Food security is not just a matter of growing more food; it is bound up with farmers' incomes, jobs, people's purchasing power, nutrition and the economy as a whole. That is the argument of agriculturist Anjan Majumder in a piece published in the Daily Sangbad and summarised by Agricare24. The views are the writer's own.
In his view, volatile international energy markets, global conflict, rising transport costs, inflation and uncertain supply chains are putting pressure on Bangladesh's food security, with low- and middle-income people hit hardest. Citing a September 2026 report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), he writes that about 18.1 million people in the country could face acute food insecurity between September and December, driven largely by high inflation, falling purchasing power and higher energy costs.
Bangladesh has made real progress in rice production, the writer says, but securing rice supply alone does not secure nutrition: people must also be able to afford eggs, milk, fish, meat, pulses, vegetables and fruit. He identifies a central weakness of the farm economy: prices rise at each stage of collection, transport, storage, processing and marketing, but a fair share of that added value often never reaches the farmer.
To change this he proposes turning farmers and livestock keepers into agricultural entrepreneurs rather than producers only, with market information before planting, modern technology during production, storage afterwards and assured buyers for sale. For rural jobs he suggests produce collection centres at union level, sorting and packaging centres in each upazila and food-processing centres in each district, along with online marketing to bring produce straight to city buyers.
He sees large potential in adding value: mango, jackfruit, banana, potato, vegetables, spices, rice, pulses, fish and milk could all feed new processing industries. That would require more investment in cold storage, dry storage, refrigerated transport and local processing. Building young entrepreneurs in farming, food processing, machinery services, transport, storage and marketing would create work in the villages themselves, he argues.
His closing argument is that food security depends on keeping farmers in business: raising their incomes, ensuring fair prices for produce and strengthening small and medium rural enterprises, with production, storage, processing and marketing working together. A strong domestic economy built around food, he writes, would raise farm incomes, improve the supply of nutritious food, create jobs and strengthen the national economy.
This piece is based on Agricare24's summary of Anjan Majumder's article in the Daily Sangbad.
Source: Agricare24
Comments
(0)