INDICATORS
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Outcomes
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General figure : 36%
Poorest Quintile- 50%
Richest Quintile- 21%
Urban- 31%
Rural- 38%
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5/10
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65.72%
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Married by 15: 18%
Married by 18: 52%
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People’s Sovereignty over natural resources
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Farmers can use own seeds. Can gift and/ or exchange them.
They have complete control over the sale of their own seeds.
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Farmers cannot harvest and sell industrial/ privatised seeds.
They can exchange and/ or give them as gifts or use it for own consumption.
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Fungicides and Bactericides:12874.22k tonnes (2013)
Herbicides: 699.23k tonnes
Insecticides: 1747.4k tonnes
Insecticide usage surged to record highs in the first decade of the 21st Century before falling to its current level.
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Political Participation for the Right to Food
Participation is one of the fundamental human rights principles, requiring that everyone has the right to participate in making decisions that affect them. In order to ensure that those most affected by violations to the right to food and nutrition participate in political processes, it is essential to have the legal and policy infrastructure within national frameworks, as well as the participatory spaces that give meaningful space for participation.
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Legal Recognition of the Right to Food and Nutrition
Is Right to Food recognized in the legal system Read moreThe Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh has directive principles that contribute to the realization of the right to adequate food.
The People's Republic of Bangladesh has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1998 by way of accession.
Directive principles of state policy
Article 11: “The Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed, and in which effective participation by the people through their elected representatives in administration at all levels shall be ensured.”
Article 15: “It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State to attain, through planned economic growth, a constant increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the material and cultural standard of living of the people, with a view to securing to its citizens-
(a) the provision of the basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care;
(b) the right to work, that is the right to guaranteed employment at a reasonable wage having regard to the quantity and quality of work;
(c) the right to reasonable rest, recreation and leisure; and the right to social security, that is to say to public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by widows or orphans or in old age, or in other such cases.”
Article 18(1): “The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the improvement of public health as moving its primary duties [...].”
Despite the lack of an express constitutional right or a comprehensive framework law securing the right to food, prevailing laws in Bangladesh protect different facets of the right. For example, several laws aim to ensure food safety and punish food adulteration. Quality is protected in laws on grading; laws on the environment, agriculture and hoarding all address food sustainability, accessibility and availability.
The most important fundamental right in relation to the right to food is the right to life. Article 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states:
‘No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty, save in accordance with law.’
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National Food Security Policy
Is there a national food security policy with implementation/action? Read moreNational Food Policy Plan of Action (2008-2015)
To provide programmatic guidance in implementing the National Food Policy, the Government formulated the National Food Policy Plan of Action (PoA). The Plan identifies 26 strategic areas of intervention and priority actions that cover all dimensions of food security. The Plan, which is in line with the Millennium Development Goals, stretches over the period 2008-2015.
Twin-Track Approach
The Plan of Action adopts a twin-track approach to hunger reduction. Apart from providing immediate access to food to the most vulnerable households through targeted cash and food transfers, the Plan also includes actions aimed at developing production capacity, income generation and nutrition through investments and accompanying policy measures. The Plan of Action is a dynamic document that is adjusted based on the results of monitoring activities, the experiences gained in the process of its implementation as well as possible changes in the key factors impacting on the development prospects of Bangladesh.
Focus on coordination
To facilitate implementation and monitoring, the Plan of Action also identifies responsible actors (government and non-government) and suggests a set of policy targets and indicators to monitor progress. The document provides a set of guidelines regarding inter-ministerial coordination, sectoral planning and budgeting and includes an outline of the strategy for monitoring progress. Special care was given to align the Plan of Action with Bangladesh’s overall development strategy, thus making it a suitable instrument to align donors’ interventions with government priorities. The Plan establishes collaborative relationships with other monitoring initiatives and sources of information related to food security, especially those linked to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, the Five-Year Plan and the Millennium Development Goals.
Inter-Ministerial Collaboration
The Plan of Action was drafted based on extensive and iterative consultations with representatives of 12 Government agencies, including selected regional and local representatives, as well as non-government experts and practitioners. As mandated by the National Food Policy, the cabinet-level Food Planning and Monitoring Committee provided overall leadership and oversight to the formulation process. To facilitate cross-sectoral participation in the formulation of the Plan of Action, the government created a Food Policy Working Group. Under the guidance of the Working Group the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit organised consultations around Thematic Teams, each representing a specific dimension of food security. The National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme supported the whole process by providing technical advice, facilitating consultations and financing the costs of the formulation process.
Monitoring
The year 2009 marked the first year of implementation of the Plan. Progress is being monitored by the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit, the Food Policy Working Group, and its Thematic Teams. The monitoring report identifies areas in which progress has been made and where further action is needed. Input and action level monitoring is carried-out by specialised agencies of the Government of Bangladesh, particularly the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the Ministry of Planning.
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