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Life came to a grinding halt earlier this year as countries started closing their borders, restricted movements of people and trading stopped even within states to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, something quite unusual during peacetime. This unprecedented health crisis affected everyone but those from regions that heavily depend on other regions suffered more during the lockdown period. So, the pandemic acted as a catalyst for most nations to strive towards attaining self-sufficiency and as a wakeup call as well for some. Self-reliance became a buzzword as governments resorted to asking the people to reduce dependency by taking up farming and other occupations as well as to create opportunities amid rise in unemployment rate. The same has been propagated by the government of India as well as state governments, including Nagaland. Interestingly, people have also been encouraged to buy local products. But the word “local” is relative, as what is not local somewhere is local elsewhere, or say, everything is local somewhere. If all countries and states seriously start implementing the same strategy just to support manufacturers from specific jurisdictions or regions, there are possibilities of undoing the gains achieved over decades of free trade, though such a chance is bleak today due to heavy interdependence. This strategy, if strictly implemented, will also prove counterproductive as trade can be disrupted and consumers will have fewer items to choose from, besides giving room for a monopoly, which will result in price rise. Self-sufficiency has been perceived as the ultimate goal, be it for nations or families but it is almost impossible to be truly self-sufficient today.
While the idea of supporting local entrepreneurs and producers by choosing to purchase their products over others sounds sensible and good, it is something that will not be sustainable. People will opt for the best after a certain period of time, which they have every right to. Piecemeal approach to encouraging business people will never last. Instead, local entrepreneurs and farmers can be given financial assistance as well as be equipped with knowledge that will help them make high quality products and beat their competitors in the market because the only way to reach the top is by beating the competitors and not by staying away from the competition. In a state like Nagaland, where majority of the population live in rural areas and remote villages, support should be given in the form of all-weather roads, good transport facilities, cold storages, etc. Seminars and awareness programmes may help some farmers but not all, as practical lessons are what most villagers need. Another common problem that farmers face is finding market to sell their produce. Here, the state government can come up with a mechanism to ensure that farmers and local entrepreneurs do not incur loss because of lack of marketing skills and knowledge. But, that is just one aspect of trading. At the end of the day, it is the fittest who will survive, irrespective of where a product is produced. So, focus should be on quality and not quantity or the “local” concept.