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For food security

Safety nets, best use of water and land, and foresight required
Despite making noteworthy strides in food security, a large section of Bangladesh still remains undernourished, and unpredictable food prices just after a massive flood and the devastating cyclone in 2007 only jeopardised the delicate status of food security. At a recently held conference, suggestions and promises of help were offered on how Bangladesh can ensure food at all times and at an affordable price.
Food security, in short, means enough food for everyone all the year round
and the ability of the masses to buy food in times of need. But, since independence, Bangladesh has had to face severe bouts of insecurity in this sector, often due to relentless natural calamities and at times, due to global economic upheavals. Of course, in between, there have been many other causes, some political and some related to lack of foresight by the authority, that resulted in food shortage, malnutrition and eventually, deaths among children and women.
Several famines post World War 2 only deepened the problem and we all know that whenever Bangladesh secured a certain ground on food security, she was hit by some form of natural disaster.
But there is some positive news too, as over the years, due to interventions by donors and steps by democratically elected governments, strides were made in tackling food insecurity.
Acknowledging this, Abdur Razzak, minister for food and disaster management said, Our achievements in the enhancement of people's economic access to food have also been significant. Poverty incidence has significantly decreased over the years and is currently about 40%. The prevalence of malnutrition has also been decreasing since 1990. However, the rates remain unacceptably high. The situation might have worsened if efforts were not there to actualise continuous agricultural and economic growth.'
However, despite these signs of hope, food security is still not placed on a secure platform and with the recent global economic meltdown, the problem has come out in the forefront with new implications. And despite reasonable size of national food stocks in storage, in some ultra-poor homes the situation is more precarious, in particular for pregnant women and young children who suffer most from malnutrition.
For Bangladesh, where food security has not been solidly secured in all parts of the country, two recent natural calamities of grave proportions didn’t help. First was the flood in 2007
followed by the devastating cyclone in the south-west part of Bangladesh that left a whole region battered with crop lands affected by strong winds.
Add to this the perennial problems created by spiraling population and an excess pressure on finite resources. The fact remains that 40% of the population in Bangladesh live below poverty line and cannot afford the energy diet of 2122 kilocalories per person a day
Understandably, the situation surrounding proper nourishment received a further blow when, in the second half of 2008, food prices went beyond the buying capacity of the common man and once again the age-old complication surrounding food insecurity resurfaced, most severely affecting those most vulnerable - the poorest.
In that light, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and the UK Government, through its Department for International Development (DFID), recently organised a national conference on market volatility, vulnerability and policy options for food security.
Other donors, the European Commission (EC), USAID, World Bank (WB), Denmark and UN specialist agencies,such as Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), were also present. And so were eminent independent Bangladeshi experts in food security and government officials.
At the conference, held on April 9, Chris Austin, country representative ol DFID, acknowledged the big challenge Bangladesh faces in ensuring food security for all, stating that 69 million people in the country go hungry, more than the entire population of the UK, and 29 million men, women and children don't know where their next meal is coming from. He welcomed the government's move to update its policy and take careful political choices to tackle the situation.
'Food security, like economic and financial, climate and physical security is a global issue and requires
global action,' said Chris Austin and added that the UK government is glad to support Bangladesh in her quest for food security.
Referring to the recently held London Summit of G20 countries, he said that the UK, through DFID, has promised £200 million to a global Rapid Social Response Fund to help counter food insecurity. In addition UK expects to spend £250 million over the next five years in Bangladesh, to help some of the poorest and most vulnerable groups living in haors, coastal areas and the north-western char
islands; and to support urban agriculture and improved livelihoods amongst alum communities.
'But effective action also requires addressing links between food security and climate change, rural economic growth, safety nets for the vulnerable and drawing on a range of expertise and knowledge.' observed Chris Austin.
Talking as one of the chief guests, Begum Matia Chowdhury, minister for agriculture, said that there
CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 must be optimum use of the limited land available and the poor must be brought within a safety net.
'We are also considering increasing the amount of public stock we hold and considering new godowns of about 5.0 lakh metric tonnes in some strategic areas including the intensive production zones,' said Abdur Razzak and added, This will help in three ways, strengthening capacities of implementing safety net programme, providing incentives to the farmers through domestic procurement and raising the capacity to respond to shocks.'
'We must have a considerable reserve and it must always be around 10-11 lakh tonnes,' said Matia Chowdhury and added that the private sector must come forward and inject funds for scientific intervention in water management better water management could improve crop production.
Saying that our underground water is a great asset, the minister called for the donors to help Bangladesh harvest rainwater irater reduce salinity in the south of the country and help in
safer winter harvests.
Abdur Razzak also said that investment in agricultural research should rise, especially in view of the emerging issues like climate change and natural disasters.
'We are improving the coordination between the ministries of agriculture and food and disaster management to ensure that farmers have the right level of incentives they need to grow food in a sustainable way,' added Razzak.
The food surplus of last year could be a temporary phenomenon. The government was considering what steps to take to ensure that farmers do not make a loss and to keep prices at a reasonable level. The government is also reviewing the employment generation scheme to ensure that the poorer families have sufficient cash or food during lean seasons.
Some facts stood out that although Bangladesh has made huge strides in increasing agricultural productivity, it really needs to do mom in improving
>top varieties for environmen talk diltniilt part* of the
country. And despite rice harvest increases the malnutrition facts are still startling:
• Bangladesh ranks 70th out of 88 developing countries on the Global Hunger Index.
• 30% ofthe population is
malnourished and nearly 40% of children under five are underweight.
• Bangladesh is the worst
performing country in South and Southeast Asia in terms of nutrition, and worse on average than sub-Saharan Africa.
Key conclusions of the conference
Bangladesh needs to adopt a broad ranging and integrated strategy to tackling hunger in the. coy nt ry. TJhjs must involve:
CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 For food security CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 • targeted interventions to improve maternal and infant nutrition (e.g., exclusive breast feeding, micronutrient supplements, deworming); combined with • improved and belter co-ordinated safety net programmes that address the chronic needs and the acute stresses the poorest people suffer (e.g., food price volatility, seasonal repeat disasters); including a serious review of the quality, size and targeting of current transfer packages (cash, asset, food and nutrient transfers), involving all the key actors working together in a 'Safety Nets Coalition' • better agricultural research to develop new high-yielding and nutrient-rich varieties and hybrids-for the high potential areas, as well as more tolerant varieties for environmentally challenging coastal and deeply flooded areas (Hoars), which are likely to be worst affected by climate change.
• Co-operation with South Asia regional countries on agriculture, food security and nutrition (e.g., including knowledge exchange, research, trade)