulfillment of a basic and pervasive need such as assuring food security to the poor people of the region. International agencies can help these countries in collaborating in some of the areas identified in this report and succeed in ensuring food security to the poor people of this region.

References

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Ahluwalia, Montek. S. 1985. "Rural Poverty, Agricultural Production, and Prices: A re-examination." In John D. Mellor and Gunwant M. Desai (ed.), Agricultural Change and Rural Poverty, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.

FAO. 1993. Trade Yearbook.

FAO. 1993. Production Yearbook.

FAO. 1994. Trade Yearbook.

FAO. 1994. Production Yearbook.

FAO. 1996. Food Security Situation (mimeo).

Jazairy, I., M. Alamgir and T. Panuccio. 1992. The State of the World Rural Poverty - An Enquiry into its Causes and Consequences, published for International Fund for Agricultural Development, New York University Press, New York.

Nayyar, D. and A. Sen. 1994. "International Trade and Agricultural Sector in India." In G.S. Bhalla (ed.), Economic Liberalization and Indian Agriculture, ISID, New Delhi.

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UNDP. 1996. Human Development Report.

Vyas, V.S. 1990. "Food Policies and Food Security in Asia, with Particular Reference to South Asia." In D.S. Tyagi and Vi.S. Vyas, (ed.), Increasing Access to Food - The Asian Experiences, Sage Publications, New Delhi.

Vyas, V.S. 1994. "Agricultural Price Policy: Need for Reformulation." In G.S. Bhalla (ed), Economic Liberalisation and Indian Agriculture, ISID, New Delhi.

Vyas, V.S. 1994. "Agricultural Policies for the Nineties: Issues and Approaches", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 26.

World Bank. 1996. World Development Report.