CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Problem

Food is one of the basic necessities of human being along with

air and water. Population as a paradigm plays a decisive role in the

human endeavour to attain food. Availability and accessibility to food

circumscribe the quality of human population. On the other hand,

population growth accounts for the food requirements. Ensured

access to food still eludes poverty striken people of the developing

world. More than 800 million people throughout the world do not have

enough food to meet their basic requirements. l And most of them live

in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the high popUlation

growth is also causing environmental degradation. This compounds

the problem further since most of these countries are agrarian

economies. It leads to the prime question whether the expansion of

food production can keep pace with population growth in the

degrading natural environment?

In the recent years, the answer is in the affirmative. At the

global level and to a certain extent, at the regional levels also increase

in food production has been satisfying. Then, the most significant

question is whether every individual is in a position to buy the

required food? Here, arises an important aspect of food insecurity.

This would reflect the quality of life of the people.

Rome Declaration on World Food Security, Population and Development Review, Vol. 22, no. 4, December, 1996, p. 808.

Basically, throughout the world and especially in the South

Asian countries, population growth has been regarded as vital

parameters in the process of development. This region, despite coping

with the food production, continue to suffer from food insecurity and

nutritional gap. A country like Bangladesh, which is yet to achieve the

level of self-sufficiency in good production, is facing two kinds of basic

problems. First, the availability and accessibility to food and second,

the fluctuation in food production. These problems are further

aggravated by in-built population momentum, poverty and

environmental degradation.

Despite sigp.ificant economic and social progress over the past

20 years, Bangladesh remains among the poorest countries in the

world.2 According to the Human Development Report 1999,3 it is

ranked 150 among the nations of the world with its external debt

covering 35.1percnet of its GNP. Its daily per capita supply has rather

declined since 1970. It was 2177 calorie in 1970 and 2105 calorie in

1996. 46 percent of its population lives below poverty line.4

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the

world, suppor~ng 800 people per square kilometre. At the current

2 FAa, The State of Food and Agriculture, Rome, 1998, p. 128.

3 UNDP, Human Development Report, Oxford, 1999, p.195 and p. 213.

4 Human Development in South Asia, Oxford, 1998, pp. 177-178.

2

rate of population growth (2.2 percent), it is estimated that the total

population could reach 175 million within 25 years from now. 5

Incidence of poverty, environmental degradation and high

population growth are affecting the developmental efforts. Natural

resources are depleting and the available resources are unable to

meet the growing demand. The prevalence of poverty mainly stems

from over population and limited resources. More than 62 percent of

the population is illiterate. Infant mortality rates are still high, 83.846

per cent of children under the age of five are still considered

malnourished.

Depletion of natural resources and its impact on food insecurity

IS tremendous. High density of population has depleted forests,

affected fisheries and land. It seems to be closely interlinked with soil

erosion and loss of soil fertility. To meet the growing demand for food,

the pressure on the system is maximum.

Frequent natural calamities further compound and magnify the

grief of this country. Floods and droughts are common phenomena in

Bangladesh. Some parts of the country are affected by natural

calamities almost every year. Floods and drought cause fluctuations

in food availability, employment and prices. Abnormal increase in

5 FAO (1998), op. cit., f.n.2

6 op. cit., f.n. 4

3

foodgrain prices and non-availability of jobs affects the food

entitlement of the poor and thereby creates food security problems.7

These devastating floods are adding to the woe of the

Bangladesh people. The flood of 1998 affected even the

macroeconomic performance in 1999. Devastating floods swept the

country from July to September 1998. The continuous and heavy

monsoon rains along with a tidal surge in the Bay of Bengal caused

flooding in 51 of Bangladesh's 64 districts. 8 These floods make people

vulnerable and also degrade the environment. There seems to be no

respite from these natural calamities. The country has been

vulnerable to sudden floods, cyclones and even drought. Vulnerability

to natural disasters and economic vulnerability of its people make the

situation worst. Despite all these, the country is trying to increase its

food production.

Statistically, the food production in Bangladesh has increased

manifold. For many years, Bangladesh heavily depended on food aid,

but recently it has emerged as a country approaching self-sufficiency

in rice, the main staple food of its population.9 In the South Asian

7 Mahbub Hossain, (1990) "Natural Calamities, Instability in Production and Food Policy in Bangladesh", in The Bangladesh Development Studies, Dakha, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 33.

8 Asian Development outlook (1999) by Asian Development Bank, Oxford, New York, p. 125.

9 Francesco Goletti IEPRI Research Report 98 The Changing Public Role in a Rice Economy Approaching self-sufficiency: The Case of Bangladesh. 1994.

4

region, the concern over the high rate of growth of population cannot

be ignored and this has compelled policy makers to recognize the

importance of demographic variables in development planning

exercise. As for as developmental planning is concerned, in

Bangladesh 'Poverty' is supposedly a stumbling block. Due to poverty

and malnutrition millions of women and children suffer from several

kinds of diseases. All these problems point towards the entire food

and nutritional security systems.

Is rapid population growth in all the countries of the South

Asian region the root cause of food insecurity and· malnutrition? In

other words, do the population food imbalances exist? If the answer is

yes, then, to cover up these imbalances, countries,like Bangladesh

have to depend on 'food aid'. But the credibility and utility of food aid

come under cloud. Several other questions come up. Whether food aid

is justified at all? Does food aid play any significant role in relieving

hunger and malnutrition? Is not its main purpose more political than

social or nutritional?

Given these conditions what kind of politics of food is involved

in a country like Bangladesh its implications need to eXanlined. The

role of international agencies, NGOs and MNCs comes under close

scrutiny. The role of international agencies vis-a.-vis international

trade may have direct or indirect impact on food and nutritional

security system. Dealing with the problem of food security vis-a.-vis

population dynanlics, the dimensions of poverty and hunger would

5

need a detailed analysis. Penetrating deeper into the problem of

exposing the population and food security nexus, one would obviously

feel that malnutrition is fundamentally a manifestation of

underdevelopment, poverty and inadequate food supply. With rapid

population growth and growing poverty and unemployment, the

extent of malnutrition has got further aggravated in this country. The

geographical analysis of this problem is the need of the hour giving

emphasis on food supply, population growth, environmental

constraints and politics.

1.2 Conceptual Framework:

Population growth and food insecurity in their varied

dimensions are closely interlinked since the beginning of the

civilization, thought it has been acquiring distinct elements from time

to time. But it never lost its significance. despite technological

advancements. And, that is why it attracted various scholars to

approach these problems from various angles. These approaches

explain the problems and causes behind food insecurity.

