At the moment the country has adequate stock of foodgrain and Bangladesh is expected to have surplus food stock in the post-pandemic situation, according to a recent study titled “Rapid Assessment of Food and Nutrition Security in the Context of COVID-19 in Bangladesh”, conducted by the FAO and published in May 2020.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said in the report that the biggest relief as far as food grain security is concerned for Bangladesh is more than 95 percent of paddy (Boro) has been harvested smoothly despite some setbacks such as labour crisis and a shortage of rice cutting and threshing machine.
“Bangladesh consumes 32 MMT of rice and 5.5 MMT of wheat annually. The country expected in fiscal year 2019/20 to have produced 38.7 MMT of rice and 1.25 MMT of wheat – and to have imported 5.2 MMT of wheat”, said the report.
“Besides, during the Aman season, the production was more than the target. All in all, the country has a surplus of granular foodgrains owing to better rice production conditions”, added the report.
The report further added, “Food grain availability in private and public stocks could be sufficient for up to one month of consumption. There is potentially another six months’ worth of consumption ready to be harvested. This had been threatened by flash floods and shortages of labour and machinery but now appears to be solved.”
However, the report has also suggested concerned authorities to ensure disruption-free supply chain with a view to overcoming crisis. However, poultry, dairy, and fish products may be more affected by the supply crisis than granular food grains. It is also necessary to ensure an uninterrupted supply of materials to sustain production in the days ahead.
Meanwhile, Agriculture ministry secretary Md Nasiruzzaman told media, “We are trying our level best to increase the production of essential crops including paddy and wheat. Initially, good production of boro paddy gave us great relief during the pandemic. Now we are working to increase the production of Aus paddy in this season.”
“Steps have also been taken to tackle the situation in case of natural calamities. Alternative preparations are in place to prevent or minimize probable damage”, he added.
