PPP co-Chairman Asif Zardari, who announced on Friday that the government would introduce a "Benazir Card" to help the seven million poorest of the poor tide over the current inflation, particularly in eatable commodities, referred to the sharp increase in the global oil prices over which the government had no control. Admitted that external factors have, to a considerable extent, contributed to this phenomenon. But had we taken adequate steps over the years to develop our asset of being an agricultural country, we could have at least warded off the price hike in food items. Besides, at this time when most countries are feeling the pinch, our surpluses, which proper exploitation of our resources would have resulted in, would have earned us a tidy sum. However, unfortunately, the productivity of our otherwise fertile land remains abysmally low; the farmer complains of sub-standard, high-priced inputs and being short-changed by the middleman when it comes to selling his produce; the officials supposed to be helping him introduce modern methods of cultivation are found indifferent; and the shortage of water for irrigation becomes acuter by the day as petty, parochial interests subvert plans to develop big water storages. The cash payment that Mr Zardari has promised would barely touch the fringes of the affected sections of society. For one thing, he has got his numbers wrong: there are at least over seventy million people who would fall into the category of the 'poor'. For another, it would not be easy to find the right 'poorest of the poor'. And, it is no permanent solution. The government must devise well-thought out policies, both short-term and long-term, to meet this grave challenge, build adequate stocks of food items to check the runaway inflation and adopt strict anti-hoarding, anti-smuggling and other relevant measures. Comprehensive policies, which take care of the failings listed above, are worked out keeping in mind the nation's over-all interest.