Although, the fears of Malthus lO (1798) has been kept at bay till

date, still, his basic concept of the growing gap between food

production and requirements is still taken into account. For a given

set of human population which is growing fast, it is a real challenge to

meet its requirements, given the agrarian characteristics of the

10 T.R. Malthus 1798), An Essay on the Principle of Population, London, Dent, 1973.

6

economy. So, availability of food forms the basis {or the food crisis

research.

There is another approach, which advocates the inaccessibility

to food as the prime reason behind hunger and food insecurity. This

approach, also known as 'food entitlement', is led by the Nobel

laureate Prof. Amartya Sen. II The Basic consideration of this

approach is that the population is losing entitlement to food due to

bad crop, high price, etc, and has lost the purchasing power which is

necessary to buy food. Therefore, this approach also takes care of food

production and structural poverty. Even this approach does not take

cognizance of several other aspects, which are explained below.

Crisis and conflict approach deals with 'structural crisis'. Watts

(1989) suggested the food crisis against the backdrop of development

of the global economic system, where, the rural areas of the

developing world bear the global policies. If we view this approach

along with the World System Approach of Wallerstien, it will clearly

reflect the concept of development interests of major power vis-d.-vis

food insecurity.

Modern social science has many stage models of development.

All assume that the new states of the post World War II era as well as

"can follow a path of development essentially the same as that by

11 A.K. Sen (1981), Poverty and Famines, An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation.

7

current 'advanced' states".12 Here, "Wallerstein's basic point is that

states and countries are inappropriate units for studying change.

They are not self-contained systems developing separately from one

another but are all parts of a larger whole"13 Therefore, it becomes

essential to study the problem of food insecurity in any developing

country within an integrated approach comprising the above

mentioned approaches. And this integrated approach has been shown

with the help of a model (Figure 1).

This integrated approach takes into account the question of

availability, accessibility, development and involvement of politics.

As we approach the much-awaited twenty-first century, hunger

and malnutrition remain the most devastating problems facing the

world's poor, and improving food security in the developing countries

is a widely debated issue. In the large number of low-income

countries, in transition from planned to market oriented economy,

food policies may be especially at risk.. Which is due to their narrow

set of administrative-intensive instruments for food security rather

than employing a comprehensive portfolio of policies.

12

13

Peter J. Taylor, (1985) Political Geography: World Economy, Nation-State and Locality, Longman; London, p. 6.

ibid.

8

FIGUREl.l Conceptual Framework For Food Insecurity Research

POWERFUL DEVELOPED ECONOMY

FOOD AID

Given due

Moral Obligation Geo-economic Interest Geo-political Interest

WORLD SYSTEM

Emergency Help Temporary Devt. Help Like FFWetc

9

ENTITLEMENT DECLThffi GRO~G WEAK

AGRARIAN ECONOMY

Result

Poverty & Hunger Chronic &Transitory Insecurity Malnutrition& Undernutrition

FOOD GAP

High population Growth High Density of Population Environmental Constraints Fluctuating Production

Hunger and undernutrition continue to be serious problems for many

people in many countries. Persistent hunger is a condition brought

about by not having enough to eat. Undernutrition results from

insufficient intake of specific nutrients in a diet and mayor may not

co-exist with hunger. However, both are closely related to poverty.

Sufficient food is a basic human right.

The concept of food self-sufficiency and food-security is related

to the existing population. Food security is defined, in its most basic

form, as 'access by all people at all times to the food required for a

healthy life.' The food security concept addresses people's risks of not

having access to the needed food. Food production, availability and

access to food are three essential determinants of food security.

Food ·.production is a major determinant in the developing

nations of South and East Asia. Food security in this most populous

region is fragile. Availability of food does not ensure the accessibility

to food. However, adequate national or local food availability remains

a pre-requisite for household food security. In many famine prone

African countries a close relationship is observed between domestic

food production and regional and local food availability. At the same

time, high levels of food self-sufficiency tend to coincide with low

levels of food security in many African countries.

10

In theory, two kinds of food insecurity-chronic and

transitory--can be distinguished. But in reality they are closely

intertwined. Chronic food insecurity is a persistently inadequate diet

caused by the continual inability of households to acquire needed

food, either through market or through purchase. It is rooted in

poverty.

Transitory food insecurity, on the other hand, is a temporary

decline in a household's access to food due to factors such as,

instability in food prices, production, or incomes. In South Asian

countries chronic as well as transitory insecurity exist. That is why

the situation there, is considered fragile. While dealing with the

fragility of the situation it would be useful to understand food security

at· three different levels: global food security, food security for the

nation, and food security for the poor.

At the international level, the world as a whole must produce

enough food to meet its growing requirements and there must be

unhindered trade in food products at reliable prices so that nations

can supplement their own production with necessary imports. The

concept of national food security at the national level does not mean

food self-sufficiency. It requires that each country must produce

enough food for its own expanding needs or, in cases where its

comparative advantage lies elsewhere, to have sufficient foreign

II

exchange earnings. Many of the low-income countries, notably in

Africa, did not have adequate foreign exchange resources to import

the food they needed and had to depend mostly on food aid to meet

these needs. The third important level is food security for the poor

people. While food security at the national level is a necessary

condition, it is not sufficient to ensure automatically that all the

people have enough to eat. With increasing population pressure those

marginalised farmers cultivate their land more intensively, get their

pastures over-graze their pastures and create further pressures on

their fragile land and arid soils. Non-farm employment is difficult to

find, particularly for workers without skills. There are also cultural

and ethnic factors which often accentuate the poverty of certain group

of people.

And since poverty is taken as the root cause of food insecurity

and malnutrition, one has to analyze the relationship between poverty

and malnutrition. Fundamentally, malnutrition is a problem of

poverty. Its roots are social, economic and political. It is a problem of

insufficient effective demands: people are too poor to eat. Therefore,

malnutrition is a reflection of lack of equitable distribution. It is

inextricably interwined with the problem of poverty and insufficient

effective demand. Hunger is the out of this phenomenon. Hunger is

due to structural poverty. This is man-made, socio-economic,

political, structure and institutional in nature.

12

To make things clearer, one can say that the decisive factor in

overcoming poverty and malnutrition is not the quantity of available

food supply but that of equitable distribution through the

transformation of mass oriented socio-economic political structure.

Malnutrition results from the poverty of a large section of the

population. People are too poor to afford foodstuff. There are countries

which have widespread malnutrition and also have food deficiency in

absolute terms.

In fact, population and food problem are merely symptoms, and

we must dig deeper to find their common causes. The examination of

these underlying causes will take us into a wide range of disciplines

and often complex analyses that are at times apparently distant from

the issues of population and food supply.

1.3 Literature Review

The relationship between population growth, environment and

agricultural development is complex. Even the relation between

population and food supply, on which attention is usually

concentrated, has several distinct aspects.

13

Sen (1989)14 feels that the problem is gradually gaining

attention and people are beginning to concede that it must be

attacked from both the ends, food supply and fertility.

Swaminathan (1987) 15 has examined food security system in

the Indian context. He solidly focusses on having production

exceeding demand and, therefore, on having a national reserve in case

of any emergency.

Hossain (1977)16 emphesises on changing farm size and its

impact on land productivity. While explaining land productivity, he

wants to switch ~ver to the latest technology and high yielding

varieties. His book is one of the most important literature available on

the changing agrarian structure of Bangladesh.

Valdes and other (1981)17 have discussed the need for having

food reserve in order to have food security. They f~er opine that

food security has been one of the dominant themes related to poverty

and hunger in the Third World since the World Food Conference

14 Rathindra, P. Sen (1989), "Demographic Change and Levels of living", Daya Publishers, Delhi, p. 77.

15 M.S. Swaminathan (1987), "Building A National Food Security SysteIn", Indian Environment Society, New Delhi.

16 M. Hossain (1977) "Agrarian structure and Land productivity in Bangladesh". Cambridge University.

17 Alberto Valdes et.al. (1981), "Assessing Food Insecurity Based on Aggregate in Developing Countries" in Albert Valds (ed.) Food Security for Developing Countries, Westview, Press, pp. 25-51.

14

convened in Rome in 1974, which discussed the possibility of

establishing an international coordinated food reserve system.

Mannan (1989) 18 in his paper, has examined the socio-

economic and cultural conditions under which a large family

represents a rational economic goal for their parents. He adds that the

rural child provides valuable labour services to the parental

household. Under the socio-economic and political setting prevailing

in rural Bangladesh, number means safety and prosperity. This

explains the continuing high fertility and consequently demand for

more food.

Demeny (1988) 19 in his article tries to relate the' dimensions of

population, especially its size and growth rate, with the available

natural resources. Generally, the carrying capacity of land resources

comes into picture against the growing demand.

Nobel Laureate Prof. Amartya Sen has established a

relatio~ship between poverty and entitlement. The earlier concept that

food insecurity is caused by shortfalls in domestic production has

been broadened to include the lack of purchasing power of

18 M.A. Mannan "Family, Society, Economy and Fertility in Bangladesh", The Bangladesh Development Studies, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 67-99.

19 P. Demney (1988), "Demography and the Limits to growth" in Population and Development Review, vol. 14, pp. 213-244.

15

households or nations, known as the exchange entitlement

mapping.2o

Some other studies focus on the need for combining increased

food trade between surplus and deficit countries by "raising the

purchasing power of the low income groups in developing countries

through accelerated agricultural growth. "21 Fonseen (1983) also

stresseds the need for employment. "Food-grain is the accepted

hypothesis ... the creation of the employment and purchasing power

through employment as the principle instrument in the struggle

against hunger. It' is obvious that the two alternatives and the

divergent appro.aches, to which they have given rise in regard to food

problem, are not mutually exclusive. "22

Chaudhury (1987)23, in his articles, comments on fluctuations

in the foodgrain prices that depend on seasons. On this basis the

procurement of foodgrain is done, which is sometimes overestimated

20 A.K. Sen, "Poverty and Entitlement" in J, Price Gottinger, Joanne Leslie and Casoline Hoisingten, (eds.) Food Policy, The World Bank, The John Hopkins University Press, 1987, p. 200.

21 John W . Meller, "Food and Development The Critical Nexus" in Economic impact, no. 61, 1987.

22 A.J.. Fonseea, Food Aid For Relief and Development, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, 1983, pp. 6-7.

23 Mrimuddin Chaudhury (1987) "Seasonality of Foodgrain Prices and Procurement Progranuns in Bangladesh since Liberation: An Exploratory Study", Bangladesh Development Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 1-32.

16

and act as disincentives for crop production due to low market price.

This historical profile is very useful in understanding price

mechanism.

Osmani (1987)24 agrees that the results of IRDP in Bangladesh,

which was earlier introduced to reduce poverty have been generally

disappointing. He then shifts his focus on the role of 'non-farm credit'

in poverty alleviation. Credits from 'Grameen Bank' which is more

attractive, have· their own limits and are no magic sticks. He has also

identified several constraints which are bound to come.

Rosirgent and others (1996)25 fear that the diminishing

economic growth invan.ous Asian countries may lead to aggravating

poverty levels. On the basis of trade deficit and foodgrain fluctuation

they have concluded that this crisis is expected to have its most

devastating effect on food security.

Francesco Goletti (1994)26 gives emphasis on long term

investments. The growth of agricultural productivity and the

24 S.R. Qsmani (1989) "Linits to the Alleriation of Poverty Through Non-farm credit" in Bangladesh Development studies, vol. 17, No.4, pp.1-19.

25 Mark, W. Rosirgent et al. (1996) "Economic Crisis in Asia: A Future of Diminishing Growth and Increasing Poverty" Ul IFPRI-uision 2020 initiative, Washington.

26 Francesco Goletti, Changing Public Role In A Rice Economy Approaching Self-Sufficiency: The Case Of Bangladesh." Research Report 98, IFPRI, Washington D.C. 1994. P. 77.

17

performance of the marketing system will depend on long term

investments such as those related to road infrastructure, development

and extension of new high-yielding varieties and modern technology,

and irrigation technology.

Grigg (1985) has found population growth and other. factors

equally responsible. He says, "the hunger of much of world has been

seen due to bewildering varieties of causes; excessive population

growth remains the most popular, but there is no shortage of other

explanations". 27

Norse (1994)28 comes out with a different perspective. As he

says, "there is a conjunction of the environmental, economic,

population and climate change threats as determinants of regional

food security, but they do not come together in a spatially or

temporally consistent manner. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most

at risk, yet its present food insecurity is largely a food purchasing

power and political problem, whereas the potential climate change

impacts are part of the scientific uncertainties of the mid 21 st century.

Similarly, the current food surplus of the Asia region simply masks

27 David Grigg, The World Food Problem, Basil Blackwell, Oxford. 1985.P.3.

28 David Norse, "Multiple Threats to Regional Food production: Environment, Economy, Population." Food Policy, vol. 19. no. 2, 1994, P.146.

18

the unmet needs of its vulnerable groups, which lack the land or the

money to ensure food security."

Further, "there is no doubt that growth in population, mcome,

and food production are all driving forces for climatic change.

Moreover, population growth can lower regional food security. But it

can also be a positive force for enhancing food production and

safeguarding the environment.29

Population growth introduces or strengthens a number of

positive feedback loops that reduce regional food security, notably by

lowering the resilience of food production systems to shocks and to

longer term structural changes.3o

The dominant positive feedback loop is population pressure

against finite land resources, which is the strongest in Asia and the

least in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.31

Report of the Committee on World Food Security32 suggests the

crucial role played by various non-food factors to food security. This,

29 Ibid. P. 144.

30 Ibid. P. 145.

31 Ibid. p. 145.

32 UN, FAO, 'Council' 107th Edition. 'Report of the 19th Session of the Committee on World Food Security'. Rome, Italy, 22-25 March, 1994. P.4.

19

In addition to improved seeds and fertilizers, factors such as

education, population programmes, safe drinking water and

infrastructure development, were also considered essential

components for enhancing and sustaining national and household

food security.

The Uruguay Round could result in a greater need for food aid

to help offset higher food import bills of the net food importing

developing and least developing countries.33

Simon et al. (1991)34 analyze the natural resource-

element in the theory of population growth over very long run. In the . context of the stock of land and Malthusian crisis in earlier times, the

model shows how resources have become more available rather than

more scarce, even as population and income have increased. The

authors finally conclude that population growth creates new problems

but in the short run constitute additional burdens in the longer run,

lead to new developments that leave people better off.

33 ibid., p. 5.

34 Simon, J.L. and Steinmann Gunter, "Population growth, farmland and the long run standard of living." Journal of Population Economics, vol.4, no. 1 37-51, New York, 1991.

20

l .~

Brown (1988)35 reviews the world food situation and the

prospects for its future. He notes that the world's food resource have

deceased over the past two years primarily because of a rise in

demand due to population growth and a decline in supply caused by a

monsoon failure in India and drought reduced harvests in China and

North America.

Gill (1996)36 is concerned about South Asia's food requirements

in the next 20 years since its natural resource base is shrinking.

While showing land use category for each country in South Asia, there

is an attempt to prove that the Bangladesh does not have any scope

for further expansion in the favourable areas. Need for proper

management of natural resources in favoured area has been stressed.

Zohir37 (1993) explains why Bangladesh cannot diversify its

crops. He examines the profitability analysis and its associated risks.

Considering the land characteristic, it has favoured cereal production.

He stresses that in order to achieve greater diversification in the crop

sector, future policies need to facilitate exports and promote ~.~ ""].i ~.s ~,...--. (; '\

YjSK-C\X'ICT::>'».4WI,V ~(, "~) .. ~. P .. u")ft

-0 ~L ~ . ~ '-....,...,,, ......

35 Brown, The changing world food prospect: the nineteen and belfSll:ltib.;:::::::;' World Watch Paper, no. 85, 1988. Washington.

36 Gerard. J. Gill (1996) Managing Agriculture for sustainable Agriculture in South Asian. IFPRI- 2020 Vision Brief-33.

37 Sajjad. Zohir (1993) "Problems and Prospects of crop Diversification in Bangladesh", The Bangladesh Development Studies. Vol. 21, No.3 Dhaka, pp. 73-93

THESIS 304.62095492 J559 Po

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processing industries. But considering the limited land resources this

would affect the foodgrain production.

Ezekiel (1988)38 advocates development as an intergral part of

food aid. According to him, rates of population growth in many

developing countries are high. Efforts at development result in some

increase in per capita income in many of them inspite of the growth of

population. Given their low levels of food consumption, their income

elasticities of demand for food tend to be high.

Apart from these complicated issues, "the immediate problem in

the relation between population and food is whether the actual

production of food, as opposed to the potential, can satisfy the

requirements and effective demand for it created by a rapidly growing

population. "39

The food problem created by rapid population growth is part of

the general problem of over all agricultural underdevelopment.4o

It is generally recognized by the United Nations that population

and food are closely interrelated, even to the extent that the

38 Hannan Ezekiel, "An Approach to a Food Aid Strategy" World Development Vol. 16, no. 11. 1988. pp. 1378.

39 United Nations, "The Determinants And Consequences of Population Trends" vo,. 1. New York. p. 398.

40 ibid.

22

population problem has been identified as a food problem.41 Progress

in food production and agricultural development are the essential

conditions, together with lower population growth. 42

Mellor (1988) examines the question of accessibility of food. He

makes it clear that the present food security situation is one of acute

structural imbalances and more complicated than scarcity amidst

plenty. In most of Asia Africa and even in Latin America, improving

food security requires both increasing purchasing power of the poor

and boosting overall food production.43

To achieve the policy objectives of food security it will require

complex time-consuming development of national and international

institutions.44

Braun et al (1992) stress the need for effective policies and

programmes for the poor people. Therefore, the aim of an effect we

food security policy should be to ensure that all households have an

adequate dietary intake and can acquire it without being subjected to

excessive risks. A country and its people are food secure when

41 ibid., p. 398.

42 ibid., p. 402.

43 John W. Mellor, "Global Food Balances and Food Security", World Development, vol. 16, no. 9. pp. 997-1011, 1988.

44 ibid., p. 998

23

production, markets, and social systems work In such a way that

good consumption needs are always met.45

Sen, T.P. (1989) further argues for having sufficient availability

because without enough food, incorporating its quality and

distribution among all the developing countries characterized by their

acute hunger, occasional famine and explosive population growth,

hope for human welfare, achieving social justice and securing

democracy will become almost an impossible attainment. 46

The demographic helplessness of the people in the Third World

countries is revealed by the stark reality that people do not have

enough food to· keep them healthy. No one will deny that continued

population growth at the present rate has been a major contributor to

this world's hunger.47 Rapid population growth increases income-

inequality by decreasing the rate of return to labour relative factors of

production. Poverty is the universal cause of hunger.48

Swarninathan (1987) suggests confronting this problem at two

levels enough production and purchasing power. In many developing

45 Jochim. Von Braun, Howarth Bonis Shubh Kumar, Rajul Pandya-Losch, "Improving Food Security of the Poor: Concept, Policy and Programs:. IFPRI. Washington. D.C. 1992. p.6.

46 Rathindra P. Sen. op. cit., p. 77.

47 ibid p. 81.

48 ibid.

24

countries, grain surplus and widespread hunger tend to co-exist.

Even when there is food in the market, the lack of purchasing power

leads to under-nutrition and malnutrition.49

Therefore, in countries where agricultural production keeps

ahead of population growth, the food and nutritional problem could

be better stated in terms of man-days of employment rather than in

metric tonnes of food grains. 50

Right to work should hence become an integral part of the plan

for food security. This is why the integration of employment

generation as an explicit aim in land and water use plans assumes

relevance. 51

Acharya (1987) indicates towards having a huge reserve for a

large country with a high population growth. According to him, food

security would have different connotation-though not different

meanings--in times of plenty and in conditions of shortages and

scarcities. 52 In times of plenty, nutrition, blanced diets, setting apart a

reserve as an insurance against a probable lean year and planning for

49

50

51

52

M.S. Swaminathan, Building A National Food Security System. Indian Environmental Society, New Delhi. 1987. p. 124.

ibid p. 124

ibid. p. 124-125.

K.C.S. Acharya, Food Security System of India, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 1983. p.3.

25

future world be the problems that would receive attention. But in

times of scarcity, the situation is one of grave emergency .... The only

priority is that of mustering food-grain stocks and reaching them to

the places where they are needed.53

Khanam (1993) consider' poverty as the root cause of

everything. Malnutrition, undernutrition hunger and food insecurity

are the different faces of one problem, that is, 'poverty'. The best

publicized solution to the crisis is the need for population control. But

popUlation will never decline until better distribution of resources is

achieved. In most of the developing countries it is found that while

family planning efforts itself failed to reduce the birth rate, improved

living standard succeeded.54 He goes on to add that food and nutrition

problem is not due to population growth but rather due to poverty of

the majority of the masses in the Third World countries.55

Bhatia (1985) covers several aspects of food security including

food-grain production to population. He is quite optimistic despite the

odds. South Asia presents a complex picture in respect of food

security for the people of the region. The scenario is at once one of

desperation as well as of great hope. In the immediate perspective, the

53 ibid. pA.

54 Rashid Khanam, "A Focus on Food And Nutrition on the Developing Counttries. Asian Profile vol. 21. no. 4. Aug 1993. pp. 349-361.

55 ibid. p. 355

situation looks dismal; the region suffers from overpopulation as well

as high demographic death rates, high incidence of poverty and

widespread undernutrition even in the normal years among its

people.56

The gap between grain production and consumption in South

Asia as a percentage share of world grain production and

consumption has not widened significantly in spite of the fact that the

region has nearly maintained its shares in world grain consumption

over the periods. 57

According to FA058 report (1995), "So long as the essence of the . :

world food problem is high incidence of food insecurity and

undernutrition precisely in the countries with low per capita food

supplies and high dependence on agriculture, there can be no

appropriate policy responses to it which do not include a hefty dose of

measures to accelerate food production in those countries.

The continuous decline of agricultural resources per capita

following population growth is one of the major reasons why concern

56 B.M.Bhatia, Food Securty In South Asia, Oxford and IBH Publishing Company. New Delhi. 1985 p. 16

57 ibid. p, 27.

58 UN, FAO, WFS 96/Teach 1. Food Agriculture and Food Security, The Global Dimension. 1995. p. 1.

27

is expressed in relation to the population-food supply balance.59 With

population growth, more and more countries will be shifting closer to

values of the land/person ratios typical of those encountered

currently in the land scarce countries.6o

Further, the declining land/person ratios do matter for per

capita food supplies in two senses. In the global context and for

countries with high actual or potential dependence on food imports

they matter mainly if the declines threaten to push the global ratio

below critical values, even often allowing for the reprieve to be had

from land-augmenting technologies.61

While the UN looks at the global and regional level maintenance

of food production and availability, keeping in mind land-man ratio is

very important. Murshid62 (1987) has examined the magnitude of

instability in food-grain production. For that, food-grain crops and

their performance has been taken in to account. He has also come out

with national aggregates during 1960/61 to 1979/80. Trends in

instability during the same period have also been shown. It was found

59 ibid. p. 18.

60 ibid. p. 19.

61 ibid. p. 19.

62 K.A.S Murshid (1987), "Instability in Food grains Producation in Bangladesh: Nature, Levels and Trends" In The Bangladesh Development Studies, Vol. 15. No.1. pp. 33-73.

28

that production fluctuations were relatively greater for the Boro crops

(rice and wheat). Instability seems to have occurred only for certain

periods and to be precise, in the early seventies.

Rahman63 (1986) in his paper, has estimated supply response

parameter for major agricultural crops in Bangladesh. He says that

price policy is a major lever for influencing the growth of agriculture

sector. There has been impressive growth in rice production. Equally

impressive has been wheat, whereas importance of jute has declined.

This study provides the most detailed analysis of supply-price

response of agricultural commodities available for Bangladesh.

Islam64 (1991) has investigated the impact of agricultural

growth on food production and price stability. Further, he has also

ventured into rmding out whether there was any impact on reducing

the poverty levels. He maintains that agricultural and population

growth has been going on together. Therefore, in the 1980s there was

less fluctuation in production and that helped to reduce the percent of

people below poverty line but not absolute poverty.

63 Sultan H.Rahman (1986), "Supply Respouse in Bangladesh Agriculture" in The Bangladesh Development Studie$, vol. no. 1, pp. 57-100.

64 N. Isalm (1991), "Bangladesh Agriculture: Growth, Stability and Poverty Alleviation." Journal of International Development, vol. 3, no. 5. pp. 447-465.

29

Hossain65 et al (1992) have examined the trends and

determinants of rural poverty in Bangladesh. They have gone deep

inside the problem of unemployment and dependence on agriculture.

Socio-economic and cultural factors have also been taken into

consideration.

Chaudhary66 (1983) in his article, has tried to know the proflle

of workers engaged in Food-for-Work programmes. This was done in

order to know their background, gender aspect, and its social

composition.

Tyagi and Vyas find out the commonality of problems in the

South Asian countries. They also stress the need to have sufficient

supply.

