World Food day has a great significance to ensure the basic human rights. Like elsewhere across the globe,Bangladesh will observe the World Food Day 2010 tomorrow (October 16).
The theme of this year’s observance is “United Against Hunger”, chosen to recognize the efforts made in the fight against world hunger at national, regional and international levels.
President Md Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have given separate messages on the occasion.
In his message, President said Bangladesh is implementing various programmes to increase food production to meet demand for food for its large population.
Besides meeting demand of the people for food, Md Zillur Rahman stressed the need for further accelerating the integrated efforts for strengthening move of attaining food security.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the present government has taken steps for raising output of agricultural products through reducing prices of all farm inputs including fertilizer and seeds and providing soft loans to farmers at low rate of interests.
Besides attaining food security, we have to effectively think about safe food, she said adding the government would be able to create a food security chain through ensuring safe food. “For this we have to stand beside our courageous and industrious farmers to inspire them,” Prime Minister added.
The Agriculture Ministry has chalked out detail programme in observance of the day. Fisheries and Animal Resources Minister Abdul Latif Biswas will inaugurate the day at a function. He will join a rally at 9 am, and inaugurate a fair at 9:30 am at Krishibid Institution premises and also attend a seminar on “Food Security: United Against Hunger” as chief guest at 10 am.
Different organizations under the Agriculture Ministry, NGOs, FAO office in Dhaka, and other development partners have jointly undertaken multi dimensional programmes on the occasion.
Various functions like issue-based seminars, rallies, display of food would be organized and special discussions would be organized at Bangladesh Betar and television channels, posters, festoons, banners and special supplements would be published at different newspapers and special edition of monthly Krishi Katha would also be published.
The mass media would publish articles and broadcast programmes of the Agriculture Ministry on the occasion.
Ahead of the Day, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) on October 12 published “State of Food Insecurity in the World 2010” hunger report.
FAO report said twenty-two countries are facing enormous challenges like repeated food crises and an extremely high prevalence of hunger due to a combination of natural disasters, conflict, and weak institutions. These countries are in a protracted crisis, FAO said.
Chronic hunger and food insecurity are the most common characteristics of a protracted crisis. More than 166 million undernourished people live in countries in protracted crises, the
report showed.
SOURCE: BSS
