Strategies for future food security
YOU NUO
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
MOST parts of the developing world are facing a food crisis. How can China, as the most populous country, remain unscathed by the rising tide?
Unless two things are done, officials cannot convince the public that there is no need for fear. On the short term, the first task is to provide the actual figure of the country's grain stocks, and to guarantee a good harvest of the new crops in 2008.
The other is a long-term task. Since farm products have become more expensive, the government has to come up with a program to give the right incentives to farmers, and to cushion consumers at the same time.
Two weeks ago, the Chinese-language press questioned, and as in some opinion pieces, practically ridiculed a national grain administration official for saying that seeing no grain in the State grain storage can be a normal thing. That, as some critics said, was a tongue-twister similar to "we don't know what we don't know".
Well, it is time to know. Sources close to the State Administration of Grain are now saying that all its key officials are on inspection trips in different places of the country, following dispatches from the premier.
This is a necessary first move whenever alarm is heard, whether from inside or outside China, about the food supply. A considerable part of China's anticipated stock of 50 million tons of rice, among other staples, is usually kept in small farmers' barns rather than in the State's large storage centers. The figure is only a rule of thumb but it gives an idea of the range of the total quantity available in an average year.
How much the government can depend on that figure when it comes to planning for contingencies would require a double check. In a week or so, one would assume, the inspecting officials would come back to Beijing with the more accurate numbers about China's grain stocks.
But the grain storage officials should not be the only ones making inspection rounds. In one and half months, farmers will begin to harvest their first crop of the year.
Will there be a normal output? And will the nation's total summer crop, which makes up one-third of its yearly supply, remain at the same level as last year's? People can feel more reassured if these questions are properly answered.
However, even if these questions are satisfactorily answered, the world food price level will continue to rise — due mainly to the increasing use of land for biofuels, and the dampening effect of rising prices of inputs of farm production. These are long-term factors and are likely to push up the food price level even higher.
Between now and then, as the World Bank has warned, some countries may even go through social unrests. With or without social unrest, in no country will farm sector and the food market remain unchanged.
By contrast, not a single official economist has offered to talk about the future changes in that perspective. Officials tend to imagine that the current inflationary cycle is only temporary, or to leave such an impression on their audience, while in fact, this can hardly be the case.
A more realistic way to prepare for the future is to offer higher prices to encourage farmers to produce more, while develop some strategies to help low-income groups.
China Daily
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Cut cost of doing business in Brunei
Cut cost of doing business in Brunei
DEBBIE TOO
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
POLICY and procedures need to be simplified to create an environment where the cost of doing business is minimised in the sultanate.
Shazali Sulaiman, a partner at auditing firm KPMG and executive secretary of the Brunei Darussalam International Chamber of Commerce, said: "This issue has been raised by individuals who want to start businesses in Brunei. The number of policies and processes they have to go through to start a business sometimes are not consistent in terms of labour, miscellaneous and licence procedures".
Giving a talk at LiveWIRE's 'Become a Successful Owner Manager' workshop yesterday, he said most individuals want to start their businesses quickly and not be burdened with overhead costs even before actually starting operations.
"As you know, to get the miscellaneous licence, you have to rent (shop space) and you cannot start your business until your miscellaneous licence is approved. In the time period you rent and get your licence approved, the company will be running at massive losses before they even start and companies also have to start paying loans almost immediately," said Sulaiman.
There is also a lack of information available to people who are starting a business even though the government has improved the government procedures, he added.
He acknowledged some of the new policies meant to encourage businesses in Brunei that were introduced at the recent State Legislative Council Meeting, such as the exemption from the tax on profits for the first four years.
"The government is trying to ... make Brunei a much more investor friendly country."
He added that these fiscal incentives will obviously encourage people to do business.
Moreover, Shazali suggested that organisations concerned formulate a scheme allowing small and medium enterprises a grace period for bank loans.
"Businesses take time to settle down, to establish themselves and the grace period would certainly help a lot of companies. If they were to give a grace period of maybe, one year to two years for the payment of the principal amount and only collect payment for the service interest, it would help a lot," he said.
The Brunei Times
DEBBIE TOO
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
POLICY and procedures need to be simplified to create an environment where the cost of doing business is minimised in the sultanate.
Shazali Sulaiman, a partner at auditing firm KPMG and executive secretary of the Brunei Darussalam International Chamber of Commerce, said: "This issue has been raised by individuals who want to start businesses in Brunei. The number of policies and processes they have to go through to start a business sometimes are not consistent in terms of labour, miscellaneous and licence procedures".
Giving a talk at LiveWIRE's 'Become a Successful Owner Manager' workshop yesterday, he said most individuals want to start their businesses quickly and not be burdened with overhead costs even before actually starting operations.
"As you know, to get the miscellaneous licence, you have to rent (shop space) and you cannot start your business until your miscellaneous licence is approved. In the time period you rent and get your licence approved, the company will be running at massive losses before they even start and companies also have to start paying loans almost immediately," said Sulaiman.
