Where have all the ‘nutrition gardens’ gone?

Lawmakers at a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture ministry yesterday expressed their indignation and doubt over the ministry's claim that 4,390 "family nutrition gardens" have been set up at different unions across the country.

Mesbahul Islam, secretary to the ministry, placed the information through a video projection while presenting the ministry's various ongoing projects before the parliamentary watchdog.

Expressing doubt over the ministry's claim, two ruling Awami League lawmakers -- Md Moslem Uddin and Anwarul Abedin Khan -- told the meeting that they did not see a single nutrition garden in any of the ward of their constituencies, meeting sources said.

"Where have all the family nutrition gardens gone? I stay at my village home most of the time. I didn't see presence of any such garden in my union or other unions under my constituency," a lawmaker who was present at the meeting told this correspondent.

Wishing anonymity, he said if such gardens were indeed set up at his constituency, he could have seen at least one.

Nutrition gardens are a micro-solution and an affordable way of ensuring healthy food and balanced nutrition. The project was a brainchild of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the primary stage of the ongoing Covid-19.

The aim of the project was to ensure food security during pandemic, flood and other emergency situation. These nutrition gardens are designed to set up on barren land near anyone's residence or yards.

Interestingly at yesterday's meeting, Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque also said as a minister of this ministry, he had the chance to see only one such model garden.

The secretary remained silent when the lawmakers asked him to explain about the gap between the ministry's claim and the real situation, meeting sources said.

Matia Chowdhury, chief of the parliamentary standing committee, also expressed concerned over this.

A lawmaker of the committee said more than Tk 38 crore was given for this project.

The meeting asked the ministry to provide actual data to the government and not to embarrass it through wrong information.

For example, a lawmaker, who was present at the meeting, said the ministry earlier in a meeting of the parliamentary standing body said there was enough stock of rice. But that information proved not to be correct as the government had to go for rice procurement, he said.