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Ending land hunger

ENDING this country's growing land hunger is one way of resolving our seemingly perpetual problem of poverty. Accordingly, the Government is on the correct policy track by taking a decision in favour of land distribution among the landless poor. It is indeed heartening that 100,000 plots of land will be distributed among the needy, under a programme to be spearheaded by the Agriculture and Lands Ministry.

It cannot be emphasized enough that rice and land comprise the most pressing needs of the rural poor - the majority of this country's populace. The tendency has been marked among governments over the past two or three decades to play down this fact by placing greater emphasis on the industrial sector and on export-led growth. A fallout from this myopic policy is the decreasing appeal of agriculture as a livelihood among particularly rural youngsters.

However, among those sections of the rural populace which prefer to pursue the principal occupation of their forefathers in the mire of their paddy plots, land hunger is proving acute. The extent of arable land available for cultivation is tending to shrink in some areas on account of growing population pressures and the consequent parcelling out of land among claimants to land among rural families. The resultant shrinking of paddy plots is proving a crucial factor in declining paddy productivity.

Accordingly, efforts to end landlessness among the rural poor need to be welcomed. Besides enhancing paddy productivity, this policy decision is likely to have the effect of making a livelihood in agriculture more appealing.

However, singing the praises of the farmer and his noble occupation alone wouldn't add lustre to paddy farming and attract the young to it. We consider it important that those receiving land are schooled in the skills of putting it to good use. In fact Agriculture Science should figure prominently in our school curricular.

At present, of course, courses of study in agriculture at undergraduate and post-graduate levels are available in some of our seats of higher learning. This is an important component of higher learning and should be continued but, what of those numerous rural-based youths in particular, who complete their secondary education but are not in a position to pursue graduate and post-graduate studies in the disciplines of their choice, including agriculture?

If these youths are afforded the opportunity of studying Agriculture Science at secondary school level, they would be in a position to put their land to effective use through the knowledge they thus acquire. This is one way of reducing rural unemployment besides placing farming and agricultural practices on a scientific basis.

The Africa-Asia Summit

ASIA and Africa have many things in common, but the most common factor seems to be their 'developing region' status. They have mostly gone their separate ways since the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in April 1955, though many of them meet regularly as members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the UN.

Now, 50 years after Bandung, nearly 60 leaders of Asian-African countries are expected to gather in Jakarta this week to rebuild a bridge and structure for strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two continents.

The Second Asia-Africa Summit will be held on April 22 and 23 in Jakarta under the theme "Reinvigorate the Bandung Spirit, Working Toward Asia-Africa Strategic Partnership". The Golden Jubilee to mark the Bandung Conference will be held in Bandung of West Java province on April 24.

Summit documents include a declaration on the Asian-African strategic partnership and an action programme on the implementation of continental cooperation in political, economic as well as social and cultural fields.

With 105 countries, Asia and Africa have a 4.6 billion population, (70 per cent of the world's total) and their land covers nearly half of the world total. An overwhelming majority of the population is poor. Various diseases kill millions of people in Asia and Africa annually. Although trade between the two continents is picking up, their combined share in world trade is behind Europe and Americas.

These are just a few of the challenges that should be addressed by the Afro-Asian leaders meeting. The emerging consensus is that both continents should combine their efforts to face common challenges. They should help each other in the quest for development and poverty alleviation.

Many sceptics question the need for Afro-Asian Summits and the Non-Aligned Movement as the world has changed politically since the days of Bandung 1955. The NAM was born at a time when an independent voice was needed in a bipolar world. Now the reality is different. Nevertheless, there is still a need for a formal forum of developing countries to highlight their problems, concerns and of course, their viewpoints on political developments in the wider world.

Increased cooperation would be the key to achieving prosperity for the two regions. Individual countries in the two continents should enhance links while different blocs such ASEAN, SAARC and the African union should also forge closer ties. The Jakarta Afro-Asian Summit can potentially lay a strong foundation for a better future for both regions.

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