They state, "Their common history as much geo-political

realities suggest vast possibilities of sharing development experiences

and coordinating policies and programmes in various fields

particularly in the area of food and agriculture.67 They further add

65 M. Hossain and B. Sen (1992) "Rural Poverty in Bangladesh: Trends and Determinants", Asian Development Review, vol. 10, No.1, pp. 1-34.

66 O.H. Chaudhary (1983) "Profile of workers in Food-for-work Programme in Bangladesh", in Bangladesh Development studies, vol. 11, pp-111-134.

67 D.S. Tyagi and V.S. Vyas, Increasing Access to Food: The Asian Experience, Sage Publications, New Delhi. p. 431.

30

that a large majority of the world's poor households are located in

these countries. A reasonable, adequate and assured food supply for

their population could make a very important contribution to

alleviating world poverty.68

Sanderson69 (1984) is not much optimistic about the world's

food prospects. The dark side of the otherwise encouraging prospect is

the continuing problem of undernutrition among the poorest of the

poor. Hunger is not likely to be eradicated in the remainder of this

century solely on the basis of projected rates of economic and

agricultural production growth. Hopes for improving the nutritional

status of the . poor will rest on increased food assistance and

employment-oriented development programmes.

Durham70 (1988) examines the disjunction between market

surpluses of food and worldwide shortfalls that appears to be

symptomatic of underlying vulnerabilities, raising questions about the

sustainability of agricultural production. He asserts that the need to

maintain the earth's camping capacity entails the limiting of

population growth.

68 ibid.

69 Sanderson, Fred H., "World Food Prospect to the Year 2000." Food Policy, vol. 9 1984, no. 6, p. 373

70 Durham, David and Fandrem, Jim C., "The Food Surplus: a stapple illusion of economics, a cruel illusion for population." Population and Environment, vol. 10, no/2, New York, 1988, pp. 115-121.

31

Ehrlich 71 (1991) discusses the effects of population growth,

global warning and agricultural production on the world's food

supply. She describes a model that tests the impact of global climatic

change on world food security and stresses the need to reduce the

number ~f births as a means of preventing deaths from hunger and

poverty.

Rates of population growth in many developing countries are

high. Efforts at development result in some increase in per capita

income 'in many of them inspite of the growth of population. Given

their existing low levels of food consumption, their income elasticities

of demand for fpod tend to be high. Their per capita demand for food,

therefore, tends to increase. Total food demand thus increases at a

rapid pace.72

Hannan also talks about 'widening food gap'. It has been noted

earlier that a wasteful use of development funds or a neglect of

agriculture in general may lead to an alarming widening of food gap. It

now appears that the adoption of a powerful employment - oriented

strategy of development with the support of food aid could have the

same effect, at least in the initial years.

71 Anne H. Ehrlich, "People and Food", Population and Environment, vol. 12, no. 3, New York, 1991, pp. 221-229.

72 Hannan Ezekiel, "An Approach to a Food Aid Strategy: World Development, vol. 16, no. 11, Washington D. C., 1988, p. 1378.

32

Finally, he says that "food aid in a development resource, if it is

used, as it should be, to support an employment oriented strategy of

development. Not only the development from the programme food aid,

but all other resources should also be used to promote rapid increase

in employment and income.

While looking at the future, " ... set forth the crucial relationship

between food availability and population growth. Note that the

equation is made more complex by concerns about environmental

sustainability. Expected technological advances in agriculture

notwithstanding, some 730 million people in developing countries are

likely to remain undernourished in the year 2010 unless concerted

action is taken". 73

A. J. Fonseca74 (1983) touches the highly controversial issue of

food aid in the Indian context and examines on the basis of extensive

data the significance of food aid and its social, economic and political

implications. In this systematic discussion of the benefits and

damaging consequences of food imports and food aid for the domestic

economic.

73 FAO Council, Elements For Possible Inclusion in a Draft Policy Document And Plan of Action on Universal Food Security. Rome, 5-15, June, 1995, p.3.

74 Fonseca A. J. Food Aid For Relief And Development: An EValuation, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, 1983.

33

At the receiver's end food aid as a means to combat poverty and

malnutrition cannot be considered in isolation from the other

economic variables at work within the national economy. Food aid is

an expedient emerging from the desire to assist hungry populations

out of a surplus country's abundance.

He questions the relevance of food aid so far as solution is

concerned and gives stress on self-sufficiency "It is realised that self-

sufficiency in food is a crucial element in the development of the

country and if this is not possible at the individual national level, it

should be an achievable objective at least at the regional level. "75

Further, it is not only food aid that is being called in into

question today, but the very concept of food aid. Sometimes food aid

may promote dependence and foster inefficiency. Dependency has a

much wider connotation than just the reliance of the dependent

country for occasional assistance from the self sufficient donor

country.

Hopkins (1990) believes that food aid could be a crucial

intervention in achieving a continuation of this laudable trend, yet the

75 ibid. p. 113.

34

prospects for enhanced food aid to meet the demands forecast for the

1990s appear dim Political motivation among donors has weakened.76

Estimating future needs for food aid is difficult for both

methodological and political reasons. The current level of food aid, at

about half of the near term stabilisation needs reflects 'political

priorities' on the part of the industrial countries. With great

uncertainty surrounding the political willingness of donor countries to

increase food aid to these levels, innovative and more creative uses of

such aid to help vulnerable groups in society are necessary.

"In many respects, food aid may be more useful as a temporary

support during ·the adjustment crisis than as a long term development

resource. Dependency is less likely to be endangered by short run

assistance." 77

Mellor78 (1987) has positive thoughts about short term food aid.

"Food aid c~,· and has made an important contribution to food

security and economic development in the third World. In recent

decades the food security problem of the poor has been the product of

76 Hopkins, Raymond, R. "Increasing food Aid: Prospects for the 1990s." Food Policy. vol. 15. no. 4, 1990, p. 326.

77 Brown University Faculty, "Overcoming Hunger: Promising Progranunes and Policies." Food Policy. vol. 15, no. 4., p. 298.

78 Mellor, John W. "Food Aid For Food Security and Economic Development". Reprinted from "Poverty, Development and Food" (eds.) by Edward Clay and John Shaw, Washington" 1987. p. 187.

