Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder and Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
Sustainable food security is the special goal of 2030. This is to end hunger. Ending hunger is possible if the government can achieve long term food security including better nutrition, production sustainability, fair distribution and proper consumption. Ending hunger target ‘should be extended and targets added to limit nitrogen and phosphorus use in agriculture3, 7, 8. Nutrient-use efficiency should improve by 20% by 2020; no more than 35 million tonnes of nitrogen per year should be extracted from the atmosphere; phosphorus flow to the oceans should not exceed 10 million tonnes a year; and phosphorus runoff to lakes and rivers should halve by 2030.’
The ministry of agriculture has planned to ensure food security through sustainable agricultural development. One celebrated freelancer thus commented that ‘one important component is how to increase food production by small/minor irrigation in suitable topography and soils. This involves construction of small dams and reservoirs, excavation of canals, drainage of swamps for agricultural use, constructing embankments, tanks and ponds on river beds or abandoned rivers or dry areas for rainwater harvesting for use in lean period for irrigation as well as water supply in the water-hungry, parched lands in various ecological regions.
It is heartening to note that the proximate policy officials and policy adviser mainly agronomists have given concepts notes about sustainable agriculture trough proper irrigation. Green landscapes are of course the blessings of god. All the same deep as well as shallow tube wells supplying water to land under cultivation are really producing the benefits of cost s of production. Especially during boro season . modern irrigations like deep and shallow tube wells have been installed by BADC, Krishi bank and BARD. The role of BARD as a think tank cannot be left out of equation. Based on Comilla model it has long been experimenting with sustainable irrigation with a commensurate results. It enable the implementing agencies, BRDB and Thana agricultural extensions to follow up according to policy guidelines of BARD.
Apart from irrigation, the policy makers should think to combat dissertation and deforestation. Policy officials in the ministry of agriculture through project intervention has endeavored to combat drought and desertification and climate change impacts and create congenial environment with numerous water bodies formed by the projects. News about massive destruction of trees in a coastal area like Sitakunda are sensational and eye-boggling-all to the disenchantment of the civil societies orchestrating sound environment movement. This mindless operation of the influentials should not go unchallenged. Otherwise there is possibility of the annihilation of green enclosure that protect the coastal dwellings from the devastation of tidal bore and water surge breaking coastal embankments. Already a celebrated civil society like YPSA, that has been advocating for public policy for the ship breaking industries, has risen to the occasion protesting against indiscriminate feeling of trees in Sitakunda to create space for constructing ship breaking yard.
The implementation of a project like BNFSP (Bangladesh National Food Security Programme), like Nigeria’s NSPFS (Nigerian National Special Programme for Food Security) has been undertaken in cooperation with FAO and China.
Smart implementation of food security project will harness’ natural river water, water from reservoirs of the small dams, excavate tanks and ponds in dry river beds for rain water harvesting for use in dry reason, dams in Chittagong and CHT and on border rivers in Mymensingh and Sylhet districts. The projects will add to national food security and be helpful in combating drought and desertification and climate change, creating congenial environment in the regions. Use of low lift pumps should be undertaken in large and flowing rivers, natural reservoirs, pond and haors.’
Most experts are of the opinion that’ ‘the entire Rajshahi division is dry and hot with mostly small, moribund and ephemeral rivers and streams. Water-scarce barind area falls in this region. The region often records lowest rainfall. The area adjoining the Ganges has also been severely affected due to Farakka. We need irrigation with small dams where topography is suitable and water can be stored during the monsoon in tanks and ponds, also holding water in the lows of rivers, using shallow and deep tubewells in good aquifers as well as low lift pumps along the rivers. Rain water may be harvested in dry channels and ponds and used during lean period. 150 such projects may be undertaken, which will help resolve ‘monga’ related problems. The projects will combat drought and desertification and climate change and will rejuvenate the degraded and polluted environment.
Bangladesh has made significant progress in boosting national food production. However, a large part of the population still lacks access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Ensuring that everyone is food secure is therefore a high priority for the Government of Bangladesh.
