Bangladesh to play role in achieving food security for OIC countries: Sadhan

Staff Correspondent:Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder yesterday said Bangladesh wants to continue playing its role in achieving food security for the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“Bangladesh is continuously playing a significant a role for the overall development of the Muslim Ummah since 1974 when it became the member of the OIC,” he said.
The food minister made this comment while delivering his introductory speech connecting virtually to an International the conference titled ‘Best practice for building sustainable food system summit in the OIC region from the capital.
He, however, told the conference that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had a belief that development could be expedited through mutual cooperation and integration, adding that “Bangladesh in line with the belief of Bangabandhu becomes a member of the OIC, an international organization founded in 1969 consisting of 57 member states, with a collective the population of over 1.8 billion.”
The minister also urged the OIC member countries to increase internal cooperation more among the OIC countries. Terming the food security success achievedby Bangladesh a landmark, Sadhan Chandra said, Bangladesh has achieved tremendous success in food production under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The food output has increased three times more compared to the production level in 1971 as the food security has been ensured due to taking and implementation of agriculture friendly diversified planning, he told the conference.
To ensure food and nutrition security, he said the government is also implementing a second investment plan in the term between 2016 and 2020.
Even Bangladesh so far had no food crisis during the onslaught of the global pandemic emerged across the world since 2019.
The conference also was spoken, among others, by Agriculture Minister Amie Fabureh of Gambian Republic, Guayana’s Agriculture and Cooperative Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Tajikistan Agriculture Minister Ziyozoda Sulaymon Rizoi, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El-Said Marzouq El-Qosair, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries of Benin Gaston Cossi Dossouhoui, Director-General of Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) Yerlan Baidaulet, UAE Minister of State for Food and Water Security, Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mheiri, OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs H.E. Dr. Ahmad Kawesa Sengendo and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit Dr. Agnes Kalibata.
The conference will work as a strong platform to ensure a sustainable food management system in the OIC member countries along with an opportunity of sharing experience in food security, food supply chain operation, agriculture promotion, and national food system dialogue, said the speakers at the conference.