In search of food…

All over the world, two diametrically opposite pictures can be seen in every country. One, where there is wastage of food in abundance. Two, where there is hunger in abundance among a large segment of the population. In the first case we see wanton wastage of good food and half-eaten food in the rich countries. In the second, hungry poor people scavenging roadside waste dumps in search of a morsel of food. Tonnes of food are dumped every day in affluent countries. It is said that the amount of food wasted in the large American cities in one day can feed the entire population of a small African country for seven days.

Borrowing from the classic writers we can say hunger and food are like ‘two twains’ that will perhaps never meet. Hunger is the primeval and strongest of all human drives that motivate him to go in search of food. Once the churning stomach gets food other basic drives come one after another. In the pre-historic days, food gathering through hunting was the predominant occupation of the humans. They used to go in groups with sharp weapons and kill a big buffalo or a reindeer to satiate their hunger. With the discovery of grains and technique of soil tilling, humans learned to grow crops on farmlands to meet their hunger. But devious and physically powerful men soon learned to take control of farmlands and irrigation water so they could take all crops in their possession. Control of food ultimately gave rise to the creation of mighty kings and bands of their warriors. This led to the formation of groups of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ and in-between them crept in poverty and hunger. Since then the two - poverty and hunger - have been haunting the mankind in tandem.  Today, where there are humans there are poverty and hunger walking hand in hand. In fact, poverty has become a determinant of the economy in almost all countries.        

Since the days of the advent of humans on earth, the search for food remains the primary reason for them to work and eat. Even in the technology driven world today, humans work either in dingy workshops or a five-star corporate office, all for the same reason – to take care of their hunger. If we do not work 8 to 10 hours a day we get no money to buy food for the family.  So, the drudgery goes on like a never ending nightmare.  

Like in any other country, food in Bangladesh has become a powerful determinant that can cause all sorts of troubles for the rulers. It is the most densely populated country in the world with a population of over 165 million and a projected population of well over 200 million by 2050.  Undoubtedly, feeding this huge population, at least two times a day, is a big burden on the government. Hence, to stay in power, and eat their lunch in peace, the government of the day has to have an effective food policy to keep the hunger in the people under control. The policy must include timely availability of seeds, water for irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides, storage facility, marketing facility and price control measures.  Together, this comes to be known as Food Security.

As far as food security is concerned, Bangladesh stood 84th among 113 countries across the globe and the last among South Asian nations according to the ninth annual Global Food Security Index (GFSI) published online in 2020. The GFSI points out the systemic gaps of food security issues, and also raises awareness about how Covid-19 impacts on food systems.

But it needs to be mentioned that based on these findings, we can see that food security has also registered a decline globally in recent years. Bangladesh scored 50 points out of 100 in the GFSI findings whereas in 2019, the score was 51.6. The 2020 Index identifies changing climate and declining natural resources posing as a serious challenge to future availability of food.

The index says that in food quality and safety category, Bangladesh scored 40.9 points with 21 percent non-starch foods (all foods other than cereals, roots and tubers) in total dietary energy consumption against world's average of 52.4 percent. That means, we have to improve on these two categories. Bangladesh also needs to make micronutrient availability plus availability of Vitamin A, iron, zinc and quality protein to ensure better health of its population.

But there is good news too. In overall food availability and affordability categories, Bangladesh scored the highest 64.4 points, which clearly means, there is sufficient food production in the country, and people have the money to buy them.  Bangladesh earned 48.3 points for its food safety net programmes.

Experts say that despite global decline in overall food security, Bangladesh’s performance remains quite impressive over the past years. They observed that Bangladesh has a rapidly growing economy and poverty has fallen from 85 per cent in 1972 to nine percent in 2018. Therefore, it can be safely said that the country is on track to shake off its least developed country tag by 2024 and march on towards reaching the milestone of a developed country in only a few decades.  

But, before that, Bangladesh will have to address the high incidence of undernourishment among the children. Poor food security is especially high in slums where around half of the child population is stunted.

Bangladesh has to take note of the GFSI findings when it says that the country is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change as it is located in low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghana delta. No denying that Bangladesh experiences various types of adverse climate scenario including floods, cyclones, drought and sea level rise. Such adverse climate events appear to be occurring more frequently in the last few years. There have been frequent floods  and cyclones in the country in last twenty years.

The issue of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic needs to be mentioned here. The pandemic had tremendous impacts on Bangladesh’s food security, especially during the March-June (2020) lockdown. People had reported eating less or no food for a full day or more. Another report says that about 70 per cent of farmers suffered difficulties accessing agricultural inputs. The pandemic also threatened general trade and commerce, and especially the garment industry.

Bangladeshi people need to change their food habits. Research shows that they eat plenty of rice in one sitting with little protein and vegetables. Such food habit of a big population leads to over-dependence on rice. But rice can be complemented with other food items like cereals, vegetables, fruits etc. Therefore, changing the age-old food preference would contribute to ensuring food security in the long run.

The writer is Associate Editor at The Business Post