Ensuring food security for Bangladesh

It is reassuring to note that Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder has said that the country has enough food in stock, and he sees no chance of food crisis unless natural disasters hit the country out of the blue. In a recent interview with a leading news agency the minister, said that his ministry is taking steps so that no land in the country remains uncultivated.

Climate challenges, pandemic blows and economic instability have resulted in a global hike in fuel and food prices, along with the war in Ukraine having a devastating impact on worldwide food security. The two major climate variables, rainfall and temperature, also significantly affect the rice crop — Bangladesh’s staple food. Rain has a positive effect on rice yield, but the rising temperature has a significantly negative impact, especially during the pollination stage. High night temperature, greater temperature during pollination and water stress negatively affect crop yield.

Climate change also affects the physiology and morphology of crops, soil fertility, pest attack, irrigation requirements and water availability. Such variability in the basic parameters of productive ecosystems has significant implications for the agriculture sector and, in turn, the food security of the country.

An important dimension of food security is access to food in terms of affordability and physical reach. Access to food is influenced by the income of buyers, market mechanisms and prices of food. It should be kept in mind that global food production is greater than its consumption. Yet millions of people in third world countries suffer from hunger, given their inability to purchase food. Over the last few years, what a common man can afford has decreased as food prices shot up, further exacerbating food insecurity in the country.

The pandemic, current drought in Europe, Russian invasion of Ukraine, blockage of transportation of food and disruption of food supply chain have added another dimension to food security — self-sufficiency. India’s export ban on sugar and wheat this year reflects its objective of producing and storing enough grain.

 To ensure food security, it is imperative to increase food supply. In the given context, the most viable option is to increase cropping intensity (number of crops in one year) and land productivity (crop yield). Bangladesh needs high-yielding crop varieties that can perform under new climatic conditions. They must be short duration, salinity and heat tolerant and drought resistant. Short duration varieties can better perform in response to climate change and also enable farmers to increase cropping intensity.

Improving agricultural extension services can capacitate farmers to cope with the challenges posed by climate change as they are unaware of the mitigation and adaptation measures that should be implemented at the farm level. Right now, even progressive farmers lack information about climate smart agricultural technologies and practices. The huge economic and human damage inflicted due to the pandemic, poverty and conflict needs to be reversed.

A list of relevant technologies and agronomic practices need to be chalked out and prioritised with respect to cost-benefit analysis and their impact on food security. Information and communication technology- enabled extension services can aid in transfer of such technical know-how to farmers effectively.

Food availability can be increased by reducing high harvest and post-harvest losses. Use of good quality harvesters, training of farmers, and improved grain storage practices can help in such a reduction. It should be remembered that increasing food availability is insufficient to end hunger and under-nutrition. If universal food security and the pervasive concern of stunting and wasting among children are to be dealt with, it is just as important, if not more, to ensure that people have access to healthy and safe meals.

The government must work to enhance the value chain of fruit and vegetable crops while also assuring the availability of storage facilities in order to prevent future food crises. The country’s food security depends on prioritising agricultural value addition and maintaining subsidies for important commodities.