The government has taken some initiatives to ensure food security which will be implemented under the ministry of food.
A monitoring committee led by an additional secretary (administration) of the ministry of food and a supporting monitoring committee headed by additional secretary (budget and audit) have been formed.
Under the food security, preservation of rice and wheat have been featured. Ministry sources say that to ensure food security, the current government has taken the initiative to ramp up food grain reserve to 2.7 million metric tonnes.
Under the seventh five year plan and through construction of silos and warehouses, the reserve ability is now 2.2 million tonnes.
More projects are under implementation with a capacity of 586,000 metric tonnes.
In the 2018-19 fiscal year, work is underway to construct new food reserve warehouses with a 150,000 ton capacity.
Under the project, in 54 districts and 131 upazilas of 8 divisions, 48 warehouses of 1,000 metric tonnes and 114 warehouses of 500 metric tonnes will be constructed.
Already, 82 percent work has been done.
All over the country, 200 paddy silos will also be constructed. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has already passed a project for premix kernel machine and for establishing a laboratory.
To implement Sustainable Development Goals, planning machine has made an SDG mapping. As per that plan, work plan with several ministries and divisions has been finalized. To implement the zero hunger or hunger free Bangladesh, food programmes have begun among 5 million marginally poor families.
Secretary of the ministry of food, Dr Mosammat Nazmanara Khanom, said: “People think that any food item, including onion, is under our ministry but the reality is different. We control food safety and food security. We work to ensure sufficient supply of rice and wheat to the market.”