Focus of events
In the following paragraphs, we present the upshot of three seminars in three countries: Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Although focused on the particular situation of each country, the experiences of some other countries were drawn upon to substantiate the empirical evidence. The events focused on many aspects that apparently go into shaping the lives of the people of the region: (1) Agricultural growth and transformation, (2) Food security with a reference to the issues of food safety and biotechnology, (3) Poverty and hunger reduction strategies with due attention to "hidden hunger," and (4) Institutions and governance.

Developments
The three countries under consideration stand at crossroads; on the one hand, there are challenges of malnutrition, hunger, and poverty, and on the other hand, there are tremendous opportunities and technologies that may hold answers. Bangladesh has been showing a positive picture pertaining to HYV technology, increased food production, and poverty reduction. India emerged as a food surplus country with poverty gradually going down. But Pakistan witnessed a waning agricultural growth rate, and, in consequence, an increase in poverty. Most of the discourses in these seminars were driven by the imperatives of the emerging transformation of agriculture that the region is faced with. The "old order" of growing and marketing of cereal crops and subsistence farming is reported to be increasingly paving ways for a "new order" of agricultural practices. In the changing scenario, production and marketing of horticultural crops is gaining ground and farmers are leaning on commercial cultivation. Cereals still dominates in terms of acreage in SA countries --surely for the sake of food security -- but developments on other fronts also loom large.

Dimensions
There are many dimensions to the aforementioned developments. First, the dietary patterns of consumers in the region are rapidly shifting from cereal-based to high-value commodities. For example, the domestic demand for the commodities increased at 3-5 percent per annum and exports of high-value crops are creeping up due to better incentives for exports and changing demand in importing countries. Second, the number of supermarkets and other food retail shops has grown dramatically, varying between 10-90 percent, over the years. The rate of sales of food through supermarkets expanded at 5 percent in poor countries like Bangladesh and at 50 percent in Thailand and the Philippines. Third, contract growing emerged as important institutional arrangements where NGOs, agro-processors, and supermarkets are competing to procure perishable products. High-value commodities have had a significant influence on the diversification of agriculture -- occurring much faster in urban and per-urban areas than in near-urban areas and hinterlands.

The drivers
In all three countries, the main drivers behind the developments were, for example, (a) rapid urbanisation, (b) faster growth in per capita income growth, (c) a shift from inward looking to outward looking trade strategies, and (d) removal of restrictions on foreign direct investment in the food sector. All of these factors contribute to a change in lifestyles, food preferences, investment priorities and production decisions.

The degree of diversification and the attended effects, however, varies across the region. For example, Bangladesh witnessed marginal increase in diversification compared to India and Pakistan. Supermarkets seem to have proliferated in Indian states, but to a lesser extent in Pakistan and the least in Bangladesh. Foreign direct investment flew to the food and retail sector in India and Pakistan, but not to Bangladesh. Contract growing arrangements have emerged in all three countries. Some foreign companies are operating in India and Pakistan. However, in Bangladesh, local NGOs and agro-processors are taking the lead.

Innovative institutional arrangements are silently evolving in the three countries that link producers with agribusiness. Cooperatives, the domestic private sector, and multinational firms in a few niche areas initiate most of the models. The impact of institutional arrangements included: (a) access to assured markets, (b) access to reliable information, (c) a reduction in transaction costs and market risks, and (d) higher profits for producers. Case studies have shown that as a result of contract farming, transaction costs were reduced by over 90 percent for milk and vegetables, and 58 percent for broilers. The net revenue realisation by contract growers was two to four times for milk and vegetables and 1.1 times for broilers. Small farmers benefited most from the arrangements as they have low marketable surplus and their marketing costs are extremely high.

The deterrents
Although the smallholders grow most of the high-value crops in the three countries, they are yet to enter into the mainstream vertical integration mechanism. Thus they fail to fetch fortunes out of the emerging transformation in agriculture and growing globalisation. The deliberations pointed to some problems. Smallholders are handicapped because of their small and fragmented pieces of land, meager market surpluses, and the perishable nature of high-value commodities. Smallholders also lack information on grades and standards imposed by supermarkets and sanitary and phytosanitary measures imposed under the WTO system. These factors substantially raise transaction costs and markets risks for smallholders in tapping the opportunities presented by high-value agriculture.

To pull smallholders out of the perilous position, the following steps should be taken. First, develop risk-mitigating strategies to protect smallholders under various production and market-risk scenarios. Second, since production and marketing of high-value agriculture is capital intensive and smallholders generally starve for capital, agencies and associated legal framework should be devised. Third, to avoid the breach of contract under contract arrangements, legal and regulatory mechanism should be developed. However, most of the participants emphasised building trusts among agents and participation of community in the negotiations. Fourth, public sector should help high-value agriculture through investment in infrastructure to crowd in private investment. Public sector should also create an enabling environment for business. And finally, to propagate food quality and safety issues to all farmers in general and to smallholders in particular, the government must develop appropriate infrastructure and expertise.

Food security and bio-technology
Bio-technology is a critical tool that will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals by facilitating improved food production and reducing the burden on the environment (through better resource management).

The safe and sustainable use of bio-technology, especially in developing countries holds immense potential. In Bangladesh, backward areas could benefit. India has already one genetically modified (GM) crop, Bt cotton, on the market with several other important crops waiting on the wings for a release. Bangladesh has yet to step into the process, but as argued by the participants, research is needed on how international market will change over time and whether Bangladesh will have a strategic advantage as a result. It has emphatically been argued that regulatory mechanisms must be based on both ethical and bio-safety concerns. The technology should be viewed as a whole package -- one that includes an effective regulatory system, safety precautions, public awareness, and partnerships between the various stakeholders.

In his keynote speech, Joachim von Braun sketched a global policy perspective of food security and then put forward relevant policy parameters that might apply in Bangladesh: "Not only ask: How many are hungry, who, and where are they. But also ask: Why?

" he suggested researchers pay attention not only to "open hunger" but also to "hidden hunger" caused by micronutrient deficiency. According to him, Bangladesh should adapt the UN-sponsored "Hunger Task Force" recommendations to its circumstances: (1) Move from political rhetoric to action, (2) Reform policies and create an enabling environment; (3) Increase the agricultural productivity of food insecure farmers, (4) Improve the nutrition of the chronically hungry and vulnerable, (5) Reduce the vulnerability of the acutely hungry through productive safety nets, (6) Make markets work for the poor, and (7) Restore and conserve natural resources essential for food security.

Final words
South Asian tillers are facing a tough time to cope with glabalisation. To tide over the wave, they now need more innovative institutional support than ever before. They can face the emerging challenges and turn out to be competitive provided appropriate roles are played by government, NGOs and private sector.

Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.