Amid the current pandemic period, government’s wide-ranging objectives are helping improve access to safe and nutritious food for all citizens. It is encouraging to note that Bangladesh is ahead of India and Pakistan in South Asia in terms of global hunger eradication activities and results.
The country has progressed 13 notches to the 75th position among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 while Pakistan and India were ranked 92th and 101 respectively. Bangladesh achieved a GHI score of 20.4 out of 100. A higher score indicates a worsening hunger situation while zero is the best score, indicating no hunger.
Our goal should be to build sustainable food
production methods for farmers, while
safeguarding safe food for consumers
Experts opine that Bangladesh should focus broadly on three points to reduce hunger including increasing agricultural productivity through technology, ensuring an uninterrupted food distribution channel and supply chain, and through boosting the purchasing power by generating more employment.
Read more: What Covid-19 revealed about hunger
We know, Bangladesh still faces considerable food and nutrition security challenges for its current population of around 160 million. Now in a bid to tackle it, the government must take sustainable measures and also take up other initiatives as well. In order to make it sustainable, the quality of agricultural products must be maintained and our government should take a more holistic approach.
We have to make sure that the farmers are able to produce products on a uniform scale and excellence. Our goal should be to build sustainable food production methods for farmers while safeguarding safe food for consumers.
Our government has consistently reiterated that no one in the country will have to go hungry. Even after such dire effects of the pandemic, we have been able to fight with the food crisis successfully so far and made sure that food, which is a basic substance of survival, has been given the highest priority.