Saturday, November 16, 2024
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Time to focus on our strengths

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By Gary Marbaniang

The ongoing debate about our state’s financial health is worth delving into. An important point was raised by the Chief Minister regarding the state’s strong position in terms of debt-GSDP ratio. It just raised my curiosity a notch that I decided to dig a little deeper into the subject. And surprisingly our State is doing tremendously well on this front compared to other north-eastern states. According to RBI State Budget Study 2011-12,Meghalaya’s debt-GSDP ratios stood at 29.1% in 2011-12 whereas states like Manipur and Mizoram debt-GSDP ratios for the same period is more than 60%.A high debt to GSDP ratio should raised serious alarm bells considering the fact that in the last global financial crisis major European countries collapsed under the weight of staggeringly high debt levels. Our dependence on grants from the Centre on the other hand is almost at the same level as other North-Eastern states except Assam.

At this critical juncture it is very important for us to focus on sectors where there is potential for growth. And it was very heartening to see a news report in your paper about the increased in exports of horticultural products owing to the bandh on coal mining .I would like to share here some family history stories to show that Agriculture could be a productive means of livelihood. My father’s ancestors were one of the first Khasi farmers to practice farming on a commercial scale. They own large part of agricultural land in a village called Sandor where they would stay for almost nine months to cultivate the famous Khasi Mandarin Oranges and returned to their own village and stayed back for a period of barely three months. It was large scale commercial farming that enabled them to export this famous horticultural product as far as the shores of the Middle East. Naturally this afforded them a higher standard of living which also afforded them the high cost of  higher education which is a rarity in those days. My paternal grandfather’s younger brother was one of the first Khasis to study in Kolkata. Contrasting this with my mother’s family background where the only kind of farming they knew is subsistence farming. This is still the method of farming practiced by majority of farmers in the state. If you’re living in an urban setting this kind of farming would barely pay the rent these days. It just struck me that had my mother been raised in a more favourable environment she would have gone really far in life since she possesses a high I.Q for a woman whose only education was primary schooling up to Class 3 in a village where accessibility to good roads and other facilities is still lacking even today.

My ancestors’ farming days was before India became independent. Then when we got our independence my paternal ancestors had to return home to their village. With the formation of a new country it opened up avenues of trade for the people living in the border areas. Trade was flourishing post independence and my paternal grandfather seized the opportunity with both hands. He had no formal education since his family had decided against educating him so that he could take care of the family business, so trade was the only way for him to earn a livelihood post independence. My father was actively engaged in the family business up to his mid twenties when the tumultuous years leading to the formation of Bangladesh makes border trade almost impossible. My grandfather initially was against my father joining government service since they were doing really well relying on trade. He spent his entire college days in Shillong studying and working at the same time. As it is, the end of border trade means a loss of livelihoods for many people living in the border areas. Trade was really flourishing in those days especially in those years when we first got our independence. My father would narrate stories about how their house in Mawsynram would overflow with the textile articles that they would purchase from Shillong and export to that newly created country. The theory of Absolute Advantage would be the best theory to show the gains to be make from trade.

A simplistic explanation of this theory could be done with the help of two farmers in Nongpoh and Nongnah. Suppose the farmer in Nongpoh could produce 10 pineapples and 5 oranges  and the farmer in Nongnah could produce 10 oranges and 5 pineapples. That means each farmer can produce a total amount of 15 quantity  with the resources available to both of them. Their  productivity increased by 5 each to 20 if they only cultivate the fruit they have an advantage in, in terms of productivity and cost of production. This is just a small example to show the beauty of focusing on where our strength lies rather than putting the spotlight on our weaknesses. I cannot help but mention this.

I would like to end this write up by reminding our people young and old alike that flashing your English speaking skills in a taxi (like the two ladies I shared taxi space with on September 28) doesn’t necessarily make our state more developed and neither does it make the rest of us who can’t do the same, inferior to them. If your English language skills can land you a high end job in a Fortune 500 company then that is something we can all be proud of.

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