Food security status in Bangladesh, is not only about food production. Even after producing sufficient volume of food grains, system may fail ensuring its availability at all the places. From farm-to-fork food can be contaminated, adulterated at any stage of production, marketing, preserving and distribution cycle. The country is able to grow over 35 million tons of food grains annually, over three times higher what it used to produce back in 1971 (11 million tons). Unfortunately, our policy planners, and political leadership in charge of ensuring food safety governance, failed us in having access to safe food yet. Number of undernourished people stands at 26.3 million in 2015 compared to 26.5 million in 2010-12. Rise in sea level, extreme weather patterns, frequent flooding and loss of arable land are growing threats to food security. Bangladesh’s agricultural land is shrinking by 1% annually while the population is growing by 1.2%. So, rebuilding the system of production and distribution, offering quality seeds at fair prices, developing better crop varieties and practices, developing climate-smart agricultural technologies, and developing markets using an approach that encourages entrepreneurship and supports the country in becoming self-sufficient in food production can be the strategies to ensure food security.
Objectives:
- To increase different variety of food production and preservation process as per rights on food production choice of traditional food producer groups.
- To ensure sustainable food security mechanism of the targeted population
- To promote and available of indigenous, safe and quality food for all
Strategies:
- Introduction of crop diversity, profitable, increase production and eco- friendly sustainable agricultural production system
- Improving the purchasing power of the targeted people by increasing their income through diversified livelihood options and income generation activities including agricultural interventions, marketing and value chain for improving availability of food
- Development of network of marketing system, linking with potential buyers and accesses to regional and national market system for better price of the produces.
- Establish Seed Bank and Food Bank for rural and marginalized people.
- Use of modern technology for producing, packaging, preserving and controlling of quality food at different level.
Major activities
- Training and capacity development for promoting on-farm and off-Farm IGA activities, high value crop cultivation & production and marketing of the same.
- Promotion of crop diversification and value chain activities including marketing, producer’s group, processing & preservation of common fruits and vegetables
- Linkages with government agricultural departments for timely advice on agriculture, livestock and fisheries, input suppliers for timely supply of agricultural inputs, vaccinations, fish fry etc.
- Development of marketing system for ensuring fair price of crop and non-crop agricultural commodities
- Formation of self-motivated cooperatives for resource mobilization, production and marketing agricultural commodities.
- Promotion of use of agricultural machineries for crop production operations such as power tiller for tilling land, paddy transplanter and reaper for paddy transplanting and harvesting may be used where needed.
- Capital support for the poor farmers for the production crops and rearing of livestock.
- Value chain analysis and market linkage activities for targeted population.
- Establish quality food sale centre at city area of Bangladesh and develop a social business model based on food item.