Ensure food and nutrition security for the poor

Women's contribution in food production must be recognised.Parvez Babul

WOMEN must recognize their contributions in food production.

The national food policy of Bangladesh says that food is a basic human need and plays a crucial role in the agro-based economy of Bangladesh, where a large proportion of the income of the population is allocated to food. The first and foremost responsibility of the state is to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food to all people at all times. According to Article-15(a) of the Constitution of Bangladesh, it shall be a fundamental responsibility of the state to provide its citizens with food. As per the government's Allocation of Business, it is the duty of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management to establish a dependable food security system for the nation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State, wrote an article, "A new approach to global food security and hunger," on World Food Day (October 16). She sets out the five principles guiding US policy on food security. Hillary mentioned in her write-up that for one billion hungry people worldwide, the daily effort to grow, buy, or sell food is the defining struggle of their lives. This matters to all of us. Meeting the challenge of global hunger is at the heart of "food security" -- empowering the world's farmers to sow and harvest plentiful crops, effectively care for livestock and catch fish, and then ensuring that the food produced reaches those who need it.

She also added that food security represented the convergence of several issues: droughts and floods caused by climate change, swings in the global economy that affect food prices, and spikes in the price of oil -- which increase transportation costs. So food security is not only about food, but also about security.

Chronic hunger threatens individuals, governments and societies. People who are starving or undernourished and cannot care for their families are left with feelings of hopelessness and despair, which can lead to tension, conflict, and even violence. Since 2007, there have been riots over food in more than 60 countries. So, we must keep in mind that "hungry people are angry people."

Indeed, women are the main providers of meals, care and nutrition in the household, and they have a fundamental role in assuring improved nutritional status for all. Women play a key role in the socio-economic development of rural areas and in many societies they are also the main producers of food. Special attention should be given to the nutrition of women during pregnancy and lactation. All forms of discrimination, including detrimental traditional practices against women, must be eliminated in accordance with the 1979 Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Food security is defined in its most basic form as access by all people at all times to the food needed for a healthy life. Achieving food security has three dimensions. First, it is necessary to ensure a safe and nutritionally adequate food supply both at the national level and at the household level. Second, it is necessary to have a reasonable degree of stability in the supply of food both from one year to the other and during the year. Third, and most critical, is the need to ensure that each household has physical, social and economic access to enough food to meet its needs. Each household must have the knowledge and the ability to produce or procure the food that it needs on a sustainable basis.

In this context, properly balanced diets that supply all necessary nutrients and energy without leading to over-consumption or waste should be encouraged. It is also important to encourage the proper distribution of food among all members in the household without any discrimination towards women and children, especially girls.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen said: "Poverty is caused by the lack of exchange entitlement in a market economy. Gainful employment is the principal challenge for the poor and the main focus for poverty alleviation." Thus, strategies for poverty alleviation broadly encompass the redistribution and creation of assets in favour of the poor and give guarantee of employment at a reasonable wage and adoption of measures having direct benefit for the poor. This is possible when political leaders express their commitment to implement the program without corruption or discrimination.

Daniel Toole, Regional Director of Unicef for South Asia said: "Due to persistent and deep inequalities, children in South Asia become trapped in an unrelenting cycle of discrimination at several levels -- poor nutrition, health and sanitation and being excluded from education. This puts a child's face to chronic poverty. So, we can now design more strategic policies. 26.5 million of the 63 million children in Bangladesh live in poverty. Children's seven basic needs -- food, education, health, information, shelter, water and sanitation -- must be addressed to end their poverty. Investing in children is both a fundamental responsibility and an opportunity that, if not grabbed now, will tarnish a nation's growth." Breast-feeding is the most secure means of assuring the food security of infants and should be promoted and protected through appropriate policies and programs.

John Aylieff of World Food Program (WFP) said: "First of all, hunger and malnutrition are probably the biggest impediments to economic growth in the world today. The economic cost of hunger is immense. It is estimated that $20 to $30 billion a year are lost in the world due to hunger and malnutrition. It means that $500 billion to $10 trillion are lost in productivity and income. So, an investment in malnutrition and hunger today is an investment in tomorrow's GDP." Fao's State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 shows that female-headed households were affected disproportionately by the food price shocks.

Bangladesh is paying a heavy toll for climate change and is facing many big problems, such as increased temperature, salinity, frequent floods, cyclones. Poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition are the three silent killers and climate change has become a severe headache for the nation. Considering those reasons, Bangladesh needs to create and maintain partnership with the rich countries, donors and international communities to feed and save the people of this country.

We should take a holistic approach, and the government and development partners should understand the situation, causes and consequences of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition, emphasise homestead food production, provide training to more women and offer them financial and technical assistance for poultry rearing and growing vitamin A rich vegetables. The government should distribute quality seeds, fertiliser, and pesticides free of cost among these poor farmers.

As we can never deny our dependability on agriculture, so we must use modern technology to cultivate the land instead of using cows and wooden ploughs. Distribute khas lands among landless people, control population growth for planned family of not more than two children, and set up an agricultural university in Manikganj to accommodate more students for agriculture education. These are the demands of the time.

Also, make efforts to emphasise the role of mass media to raise awareness about poverty and hunger eradication, combat climate change and malnutrition, create employment of poor women, ensure sustainable agricultural and national development, and increase food production and sustainable productivity of our limited lands.

Parvez Babul is the Associate Editor of weekly Manikganjer Khobor and Convener of Bangladesh Climate Change Journalists Forum (BCCJF).

Email: parvezbabul@gmail.com