Forum global sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (Forum FSN)

Ce membre a contribué à/au:

    • Thank you James for organizing the discussion on bee keeping and related issues.

      I am trying to respond to your questions in the following statement.

      1. What are the dietary and nutritional benefits known in your community for bee products?

      1. Among the bee products,honey is considered as a valued food item across whole Bangladesh.
      2. It enjoys both dietary and nutritional benefits in our community.People take fresh honey with food and also add with many items of food.Honey is also considered to have medicinal value.It is taken as a remedy of cold and many other ailments.People of Islamic faith consider honey as very precious since there is mention of honey in the Holy Quran and Al-Hadith.

      2. Is honey affordable and available in your community all year round?

      Yes,honey is available in our community all year round.It is affordable to most people though very poor sections of people may not purchase from market.But,they may collect honey  from natural hives.

      3.What are the prospects for beekeeping in the future? Beekeeping, poverty alleviation and food security: where are we headed?

      Prospects of beekeeping does not yet look very bright.Only one  government agency promotes and supports beekeeping effectively in Bangladesh.However,many people are engaged in beekeeping.If more promotional and supportive measures are taken beekeeping for poverty  alleviation and food security may realize its potential.

      4.With diseases, pests, habitat loss, colony collapse and climatic changes increasingly affecting apiculture around the world, what can we do to create sustainable conditions for agriculture and apiculture to coexist and to benefit from each other?

      Motivational work coupled with training,arrangement of credit for purchasing required materials and maintenance of beehives and colonies may help immensely for creating sustainable conditions for agriculture and apiculture to coexist and to benefit from each other. 

    • I appreciate that indigenous methods of food preparation has been chosen for discussion.This is really a very important area which needs to be investigated in depth to study the impact on food security and nutrition.

      I am very confident that this discussion will bring only a fragment of the existing indigenous methods of food preparation in various communities and cultures across the world.I don't think it can draw any valid conclusion  on the aspects of food security and nutrition unless appropriate systematic studies  are undertaken.

      However,this discussion may be a great starting point for a worldwide study in this regard.

      I congratulate all contributors for their valuable contributions.

       

    • Dear Eva and Fred,

      I appreciate your great initiative to launch discussion on very pertiment issue for the present time.I will address the first  point today.Hopefully, I will come back again to deal with the other two points as soon as possible.

      Forest,trees on farms and agroforestry systems inevitably contribute towards food and nutrition security.But,it has been correctly pointed out that the many ways in which forests, trees on farms and agroforestry systems contribute to food security and nutrition are poorly understood, under-estimated and not adequately considered in policy decisions related to food security and nutrition.

      The key challenges and bottlenecks hindering a greater contribution of forests, trees on farms and agroforestry systems to food security are multifaceted.Adjutments in policy,legal and institutional aspects on the basis of existing practical skills and data may be helpful to streamline the production,procurement,processing and consumption of produces.For doing such adjustments, all relevant resources,policies,regulations and  institutions need to be examined through detailed survey or review work.Then ideal policy, legal and institutinal framework should be finalized for each community considering the gap in resources and potential of the systems.Programs for regulating the forest areas,trees on farms and agroforestry systems should be determined on the basis of the requirement of the communities,available land or resources and the extent of adaptation of the communities.

    • Dear All,

      It is yet another important initiative of FSN for streamlining activities of food production and nutrition in the world under the auspices of the FAO of UN.

      I am presenting my views against the three questions.

      1. If you were designing an agricultural investment programme, what are the top 5 things you would do to maximize its impact on nutrition?

      (a)I would conduct a survey across the country to identify the nutritional needs and deficiencies of the people of different age,sex,income and other relevant parameters to determine the possible direction of interventions.

      (b)I would survey the availability of various nutritional elements from the locally produced crops,fruits,vegetables,fish,poultry,dairy and other sources for the above mentioned people.

      (c)I would select the major food sources that supply the nutrition required by the people and focus most emphasis on these sources for interventions.

      (d)I would organize coordinated and concerted programmes with the participation of relevant ministries,research,extension,credit and allied departments and universities in the government and private sectors to make a comprehensive action plan for implementation in phases.

      2. To support the design and implementation of this programme, where would you like to see more research done, and why?

      I would like to see more research on the following areas:

      (a)Food varieties containing more nutritional values so that more nutrition may be available from less quantity of food

      (b)Food safety issues to highlight safety in all stages to ensure food that are not adulterated,properly certified and safely consumed.

      (c)Wastage or damage of food and nutritional contents in the field,shipment,

      storage and distribution systems due to pests,diseases,infrastructural problem,management,regulation,corruption and for any other mismanagement.

      (e)I would organize to bring all international donors,UN and other bodies working in my country to support the implementation of our action plans

      under a single umbrella to ensure transparency and avoid duplication of activities, corruption and wastage of resources.

      3. What can our institutions do to help country governments commit to action around your recommendations, and to help ensure implementation will be effective?

      Your institutions can help country governments commit to action around my recommendations to help ensure implementation to make them effective by

      providing technical,financial,logistic and management inputs.