Emphasis on import and production to ensure food security

The government has moved to build additional food reserves by increasing imports and production of food grain amid the global food supply crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and fears of a famine forecast for next year.  

The Ministry of Food is working to create additional food security by importing 26.22 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat through government and private sectors.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is also studying increasing the production of food grains in the country. The ministry says there has been an additional cultivation of aman paddy on about two lakh hectares of land compared to last year.

According to food ministry sources, government to government (G2G) agreements were signed to import 5.30 lakh tonnes from Vietnam, Myanmar and India. Under these deals, 38,000 tonnes of rice have already been imported from India.

Another 20,000 tonnes, 25,000 tonnes and 20,000 tonnes are expected this month from India, Vietnam and Myanmar, in that order.  

Besides, an agreement was reached on importing 6 lakh tonnes of wheat, including 5 lakh tonnes from Russia and the rest from Bulgaria.

Shipments of one lakh tonnes from Bulgaria and 50,000 tonnes from Russia have already arrived, eight and a half months after the war stopped wheat imports. Shipment of another 50,000 tonnes is expected to arrive this month.

Officials of the food ministry said 14.92 lakh tonnes of rice have been allowed to be imported privately in several phases to increase supply to the volatile rice market. In May, 2.09 lakh tonnes of rice were imported, while importers have until December to import the rest.

Meanwhile, the government slashed customs duty on rice imports from 62% to 15.5% in two phases.

Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman, senior assistant secretary (External Procurement), Ministry of Food, told The Business Standard, "We are also giving importance to the import of food grains to increase food security."

The Ministry of Agriculture says that World Food Day is being observed this year amid several global challenges, including the ongoing global pandemic, conflicts, climate change, rising commodity prices and international instability. Bangladesh's theme for the food day this year is "Leave no one behind. Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life".

The day is being observed at a time when various organisations around the world, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, are repeatedly warning of worries of a global famine in 2023.

In the meantime, Bangladesh's ability to cope with hunger has dropped by eight steps. Bangladesh's position went down from 76th to 84th out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report jointly published by the Ireland-based organisation Concern Worldwide and Germany-based Welt Hunger Hilfe.

Considering the overall situation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly highlighted the fear of famine and suggested increasing crop production by bringing all available land under cultivation.

Insiders say there has been increased pressure to increase production in the country and build up food reserves by imports. Since rice production was low in the last Boro season, consumers are under pressure to buy rice at higher prices in the market.

MdSayedul Islam, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said, "The drought which affectedAman cultivation is not there anymore. Aman cultivation targets have been met with the introduction of irrigation systems across the country and production is expected to exceed targets."

He said that emphasis is being placed on the production of high-yielding varieties to deal with the global crisis.

"Instructions are being given to increase the supply of seeds by the government and the private sector. We are also emphasising cultivation on fallow pasture lands, intercropping and using short-duration varieties to produce additional crops," he said, adding that the authorities are taking all measures needed to increase production so that import costs are reduced.

According to the agriculture ministry, the target of Aman cultivation this fiscal year was 59 lakh hectares, which has been fully achieved, while the production target has been set at 1.63 crore lakh tonnes. In 2021-22, 57.20 lakh hectares were cultivated, and 1.5 croretonnes were produced.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad AbdurRazzaquerecently said that the uncertainty aboutAman production has ended. Unless there is any natural calamity, Aman production is likely to be higher this year than last year.

Researchers said it is possible to increase paddy production by about 32 lakh tonnes by 2024-25 through increasing the cultivation of high-yielding and hybrid varieties, replacing conventional varieties of Aman, Aush and Bri-28 and Bri-29 of the Boro season.

Besides, cultivation of oilseeds on fallow land through conversion of conventional cropping can increase production of oilseeds by 24 lakh tonnes during this period, which is almost three times more than the current production. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has already started working on it.

The agriculture minister said, "We are spending more than two billion dollars every year on importing edible oil, whereas only 10% is coming from local production. We want to take the local production of edible oil to 40-50% and we can achieve this by using new technologies."

He said, "We are currently in good condition in terms of food security. But this food security must be maintained in the future by facing various challenges."

Agricultural economist DrMd Jahangir Alam Khan told The Business Standard, "Farmers should be given various incentives to increase agricultural production. These incentives can be given in various ways, including cash assistance, distribution of seeds and fertilisers free of cost and maintaining fertiliser subsidy. This will speed up production. There is no option but to increase production in this global situation."

Currently the government has a decent food reserve. As of 12 October, the government has a total reserve of 16.69 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat, of which wheat amounts to 1.73 lakh tonnes.