Bangladesh

Food insecurity remains a critical issue in Bangladesh. Although the number of malnourished has decreased in recent years, it remains high: over 41 million people or 27 percent of the total population are malnourished, and just under half of all Bengali children are underweight. Approximately 82 percent of the population live in rural areas, and almost half depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, although the country’s agricultural imports outnumber its exports twelve-fold.

Video: FAO in Bangladesh

FAO's main in-country programmes

Special Programme for Food Security
The Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) became operational in 1999 with an on-farm water management pilot programme and a budget of US$338 000. This was expanded to include activities in soil testing and fertility management and crop yield forecasting and agro-meteorology. These projects were operated by FAO from March 2000 to February 2003 within the Agricultural Sector Innovation and Reform project. The US$941 500 budget was funded by a World Bank loan. The Government of Japan also supported the SPFS in Bangladesh through a US$3.3 million Japanese trust fund project. An external evaluation mission in 2003 recognized the positive impact of the SPFS on the livelihoods of beneficiaries in Bangladesh.

Under the SPFS, FAO is also assisting the formulation of the project "Food security through market access and agricultural commercialization of smallholders in Bangladesh". The Government of Italy is providing funds for the budget of US$3 million.

National Programme for Food Security
The National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme aims to increase the capacity of the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit to support the implementation of a national food policy and address issues of access to food, its utilization and nutrition. The budget of US$6.6 million is being funded by the EU and USAID. The timeframe for implementation is October 2005 to April 2010.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh has prepared a draft outline plan for implementing the national programme covering 249 of the most food insecure upazilias (sub-districts) over an eight-year period. The government is expected to contribute 40 percent of the US$320 million budget, with 10 percent provided by project beneficiaries and the remaining 50 percent coming from external resources. The draft outline will serve as the basis for formulation of the programme by a national team with assistance from FAO. Bangladesh is also involved in a Regional Programme for Food Security.

EMPRES animal health component
The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) is focusing on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease in Bangladesh.

HPAI is endemic in Bangladesh with the first outbreaks officially reported in February 2007. A second wave of outbreaks started in September 2007, peaked in January/February 2008 and still continues, with outbreaks reported in January 2009. One case of human death has been officially reported.

In response to the first outbreaks, an FAO team mission worked with veterinary services, poultry producers, veterinary professionals and local leaders to help facilitate outbreak response efforts. FAO continues to provide assistance to Bangladesh through global, international and regional HPAI projects in the areas of public-private partnership, biosecurity and highly pathogenic emerging diseases.

The last rinderpest outbreak in Bangladesh occurred in 1958 and the last vaccination campaign was carried out in 1998. Based on this history, Bangladesh will apply for international recognition of freedom from rinderpest. The Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme is assisting Bangladesh to prepare a dossier for official accreditation.

In 2008 FAO conducted a cattle foot-and-mouth vaccination campaign to limit the anticipated spread of this disease after the cyclone of November 2007.

National Medium Term Priority Framework
Since January 2009, the government has taken a pro-agriculture stand. This has provided FAO with the opportunity to revitalize the formulation of the National Medium Term Priority Framework. The aim is to provide FAO with a solid basis for a country programme compliant with the policies and priorities of the Government. It will also help coordination among donors and other UN programmes, a step forward towards the UN "Delivering as One" initiative.

A team of national and international resource persons, supervised by the FAO Representative, will identify FAO's strategic niche and competitive edge in the national policies, strategies and action plans on agriculture. The process will build on consultations with all stakeholders. Learning from the experiences of neighbouring countries, FAO will assist the government to identify gaps and define priority steps.

Within this framework, FAO organized a consultative workshop on fertilizer management in 2009. FAO has also initiated new activities on water resources and irrigation.

 last updated: 30 June 2011