“Scope for Policy Cooperation in South Asia: The Case of Cereals”

Citation: Ganesh-Kumar, A. 2012. “Scope for Policy Cooperation in South Asia: The Case of Cereals”. Report prepared for the Cereals System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C.

Abstract:

This paper provides a synthesis of the findings of four other studies that reviewed the input and output policies for cereal production in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. These country-level reviews show that the problems and challenges staring these countries on the input and output sides for the cereal sector are quite similar in nature, though they vary in detail, intensity and priority. Yet, the response of these countries so far has been largely unilateral, with little coordination or cooperation amongst them. This paper takes the view that there is tremendous scope for the countries of the region to cooperate on several dimensions, to pool in their resources to avoid duplicative efforts, to learn from each other, and to devise region-wide mechanisms to address trans-boundary problems affecting the cereal sector in these countries, so that there are positive outcomes for the region as a whole. The analysis here covers output and input policies focusing on seeds, research and extension and fertilizer sectors, as there is now some evidence of the political willingness to cooperate on these fronts. In contrast, the political environment is hardly conducive to solving some of the inter-country problems in water sector.

On the output side, there is tremendous scope for the countries to expand their trade links, invest in trade facilitation measures, and also pursue regional food stocks for meeting emergencies such as natural calamities when normal private trade in grains is likely to be disrupted. They can also cooperate in the area of food safety in which they are currently at a nascent stage in terms of food safety awareness, standards and enforcement. Being at a nascent stage would make it easy for them to cooperate in evolving common standards, develop common testing and certification processes, harmonize their regulatory environment, and establish institutional links for sharing knowledge of best practices and real time information on diseases affecting the food chain.

With regard to seeds, the countries of the region can cooperate in developing new cultivars that give higher yields, with capacity to resist biotic and abiotic stresses, including trans-boundary diseases. Other areas for cooperation in seeds are in improving and expanding the capacity and reach of the formal seeds sector, and in controlling quality of seeds marketed by private sector. For this they need to work towards harmonizing their seed regulatory regimes, evolve common standards for seeds, invest in seed testing and certification processes, improve the capacity of staff to monitor and regulate the seed industry, and share information between the regulatory bodies.

There is also a great scope for cooperation between the research and extension systems of these countries that go beyond seed research. The areas for cooperation and collaboration include research on resource conservation agriculture practices, zoonotic diseases, biotechnology and biosafety, and capacity development through knowledge and information sharing, and training programs.

With regard to fertilizers, the sharp rise in price of fuels, fertilizer and feedstock could potentially affect fertilizer usage in the region. Here the countries can cooperate in striking long-term supply contracts with suppliers outside South Asia. Another problem in the region is the imbalanced use of fertilizer with adverse impacts on soil health. For this, rationalizing fertilizer subsidies and replacing the current practice of subsidizing specific fertilizer products with direct cash subsidies to farmers would help. This would allow the farmers to buy a mix of fertilizers suited to their soil conditions.

Recent times have seen several examples of actual cooperative initiatives in South Asia. It is time that the countries of the region ramp up their efforts several fold to meet the emerging challenges in the cereals sector, and agriculture at large.

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