Saarc stresses on food, energy security

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New Delhi, Aug 3: In a situation where the world is facing twin problems of food and energy security, the homogenous group of countries in South Asia is gearing up to meet the challenge in its humble way.

Rise in prices of essential commodities today is a global phenomena, caused largely due to competition between food and fuel. Price inflation is coming in the way of developing countries achieving a desired rate of economic growth necessary for augmenting employment opportunities and creation of wealth.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) consisting of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in its two-day 15th summit, which concluded in Colombo on Sunday, deliberated on these vital issues apart from the problem of tackling terrorism in the region.

The $300 million Saarc Development Fund and Saarc Food Bank are the mechanisms available for dealing with the issues. The most important point stressed by the Saarc leaders on the opening day of the summit was on exploitation of resources in the region. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, “The countries in South Asia need to work towards a collective response that leads to a quantum leap in agricultural productivity, foodgrain output and farm incomes so that the crises of food vanishes from our region.”

On energy security Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said harnessing the region’s indigenous energy potential, particularly solar, wind, biomass and hydro energy was needed. He said, “We should also envisage a network of intra-regional and trans-regional oil and gas pipelines.”

The most important approach to food security in the region cannot be ensured through competition, but through cooperation. What is more needed is to understand the food and dietary habits of people in each of the geo-climatic zones in the countries of South Asia. The Saarc region is vast with pockets of diverse geo-climatic regions. Yet similarities exist amongst the countries in the region with many matching geo-climatic conditions like wetlands, arid zones, semi-arid zones, hot and cold deserts, coastal zones, hilly areas, forests with distinct cropping patterns and food habits.