35

two important forces: Chronic food insecurity in most developing

countries and widespread fluctuation in annual food production in

many other developing countries.19

Ballenger and Zen080 (1992) evaluate food aid at the GATT and

confirm that changes are going to take place but at the same time

they are not so optimistic. "The guarantee of food security for all

individuals depends on many factors affecting both food supply and

demand, and the willingness of the international community, national

governments and local communities to allocate food in accordance

with heeds. This guarantee is well beyond the control of single a

institution. "

Taylor~n (1992) determines the proportion of food aid that would

be re-allocated assuming an agricultural agreement is reached by

contracting parties of the GATT. The consensus from the USA, EC and

Cairns Group's negotiating proposals is that food aid should be

utilized to alleviate the possible negative effects of the reform on the

disciplines of food aid and concessional sales.

79

80

81

ibid. p. 177.

Ballenger, Nicole and Carl Mabbs-Zeno, "Treating Food Aid issues at the GATT." Food Policy, vol. 17, no. 4, 1992, p. 276.

Taylor, Daphnes. "Implications of the Uruguay Round of Food Aid.» Food Policy. vol. 17, no. 2,1992, p. 141.

36

It.is recognised that the right to adequate food and nutrition,

just like other economic, social and cultural rights cannot be

implemented overnight in a resource--poor society. Nevertheless any

effort towards the ope rationalisation of the right may payoff in the

long run, and provide a free human face to development, without

compromising its economic and financial objectives and

determinants.82

Among the significant phenomena of the 1960s was the

emergence of population matters of a paramount importance in the

writings of social scientists and in the deliberations of Governments.

Because . of the close interrelationships between demographic,

economic and social characteristics and changes, the formulation of

government policies in any of these areas need to. be based on

understanding of the, probable effects on other factors.83

Aziz (1990) feeds that apart from having a population policy, the

developing countring should also have agricultural or food policy.

While developing countries must intensify their efforts to take

advantage of recent technological progress to increase their per capita

82 Arne Oshang, Wenche Barth Eide, and Ashjorn Eide "Human Rights: A normative basis for food and nutrition-relevant policies." Food Policy. vol. 19, p, 515. 1994.

83 United Nations, "The Determinants And Consequences of popUlation Trends: Population Studies, no. 50, New York, 1973, p. 653.

37

food production, the international community must create a more

favourable environment for agricultural trade and food security.84

During the 1980s, fundamental changes in thinking about

economic development laid foundation for major adjustments in the

methods used in agricultural policy analysis and programming. The

actual impact of any particular policy measures, and the resulting

gains and losses to different socio-economic groups depends

ultimately upon the individual decisions of millions of farmers,

consumers and businessmen. An improved understanding of their

behaviour is, therefore, invaluable for effective policy making. 85

Karim86 et al (1979) in their article, have tried to point towards

some missing links in the food and nutritional policy in Bangladesh.

They have asked for an altogether different approach to the rural

poverty problem. When resources are scarce, the poor come last,

regardless of the original intent of the development activity. Straight

away, they advocate assisting low income groups through the

promotion of foods, or indigenous resources in general.?

84

85

86

Sartaj Aziz, "Agricultural Policies For the 1990s." Development Centre Studies. 1990, p. 34.

United Nations, "Farom And Community Information Use For Agricultural Programmes And Policies". FAO Farm System Management Series, Rome, 1994, p. 85.

Rezaul Karim. and F. James Levinson ( 1979) "A Missing Dimension of Food and Nutrition Policy in Bangladesh", in The Bangladesh Development Studies, vol. 7, No.1, pp. 99-106.

38

Hossain87 (1990), in his paper, assesses the impact of natural

disasters on food-grain production at the national and regional levels

during the 1973-90 period. He also evaluates the policy response to

natural disasters. He further adds that the government responds to a

natural disaster by importing food-grains more than what is needed to

mitigate the adverse effects, which inflates the public stocks and

depresses prices in subsequent seasons.

Zeller and Sharma (2000)88, discussed the linkages between

access to credit, savings and insurance services and household food security. They have presented a conceptual framework that addresses

various questions, and provide or synthesis of the empirical results of a multi-country research programme in ten African and Asian

countries. They~ fmally conclude that insurance can be considered as

the missing third of micro-finance during the 1990s. Applied research

on the poor's prefere~ce as well as bold experimentation with new

financial products appear to be particularly promising in making

process towards that goal.

Maxwell and others89 (1999) consider the measurement of food security problems as a major challenge not only for research, but particularly targeting, programme management, monitoring and evaluation. They have constructed a series of alternative food-security indicators based on the frequency and severity. of consumption-related coping strategies. These alternative indicators are then compared with more standard measures, including a consumption benchmark, a

87 op. cit, f.n. 7. 88 Manfred Zeller and Manohar shanna, "Many Borrow, More save, and All Insure: Implications for Food and Macro- Finance Policy", Food Policy, Vol. 25, 2000, PP. 143-167.

39

poverty benchmark, and a nutritional benchmark using data from the

1997 Accra Urban Food and Nutrition Study.

The comparative analysis of conventional benchmarks with the

coping strategies indicator reveals some shortcomings with the

benchmark indicators as well--a sign that perhaps the indicators of

food security proposed here are both alternative and complementary

measures.

Share and others90 (2000) focus on the feasibility of individuals

that are food insecure to about 700 million by 2015. Here, a sufficient

statistics to characterize the level and distribution of income in 134

countries is developed and regressed on variables hypothesized to be

its major determinants. A global general eqUilibrium model is then

calebrated to data and experiments performed that changes the levels

of these variables. Further, growth in economy-wide total factor

productivity, agricultural productivity and labour productivity is

analysed. They conclude that the scenarios are more optimistic than

realistic.

Sarris91 (2000) discusses the cereal price and the market

instability of food grains. The paper argues that world cereal prices

are good indicators of the state of world cereal markets. It tests whether real prices for wheat, rice and maize exhibit deterministic or

stochastic trends, concluding that the underlying trends are most

likely deterministic. Discussion of recent changes in the pattern of world cereal production and trade suggests that conclusions are not contrary to observed trends.

19 Daniel Mazwell et. aI., "Alternative Food Security Indicators: Revisiting the Frequency and Severity 'Coping Strategies'" Food Policy, Vol. 24, 1999, PP.411-429. 90 Mathew Shane et. aI., "Economic Growth and World Food Insecurity: A Parametric Approach", Food Policy, Vol. 25, 2000, PP. 297-115. 91 Alexander H. Sarris, "Has World Cereal Market Instability Increased"? Food Policy, Vol. 25, 2000, PP. 337-350.

