Bangladesh has decided to set its food grain security stock at 14 lakh tonnes in normal times and 15 lakh tonnes during disasters.
To ensure nutrition as well as food security, fortified rice distribution will also be run in 300 upazilas, including the existing 256.
The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) in the conference room of the Home Ministry on Thursday, 6 August, chaired by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed.
Rice for poor households
The meeting was told that in the current 2026-27 fiscal year, under the government's food friendly programme, 55 lakh poor and ultra-poor rural households will receive 30 kg of rice a month at Tk 15 a kg for six months, a total of 9 lakh 90 thousand tonnes. Under the programme to reduce malnutrition and strengthen nutrition security, rice fortified with six vitamins and minerals will be distributed in 300 upazilas.
Over the last five fiscal years an average of 32 lakh 32 thousand tonnes of food grain was distributed through the public sector, and 35 lakh 8 thousand tonnes in 2025-26.
New warehouses and storage
The meeting decided to raise the government's food grain security stock because demand for grain keeps growing and the scope of food security, poverty reduction and social protection programmes has widened.
It also decided to build new food warehouses in the three hill districts, to ensure grain can be stored and supplied quickly and smoothly in remote hill areas during natural disasters, emergencies and temporary breakdowns in communications.
The FPMC also decided to increase the country's current food grain storage capacity by 30 lakh tonnes by 2030.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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