| October 27, 2003 | Monday | Sha’aban 30, 1424 |
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Straits of rural women
Phone charges reduction
THE rise in cotton prices in the local market to record levels is a cause for concern as this may have a direct impact on the ambitious export targets set for the year. There are several factors that have played a part in causing prices to shoot up. The most important of these is an estimated shortfall of about one million bales this year in local production. It is now feared that the target of 10.55 million bales set for the year (2003-04) may not be met. Other factors include a rise in international prices of cotton as well as speculative activity in the local market. As a result, yarn prices have registered a 40 per cent increase over the past few weeks. These price hikes have put some exporters in a quandary as the rise in their imput costs has seriously eroded the profit margins of their exports. Since the bulk of the country’s exports is made up of cotton or cotton products, this portends ill for the economy. Pakistan has been consistently producing a good cotton crop over the past few years and plans to raise production to 15 million bales by 2010. The recent pest attack on the standing crop in Punjab has, however, affected these plans for the present. This has had its impact on local prices as well as export targets for the year.
Raw cotton will now have to be imported to cover the shortfall in domestic production. The price of imported cotton as well as the uncertainty of delivery time too may hurt the producers and exporters of textile products.
There are some serious lessons to be learnt here. For one, much could have been done to prevent or contain the pest attack which affected the cotton growing belt in Punjab. It is time the government evolved a policy for the proper import, distribution and use of agriculture inputs like fertilizer and pesticide. Growers say irregular supplies of pesticides as well as adulteration and poor quality of material have played a crucial role in the spread of pests. Heavy rains, followed by humid conditions favourable for the breeding of the two strains of the pest — the “American sundi” and the “Lashkari” or “Fauji sundi” — created an ideal setting for the pests to multiply whose attack then could not be prevented with the use of substandard pesticides.
Another step to take is to discourage the introduction of non-approved seed varieties. Here, note has to be taken of the marketing of low-cost unregistered seed varieties. The temptation for the poor and illiterate farmers is too great to resist. Crops grown out of such seeds are usually more susceptible to pest attack. The government also has to keep a vigilant eye on the local cotton market to stop any distortions from affecting the price situation, as is happening now. There are many who take advantage of a rise in cotton prices to indulge in speculative activities for profiteering. This must be checked. The government would do well to devise a strategy to help producers and exporters of textile products so that they are able to meet their targets and earn valuable foreign exchange for the country.
THE country paper for Pakistan presented at a Saarc training workshop on micro entrepreneurship among rural women paints a gloomy picture of the status of rural women in the country. It is a well known fact that women in Pakistan lag behind men in every sector of national life because of centuries of neglect and the failure of the state and society to recognize their role in national life. Not enough has been done for their education, training, health care and even social uplift. Women in the rural areas are much worse off, partly because of our urban-centred approach to politics and economics. Moreover, with lesser exposure to education and locked in age-old customs and prejudices, the rural areas tend to give a poor deal to their women.
What emerges clearly from the country paper is that the backwardness of women has ipso facto rendered them vulnerable to exploitation. Thus though they are playing a substantial role in agriculture — 82 per cent of them are actually participating in the work in some regions — their economic contribution is not recognized. It is significant that women make quite a major contribution to crop production, livestock management and the cotton industry. Yet they face gender discrimination which has serious social and economic implications. As invisible workers, women fail to receive the attention they deserve in education, skill development and micro-credit plans. Their low literacy rate and lack of training for skills has an impact on their economic productivity and preempts their social development.
It is time the problems of rural women were addressed and their economic worth recognized. The immediate need is to provide access to education for them which is possible only if schools for girls are opened in every village. It is also important that vocational institutes are opened for them so that they can develop their skills and improve their productivity. While this would certainly enhance the role of women in the rural economy, it is also essential that measures be taken to uplift their status in society. Without a change in social attitudes, women will find it difficult to achieve economic empowerment. That they can gain only if they have control over their income which the majority of rural women don’t at present. A campaign to raise their social status should create greater awareness and have a beneficial impact on their lives.
PTCL’s planned reduction in nationwide and overseas call charges from November 1 will be a welcome news for telephone subscribers. However, two important components of the average Pakistani’s telephone bill — line rent and local call charges — have been left untouched. The tariff reductions have been announced a month after PTCL announced record profits for the 2002-03 financial year — Rs 23.08 billion compared to Rs 19.81 billion in the previous year — and a cash dividend to shareholders of 35 per cent or Rs 3.50 per share. While it is encouraging to see PTCL pass some of the benefits of its financial achievements and successes to telephone subscribers in the form of lower international and nationwide call rates, the corporation must seriously consider the possibility of rationalizing local call rates and line rent as well.
There is a strong argument in favour of this. As indicated by the record growth in profits and a hefty dividend for the shareholders, PTCL is now in a fairly buoyant state financially. Besides, according to its own statistics, close to 74 per cent of its revenues come from nationwide and local calls and this revenue has actually increased by 6.2 per cent during 2002-03 despite an earlier reduction in nationwide call rates. This means that the share of local calls in PTCL’s revenue earnings is quite high, and as such some relief for local callers would be desirable. On the other hand, it might be argued that a reduction in the tariff for such calls would not be in PTCL’s financial interest. That perhaps explains why the company is so reluctant to reduce local call charges, and why it chose to introduce the highly unpopular system of ‘multimetering’ for such calls, where a subscriber is charged the price of a new call for every five minutes of a call. Knowing PTCL’s reluctance on this score, it would be advisable for the federal government to take up the case for a reasonable cut in local call charges or, in the alternative, expose PTCL to competition by going ahead with its much-awaited telecom deregulation policy. Competition from new firms might provide telephone subscribers cheaper alternatives and lead to better customer service.