Staff Correspondent 

 Stressing on the issue of food sovereignty, rights activists at a programme called on authorities concerned for taking necessary steps to ensure it for the sake of sustainable food production and food security.

Food sovereignty means farmers’ full control on the whole production process in the agriculture such their right to land, liberty, fertilizer, finance and other relevant matters. If these can be ensured, there will be good possibility of sustainable food production, they added.

Terming farmers as the inseparable and most important part of agriculture, they said our food security will face challenges and import of foods will increase if we show negligence to the food sovereignty issue.

Food production and the amount of agri land is decreasing gradually in the country due to negative effects of climate change such as flood, drought, and river erosion, which created troubles for the lives of farmers and agriculture, they said.

On the other hand, unilateral control of multi-national companies on fertilizer, seeds and market syndicate created disaster like situation for agriculture and farmers. Hence, farmers, who are deemed as the life blood of agriculture, have lost interest in agriculture and they have become marginalized, which ultimately endangered food sovereignty and food security, they said.

Dwelling on legal support, they said our current legal structure regarding agriculture is not also favourable. Agriculture policy should be reformed. Policy and legal matters should resist the commercialization of agriculture, ensure the rights of farmers as well as the availability of quality foods, and environment-friendly farming.                      

They made the remarks while addressing a meet the press programme titled ‘Analysis of Bangladesh’s policy and legal framework for addressing food sovereignty and climate change’ at INCIDIN Bangladesh Office at Babar Road at Mohammadpur in the city  on Wednesda .

South Asian Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAPPE), a network which works on food, agriculture and human rights in South Asia, and INCIDIN Bangladesh jointly organized the event.

AKM Masud Ali, executive director of INCIDIN Bangladesh, read out the written speech.

SM Badrul Alam, president of Bangladesh Krishak Federation, Zayed Iqbal Khan, general secretary of the federation, Mushfiqur Rahman, operation chief of INCIDIN Bangladesh, Khan Mohammad Rustom Ali, vice president of Khet Majur Union, Mohammad Rafiqul Alom, policy and legal support specialist, Kallayni Chakma, Project Officer` of INCIDIN Bangladesh, among others, spoke at the event.