26pc people faced with extreme food insecurity

The prices of all varieties of coarse rice has risen again. The price of medium-coarse rice, popular among the middle-class, has increased by Tk 1-2 (8 per cent) per kg within a week. The prices of coarse and fine rice have increased by Tk 2 per kg (7 per cent) in the same time. As a result, the queues before the TCB trucks, a government initiative to sell products at fair prices, are getting longer in most parts of the capital, including Puran Dhaka, Mirpur and Mohammadpur.

Such a concerning scenario of the food situation in the country came up in a survey - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – jointly conducted by several international development agencies which have operations in Bangladesh, including the United Nations (UN). The study was published on 7 November.

This survey has been conducted for 20 years. The survey report has been officially published in Bangladesh for the last two years.

The study says around 23.6 million people or 26 per cent people of the country are under severe food crisis. It includes 300,000 Rohingyas refugees. These people could be in danger till next December. In these circumstances, some 1.6 million people in severe food crises need emergency food support.

Food security experts say the food prices and agricultural equipment should be the top priority of the government. So far, there has been no realistic initiative to curb the prices of daily essentials including rice. There has not been any meeting with the rice mill owners, traders, food importers and distributors at the policymaking level of the government as yet.

The experts feel that lack of confidence and inactivity among the traders who were associated with the previous government are also two major factors behind the spike in food prices.

The survey also specifies the geographical location of the people suffering from food insecurity. A major portion of these people are from Chattogram, Rangpur, Khulna and Sylhet divisions.

Speaking to Prothom Alo regarding this, economist Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “It’s surprising to see the government stressing less on the food situation. The coming days are going to be much tougher, if the government fails to build a strong food supply and distribution system.”

Apart from the food support, the farmers in the flood-affected areas need agricultural equipment free of cost for the upcoming season. The growth in the country’s forex reserve alone cannot revive the momentum of the economy. The oligarchs of the previous government had absolute monopoly in the entire food supply chain of the country. The government must change the scenario immediately and must take initiative to engage the small and medium businesses in the process to compensate for the deficit.

The same survey conducted in April last year showed there were people under extreme food security in 20 of the 33 areas. The country has seen several devastating natural disasters since last May as a result of the impacts of climate change, including severe heat waves across the country, cyclone Remal, flash flood in haor areas and severe floods in areas near river Jamuna in July and in the south-western parts of the country in August.

The study further says almost half of the population of the country was affected by these disasters directly or indirectly and a major portion of them are farmers. One-fourth of these people are farm-hand on a daily wage basis. They couldn’t find jobs properly due to the disasters and heat waves. Even if there was work, the wage was much less. A large portion of this community is solely dependent on agriculture for living. Some 60 to 70 per cent of their daily income is spent on food. So they are being forced to have less food as rice prices spiked.

Crops, livestock, fisheries and food stocks were damaged the most due to Cyclone Remal and floods in various parts of the country. The situation will be further complicated if the country sees more disasters in the remaining days of the year as it would reduce food production and family income.

All sorts of services were disrupted amidst the mass uprising of people and students in July and August. Especially, the poor suffered the most as the social safety net programmes of the government were greatly hampered. The interim government took over following the mass uprising that ousted the Awami League government after 16 years. However, there has not been much improvement of the fragile economic structure.

Referring to the financial pressure, the report says people’s income has fallen but expenditure rose exponentially in 2024. The crisis further deepened with the ongoing global economic crisis and conflicts between countries. The problem further intensified in our country as a result of the decline in the forex reserve and remittance inflow. Export and import businesses were greatly hampered. Therefore, the food security situation deteriorated rapidly.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) former director general KAS Murshid said, “Usually, the prices of rice remain high in the two months prior to the start of the Boro season. The administration has to provide food support for an additional 20-25 per cent people in these months under the social safety net programmes.  However, the food prices have increased more as compared to the previous years. So the government needs to enhance the supply of food at fair prices through the TCB. At the same time, it should focus on creating more employment opportunities.”

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu