Agriculture Adviser Lt. Gen. Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.) said that the government has continued all efforts to ensure uninterrupted production in the agricultural sector. Even if agricultural infrastructure, crops, livestock and fish farms are damaged by climate change-related impacts, floods and cyclones, there will be no shortage of food for all in the country. The advisor said these things in the speech of the chief guest at the event organized on the occasion of World Food Day at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council auditorium in Khamarbari on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

The advisor said that during independence, the food of about 75 million people of this country was produced on the land, but now it is possible to feed about 180 million people even though the amount of land has decreased. At present, about 4 crore tonnes of food grains are being produced in the country. The country is self-sufficient in grain production. Our capacity to produce enough nutritious food especially fruits, vegetables, pulses, oil, fish, meat, milk and eggs etc. has also increased several times.

Jahangir Alam said, there will be no shortage of food supply for everyone in the country. However, our expectation can be easily fulfilled if we can prevent food wastage through modern post-harvest technology and processing and orderly and modern transport system. He called for individual and joint investment initiatives at the government and private levels.

The advisor said that in recent studies, the amount of post-harvest wastage and loss of agricultural products in the country ranges from 10 to 40 percent in the case of crops, especially vegetables and as a result the rate of wastage and loss is the highest which is about 40 percent. A large portion of the food produced is wasted at the consumer level. The advisor said that about 82 kg of food is wasted per person in the country annually. He emphasized on raising awareness to prevent food wastage.

Secretary of Agriculture Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian was the chairman of the event as a special guest, Food Secretary Md. Masudul Hasan and FAO’s Bangladesh representative. Xiaokun Xi. Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and Director of SAARC Agricultural Center, Dhaka presented the keynote at the event. Md. Harunur Rashid.
Besides, officials of various ministries, departments and organizations including the Ministry of Agriculture, representatives of national and international development cooperation organizations were present in the event.

At the end, the adviser handed over prizes to the winners of the painting competition organized on the occasion of World Food Day 2024. Note that this year the theme of World Food Day was ‘Right to foods for a better life and a better future’ ie ‘right to food for a better life and a prosperous future’.