On the occasion of World Food Day yesterday speakers at a seminar stressed on family farming to ensure food security and prevent food adulteration.
They said 17% of Bangladesh's population and around 92 crore people across the globe were suffering from food insecurity.
Most of the food items available in the market are poisoned with chemicals. The process begins during cultivation and harvesting. General people need to start family farming by cultivating corps at their yards or rooftops to get fresh food, they suggested.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and District Administration of Chittagong jointly organised the event at Chittagong Circuit House in line with this year's theme of World Food Day, “Family Farming: Feeding the world, Caring the Heath.”
Addressing as the chief guest, Mezbah Uddin, deputy commissioner of Chittagong, said the farmers are not willing to produce spices and peas despite getting assistance from agricultural offices. Government had been offering them bank loans at low rate.
Mobile courts have sentenced 106 persons to jail and fined TK36 lakh in last month for adulterating food, however, the trend of food adulteration continued, said the DC adding that only self productivity could stop the trend.
Mostafizur Rahman, senior programme associate of World Food Programme (WFP) said around 12%-44% of different types of foods get wasted in Chittagong in a year.
District Livestock Officer Abdul Hai said Chittagong had 1500 registered dairy farms, which is the highest number for a region in the country. These farms produces at least 2.25 lakh litres of milk daily but there was no preservation system in the district.
Chaired by Fazlul Rahman, deputy director of DAE, Abul Hossen, additional deputy commissioner of Chittagong, and Manik Mohammed, secretary of Chittagong Dairy Association addressed the programme in presence of hundreds of farmers.
