“Climate change impacts have the potential to halt our success in agriculture and nutrition sector,” he cautioned.
Ambassador Momen said cooperation from development partners for more trade and investment in the agriculture sector is vital for agriculture development, food security and nutrition for countries like Bangladesh.
He made the remarks while delivering speech at the plenary of the second committee of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on agriculture development, food security and nutrition at the UN headquarters in New York recently.
Momen said the 2030 Agenda has recognised the intrinsic connection between ending hunger and malnutrition and sustainable development, said the Bangladesh Mission on Sunday.
“We express our deep concern at the findings of the Secretary General’s Report that global hunger is on the rise and with the current trend the SDG 2 will not be met by 2030,” he said.
The diplomat said it is indeed shocking news that at this age of highly interlinked global economy and unprecedented technological advancement which have unleashed remarkable potential for prosperity, millions of people would spend days without meals.
He said agriculture scientists and researchers have played an important role in ensuring food and nutrition security in the country by inventing climate change and salinity-resistant varieties of crops.
“We’ve also been building modern food storage facilities to prevent food damage and ensure the quality of food,” said the diplomat.
After having attained food autarky, Bangladesh has now targeted ensuring nutrition for its people.
The second Bangladesh National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN2) 2016-2025 is now being implemented.
It has provided a strong basis for the multi-sectoral response needed to fight against malnutrition. “Specifically, it focuses on children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers to improve nutrition and eradicate all forms of malnutrition across the country,” said the Ambassador.
He mentioned that strong legal provisions have been put in place to prevent food adulteration. “Also, several steps have been taken for the development of the fisheries sector which is a significant contributor to food and nutrition of the people.”