Faisal Hassan The Flood Displaced Pakistanis (FDPs) have to be absorbed in the system, while keeping their honour and dignity intact. The country is facing a natural crisis of biblical proportions with a resolve. Pakistan happens to be the corner tree of the subcontinent. The Viking in old ages used to make their ships only from the corner tree of the forest which is considered to be the strongest, as it goes through the greatest stress and strain during its growth. Together with support of the world community, the corner tree is facing the crisis with determination. The issue is that the rot has set inside the tree. French Revolution is the buzz word these days the only revolution we need is one driven by 'merit and merit alone. The article is an attempt to absorb the FDPs by highlighting an issue of the rice trade and using the labour of the unemployed Pakistanis to solve it. To do so, we have to come up with a policy that encourages a switchover to hand harvesting on its merit, where everyone in the chain benefits. The next three months are critical for Pakistans agriculture. The rice harvesting season lies in days ahead. A lot of farm operations take place simultaneously rice harvesting, cotton picking, sugarcane cutting and sowing of winter crop. Labour on the farm is required in great numbers, while the supply is minimal. Mechanisation of some farm operations is the next best choice to get the work done. But mechanised rice harvesting has created a lot of issues for the industry. For instance, our main issue when exporting brown rice to EU is the presence of high levels of Aflatoxin. Pakistan has suffered due to this problem and some buyers have reduced their purchase of brown basmati from Pakistan only because of the Aflatoxin issue. It is definitely a commercial issue, but not severe enough to frighten those fond of rice. The EU allows Aflatoxin limit up to 4 ppb, while the US allows 20 ppb. The levels normally found in brown basmati lots fall in the band (4-15) ppb. The trade has to do repeated checks to get lots within the 4.0 ppb limit for export to Europe. The leftover lots of brown rice within the country conform to the US standards and on milling to white rice all conform to EU standards of 4.0 ppb. Aflatoxin is basically an outcome of our mishandling of paddy, due to mechanised harvesting. In Pakistan, mostly Super Kernal basmati is harvested mechanically by combine harvesters at high moisture content and improper adjustment of machines to extract all green grains of paddy. Consequently, farmers produce arriving in the market is bruised and of high moisture content. To avoid Aflatoxin formation, paddy has to be dried to around 16 percent moisture content within 24 hrs. Instead, wet paddy is heaped at the farmers field for a short time of 12 hrs and then arriving in the rice mill after 24 hrs does the damage. However, the rice millers specialising in brown rice exports to EU have invested heavily in imported paddy dryers to dry paddy in large quantities within a very short time to meet the EU strict Aflatoxin standards of 4.0 ppb. But the real solution lies in improving the quality of farmer's paddy coming to the market. The above issues can be tackled if paddy quality is appreciated and paid for; paddy purchase quality standards announced and strictly followed. To put it simply, will it pay the farmer to improve the quality of paddy by harvesting by hand or by combine harvesting at the right moisture content with proper machine setting. Yes, all of it is possible if the trade rewards the farmer for quality paddy. Paddy harvested at optimum moisture content of around 18 to 20 percent with minimum impurities of all kind. The government should immediately come up with a policy that gives respect to the paddy grain. Paddy standards have to be set, announced and faithfully implemented. The trade has realised the importance of quality paddy. The issue is of availability of labour and incentive to go back to manual harvesting. The devastating floods have created an abundance of a commodity that is normally in short supply at harvest time: manual labour. Thinking aloud, I put this question to a big miller exporter. How much extra would he be willing to pay for hand harvested basmati paddy? The answer was Rs 200 per 40kg for 'pure paddy, (16 to 17 percent moisture content - impurities like foreign matter, shrivelled grains and damage discolour all less than one percent). The above can only happen if the crop is hand harvested or combine-harvested at the right time and with the right machine setting. Believe me, if the trade is willing to pay an extra Rs 200 per 40kg for hand harvested paddy, it would bring a revolution in the rural sector. Idle labour in all provinces would migrate to Punjab for harvesting rice. The income from harvesting one acre paddy by hand is above Rs 4,000. Paddy in Punjab is sown on around 4.0 million acres. The theoretical income potential of the hand harvesting operation is around $200.00 million. The local labour may already be hand harvesting 50 percent of the present crop, so we are left with a reduced income potential of $100.00 million. For simplicity, we further discount another 50 percent, which leaves $50.00 million, the potential to absorb the FDPs is enormous, and it may also create a temporary migration of labourers from the cities to the rural. If we are successful in encouraging the above change, it will result in dignity of labour for the displaced Pakistanis and monetary benefit for the trade. FDPs have the first right to harvest Punjab rice crop, within a stipulated time period, as timely sowing of next wheat crop is also very important. I have spoken to a lot of people to get feedback on this idea. The small farmer is excited, as he gets his crop harvested by hand, and there is a shortage of labour at peak harvest time; however, the bigger farmer is reluctant. Anyway, we have to do it for multiple reasons: ? Trade benefits: There are two major benefits to the rice trade for paying the farmer for quality paddy. First, the trade will get an export product - brown basmati rice - free from Aflatoxin. Second, buying hand harvested paddy will result in increase in head rice yield, and total yield of white rice. The extra revenue generated from sales of more head rice and by-products will not only offset the extra money paid for hand harvested paddy, but also further improve the profitability of milling operation. ? Paradigm shift: We must look at the displaced labour from the floods as an asset to be used instead of liability. The whole process of labour migration can be institutionalised. The challenge is to monitor and track the labour movement through NGOs. We need not reinvent the wheel; examples exist across the border where labour travels 1,500km from Bihar to East Punjab during the harvest and sowing seasons. Local administration can assist the NGOs to monitor seasonal rural-to-rural migrant labour. Harvesting of paddy is paid on percentage basis and a person can comfortably earn Rs 400 or 500 per day. In addition to monetary benefits, social and political benefits accrue by default. Some may say that Super Kernal cannot be harvested by hand; give a worthwhile incentive and the labour will prove you wrong. Time is of critical importance and we need to move swiftly. All stakeholders in the rice chain and the government need to be on the same page. We need to shun the analysis-paralysis approach. We have nothing to lose. Lets do it, time is running out The writer is a freelance columnist.