40

Ravallion92 (2000) has done time series study for over 40 years relating food price, wages and existing poverty. According to her the

higher relative prices of food in India have typically been associated with high poverty incidence and lower real agricultural wages. The correlation between food prices and wages can be explained by

changes in farm yields and inflation. But he quickly adds that the data which have been used here to support the view that higher food

prices due to policy reform will, on, their own, reduce rural poverty.

Abalu and Hassan93 ( 1999) examine the natural resources of

Southern Mrica and analysis the critical linkages between the

performance of Southern African agriculture and natural resource use

patterns. The implications of on-going natural resource use trends on

poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation is also

analysed. The challenges that must be addressed, including, how best

to intensify agricultural production, the types of technologies to

promote and the imperatives of production efficiency and intra-regional trade are examined.

Paarlberg94 (2000) suggests that changing conditions in world

grain markets are not directly linked transitory food insecurity in poor

countries. The explanation advanced for this disconnection is that the reliance of genuinely poor developing countries on grain imports in usually low, and generally lower today than it was several decades ago, even when food aid is taken into account. The most conspicuous non-markets source 0 f food insecurity include violent internal

92 Martin Ravallion, "Prices, Wages and Poverty in Rural India: What Lesson do the Time Series Data Hold for Policy", Food Policy, Vol. 25,2000, PP.351-364. 93 George Abalu and Pashid Hassan, "Agricultural Productivity and Natural Resources Use in Southern Africa", Food Policy, Vol. 24, 1999, PP. 477-490. 94 Robert Paarlberg, "The »leak Link Between World Food Markets and World Food Security", Food Policy, Vol. 25, 2000, PP. 317-335.

·41

conflict, non-accountable governments and natural disasters such as

drought.

Schuh95 (2000) examines the impact of agricultural

modernisation and increased food production on the food security at

the household level. The author has acknowledged the failure to

recognise the general equilibrium effects of agricultural

modernisations in alleviating poverty in the general economy. He concludes by saying that it are truly to alleviate poverty by means of

agriculture research we need to broaden our concept of agricultural

research to include the rural social science so as we understand the

plight of the poor and what can be done to help them improve their lot

The literature review clearly shows that the wide range of studies have been done earlier on food security, popUlation pricing, etc. separately.· In the recent past, these studies in isolation really

lacked a pragmatic approach. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to

come out with comprehensive programmes and policies taking care of

population andofood problem. Yet, the available literature more or less

helped to understand the basic problem.

9S G. Edward Schuh, "The Household: the Neglected Link in Research and Programs for Poverty Alleviation", Food Policy, Vol. 25, 2000, PP. 233-2410

42

1.4 Objectives

The objectives of the present research study are: -

(1) To analyze the existing food security system in Bangladesh.

(2) To examine the demographic trends, increasing ecological

unsustainabilty and food-insecurity in Bangladesh.

(3) To critically review the existing population and food policies in

Bangladesh.

(4) To assess ~e relevance of food aid in Bangladesh and to see its

implication within the regional frame.

1.5 Hypotheses:

The basic hypotheses are:

(a) The higher the population growth and magnitude of poverty, the

greater will be the degree of food insecurity.

(b) The more the degree of ecological degradation (e.g., deforestation,

soil erosion, etc.), the greater will be the dimension of food crisis.

43

(c) The greater the dependency on external food aid and more

prevalent the conditions of underdevelopment, the more the

chances of continued and enhanced food insecurity.

1.6 Sources of Information and Methodology

As mentioned earlier, the present study aims at analyzing the

basic human problem of food insecurity vis-a-vis population and

ecology. An attempt has been made to see this problem in totality.

Hence, efforts have been made to substantiate the above mentioned

hypotheses by data and infOI;mation collected from various sources.

The present study is based on both primary and secondary

sources. It depends on a great extent on the publication of the

government, United Nations, Food and Agricultural Organization

(FAO) , International Food Policy Resources Institute (IFPRI), National

Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT), Dhaka,

country Monograph Series, UNDP, United Nations Population Fund

(UNFPA), etc. its secondary sources, books, relevant journals and

research reports were consulted.

Methodology adopted for this research is mainly analytical. All

the relevant data were analyzed within the conceptual framework of

the problem. Statistical techniques such as regression and correlation

have been used to establish a relationship between variables. These

44

techniques have been done using E-views software. Regression

analysis is based on "Ordinary Least Square" Method. Microsoft Excel

software has been used for diagrams and MS Powerpoint is used for

drawing models and flow charts.

Software used Purpose

E-Views Statistical Techniques

MS E~cel Dia~ams

MS Powerpoint Flow Charts

Data on population and food has been seen through bar, pie

and proportionate pie diagrams. Other information has been

discussed qualitatively. So, qualitative analyzes form the core of the

adopted methodology, adopted.

1.7 Organization of the Study

In the developing countries where population pressure is

enormous, the most important challenges for the coming two decades

is to sustain the progress in agriculture sector along with

demographic sustainability. The present work is organized into six

chapters.

Chapter One introduces the problem and discusses this

problem within the conceptual framework. This section explains the

various associated problems in their totality. It also has a review of

literature on food, popUlation, poverty, pricing mechanism, food and

45

environment and related topics. Then the objectives of the study are

made clear followed by the hypotheses. Sources of information and

the methodology are spelt out clearly.

Chapter Two examines population growth trends, food

production and consumption. This has been done to assess the quest

for food self-sufficiency and supply-stability. This chapter also reveals

the magnitude of food and nutritional insecurity. Here, the main

thrust is to show the existing population food imbalances.

Chapter Three explains the vicious circle of poverty. The

relationship between poverty, environment and health is the basic

concern. How the fragile ecology of Bangladesh is coping up with

stress and hazards is another link. Role of various NGO's and

government institutions in poverty alleviation has also been

discussed.

Chapters Four and Five throw light on the existing nature of

food security system, food aid and its geopolitical implications. The

focus of the fourth chapter is to see the effectiveness of the public

food distribution system and other programmes in Bangladesh in the

light of continued poverty and how vulnerable groups are being taken

care of. The fifth chapter reflects long term consequences of food aid

and geopolitical and geo-economic interest of donors. While

discussing the future of food aid and its impact on development the

46

regional cooperation for food security in South Asia has also been

analyzed.

Chapter Six evaluates the population and food policies of

Bangladesh. While doing that, it shows the positive and negative

aspects, in dealing with the basic question of reducing population,

and improving food security. Impact of these policies on poverty,

vulnerable groups and welfare of common people has been critically

examined. It also tries to suggest an integrated policy framework.

Recommendations and suggestions have also been made in the end.

47

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