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Workshop on Research to Inform Food and Nutrition Security Policies in Dhaka,Bangladesh 7/9/2013 8:46:36 PM
This blog is about the efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of United Nations(UN) and Government of Bangladesh(GoB) for production of food and ensuring nutrition for all categories of people. A two-day Workshop on Research to Inform Food and Nutrition Security Policies was held on 3-4 July 2013 in the Ball Room of Hotel Ruposhi Bangla ,Dhaka,Bangladesh.
Hon’ble Food Minister Dr.Muhammad Abdur Razzaque MP graced the Inaugural Session of the workshop as the Chief Guest.He stated in his inaugural speech that Bangladesh is now referred across the world as a country of success for its food security and its ability to address the climate change impacts.He also said,“Once Bangladesh was known as country of famine, drought and flood, but now it is referred across the world as a country of success for its food security and its ability to address the climate change impacts,”
Dr Razzaque said the government considers agriculture, food security and nutrition as major priority areas.“Although we’ve made impressive achievement in grain production, we’re still facing considerable challenges in the areas of nutritional improvement, climate change adaptation, scarce natural resources, and access to safe and nutritious food,” he said.The Food Minister said achieving food and nutrition security is considered by the government as a key development agenda to make the country a middle income one as envisaged in the ‘Vision 2021’.About the country’s success in fighting poverty, he said although Bangladesh still has significant level of poverty, it has made a lot of progress in reducing poverty over the last decade.“Recently, FAO has awarded Bangladesh in recognition of our notable and outstanding progress in fighting hunger… we’ve achieved the UN Millennium Development Goal-1 as the prevalence of undernourishment reduced from 34.6 percent in 1990-92 to 16.8 percent in 2010-12.”Referring to the government steps for ensuring food security, Dr Razzaque said the ‘Country Investment Plan’ has been prepared to implement the food security programs following the ‘Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum’ held in Dhaka in 2010.
Dr Razzaque said the government considers agriculture, food security and nutrition as major priority areas.“Although we’ve made impressive achievement in grain production, we’re still facing considerable challenges in the areas of nutritional improvement, climate change adaptation, scarce natural resources, and access to safe and nutritious food,” he said.The Food Minister said achieving food and nutrition security is considered by the government as a key development agenda to make the country a middle income one as envisaged in the ‘Vision 2021’.About the country’s success in fighting poverty, he said although Bangladesh still has significant level of poverty, it has made a lot of progress in reducing poverty over the last decade.“Recently, FAO has awarded Bangladesh in recognition of our notable and outstanding progress in fighting hunger… we’ve achieved the UN Millennium Development Goal-1 as the prevalence of undernourishment reduced from 34.6 percent in 1990-92 to 16.8 percent in 2010-12.”Referring to the government steps for ensuring food security, Dr Razzaque said the ‘Country Investment Plan’ has been prepared to implement the food security programmes following the ‘Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum’ held in Dhaka in 2010. -
FAO Representative in Bangladesh Mike Robson, EU Bangladesh Delegation-Head of Section-Rural Development Gonzalo Serrano, NFPCSP-FAO Chief Technical Adviser Ciro Fiorillo and FPMU Director General Naser Farid, spoke at the session. Acting Secretary of Food Ministry Abdul Awal Hawlader presided.
Guest of Honor,Mr.Kostas G.Stamoulis,Director ESA Division,FAO,Italy sent a message for the success of the workshop since he could not attend the same due to some other appointment.
The workshop held on 3-4 July 2013 has been organized to present final results from 14 research studies and preliminary results from other 2 studies.The Workshop marks the final stage of a process initiated in 2009 with the approval of sixteen research topics by the Ministry of Food,based on the Governments priorities on Food and Nutrition Security.The 16 research were thereafter commissioned to National Research Institutions through an open competition,with 14 of them initiated in October 2011 and currently completed and other 2 initiated in April 2012 and expected to be completed in fall 2013.The research outcomes are intended to inform Government’s policy making on food and nutrition security.They have already been used as references for producing the National Food Policy Plan of Action and Country Invest Plan Monitoring Report 2013 that is the annual Government’s report reviewing progress towards the PoA and CIP’s objective and the evolution of financing and delivery under the CIP.
The participants of the workshop include representatives of the Government of Bangladesh,Civil Society Organizations(CSOs),Development Partners(DPs),national experts,media and relevant personnel.
The objectives of the workshop are to:
1.Present and discuss results and recommendations of 14 research programs.
2.Review preliminary results of 2 on-going research programs.
It may be mentioned that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) and the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry of Food,Government of Bangladesh are jointly implementing the National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Program(NFPCSP) with the financial support of the European Union(EU) and USAID.The NFPCSP (www.nfpcsp.org) helps to strengthen institutional and human capacities in Bangladesh to design,implement and monitor food security policies.Through its Research Grant Scheme,the NFPCSP has funded 16 policy relevant food security and nutrition research programs that will provide concrete policy options for improving food and nutrition security in Bangladesh.
The workshop facilitated dialogue among food security and nutrition researchers,and between researchers and policy makers to maximize impact of the research completed and promote policy relevance of the two on-going research projects.
Thematic areas of The Workshop on Research to Inform Food and Nutrition Security Policies
1.Food Composition,Food Utilization and Nutrition Thematic Area:
In promoting infant and young child feeding,mothers need to be aware of how to plan and prepare complementary foods and feed their young children with the right amount and the right types of foods.
Some options of improved complementary feeding recipes based on food diversity and nutrient adequacy,as well as cultural acceptability had been prepared and made available.Similarly,on the basis of normative energy and nutrient requirements for the Bangladeshi population,plans for sustainable diets at affordable cost with dietary guidelines for a healthier nation was prepared and shared.Central to these issues are reliable food and nutrient composition data and Food Composition Tables(FCT) the updates for which were provided.Information on safety of foods based on a total diet study was shared to provide insights for agricultural planning,diet and nutritional assessment,food safety regulations and consumer protection.
2.Food Access Thematic Area:
This theme was consisted of four studies,three of which related to social safety-nets.With the ambition to improve the effectiveness of safety-net programs,one of the studies presented results and policy recommendations on targeting and prioritization issues.Another study presented results on how social safety -nets could assist poor household to respond to climate change and a third study presented how safety-nets could promote productive outcomes for lasting poverty elimination and food security.The fourth study under this thematic area presented fresh evidence on urbanization and its implications for food security.
3.Food Availability Thematic Area:
There were eight studies in this thematic area.Three of them comprised food production inputs of land,ground water and credit which examined their trends,sustainability and accessibility. The study on land presented interesting results on land decline and or increase based on satellite imagery. This study created much interaction among the participants since it was one of the first such studies in Bangladesh.
Two studies investigated the structure and performance of key food markets of rice,and fruit ad vegetables.The rice market study results included an assessment of new milling technology.
Further three studies examined in depth profitability of farming across a range of crops,the trends and drivers in diversification of food production,and how the public rice procurement system influenced farming incentives.
All the studies presented new evidences based on data collected through purposefully designed household and farm surveys.
Detailed Program of The Workshop on Research to Inform Food and Nutrition Security Policies
1300-1315 Effectiveness of Bangladesh’s rice procurement system and possible alternatives:supporting farmers’ income and sustaining production incentives
Dr.Mohammad Jahangir Alam,Department of Agribusiness and Marketing ,
Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology,