There is also a lack of information available to people who are starting a business even though the government has improved the government procedures, he added.
He acknowledged some of the new policies meant to encourage businesses in Brunei that were introduced at the recent State Legislative Council Meeting, such as the exemption from the tax on profits for the first four years.
"The government is trying to ... make Brunei a much more investor friendly country."
He added that these fiscal incentives will obviously encourage people to do business.
Moreover, Shazali suggested that organisations concerned formulate a scheme allowing small and medium enterprises a grace period for bank loans.
"Businesses take time to settle down, to establish themselves and the grace period would certainly help a lot of companies. If they were to give a grace period of maybe, one year to two years for the payment of the principal amount and only collect payment for the service interest, it would help a lot," he said.
The Brunei Times
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Steady decline in oil-rich Brunei's per capita income
Steady decline in oil-rich Brunei's per capita income
SINGAPORE
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Slow fall prompts govt to invest more in education and technology
A STEADY decline in Brunei's per capita income has highlighted the need to make investments beyond its oil and gas resources, a senior economic official from the sultanate said yesterday.
The slow fall in per capita income has prompted the government to step up its investment in education and technology, said Timothy Ong, acting chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board.
Brunei was probably the wealthiest country in the world in 1980 in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, he said at a forum in Singapore.
While Brunei remains a wealthy country, it has slipped considerably to rank 34th worldwide in terms of per capita income, Ong said at the forum organised by the London School of Economics.
The World Trade Organisation, in a recent report, put Brunei's income per capita at US$30,000 ($41,000), still one of the highest in Asia. Brunei has a population of fewer than 400,000 citizens.
"Despite our abundance of natural resources which have made us, in per capita terms, probably one of the largest exporters of crude oil in the world and the fourth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas... we have experienced over the last decade or more a slow but steady decline in per capita income," Ong said.
This prompted His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, to launch a long-term economic plan aimed at putting the country in the top 10 in terms of income per capita and quality of life by 2035, Ong said.
The plan, called Vision 2035, was an acknowledgement "of the importance of knowledge and innovation as the basis for sustainable economic growth", he said.
It was also in recognition "of the fact that natural resources itself cannot assure a sustainable economic future," he added.
Ong said that while Asia has recovered from a financial crisis that struck 10 years ago, the region needs to narrow economic and social disparities which remain, and in some cases, have widened.
"The evidence suggests that the future lies with those Asian societies most able to acquire and apply knowledge, most nurturing of creativity and innovation (and) most able to retain and nurture talented human resources," he said.
Brunei is the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia, and the world's fourth-largest producer of liquefied natural gas, according to the Brunei Yearbook 2007, which says reserves are expected to last for at least two more decades based on current production rates.
AFP
SINGAPORE
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Slow fall prompts govt to invest more in education and technology
A STEADY decline in Brunei's per capita income has highlighted the need to make investments beyond its oil and gas resources, a senior economic official from the sultanate said yesterday.
The slow fall in per capita income has prompted the government to step up its investment in education and technology, said Timothy Ong, acting chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board.
Brunei was probably the wealthiest country in the world in 1980 in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, he said at a forum in Singapore.
While Brunei remains a wealthy country, it has slipped considerably to rank 34th worldwide in terms of per capita income, Ong said at the forum organised by the London School of Economics.
The World Trade Organisation, in a recent report, put Brunei's income per capita at US$30,000 ($41,000), still one of the highest in Asia. Brunei has a population of fewer than 400,000 citizens.
"Despite our abundance of natural resources which have made us, in per capita terms, probably one of the largest exporters of crude oil in the world and the fourth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas... we have experienced over the last decade or more a slow but steady decline in per capita income," Ong said.
This prompted His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, to launch a long-term economic plan aimed at putting the country in the top 10 in terms of income per capita and quality of life by 2035, Ong said.
The plan, called Vision 2035, was an acknowledgement "of the importance of knowledge and innovation as the basis for sustainable economic growth", he said.
It was also in recognition "of the fact that natural resources itself cannot assure a sustainable economic future," he added.
Ong said that while Asia has recovered from a financial crisis that struck 10 years ago, the region needs to narrow economic and social disparities which remain, and in some cases, have widened.
"The evidence suggests that the future lies with those Asian societies most able to acquire and apply knowledge, most nurturing of creativity and innovation (and) most able to retain and nurture talented human resources," he said.
Brunei is the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia, and the world's fourth-largest producer of liquefied natural gas, according to the Brunei Yearbook 2007, which says reserves are expected to last for at least two more decades based on current production rates.
AFP
Monday, April 7, 2008
Health services need improvement
Health services need improvement
Room for improvement: Despite efforts by the Ministry of Health to boost the quality of services for the people, there are some areas that still need to be improved. Picture: BT file photoAnna Abu Bakar
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Monday, April 7, 2008
SOME Bruneians have called for more improvements in Brunei's health services to reach a high level of standards, as the sultanate joins other countries in observing the World Health Day today.
