It is felt that people are aware of the nexus between a section of dishonest businessmen and politicians who are finally responsible for rising prices. It’s surprising that when millions are dying due to spiraling prices, the government is reluctant to clamp down and, instead, claims that the international economic situation is responsible for this. Ordinary people are resigned to their fate and this has led to the poor becoming poorer and the rich richer.

There was a time when the government and industrialists would give importance to media reports against mismanagement and profit making. Because of this, the government would rectify the policies laid down and extend a helping hand to the common people. But those precedents no longer hold good. It is true that common people have resigned to price escalation. But little can be done as politicians know how to tackle protesters. There is a lack of good leaders who can tackle rigged markets and serve responsibly.

Food security calls for long-term planning in order to correct the mismatch between demand and supply. Food grains don’t fetch attractive prices and farmers are migrating to cash crops. One way to make food grain cultivation profitable is to increase productivity. Indian average yields per hectare in rice and wheat are half that of China. Moreover, the pressure on land is only going to increase as India rapidly urbanizes, as such, the focus ought to be on increasing productivity and plugging leakages in procurement and distribution. Better extension services and procurement and distribution networks are necessary if food prices are to be kept under check. All such policies have to benefit both producers and consumers.

With global prices of food and oil showing little signs of coming down, pres¬sure on the wholesale price index from both primary articles and energy prices is likely to continue. It is no consolation that slowing growth and rising inflation seems to be global phenomena. Policy makers have tried a number of fiscal steps-cutting tariffs as well as administrative steps like banning exports of selective food items. And though the full impact on prices is yet to be felt, it is unlikely to be significant. Monetary tightening will not be of much help either, as monetary polio acts with a lag. Worse, it has broad-brush impact that is not advisable when growth is already slowing.

There is no alternative but to make amends for years of neglect of agriculture in terms of increase public investment, restore the extension system that played a vital role in the Green Revolution of the 1960s, revitalize the Seed Corporation and most important of all, introduce market-based reform. A lot needs to be done and there is a possibility that the farmers might get hurt in the process but the idea is not to tie farmers, up in knots but to adopt a differentiated approach for large and small farmers and to remove all controls on large farmers and allow them access to market-based mechanisms like futures markets.