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 The People's Republic of Bangladesh is a new nation state in the northeastern part of South Asia. The great Himalayas stand as the northern ramparts, while the southern frontier is guarded by the Bay of Bengal. On the west lies the gangetic plains of India (West Bengal) and on the eastern frontier lies the almost impassable forest of Myanmar (Arakan Province) and India (Tripura and Assam hills). These picturesque geographical boundaries delineate a low-lying plain of about 1,47,570 sq.km. criss-crossed by innumerable brooks, rivers, rivulets and streams.
Bangladesh is a deltaic plain of three mighty rivers-the Padma (Ganges), Brahamaputra (Jamuna) and the Meghna. Much of the country's land area has been built up from alluvial deposits brought down by the major rivers. The country is mostly flat except the hilly southeastern part. It is mainly characterized by wooded marshlands and jungles with forest regions in Sylhet, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Banderban, Sunderbans, Mymensingh and Tangail.
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Its population exceeds 134 million with an average of more than 850 people per sq. km. About 22 million households of the country live in rural Bangladesh. The rural population is comprised of 22 percent landless, 34 percent with homesteads only, 12 percent marginal farmers having 0.2 to 0.4 ha of land, and 14 percent are small farmers having 0.4 to 0.8 ha of cultivated land.
 Bangladesh is an overwhelmingly agricultural economy. Agriculture accounts for 32 percent GDP of the country and absorbs 63 percent of its labour force. The process of agricultural production in Bangladesh especially since the introduction of the seed-fertilizer-irrigation technology is underpinned by the use of agrochemicals, groundwater irrigation and increased multiple cropping. While significant production transformation has been achieved through this process and food production has more than doubled since independence in 1971, it has mostly supported the country's large population base rather than uplifting the living standards of the average citizen. Although the country has witnessed significant rise in foodgrain production, food security still remains a major development issue.
Rice is the staple food for Bangladeshis and rice production is the most important economic activity in rural Bangladesh. It is grown in all the three growing seasons of the year and covers about 77% of the total cropped area of around 13.9 million hectares. At present, rice alone constitutes about 92% of the total food grains produced annually in the country. Rice offers the basic sense of food security to its people.
Food security is considered to be integrally linked with agricultural production. It is assumed that increased food production will contribute to improved food security in the country. This notwithstanding, poverty, food access problems, climate variability and climate change, overpopulation, recurrent natural disasters and environmental degradation contribute to food insecurity in Bangladesh. Against this backdrop, food security issue has become a major concern for the Government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh National Agricultural Policy supports continuing self-sufficiency in cereals production and crop diversification program. Although, quite often these twin objectives are difficult to accommodate in a land scarce country like Bangladesh, the policy planners and development experts in the country are thriving to attain food security in Bangladesh, which is believed to pave the way of country's overall development in the new millennium.
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