Food fights

That galloping food inflation is a major,major political issue is unquestionable. But the debate on food prices has become so mired in the petty and political that it overshadows any attempt to fix the problem. The internecine problems of the ruling UPA in which some in the Congress attacked Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar,who then shot back remarks about the cabinets collective responsibility have dominated when the issue should have been governmental cooperation in dealing with this most pressing of issues,especially in the lead-up to the Union Budget.

On Saturday,the chief ministers meet the prime minister to discuss food prices. This is a great opportunity to move beyond this you-said-I-said bickering. On Friday,the Congress Working Committee met and reportedly made a pretty good start. Rather than knee-jerk populism the last such exercise produced the ill-fated,nonsensical austerity programme or beggar-thy-neighbour politics,the CWC apparently recognised that the only long-term solution is to fix food supply. Which,as everyone now knows including,judging by recent statements,the opposition BJP requires comprehensive reform of the agricultural sector.

That the governments major constituent party has accepted that the only real fix is through re-jigging supply is one thing. But it is now up to both the Centre and states to act on that. While they must keep long-term reform in mind,they also cannot afford to forget the medium term. The most recent figures for food inflation 17.4 per cent,a new high show that cereal prices have gone up by 46.87 per cent since last January. The only way to control this will require close cooperation between various Central ministries and state governments in many cases,policy for final products is made at the Centre,but procurement is handled by states. The prime minister,who has stayed above the fray,is the only one with the authority now to get things moving. A new,genuine political cooperation is the benchmark by which the chief ministers meeting will be judged as a success or a failure.