Food Security in Bangladesh: Insight from Available Literature

Abstract

Background: Bangladesh is a developing country; so, it is faced with the great challenge of food insecurity. In spite of achieving self-sufficiency in food production, a huge number of people experience the food insecure situation in this country. Since long time ago, scientists are striving to feed the growing population of Bangladesh. However, this study was conducted to assess the present situation of food security in Bangladesh. Methods: This systematic study investigated the available literature and recorded the related and different dimensions of food security in Bangladesh. Results: Bangladesh has made remarkable improvements in food availability, access, and utilization in the last few decades, but it is not the case regarding the food stability. The country experiences numerous challenges regarding food insecurity. Bangladesh has made significant improvement in cereals (rice) production. Despite the increase in the income of people, the food quality is not good. Unequal land ownership and income distribution have made the food access below par. Food utilization has improved but balanced food intake is still far below the standard. A notable portion of people are still severly food insecure and malnourished. To ensure food security, government of Bangladesh has undertaken several programs but they were not sufficient to cope with this everlasting issue. Conclusion: Despite the improvement in many aspects of food security, people of Bangladesh still lack dietary diversification, which leads to nutritional imbalance. In addition, several factors challenge the food security. Therefore, GOs and NGOs should work from the same platform to address the challenges affecting food security in Bangladesh efficiently.