SAARC
Main Achievements In Cooperation

 -By Girdhari Dahal

THE Ninth SAARC summit held at Male constituted a Group of Eminent Persons (GEP) mandated to undertake a comprehensive appraisal of SAARC and to identify measures including mechanisms to further vitalise and enhance the effectiveness of the Association in achieving its objectives. Accordingly, the GEP’s report seeks to highlight the main issues requiring the focussed attention of the SAARC leaders and identifies measures needed to import a new vitality and sense of direction to the Association. The report also attempts to define a long range vision for SAARC and identify the achievements of SAARC.

Platform

The group is of the view that during the past twelve years that SAARC has been operational, it has some important achievements to its credit. The institutional structure of SAARC has provided a useful platforms for conceptualising and implementing programmes of regional significance and for an exchange of views at a variety of levels, including at the highest political level, on issues of common concern to the member states.

The ministerial level meetings devoted to specific issues or sectors have helped highlight the importance of the issues under consideration, identifying problems of common interest in these areas, arousing public awareness, as well as building pressure of public opinion to accord high priority to these issues in the national agenda. They have also helped identify, develop and implement programmes and projects for regional cooperation.

The IPA which has formed the core programme for regional co-operation under SAARC, has in general succeeded in fostering personal contacts between the experts of the region in their specific fields of specialisation; facilitating exchange of data and information contributing to a better understanding of the situation obtaining in the member states in the agreed areas of co-operation; organising seminars, workshops and training programmes, resulting in the sharing of experience and building of human resources capabilities; compiling compendia and directories which bring out the complementarities among the member states, and completing state of the art reports which have focussed attention areas of common interest.

The involvement of SAARC with the problem of poverty alleviation in the region has underscored the importance of timely and sustained action on the part of the SAARC countries in this vital area. The establishment of the SAARC three-tier mechanism of poverty eradication has provided the member states with a useful institutional mechanism to constantly monitor and review the poverty profiles of the member states. At the same time it has facilitated the sharing of information on policy matters of poverty eradication and of identifying the most effective strategic intervention needed in this key area.

The first decade of SAARC activities has also seen the gradual development of a comprehensive agenda on the most pressing social concerns of the member states. Many important concerns relating to women, children and other disadvantaged groups in the region have been brought to the fore. SAARC has played a particularly important role in building a regionwide consensus on achieving specific goals on the rights of children and initiating sustained action for their survival, development and protection; increasing public awareness of the problems of the girl child, and addressing important issues relating to women.

SAARC has identified the environ-ment as an area in which major regional initiatives need to be taken. Two major studies have been completed in this field: the SAARC study on the cause and consequences of natural Disasters and the Environment and that on the Green-house Effect and its impact on the Region.

Over the years, efforts have also been made to supplement the work of the technical committees with a network of regional institutions designed to share information and co-ordinate activities in priority areas identified by the member states. Four such institutions, namely, the SAARC Agricultural Information Centre (SAIC), the SAARC Documenta-tion Centre (SDC), the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), and the SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC), have been established so far. SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC) is in the process of being established.

Outside the IPA, the SAARC member states have made efforts to promote the concept of self in several other areas through the conclusion of regional agreements. To date two such conventions have been concluded, namely, the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism (1988) and the SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1990). A SAARC Food Security Reserve has also been established to provide for a reserve of food grains in case of emergency food shortages in the member states.

An important achievement of SAARC has been its success in putting in place schemes designed for promoting greater people to people contact. These include the SAARC Audio-Visual Exchange Programme, the SAARC chairs, fellowships and scholarships scheme, the SAARC Volunteer Exchange programme and the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.

Recognition

A major step forward has been the decision on the association to grant recognition or affiliation to professional bodies established to promote regional co-operation in their respective specialisations, the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the SAARC Law, have received such recognition.

