Self-reliance key to sustainable food security: FBCCI

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FBCCI) standing committee on agriculture has underscored the need for self-dependence in seed production to make Bangladesh's food security sustainable.

Its members have said the large dependence on importing seeds is a risk to the country’s food security, adding achieving seed production capacity requires long-term investments.

They also spoke about various subjects, including agriculture, agricultural processing, and agro-based industries, at a programme at the FBCCI office in the capital on Wednesday.

Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation says only 7 per cent of seed is produced locally.

FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin told the programme food security is one of the most important issues for any country.

He said agricultural production had kept the Bangladesh economy in a relatively good position during the coronavirus pandemic while the government had taken initiatives to turn agro-based industries into export-oriented ones.

The business leader urged private sector entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture.

“Although Bangladeshi agricultural products are exported, their main buyers are expatriate Bangladeshis. PwC has been appointed to conduct research on the London market to find out why these products are not being sold in the mainstream market there.”

He hoped it would be possible to further increase the exports of Bangladeshi agricultural products after receiving the research findings.

“The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries are interested in taking halal food from Bangladesh. So there is a lot of potential in this sector.”

FBCCI Director and in-charge of the standing committee Dr Ferdousi Begum urged the government to invest more in agriculture.

Co-chair of the committee Tasfia Jashim said 54 per cent of the labour force in agriculture is women but equal pay for this huge number of workers has not yet been ensured.

“At the same time, women own 10 per cent or less of the land. The formal recognition of women's contribution to sustainable development in agriculture is important.”

FBCCI Senior Vice-President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, Chairman of the standing committee Md Abul Hashem, FBCCI Director Bijoy Kumar Kejriwal, Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, and other members were also present there.