Bangladesh to improve grain storage capacity

The Bangladeshi government will construct warehouses having a storage capacity of 7-8 lakh tonnes of grains across the country, according to Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr. Abdur Razzak.

The minister disclosed that the government had already completed the construction of warehouses with the storage capacity of 1.10 lakh tonnes.

He emphasised the need for bringing diversity in agriculture production to reduce pressure on rice and to increase consumption of other nutrient-rich food items such as meat, egg, fish and milk. "Our government is committed to achieving food security as ratified at the world food summit in 1996 and the millennium summit 2000," he said.

Ad Spijkers, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Representative in Bangladesh, said they had opened the door for Bangladesh to invest in the agriculture sector for better production to achieve food security. Bangladesh should use modern technologies to enhance agriculture production and to achieve food security, he said.