Emphasising internal procurement
Photo: FIROZ GAZI /DRIKNEWS
I would like to make a suggestion to ensure food security. With the good Aman harvest, the government should emphasise internal procurement so that our hard earned hard currency is not needed to import food grains. The government can think about introducing a monopoly purchase scheme. The system of monopoly procurement from the major rice mills was first introduced in 1957. The scheme was extended to the major rice mills of the hinterland in December 1965 and withdrawn in June 1966 which indicated that it was only a temporary arrangement. Although this conflicts with free market economy, yet it is essential in the greater interest of the country to curb unscrupulous trading. I like to mention a few points regarding successful British policy of food controls during the 2nd World War which was based on the experiences obtained during the 1st World War. They took two necessary lessons for the successful administration of food control: 1) Control at all stages from producer to consumer. 2) Controls should be done before, and not after, the shortage has arisen so that price hike may not get out of hand.
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