food security

June 14, 2013

From basket case to bushels

At a ceremony this Sunday, the Food and Agriculture Organization will recognize countries that have achieved Millennium Development Goal number one, to halve their proportion of hungry people. Bangladesh, once labeled a basket case, will be one of them.
November 11, 2011

“WE MUST WORK TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHY UGANDA”, said the Hon. Dr. Z. Nyira, Ugandan Minister of State for Agriculture

The Ugandan Minister of State for Agriculture, Dr. Z. Nyira, inaugurated a special consultative workshop organised by BRAC on Nutrient Rich Food Crops. Highlighting the importance of close coordination between government, NGOs and private sector, Dr. Z. Nyira urged all to work together in order to establish the ultimate goal of creating a ‘Healthy Uganda’. Stressing the urgency of the matter, the minister said that the growth of 38% of Ugandan children was stunted and 16% of them were underweight. He added that this prevalence means that 2.3 million young children in Uganda today are chronically malnourished.
July 19, 2011

“Breaking the mold: The success stories of Bangladeshi farmers!”

Newspaper headlines have become something we do not look forward to anymore. It reads mostly on the lines of corruption, crime, tragedies and conflicts. Some of us are frustrated and have stopped reading the papers. Good news is somewhat hard to find it seems. Or maybe we just miss out on it because we don’t really read through. So when there is a series of positive news being reported it is bound to catch the eye. It speaks of all the good work that is being done all around us. In recent times, one such continuous stream of positive news I have read is about farmers with photographs of them smiling with their healthy crops. This is indeed good news for Bangladesh. In an industry as labour intensive as the agriculture sector of our country, it means that the conditions are improving for a large number of people. The news is about the lives of Jamir, Rafiq, Hossain, Rashida and many more. These are the stories of BRAC’s agriculture and food security programme which has gained coverage in The Daily Star, The Daily Sun, The Janakantha, Naya Diganta after its success in the fields of maize and sunflower.
May 15, 2011

Solving Zinc Deficiency in Bangladesh: A Case of Zinc Fortified Rice

In the last few centuries there have been giant leaps in the advancement of the human race. We have seen profound progress in virtually every field, from science to arts and culture to business. Despite all this progress, we have not been able ensure that no one goes hungry in today’s world. According to a definition provided by the World Food Summit in 1996 “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. A large percentage of people do not fall under this category of people who have such access.
November 8, 2010

Uganda’s Finance Minister Commends BRAC’s Work

“BRAC has set up a global record for establishing world class development programs. They are very successful in microfinance and they are considered to be one of the most successful organisations globally,” Minister Bhumba said during her visit.