Food Security Investment Plan

Agri development to get priority

Says food minister

27 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Use of surface water and agricultural development in critical zones such as the southwestern coastal belt will be the top priority in the Food Security Investment Plan, Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque said yesterday. "The development partners also agreed on these priorities, as we said people in such areas generally have low income," he said at a press briefing after the conclusion of a two-day high-level meeting. The government hosted the Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum in the capital's Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel with the participation of economists, agriculturists, food security experts and policymakers from across the globe. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, International Food Policy Research Institute, Food and Agriculture Organization, US Agency for International Development, European Union and UK Department for International Development supported it. The participants made suggestions for finalisation of the Country Food Security Investment Plan (CFSIP) to ensure food security and nutrition in Bangladesh through agricultural development. Commenting on the crucial issues discussed in the forum, Razzaque said they highlighted that the southwestern coastal belt, and haor, hilly and char areas should get the highest priority to receive investment. Crops in these areas often get damaged due to flash and monsoon floods and natural disasters. Besides, the problem of salinity in the coastal belt poses a serious threat to agricultural development, experts have said on various occasions. Management of water resources and use of surface water for agriculture also figured prominently in the forum, the food minister said. "The development partners agreed to invest in these areas on a priority basis," he said. The level of underground water in northern districts fell considerably making it difficult to extract water by tube-wells. Besides, extensive extraction of underground water also poses the risk of contamination of water with arsenic, experts have observed. The participants urged the development partners and multilateral financial organisations to mobilise and provide adequate financial resources for implementation of the CFSIP, the minister said. They also suggested that the CFSIP should be finalised by the end of 2010, Abdur Razzaque said. The minister said he believes the development partners are sincere this time in keeping their commitments.