Govt planning sustainable strategy to ensure food security: Razzaque
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque Wednesday said that the government had planned a comprehensive and sustainable strategy by attracting foreign investment to ensure the food security of the country, reports UNB.
"After nearly 20 years of neglect, the central importance of agriculture for development is once again receiving the attention it deserves, including within the international donor community," the Minister said while addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on the occasion of the Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum 2010.
The two-day 'Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum 2010' will begin today (Wednesday) in the capital to discuss and coordinate investment priorities and strategies to advance agriculture development and achieve food and nutrition security of the country.
Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina is expected to formally inaugurate the forum in the city Wednesday as the chief guest.
The Government of Bangladesh is going to organise the forum with support from the United States Agency for International Development, the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, the International Food Policy Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, along with other national and international partners.
Speaking at the session, Abdur Razzaque said to effectively sustain food security, the government recognises the need to address emerging challenges, including climate change according to one projection. The minister favoured a figure of 17 per cent for the proportion of coastal land that could soon be submerged, and said the global food crisis and uncertainties in the global food market, in foreign trade, land degradation, and inadequate aid response even after shocks such as the cyclone that ravaged the country last year, were other issues that Razzaque said, need to be addressed.
"Bangladesh has little opportunity to expend land for food production. Sixty per cent of the country's land is already under cultivation, more than other countries," he said.
"After nearly 20 years of neglect, the central importance of agriculture for development is once again receiving the attention it deserves, including within the international donor community," the Minister said while addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on the occasion of the Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum 2010.
The two-day 'Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum 2010' will begin today (Wednesday) in the capital to discuss and coordinate investment priorities and strategies to advance agriculture development and achieve food and nutrition security of the country.
Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina is expected to formally inaugurate the forum in the city Wednesday as the chief guest.
The Government of Bangladesh is going to organise the forum with support from the United States Agency for International Development, the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, the International Food Policy Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, along with other national and international partners.
Speaking at the session, Abdur Razzaque said to effectively sustain food security, the government recognises the need to address emerging challenges, including climate change according to one projection. The minister favoured a figure of 17 per cent for the proportion of coastal land that could soon be submerged, and said the global food crisis and uncertainties in the global food market, in foreign trade, land degradation, and inadequate aid response even after shocks such as the cyclone that ravaged the country last year, were other issues that Razzaque said, need to be addressed.
"Bangladesh has little opportunity to expend land for food production. Sixty per cent of the country's land is already under cultivation, more than other countries," he said.