Although 87 percent of Bangladesh's population has purchasing power, many people suffer from malnutrition because of a lack of awareness and of safe food. City dwellers are beset by worry over whether what they eat is safe. Chemicals used at different stages from food production to marketing, and pesticide residues from food production, are a serious risk to our health.

With this in mind, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is training and encouraging farmers to grow safely. Farmers themselves will bring this safe produce directly to consumers through farmers' markets, so that consumers get safe food and farmers get a fair price for their produce.

Speakers said this at the opening of a farmers' market on the morning of Friday 14 October, a joint initiative of Dhaka North City Corporation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the DAE and Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, with support from the government of the Netherlands.

At the market, set up at Mohammadi Housing Society in front of Jamia Islamia Muhammadi Ashraful Madaris and orphanage, ten safe-food growers from Bhakurta in Savar, vetted by the DAE, will be able to sell their vegetables and fruit every Friday from 7am to 2pm.

The opening was moderated by Ziaur Rahman, senior project manager of WBB Trust. Speakers included Md Mizanur Rahman, vice-president of the Nabinagar, Dhaka Udyan and Chandrima unit of the Awami League; Bazlur Rashid, sub-assistant agriculture officer of Bhakurta union in Savar; Jahangir Alam, sustainable agriculture specialist of the FAO's Dhaka Food System project; and local residents.

Bazlur Rashid said all the farmers selected from Bhakurta for the market grow vegetables safely. "We give them training and inputs, and there is regular supervision in the field. We can assure you that the vegetables, fruit and other food products available here are safe. I request local residents to support the farmers so that they can gain at least a little financially, because there is no alternative to keeping farmers and farming alive to ensure the country's progress," he said.

Jahangir Alam said the FAO works worldwide to end hunger and ensure safe food. The Dhaka Food System project is being implemented for the same purpose in Dhaka North and South city corporations, Narayanganj City Corporation and Gazipur City Corporation. Work is under way to set up 16 farmers' markets under the project, and nine have already been completed.

WBB Trust director Gaus Piari said that although Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food production, it lags far behind in eating nutritious food. Because people do not eat healthily, the number of obese people in the country is rising, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and other illnesses. This programme can play a positive role in improving public health, and the DAE's safe farming programme needs to be expanded across the country.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.