Agreement signed to improve Dhaka's food system

The Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) signed an agreement to implement a project titled “Support for Modelling, Planning and Improving Dhaka's Food System,” said a press release.

The Netherlands Government is providing financial support of USD 12.5 million as grant to FAO to implement the project with Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD) as the lead government counterpart, over a five year period.

This proposed project aims to develop a safe, sustainable and resilient food system for Dhaka through an iterative action learning approach.

This will be achieved through development of the systems model on food distribution, development of a strategic food agenda 2030 and interventions to improve the performance of the food system.

Special emphasis will be placed on the role of women and indigenous people to explore and evaluate alternative strategies to improve access to safe, healthy, nutritious food.

Monowar Ahmed, secretary of ERD, and Robert D Simpson, representative of FAO, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations, while, Harry Verweij, ambassador of Netherlands to Bangladesh and Sultana Afroz, additional secretary, ERD, as well as representatives from LGRD ministry were present.

In his speech Monowar Ahmed expected that successful completion of the project will contribute to the development of a safe, sustainable and resilient food system for Dhaka.

Ambassador Harry Verweij mentioned that most of the health hazards in Bangladesh are associated with food behaviour and food borne diseases, which happen due to improper handling of food supply chain.

Robert D Simpson said understanding the flow of food products and their interaction with consumers is critical in facilitating the development of a safe, sustainable and resilient food system for Dhaka.