(March 15 2004) :Pakistan has taken a decision on the wheat consignment from Australia on the basis of intensive laboratory tests. But the scandal surrounding the episode is unlikely to die in a hurry.

If the deal had been negotiated by some previous political setup, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would have gone to town by now with high profile arrests and widely publicized charge-sheet informing the public of the corrupt and villainous ways of the deal's authors.

No such dust has been raised about the import of wheat from Australia, although the signature of corruption seems clearly embossed on the bargain. The import, that has been rejected because of a fortunate clause in the agreement regarding quality check of the imported commodity, has saved the country's considerable foreign exchange and has also protected the farmers of Pakistan against their wheat crop, finding the market saturated with imported stuff.

But it does not follow that the questionable decisions were not taken by some members of the government. Firstly, the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal) ordered imports on its own although it was not authorized to act in that manner; it was an action outside the jurisdiction of Minfal.

The federal cabinet that had decided to import half a million tons of wheat last November, was the forum for giving a green signal or imports. This is the reason why Prime Minister ordered the cancellation of shipments after two ships carrying the commodity had already landed in Karachi.

The PM's Secretariat not only directed Minfal to cancel the second tender but reportedly also sought the ministry's explanation as to why prior permission had not been obtained from the federal cabinet, as is required in such matters.

One does not know if Minfal has complied with the instructions so far or, in case it has not done that, what further action has been taken or is envisaged. But it goes without saying that ignoring the matter would not be governance, let alone 'good governance'.

The PM's Secretariat made the correct move but this does not explain why this action was delayed and postponed to a late stage. Surely the office of the PM would have known that wheat was being imported from Australia because the import had taken place under open international tender.

The episode speaks volumes about the lack of coordination between various components of the government as also informs of the sights of Minfal because it failed to see the glaring fact that the arrival of wheat from Australia would coincide with the arrival of the fresh wheat crop and its presence in the market or stocks with the government would undermine the farmers of the country, particularly those of the Sindh province.

Experts have worked out that the country would have suffered an overall loss of about $30 million if imports had taken place. Considering that the imported commodity has turned out to be of suspect quality and injurious for human consumption, the loss would have been far greater, although we all know that public health is not on any priority list of the administration either at the federal level or in provinces, notwithstanding the lip- service accorded to the subject.

The rejection of the imported commodity has been a lucky break because Pakistan had no facility for analyses of food imports in the past. The country woke to the possibility in the wake of Pakistan's exports to Iraq and Iran following the bumper crop of 1999-2000 that attained wheat autarky after many years and, in addition, left the country with sufficient stocks for exports.

That we are back to the wheat-import square within three years of attaining self-sufficiency must be rated as some kind of achievement for the managers of Pakistan's agriculture.

On learning about the tests conducted on the country's wheat exports, President of Pakistan is said to have inquired about the facilities available in the country on this count and, on learning that no arrangement for this purpose existed, directed the establishment of quality laboratories.

Facilities at the National Agriculture Research Council (Narc) used for analysing the Australian wheat were created under his instructions. This was certainly a thoughtful measure and has paid dividend.

The assignment of importing wheat was given to the Pakistan Agriculture Seed and Storage Corporation (Passco). Firstly, the organization has no experience in this field.

Secondly, views about its performance are diverse. Lastly, it is a question why, after rejecting a lower offer, a higher tender was accepted. But one must thank Passco for its thoughtfulness for incorporating the clause for the analysis of imported commodity and restricting the analysis to Pakistan only.

Besides, containing points for rising of the eyebrows and creating the impression that things may not have been above board all the way, the decision to import wheat contradicted the government's claims about the last year's output and its stand that sufficient stocks were in hand to meet the local consumption needs; it was argued that the stocks were being augmented to ensure that no shortage took place and the flour was available to consumers. What is happening all around belies claims and aims of the government.

Pakistan is high on the list of wheat-producing countries of the world but ranks 59th in terms of produce per acre. This is the area that requires the attention of Minfal but regrettably, the ministry has wasted its time and energy in a dubious pursuit; mercifully, financial loss has not been incurred.

It is time that the federal and provincial governments, specifically those of Punjab and Sindh that produce the bulk of Pakistan's wheat, focus on reasons why a country that calls its economy an agriculture-based, should be forced to import food for meeting local needs. It should undertake a planned effort to boost yield and extend essential facilities to farmers.

The tasks ahead of Minfal are conserving the water, ensuring the provision of quality wheat, the timely availability of fertilizers and making it certain that the pesticides are neither adulterated nor sold in the black market. It should be concentrating on the development and management aspects of all crops, not merely wheat.

It should be building adequate storage facilities, streamlining procurement and distribution, maintaining a tab on the flour mills, quality, price, and campaign to eliminate the hoarders and black-marketers, besides assisting farmers in marketing their produce instead of trying to overcome the deficiencies by resorting to imports and spending foreign exchange resources on imports at prices higher than what are offered to local farmers. The vital need is a fair deal for the farmers of Pakistan, and not exporting prosperity to the farmers of foreign countries.

DAWN