IFAD president lauds Bangladesh’s achievements in food production, climate-smart agriculture

President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Alvaro Lario met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and praised Bangladesh's remarkable achievements in food production, climate-smart agriculture, and including women and youth in rural enterprises.

The meeting took place on 24 July at the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment held in Rome, Italy, reads a press release.

During the meeting, PM Hasina asked IFAD for support in enhancing domestic production of wheat and edible oil while highlighting Bangladesh's successful strategies in enhancing food production, which have been pivotal in driving crop diversification and promoting business-oriented agriculture, resulting in Bangladesh enjoying a favourable position in the production of fish and horticultural products. 

The three-day summit took place at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) from 24 to 26 July and was organised by the government of Italy in partnership with the Rome-based UN Agencies FAO, IFAD, and World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, and the broader UN system. 

The IFAD delegation appreciated the government's willingness to partner with IFAD to promote innovation in multiple sectors. 

PM Hasina acknowledged this support and requested IFAD's continued assistance to support small Bangladeshi agro-enterprises to market their products and to develop an effective and streamlined food storage mechanism in Bangladesh. The need to foster engagement with the private sector were also highlighted in the discussion. 

In earlier remarks, Lario emphasised the urgent need for transforming current food systems, saying "Today's food systems have failed to make nutritious diets accessible or affordable for all. Four out of 10 people worldwide are unable to afford a healthy diet. We must build a world where healthy and nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere. If we don't act now, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate targets remain completely out of reach". 

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh Ambassador to Italy Shameem Ahsan, Chief of Protocol at Foreign Ministry Nayem Uddin Ahmed, IFAD Associate Vice-President (Programme Management Department) Donal Brown, IFAD Director (Asia and the Pacific Region) Reehana Raza and IFAD Country Director for Bangladesh Arnoud Hameleers were present in the meeting.

The summit brought together around 2000 participants from 161 countries including 22 heads of state and government, over 100 ministerial delegates, and more than 150 non-state-actor organisations along with the UN System and other international organisations. 

IFAD's Bangladesh country programme is consistently one of the largest portfolios globally with six ongoing projects with a total cost of total $2.02 billion. IFAD's financing to Bangladesh totals $1,016.56 million.