IS BUSINESS GOVERNMENT'S BUSINESS?-NO LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PAST!

Public sector industrial entities in India are known to be notoriously inefficient unless they are bestowed with some sort of monopoly guaranteeing little or no competition in the market place. Government of India as well as States receive practically no dividend on the huge investments made on these white elephants set up under the old discredited policy of achieving "commanding heights" in the national economic landscape. In the food area every one knows the tragic fate of companies like the Agro-industries Corporations at state levels, erstwhile Modern Bakeries, Civil Supplies Corporations, NAFED, etc and how these organizations were either wound up or sold to private sector or maintained with no hope of redemption,  bleeding the exchequer. If at all government can claim some credit, it comes rom the cooperative sector companies like dairy cooperatives in different states, chocolate cooperative CAMPCO and a few others. This goes to show that doing business is not government's cup of tea! Food Corporation of India, a monolithic and monopolistic company of the government is limping along with no appreciable efficiency and is continuously being indicted for the food grains mismanagement. Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) was recently in the news regarding its "ambition" to get into value added segment in Cashewnut, already having a monopoly for procurement of the nuts in the state at government dictated prices from the growers. With no worthwhile technical base within the organization their endeavor has very little chance of assuming any significance. Here is a take on this program as enunciated by its CEO.    

"Three years after introducing branded value-added products in the domestic market, the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) is all set to roll out new products. The chocolate-coated cashews are the new addition to the innovative range of products by the KSCDC. The technology for the cashew chocolates has been developed by the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, and the product is poised to be launched by the end of this financial year. They would be available in milk chocolate and brown chocolate varieties and the production will begin at the Kottiyam and Ayathil units of the KSCDC once the machinery is installed. Another product in the pipeline is cashew noodles. Marketed as 'CDC cashews,' the four value-added products now offered by the KSCDC include Cashew Soup, Cashew Vita, Cashew Powder and Cashew Bits.� KSCDC Managing Director K A Retheesh told 'Express' that the sweet and crunchy chocolate cashews are expected to be� a hit among kids. "The vitamin content in cashew is very important for growing children, but many kids are reluctant to have cashew kernels. On the other hand kids will find the chocolate coated ones attractive,'' he said.While cashew kernels contribute to the lion's� share of exports, the value-added products target the domestic market. The turnover from� value-added products during the previous financial year was Rs 12 crore against the total turnover of Rs 212 crore. Almost 90 per cent of the value-added products of the KSCDC are sold in the domestic market. The CDC cashews are marketed also in the Gulf countries. Establishing a strong domestic market is important for the survival of the industry in the country. ''With countries such as Vietnam giving Indian exporters a run for their money in the international market, we should be able to establish a strong domestic market," he said.

Those, who have some memory of the past track record of this Company, may still remember the fiasco during late nineteen nineties when some attempts were made to develop value added products and get into the market to expand the user base for Cashewnuts. Unfortunately the products, in spite of being excellent in quality, were not marketed successfully for which he Company did not had any expertise and experience. One can only wish the Corporation better luck this time, though it does not require too much intelligence to predict that the result may not be different now too. It is not realized that Cashewnut is one of the costliest nuts in the market and any value addition is bound to make it beyond the reach of many consumers in India. Export option is limited since most value added products in foreign markets are branded with strong recall credentials and it is beyond comprehension as to how the value added products of KSCDC are  going to be sold in such countries.One can only hope that the current plans, if and when executed will not end up as another financial disaster!    

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

DEMOCRACY IN FOOD POLICY DECISIONS-IS IT FEASIBLE?

Democracy invariably signifies consent by a majority of the constituents involved in any decision making. It is also a people oriented system where the aspirations and sensitivities of people are required to be respected. It is another matter that most practicing democracies have evolved over the years into a system where politicians tend to overwhelm the people who elect them with policies and actions for serving their own interests rather than those of the people. Food policies also are evolved by the governments without bothering to take the real interests the people. The widespread use of GM foods in the US is a classical example where government colludes with the industry to force the citizens to eat what is not acceptable to them without keeping the latter informed about it. The food council phenomenon that is becoming widespread in many states in that country wants to address this issue by involving people at the local level in evolving and taking decisions desirable for the community.

"Food policy councils (FPC) began holistic, whole-systems approach to the innumerable issues surrounding food production, processing, preparation, and distribution. Food policy councils harness the weight of already existing local, county, state and grassroots initiatives, working across sectors, engaging with government policies, grassroots/nonprofit projects, local businesses and food-industry workers from farm to table. Food policy councils establish a space for coordinated discussion and action regarding the food system at the local level. Rather than administering programs, the FPC would primarily serve as a forum for discussion and project incubation, helping individuals to start up programs. Food policy councils have grown in size, scale and number since the first FPC was formed in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1982. Today there are more than 40 active food policy councils across North America, with new ones forming every month. Their overall goal is to democratize the food policy system, thereby giving all people equal access not only to food but also to the policy/procedural processes that largely govern the food system and determine what options are and are not available to local communities".

How far these councils would be able to really make any impact is a debatable issue, especially when government is not involved or represented in these bodies. It is easily said that one should not depend on the government too much to solve people's problem but what if government itself is the problem? If democracy is truly practiced these councils could become channels for effective communication between the government and the people. Probably there is a case to integrate the food policy councils into the country's decision making apparatus vis-à-vis food related issues. In a country like India if and when such local set ups are created, it may be more appropriate to empower them to meet the challenges involved in tackling large scale food adulteration that is becoming more and more rampant day by day. They should not be made innocuous like the NGOs without any power, leaving them only to agitate and carry out campaigns against the government with practically no impact.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com