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Issues & Analysis
Industrialized Agriculture
should be given priority
KARACHI-Syed Shamim Hasan, an Agriculture Law expert, has said
that a strong industrialized agriculture should be Pakistan's
national goal as this is the future agriculture.
"The co-op farming should be a strong industrialized
agriculture as it is the future agriculture. The co-op farming
should include not only agricultural crops but also animal
husbandry and poultry", he emphasized here on Dec 13, 2001.
Mr Shamim, a US-based Pakistani and a former member
Association of the
Bar of New York city and Agriculture Law Association USA, is
currently on a
visit to Pakistan.
He said the Federal/Provincial governments can sell thousands
of acres of uncultivated land and utilize that money in
funding road links and extension of canals/water supply. This
can also be considered as reclamation of land.
According to him some of the neglected areas need to be
addressed are:
a. Economic conditions of the farmers.
b. Conversion of thousands of acres of
prime agricultural lands into residential and other non
agricultural purposes.
c. Deforestation,
d. Erosion of lands by rains, floods and
wind,
e. Poor water management,
f. Water logging and salinity.
Mr Shamim said that in addition to resolve these problems, we
must also adopt various techniques to improve our agricultural
economy. Among many, two of the following methods can be
immediately adopted.
A. Agricultural Co-operatives:
He explained that it is rare that the business transacted by
one farmer can have a downward impact on price paid for inputs
or an upward impact on price received upon sale of farm
products. He is virtually a price taker. In order to remove
him from the status of a price taker, agricultural
co-operatives are the best tools. Such co-ops fall into three
primary classes.
Supply co-op make economical large-scale purchases of needed inputs, which
are then sold to the members and other patrons.Marketing
co-ops allow producers to work together to sell their output
in large volume and to better time sale transactions.
Service co-ops offer specialized services like dairy herd's
improvement and other technical work. The small, medium or
even large farmers in their respective areas should be
educated about the benefits they can draw by becoming active
members.
B. Corporate Farming:
Economic realities demand fewer and larger farms. Larger
operations will be well financed and better able to use new
agricultural technology. Such farms will be more likely than
traditional family farms to survive periodic booms and bust
cycles, Mr Shamim said. Replying to a question about
Agricultural Law, Syed Shamim Salahuddin said that State
University of Arkansas is one of the universities in the
agricultural field in the United States.
The school of law has been the academic home of many of the
nation's leaders in the government and the business including
former President Bill Clinton and former first lady and now
Senator Hillary Clinton, once members of the faculty of law
school of the University. He said University of Arkansas
offers the unique programme of master
of laws in agricultural law in entire United States.
He pointed out that Advanced legal studies leading to Master
of Laws (LL.M) degree in agricultural laws provide
opportunities for specialized professional training and
creative research in this rapidly growing area of law.
This programme is designed to prepare a small number (not
exceeding twelve in a semester) of carefully selected lawyers
as specialists in the legal problems of agricultural
production, marketing and distribution. Due to strict
selection and scrutiny in awarding a master's degree, from
1987 till May 1996, only eighty-six students could qualify for
this degree in the entire United States, he informed.
He said he had the honour to be one of those eighty-six
experts in the world, one of the four in Asia and second in
Pakistan to have received this qualification. To another
question, he said the area of legal studies in agriculture is
as vast as the off shoots of the field of agriculture.
Production, marketing and distribution of agriculture entail
in themselves the national agricultural policies vital for
national security, incentives to the
farmers, protection of various interests, protection of land,
environments, live stocks, water distribution, taxation,
forestry etc.
It also covers international business transactions and water
disputes at local, national and international levels. It goes
on and on to cover any subject connected with surface and
water in term of life. He said his specific area of
specialization was:
1. National Farm Policies: Issues facing individual
sectors of the agriculture economy.
2. Agricultural Cooperatives: Survey of different areas
of law effecting agriculture. Cooperatives, sources, policies
and application of law in the area of corporate law (financial
structure, apportionment of control, equity redemption),
contracts (the marketing contracts), federal income tax,
antitrust, securities and bankruptcy law.
3. International Trade: Issues confronting those tools
that busy and sell goods across national borders with
particular emphasis on agricultural trade. This include United
Nations Convention on contracts for the International sale of
goods, foreign agricultural service of the United States
Department of Agriculture.
4. Water Law: Property rights in water, public rights
in water, federal-states relationship to jurisdiction over
water use, interstate allocation; inter-state & international
water disputes.
5. Industrialization of Agriculture: The future of
agriculture in modern world where manpower is not sufficient
as compared to the farm lands.
Shamim Salahuddin said that at his request, the law school
permitted me to attend the following classes:
a. Agricultural Administrative law.
b. European Union's agricultural
policies.
c. Agriculture and environmental law.
d. Live stocks regulations.
e. Biotechnology and agriculture.
f. Agriculture business transactions.
He said that in research seminars, he wrote research papers on
the role of World Food Organization in the developing
countries, prospects of export of broilers from the United
States; problems of Litigation in Vertical Integration in
Brioler Industry in the United States with a proposed model
Act; Misinterpretation of International and foreign laws by
the US department of State; Criticism/review on Live Stock
production in
Arkansas. These research papers, he said, were highly
appreciated by respective
professors. He said that his blunt criticism on USAID in
Rwanda, which he called an eye wash to win world public
opinion was not very much welcomed, still as the facts could
not be ignored, he was given highest assessment grade. Shamim
says that Self-sufficiency in agricultural production is a
vital aspect of national security of any country.
That is why countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia and Israel
place such importance to the
agriculture despite limitations on land, water resources or
climatic conditions.
"We are lucky to have good climate, vast lands, and sufficient
water. We also have hardworking and energetic farm workers
available for cultivation. High rate of population in our
country is not a menace but a blessing as we lack resources in
metal and energy. Manpower is the best substitute for our
deficiencies in those resources".
But, he continued, "we are unfortunate that the agricultural
sector has never received due attention it deserves. The root
cause is poor planning and management, inefficiency and
corruption at every level. Water logging, salinity, poor water
management, are haunting the future of our country".
Shamim said it is high time for us to show some mercy to our
future generation and control the reign of events lest lose
the total control.
Courtesy APP 14 December,
2001
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