Commercialisation Of Agriculture

-By K.D. Mishra

NOW a days, it is widely discussed and recognised among planners and politicians to adopt commercialisation approach in the agriculture sector. But, indeed, this issue was raised by the writer in 1951 through publishing research papers. At present, it is not too late to administer this approach and try to implement effectively with full dedication and commitment both from politicians and planners (basically involved in the agriculture sector). Commercialisation approach generally refers to the adoption of complex forms of social organisation of the production and administration. Under the commercialisation approach, the capacity of advanced technology is to increase the productivity of land and labour. In Nepal, peasant denote cultural and technological barriers where they are assumed to lack initiation and innovation. So, they are unable to develop their farms and they must be developed by adopting a certain strategy which could suit to their soils.

There are two strategies, i.e. unimodel and bimodel which are prevalent in most of the developed and developing countries to boost the agricultural production. Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are practicing unimodel approach whereas Mexico, Colombia, Soviet Union and Brazil are practicing bimodel approach. Under the unimodel approach, lands are fragmented, land holdings are small where intensive agricultural cultivation is done whereas under the bimodel approach land holdings are large, more hectares of land consist one plot where extensive agricultural cultivation is done.

In developing countries like Nepal, the recent announcement is made to alleviate poverty and solve unemployment problem. In line with it, there is an explicit way to commercialize the agriculture sector. The country further suffers from the rampant rural poverty where about 8 per cent income of the rural poor is spent on food alone and inequality of the income distribution is a conspicuous feature because of rampant poverty in the rural areas. The extent to which rural poverty and inequality can be reduced by massive mobilisation of rural labour at the farms and to develop other infrastructure sectors such as, irrigation, rural roads, drinking water, school’s building, health post etc.

The strategy of agricultural development in the country can be stressed by the combination of the activities like agricultural research (Dry farming system approach and lab to land programme), rural education and training programmes. Irrigation, drainage facilities, rural roads, distribution of inputs, proper marketing system of the agricultural products, policies related to prices, taxation and land tenure are the realised sectors where government has to give major emphasis to achieve the objectives of the commercialisation approach. Apart from this, major emphasis should also be given on action to bring the additional production possibilities for the farmers by modifying the existing institutional, technical, socio-cultural and economic environment of the farmers.

It is generally argued that unimodel agricultural strategy aims at the progressive modernisation of the bulk of a nation’s cultivators as contrasted to a bimodel crash modernisation effort concentrated upon a small sub-sector of large scale mechanised farms. Both agricultural strategies should be assessed in terms of their contributions. The process of structural transformation, growth in national products, enhancing the welfare of the farm population and promoting changes in attitudes and behaviour of the development actors and farmers are basic criteria to assess the performance of the commercialisation approach.

The population both in urban as well as in rural areas is ever increasing, lands are fragmenting due to separation of the joint family members and agricultural production is declining in comparison to population. So, at this state, unimodel strategy at the farm level might be appropriate to increase the agricultural production for the medium, marginal and small farmers whereas bimodel strategy may be applied for the large farmers with technical change. The commercialisation approach for the agricultural development will have favourable impact when the social modernisation takes place in relation to bring changes in the existing rural attitudes, behaviour and institutions through massive adult literacy programmes at the farm level. Because, existing institutions for strengthening agricultural experiment stations, extension facilities, training programmes to the farmers, credit and input facilities are not satisfactorily fulfilling the objectives of the rural farmers. So, under this critical situation, co-operative endeavours may be feasible and sustainable appropriate channel to deliver the credit and inputs as well as to provide marketing facilities of the farmproducts.

Recent revised budget provided to each VDCs and managed with a technical assistant needs to be appropriately invested and further managed on the rural programmes which may be helpful to the commercialisation approach and to provide supplementary employment and income for the rural poor. The indirect contributions of such programmes to the expansion of farm output and income through the construction of rural roads, irrigation works, school’s buildings, healthposts and other infrastructures may bring substantial changes at the farm level.

