Agriculture Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Wednesday said there would be no deficit in food supply in the country despite the disruption of food production in some areas by the recent floods.

He said the agricultural production was disrupted in some areas by the recent floods, which may lead to a fall in food production and shrink the people’s rights to food.

“But all efforts are there to keep the food production uninterrupted. We expect that there would be any deficit in the supply of food for all,” said the agriculture adviser at a celebration programme in the city, marking the World Food Day-2024.

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The Ministry of Agriculture arranged the event at the auditorium of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC).

This year the World Food Day is being celebrated under the theme 'Right to foods for a better life and a better future' throughout the world.

Describing the food right as a basic right of people, the adviser said, “If we want to ensure food rights, our prime task would be to increase food production as per the demand.”

He stressed the need for the proper supply of the produced foods to consumers, not wasting foods. It should ensure a balanced distribution of foods and reduce the food waste at the consumer end, he added.

Jahangir Alam said the food loss and waste is nearly one-third of the produced food in the world whereas one-tenth of people go to bed hungry every night. “That means 10 percent of people in the world can’t meet their minimum demand,” he said. 

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FAO Representative in Bangladesh Dr Jiaoqun Shi and Food Secretary Md Masudul Hasan also spoke at the event presided over by Agriculture Secretary Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian.

BARC principal scientific officer (Crops) Dr Md Harunur Rashid presented the keynote paper at the event.