Ensure food security of people

Food is a basic human right. But unfortunately, today 31 per cent of the country’s people suffer from food insecurity. In addition, 48.2 per cent cannot afford healthy food. This information was revealed last Monday at a seminar organised in the capital by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.

The report stated that one in every four children in the country is stunted due to malnutrition. One in every three women suffers from anaemia. Besides, many people are affected by malnutrition, excess weight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. These people have weak immune systems and are unable to contribute to productivity.

The decline in food security among the people of Bangladesh can also be seen in the marketplace. Even in Dhaka city, the same market is now divided into several sections. The scene differs between the markets of the upper and middle classes and those of the lower classes. There, at slightly lower prices, comparatively inferior vegetables and fish are available. Once only the lower classes crowded there, now the middle class is also turning up. And why would they not, when the prices of vegetables are rising so steeply? Many middle-class families can no longer eat fish or meat regularly. For them, fish means tilapia, pangas, or a few cheap sea fish. Many families cannot afford eggs and milk either. Fruits, needless to say, are out of their sight.

In 2019, Abhijit Banerjee and his wife Esther Duflo won the Nobel Prize in Economics for their contribution to poverty alleviation experiments worldwide. Their book Poor Economics shows that in some countries poverty works within a vicious cycle. A key factor in this cycle is the lack of nutritious food. Needless to say, Bangladesh is also caught in this vicious cycle in many ways. If 31 per cent of people suffer from food insecurity, it is undoubtedly alarming. And in the overall economy, this will have a widespread negative impact. Their inability to be productive will worsen the food crisis further. It is feared that food insecurity will soon increase even more and productivity will continue to fall.

The Bangladesh government has no concrete plan to ensure food security. A large part of our food still depends on imports. A second crisis is that while food prices continue to rise, people’s incomes are not increasing at the same pace. Instead, the number of unemployed is rising day by day. All of this is an ominous sign for the country. It will not only increase malnutrition but also hinder productivity and increase crime. Along with this, as a result of climate change, Bangladesh is also facing severe natural disasters.

Food security is not only a concern for Bangladesh but a global issue. The United Nations has reported that Bangladesh ranks fourth among the world’s top five countries suffering from acute food insecurity. This was revealed in the Global Report on Food Crises 2025. It is therefore easy to understand how severely we are suffering from food insecurity. If the government does not take immediate and proper steps to ensure food security for the people, Bangladesh may soon face famine. We want the government to take this information seriously and urgently adopt effective measures to ensure food security. There is no way out without poverty reduction, reducing inequality, and improvement in agriculture.