At the farm level, where agriculture is characterised by large seasonal variations, farmers are underemployed and due to lack of irrigation facilities and other support services lands are not fully utilised. Under such situations, technical change with associated investments in infrastructure are likely to utilise the farm labour and land, if inputs such as, credit, seeds, fertiliser and irrigation facilities are given timely to the farmers. There is an explicit example from the Taiwan experience where importance of more productive seed-fertiliser combinations and investments in infrastructure which increased the returns to additional labour units. Investment in irrigation and drainage not only raised yields directly but they also facilitated multiple cropping system approach which resulted the year round utilisation of both land and labour. Therefore, there are two strategies explicitly available to choose for fulfilling the objectives of the commercialisation approach in the agriculture sector. These strategies are important to bring social and economic changes at the farm level. As, it is generally argued by social scientists that unimodel strategy is important for such a country where lands are fragmented, small land holdings are prevalent and rainfed agricultural cultivation is practiced at the farm level.

Finally, there is an emergent need for the policy makers and politicians in the country to assess both available alternatives and weigh their pros and cons and then consciously select unimodel approach for the medium, marginal and small farmers whereas bimodel approach for the large farmers. There may be equal chance for conflicting interests while choosing above said alternatives. But, the decisions for the policy should be shaped for the common interest of the people as a whole in the country.

Mothers, Make It!

-By Pramita Thapa

THE glory of the morning sunrays peeps through the window as the cool breeze hoists the curtains by the sides. A baby in the cradle awakens with a gentle smile towards me. Her rosy lips and chubby chicks stretch conventional warmth to my heart. I smile back. Her tender finger tips run along my face. She utters her affection ma ... ... ma ... ... ta... ... I nod as if, I feel her words, as if I was making sentences out of every alphabet! The sensation rises to each nerve-endings in my body. My eyes cast joyous tears. Every drop of tear bounded with enormous cohesive-attaches between the child and me! I was totally clouded with the sweetest memory on earth, that I owe a child and that I am a mother!

These are customary feelings for so called ‘completeness’ to a girl’s birth after growing and getting married that still prevails in our society. But, I doubt if all those sisters of ours are really on their mark for setting up their child towards something more than themselves. Or rather taking the process simply as a universal biological phenomenon.

Our societies are rotten to the cores, which are still locked in the male-dominating boundaries! We would be shameful to guess the percentage of literate girls willing to, or asked for using their education for smoothing their lives, after their marriage!

In one of the conversations with woman completing her graduation said that she was bound by her in-laws to stay back at home and enjoy as much.

I wonder if that was all what her education deserved. Unfortunately, what would she do if her husband died, or divorced, or be kicked - off from her family on the basis of some conservative accuses? Will her alternate be a suicide or begging? Who would accept her ‘degree’ marked ‘inexperienced’ at the mean time, in this competing world?

Different heart touching slogans telecast for not behaving in- humane with a she-child, doesn’t only mean to ask them go to schools and colleges, finally get married, bear children and confirm herself within those social barriers for the rest of her life!

Instead, practical implementation of her education should be provided as training, job- experiences; etc. which could ultimately outgrow many fruitful results in their lifetime.

Nevertheless, even those uneducated girls of villages or those considered ‘maids’ in our houses could be personally provided with various vocational training! Who knows how great humanitarian services those would be, which could not only help the poor girls be self dependent or decrease the rate of women-trafficking, but at the most get them rid of the chances for being raped!!

Sorry to say, but shame on us, who always look forward to the foreign aids, projects for INGOs, or the other social institutions to help us solve these simple internal problems of the country! For an instance, do we ever wait for our neighbours to dump those garbage laying in our houses? If yes, there’s nothing more to persuade.

However, as the saying goes, ‘empty vessel makes more noises’, giving speeches, organising seminars etc. aren’t enough. The time has come for each one of us to work with our enlightened conscience, having team spirits, a bit of sincerity and a heart, full of patriotism.

Let’s wait no more for a new tomorrow and get our feet on the ground, weed out such revolting factors and make our motherland as fresh as a daisy!