Current Conditions: Food Security

While Bangladesh is nearly self-sufficient in rice production, food security remains an elusive goal. Currently, an alarming 43% of children under-five in Bangladesh are stunted due to continuous malnourishment as a result of poor feeding habits and lack of access to nutritious foods. The average Bangladeshi diet lacks diversification with 75% of calories consumed coming from rice. Agricultural production growth declined from a high of 4.7% in the late 1990’s to 2.8% by 2008. The population is growing at a rate of 1.4%. The availability of, and access to, domestically produced food is a key issue affecting basic survival, nutrition, national security, and stability, making agricultural growth vital to addressing these challenges. Additionally, agriculture provides jobs for 80% of the total population but contributes to only 22% of the gross domestic product. Only 37% of Bangladesh’s total area is arable land but natural disasters can affect 30% of this land. U.S. Government assistance, through USAID, in agriculture is addressing these critical problems to development by improving agricultural production and raising small farmer incomes and rural wages.