Promote collective actions for safe and nutritious food for all
Staff Correspondent: Everyone needs awareness & encourages mass people to consume safe and nutritious food. Involved in the production process, he needs such awareness; similarly, safety and awareness are inextricably linked to those who are consumer. We also need to think about what we are eating and how much of it is needed for our health, how much nutrition or energy we will get from that food.
President of ACI Agribusiness Dr F H Ansarey addressed these on the concluding day of the 2nd National Conference organized by BSAFE Foundation. The Conference was held at ther Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) Auditorium in the capital city Dhaka on Wednesday (7 December). Agriculture Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque MP was present as the chief guest in the event.
Dr. Ansarey highlighted, diet is a culture and only our awareness can help to avoid consumption of unsafe food and encourage people to consume safe and nutritious food. The diet of our country is based on rice. Due to dietary habits, we eat a lot of rice, but other nutritious foods we take less than we need. According to the FAO Report, there is significant opportunity to add healthy or nutritious foods to the diet of Bangladeshi people. It is not a lack of food but a lack of proper diet he added.
Dr. Ansarey said, according to the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2022, Bangladesh ranks 71st among 113 countries in terms of 'quality and safe food'. The food value chain includes ingredients, production, harvesting and post-harvest management, processing, retail/distribution, etc. 'In this food value chain, from ingredients to production and consumption, we see problems in the production and availability of safe and nutritious food. But in all cases this problem is evident, not so. The food value chain should be aware of materials and production, harvesting and post-harvest management, processing and retail/distribution, and consumption'- added Dr. Ansarey.
He also addressed, we have progressed a lot in the availability of food. With the visionary plans of the Ministry of Agriculture and the implementation of government and non-governmental organizations, it is true that we have come a long way, and we have a long way to go. However, we are still lagging behind in ensuring nutritional security and safe food. There is no substitute for safe and nutritious food to ensure public health.