Bangladesh and FAO chart new course for nutrition-friendly public spending to support healthy diets

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in the framework of a joint initiative by the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme and the Flexible Voluntary Contributions (FVC) project Repurposing food and agricultural policies for affordable nutritious foods, successfully held a two-day validation workshop on “nutrition-sensitive” government spending in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 8 to 9 April 2025.

Held in partnership with the Department of Agricultural and Applied Statistics at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and the FAO Representation in Bangladesh, the workshop brought together more than 40 stakeholders from key government ministries and research entities. Its purpose was to validate the preliminary findings of a public expenditure analysis focused on identifying nutrition-sensitive investments in the food and agriculture sector.

As part of this joint initiative, FAO commissioned BAU to conduct a comprehensive analysis of actual public expenditures in the agrifood sector contributing to more affordable healthy diets in the country. Using an adapted version of the FAO-SUN Movement methodology and the MAFAP public expenditure classification and data, the analysis classified public expenditure from five ministries and agencies into three categories: nutrition sensitive, potentially nutrition sensitive, and non-nutrition related.

During the 2-day intensive workshop, participants reviewed the initial expenditure classifications across the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Ministry of Food, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Department of Rural Development and Cooperatives. Breakout sessions allowed stakeholders to examine specific budget lines, provide evidence, offer feedback, and finalise the classification process.

The event featured high-level attendance, with opening remarks by Dr. Md. Abu Sufiun, Director General for Livestock Services at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and Dia Sanou, Deputy FAO Representative, and special contributions from Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid, Director of the Nutritional Unit at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), as well as Patrizia Fracassi, Senior Nutrition and Food Systems Officer and Clara Picanyol, Economist with the MAFAP programme. 

In addition to validating the methodology and ongoing analysis, the workshop facilitated broader discussions on how government spending on food and agriculture can make healthy diets more affordable in Bangladesh, ultimately leading to improved nutrition.  

A comprehensive report is set to be released in the coming months summarizing the approach, analysis and recommendations. This is particularly timely as the period covered by the National Plan of Action for Nutrition 2 (NPAN2) and the Third Country Investment Plan for the Sustainable, nutrition-sensitive and resilient food systems (2021–2025) are coming to an end, and new plans are being developed. The report is expected, therefore, to guide national policy debates and inform the design of more effective public-spending policies.