The New Nation - Internet Edition

APPARENT success in producing foodgrains notwithstanding, policy planners in Bangladesh will need to start taking steps with no loss of time to ensure the country's food security even in the near future. And this security must be conceived as not only security in terms of increasing foodgrains production. Food security will have to mean self-sufficiency or near self-sufficiency in the future in other foodstuffs apart from cereals.

For example, mustard oil was in the past produced sufficiently to meet the requirements of the consumers fully. But now, locally produced mustard oil meets roughly one tenth of demand and the remaining 90 per cent by importing mainly soybean oil. The same can be said about dry chillies, ginger and other spices as well as various pulses. Now substantial quantities of these have to be imported because of insufficient local production. Thus, import dependence has also developed in relation to these grains. Once the country was self sufficient in milk and fishes. The is now not only largely import dependent in relation to many basic food items but also vulnerable to their price escalations in international markets.

This situation not only causes a drain on the country's modest foreign currency reserve, at times rising prices of imported foodstuffs make it difficult to market them at affordable prices in the local markets. Thus, it is very necessary to make large-scale investments in the non-cereal sub-sectors of agriculture. However, it needs emphasis that all such investments must be made under a comprehensive and strategic framework. Planned cultivation of the non-cereal crops with improved seeds and technologies will have to be tried. Production of fruits and vegetables for meeting the internal consumption needs and then for export, must be aimed at.