"The population of Bangladesh is still mainly located in rural areas and they are more or less dependent on agriculture for a living. There is no substitute to keep farm production on the high side to contribute to the country's food security as food imports can no more be a viable option in view of their soaring price as well as their scarcity on the international market.

Cultivable lands in Bangladesh are under a process of degradation. Farmers have been continuously cultivating rice crops without practicing crop rotation. But this practice is a deadly one as cultivation of the same crop in the same land -- year after year -- depletes the vital nutrients from the soil without a chance for restoration."

"India's remote northeast region is rich in natural resources but is landlocked and surrounded by PRC, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, leaving it impoverished. The region may finally get a chance to start living up to its economic potential with several projects to enhance connections with Southeast Asia and to increase outlets for such commodities as oil, coal, organic foods, orchids and tea.

Authorities in Myanmar and India are nearing final approval of a $100-million river project giving northeast India direct access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar. The project envisages moving cargo from India's Mizoram state to Myanmar's port at Sittwe, via the Kaladan River. Trade would also be boosted by an expected move by the Indian and Myanmar governments to expand the list of mostly agricultural commodities allowed to be traded by land between northeast India and Myanmar."

"PRC is struggling to keep roads open to provide a lifeline for quake survivors. The quake sent dirt and rocks tumbling into valleys, blocking roads to hinder relief efforts and clogging rivers that have developed into fast-rising lakes.

Rebuilding infrastructure is just a part of the recovery effort that government officials said earlier would take three years in hard hit Sichuan province. Due to the immense magnitude of loss resulting from the quake, production recovery and reconstruction of the quake-hit region will be arduous in the near future."

"The cuts in public investment in Viet Nam are not deep or efficient enough to effectively fight inflation, according to experts. The government had earlier instructed local administrations to postpone or call off projects that were not urgently needed or efficient. By last week, 30 provinces and cities and nine ministries and other agencies had identified 600 such projects involving $123 million.

Considering the government spent $7 billion last year, a cut of at least $1.2 billion was required to fight inflation. Shelving one project and then giving the money to another is not a good idea and it could lead to contractors paying bribes to keep their projects alive."

"The rate of absenteeism among primary healthcare workers in India is the highest in the world, at some 40 percent. While access to healthcare is rising in many South Asian countries, access and quality are both highly variable. In small sub-centers, absenteeism is as high as 74 percent.

Higher per capita income is linked to better quality healthcare, but higher public health spending is not. Major issues with the government include provider incompetence, weak performance incentives and accountability, and a lack of focus on data and results. Health programs need incentives for health workers, overseeing their work and ensuring accountability."

"Thailand's tuna exports are expected to be constrained this year by various factors including rising oil prices, low catches, the baht's appreciation and non-tariff barriers, say industry sources. These problems lead to higher costs for fishermen, processors, suppliers and retailers as well as the incremental impact to consumers.

The tuna industry plays a key part in Thailand's economy, generating employment opportunities and significant foreign exchange earnings. Thailand has been the world's largest exporter of canned tuna and loins for many years. In 2007, the country exported almost 500,000 tons of tuna products, a fall of 5% from the year before."

"Viet Nam has said a ban on new overseas shipments may be lifted from July and the harvest in the north of the country is 'much better' than previously expected. Companies may be allowed to sign new export contracts after June 30. Rice prices have surged to records this year on higher demand and the export curbs by Vietnam, India and other nations.

Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter, introduced a three-month ban on new rice exports in March to ensure local supplies were adequate. The winter-spring crop in Viet Nam's 32 northern provinces, where a record cold spell earlier this year delayed seeding by almost a month, was now well-developed and could produce a harvest equal to last year."

"International aid agencies are still battling to assess how many children have been separated from, or lost, parents in Myanmar following the cyclone that left an estimated 133,000 dead or missing. Many adolescents may be pressured to leave their financially struggling families to look for work, particularly given the uncertain prospects for long-term recovery aid.

Complicating the task is the inability of international agencies to reach the worst affected parts of the delta. As many as 2,000 children may have lost their parents in the disaster. The greatest risk for those children without an adult carer is not accessing the relief aid and being exposed to a much higher risk of exploitation or abuse."

"The biggest economic challenge the ruling coalition is faced with today is to hold down price inflation without letting fiscal tightening hamper investment and economic growth. The trade-off between two conflicting objectives -- controlling inflation and boosting economic growth -- should help avoid a situation which can lead to stagflation, in which an economy is characterized by high inflation and a low or negative growth rate.

Inflation soared to above 17 percent in April in spite of a tight monetary stance adopted by the State Bank to curb demand. The economy is facing multiple threats internally such as rising prices and expanding current account and fiscal deficits that have slowed down domestic and foreign investment. It is also under pressure from external factors such as spiking oil and commodity prices."

"PRC has moved to realign its telecom industry, hoping to promote competition in an industry that has become increasingly monopolized by mobile operators. Under the plan, China's six state-owned telecom companies will be merged into three.

China's current telecom industry is dominated by China Mobile, the world's largest mobile provider and accounting for 400 million of the country's 583.5 million mobile phone users worth some $105 billion. China's fixed-line providers, in comparison, have seen their customers drop off, losing 2.3 million people last year alone."

"Walking down a street in Pnhom Penh, Phymean Noun finished her lunch and tossed her chicken bones into the trash. Seconds later, she watched in horror as several children fought to reclaim her discarded food. She stopped to talk with them. After hearing their stories of hardship, she knew she couldn't ignore their plight. Within weeks, she quit her job and started an organization to give underprivileged children an education.

Today, Noun provides 240 kids from the trash dump a free education, food, health services and an opportunity to be a child in a safe environment. 'I have seen a lot of kids killed by the garbage trucks,' she recalls. Children as young as 7 scavenge hours at a time for recyclable materials. They make cents a day selling cans, metals and plastic bags. Some of the children who attend her school continue to work in the dump to support themselves and their families."

Please share this e-newsline with others interested in the development of Asia-Pacific.

For questions, comments, complaints please visit our online contact form

To change your email address or to unsubsribe from ADBI e-newsline please visit:
http://www.adbi.org/e-newsline/subscribe.html

Sign-up for ADBI's free e-notification service to ensure you receive an e-mail when we post new publications and opportunities.

The stories and links selected and the views expressed in e-Newsline are those of the authors and editors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the ADB Institute. The Institute does not endorse them and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequences of their use. Original name usage is retained in quoted articles, although it may not necessarily follow ADB naming conventions.