The Brunei Times spoke to several locals to find out what areas need to be improved on the eve of the celebration.
A 53-year-old housewife commented on the slow services at hospitals and health centres, where patients have to wait for a long time to see the doctor. This, she said has to change.
She also said that she is confused with the medical procedures as there is a contradiction as to when is actually medications are given to diabetic patients.
"According to doctors, my sugar level is on the borderline towards being a diabetic however, when I see a doctor at a private clinic, I am given diabetic medication," she said.
She added that when she went to visit the hospital again, the doctor explained that their policy is to give out diabetic medication only to those that have been diagnosed as having diabetic and well over the borderline.
"So does that mean, I am only given diabetic medication when I am suffering from chronic diabetes as opposed to being given something as a preventive measure?" she asked.
For Dee Dee, a 21-year-old employee at the private sector said that generally everything about the sultanate's health services are slow but when it comes to seeing the doctor, it lasts only for less than five minutes.
"It is understandable to wait but at the same time, waiting for two hours just to see a doctor under five minutes is ridiculous," she said.
She suggested more doctors should be employed at the Ripas hospital as "more often I always see only two doctors on duty and lots of people waiting for hours at end".
Communication with patients is another problem that was highlighted with suggestions that the doctors need to be more understanding and explain to the patient if she or he is not suffering from the common flu.
An individual working in the private sector who preferred to maintain anonymity said that she heard that a doctor in the capital who misdiagnosed a patient and was transferred to another hospital in another district. "The mistake would have been fatal to the person as he had misdiagnosed and carelessly tossed aside the person's sickness as normal or something," said the individual.
Despite the $1 fee for local Bruneians to see a doctor, the amount is not what we would expect in terms of service, said Mohamed, father of five children. "But for me, I like the idea that the Ministry of Health has taken up more and more local doctors," he said.
He said that this could be seen from local clinics, with more younger doctors and the local doctor was helpful and provided sufficient explanation, the last time he went to see the doctor at a clinic. "I felt like I was really being taken care of as opposed to the "What's wrong?" question the moment I walk in," he said.
World Health Day, is celebrated today to mark the founding of the World Health Organisation and an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to global health each year. In 2008, World Health Day will focus on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change.
WHO selected this theme in recognition that climate change is posing ever growing threats to global public health security.
The Brunei Times
Room for improvement: Despite efforts by the Ministry of Health to boost the quality of services for the people, there are some areas that still need to be improved. Picture: BT file photoAnna Abu Bakar
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Monday, April 7, 2008
SOME Bruneians have called for more improvements in Brunei's health services to reach a high level of standards, as the sultanate joins other countries in observing the World Health Day today.
The Brunei Times spoke to several locals to find out what areas need to be improved on the eve of the celebration.
A 53-year-old housewife commented on the slow services at hospitals and health centres, where patients have to wait for a long time to see the doctor. This, she said has to change.
She also said that she is confused with the medical procedures as there is a contradiction as to when is actually medications are given to diabetic patients.
"According to doctors, my sugar level is on the borderline towards being a diabetic however, when I see a doctor at a private clinic, I am given diabetic medication," she said.
She added that when she went to visit the hospital again, the doctor explained that their policy is to give out diabetic medication only to those that have been diagnosed as having diabetic and well over the borderline.
"So does that mean, I am only given diabetic medication when I am suffering from chronic diabetes as opposed to being given something as a preventive measure?" she asked.
For Dee Dee, a 21-year-old employee at the private sector said that generally everything about the sultanate's health services are slow but when it comes to seeing the doctor, it lasts only for less than five minutes.
"It is understandable to wait but at the same time, waiting for two hours just to see a doctor under five minutes is ridiculous," she said.
She suggested more doctors should be employed at the Ripas hospital as "more often I always see only two doctors on duty and lots of people waiting for hours at end".
Communication with patients is another problem that was highlighted with suggestions that the doctors need to be more understanding and explain to the patient if she or he is not suffering from the common flu.
An individual working in the private sector who preferred to maintain anonymity said that she heard that a doctor in the capital who misdiagnosed a patient and was transferred to another hospital in another district. "The mistake would have been fatal to the person as he had misdiagnosed and carelessly tossed aside the person's sickness as normal or something," said the individual.
Despite the $1 fee for local Bruneians to see a doctor, the amount is not what we would expect in terms of service, said Mohamed, father of five children. "But for me, I like the idea that the Ministry of Health has taken up more and more local doctors," he said.
He said that this could be seen from local clinics, with more younger doctors and the local doctor was helpful and provided sufficient explanation, the last time he went to see the doctor at a clinic. "I felt like I was really being taken care of as opposed to the "What's wrong?" question the moment I walk in," he said.
World Health Day, is celebrated today to mark the founding of the World Health Organisation and an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to global health each year. In 2008, World Health Day will focus on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change.
WHO selected this theme in recognition that climate change is posing ever growing threats to global public health security.
The Brunei Times
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