Trackback URL
Download PDF The government has told donors that it needs at least two lakh metric tons of foodgrains in assistance since the cyclone and floods have caused extensive damage to crops leading to a shortfall of 10 lakh metric tons.
It wants the grains to be procured from the international market as aid as there’s already a supply shortage in the local market.
The food and disaster management ministry has recently apprised the donor agencies of the stocks of food with the government. It said food could be a problem till March and April [next year] but things will begin to change for the better with the start of Boro harvest in May.
Besides, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) will soon hold a meeting with the development partners where the government will ask for an increase in food aid considering the recent natural disasters, said sources.
Members of the Local Consultancy Group (LCG), a forum of Bangladesh’s development partners, met in the city yesterday to discuss food situation in the aftermath of November 15 cyclone.
Earlier on Friday, Debapriya Bhattacharya, permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the country has not made any formal appeal to the world community for aid, but it welcomes spontaneous assistance for the cyclone victims. He said foodgrains and cash are good options as assistance at this moment.
He was addressing a meeting of different UN bodies on the storm that ripped through the country last week.
On November 18, food and disaster management Secretary Mohammad Ayub Miah at a meeting with representatives of UN bodies and donor agencies said that Bangladesh has already been experiencing a food deficit due to the recent floods. It needs at least two lakh metric tons of foodgrains to tackle the situation.
Replying to a query from a USAID representative, he said the in-country stock was sufficient and compared to last year the situation was quite stable.
The government has plans to procure foodgrains from outside, but procuring rice from global market is becoming increasingly difficult, he observed.
According to the food ministry data, stock of rice as of November 22 was 7.36 lakh metric tons while it was 6.19 lakh metric tons during the same period last year.
The data also show that process is underway to import 2.66 lakh metric tons of food grains at the government level and another 1.23 metric tons by private traders.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) yesterday updated the estimated economic loss by Cyclone Sidr. According to the updates, Aman paddy worth Tk 5,000 crore has been damaged in the storm.
“About 10 lakh metric tons of Aman crops have been lost in floods, and we fear, another 10 lakh in the recent cyclone,” the CPD study says.
Uttam Dev, a senior research fellow of the civil society think-tank, told The Daily Star that Bangladesh imports 3-5 lakh metric tons of rice and 20 lakh metric tons of wheat each year to meet the domestic demand.
“After the huge damage to standing crops, this year it will require to import at least 20 lakh metric tons of rice,” he said.
Dev said the country had imported 13 lakh metric tons of rice after the 2004 floods and 30 lakh metric tons following the 1998 floods.
The government will need additional rice also for the special Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme beginning from December in 12 cyclone-hit districts.
It will provide 15 kilogram of rice against a VGF card per month for a period of four months. The food ministry official said at least 1.56 lakh metric tons of rice will be needed for the special VGF.
Besides, there’s a plan for special test relief and food for work programmes in cyclone-hit areas meaning the government will require more foodgrains, the official added.
Comments are not moderated and only expresses personal views of visitors. BangladeshNews.com.bd is not responsible for commets posted by visitors.
Leave a Reply