The National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme helps build Bangladesh’s institutional and human capacities to design, implement, and monitor food security policies. Apart from strengthening the capacity of relevant Government agencies, the Programme also promotes better access to food-security related information and knowledge exchange.( NFPCSP, 2013)
Agricultural development ceases to be sustainable without reference to the involvement of major stakeholders and beneficiaries in policy formulation and policy implementation process. In recent years the national and donor agencies, too, have been at the forefront of the growing international consensus that participatory approach and sustainable development are indivisible. The belief is that developing capacity building or learning by doing through participation can be and should be the primary way to end hunger through sustainable development.
Food security has four interrelated elements: availability, access, utilisation and stability. (Hungry for Change:the state of hunger and food security 2014 cited in Australian international food security research centre 2014)
Availability is about food supply and trade, not just quantity but also the quality and diversity of food. Improving availability requires sustainable productive farming systems, well-managed natural resources, and policies to enhance productivity.
Access covers economic and physical access to food. Improving access requires better market access for smallholders allowing them to generate more income from cash crops, livestock products and other enterprises.
Utilisation is about how the body uses the various nutrients in food. A person’s health, feeding practices, food preparation, diversity of their diet and intra-household distribution of food all affect a person’s nutrition status. Improving utilisation requires improving nutrition and food safety, increasing diversity in diets, reducing post-harvest loss and adding value to food.
Stability is about being food secure at all times. Food insecurity can be transitory with short term shocks the result of a bad season, a change in employment status, conflict or a rise in food prices. When prices rise, it is the poor who are most at risk because they spend a much higher portion of their income on food. Poor people in Malawi spend nearly 78% of their income on food, while poor in the US, spend just 21 per cent.. Social nets can play an important role is supporting people through transitory food insecurity.
Now the question that may arise is: how we can improve our food security/? The returns on investments in agricultural research are well documented (see ACIAR 2012 cited in Australian international food security research centre 2014). There is overwhelming evidence that over the past five decades, agricultural productivity around the world has been greatly enhanced by agricultural research, which has helped to improve the livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest people. This means targeted investments in research and adoption of research outputs can produce direct and meaningful benefits to food-insecure people, most of whom are smallholder farmers.
The main concern area should food security at the household level including household below poverty level equilibrium trap. “The ability to ensure adequate food security hinges on the ability to identify vulnerable households. Vulnerability refers to the full range of factors that place people at risk of becoming food insecure. The degree of vulnerability of an individual, household or group of persons is determined by their exposure to the risk factors and their ability to cope with or withstand stressful situations. “Generally, vulnerable belong to three groups:
“those which would be vulnerable under any circumstances: for example, where the adults are unable to provide an adequate livelihood for the household for reasons of disability, illness, age or some other characteristic;
those whose resource endowment is inadequate to provide sufficient income from any available source;
those whose characteristics and resources render them potentially vulnerable in the context of social and economic shocks: e.g. those who find it hard to adapt to sudden changes in economic activity brought about by economic policy. A significant increase in the consumer price of staple foods might be an example.”
A frequent problem is associated with ‘ delineating those sections of the population most vulnerable, or at risk from changes in policy direction, is the lack of baseline data regarding household income and consumption patterns.’
Amartya Sen has created the notion of household entitlement to food. It is related to both food security and nutrition. ‘A number of these activities may be pursued by the same member of each household, or by different members. In addition, transfers from sources external to the household, i.e. from the state or friends and relatives, will also add to household entitlement. Entitlement can also be perceived as the household’s ability to express effective demand for food. It presupposes the availability of food, since for demand to be effective it must be capable of being transformed into consumption. This applies as much to food grown for household consumption as to that purchased with income generated through other activities or from transfers. The former entails a decision to retain part or the whole of the output of productive activity, as opposed to selling it and purchasing food or non-food commodities.’
(Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder, Pro-VC, BUP and Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Retired Professor, Chittagong University).
