Review of Agri-Food Chain Interventions Aimed at Enhancing Consumption of Nutritious Food by the Poor: Bangladesh

Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian nation. Most of the people of the country directly or indirectly depend on agriculture. Rural people are more involved in this sector compared to urban people. Agriculture is the single largest producing sector of the economy. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development and food security. The acceleration in economic and agricultural growth has made a positive impact on the diversity of food intake, away from the rice- and vegetable-based diet in favour of quality food. However, nearly 20 per cent of the population is still calorie deficient and the gender disparity in calorie intake still persists. Bangladesh has made significant progress in reducing under nutrition of children. However, progress in reducing stunting, the indicator of chronic malnutrition, shows a less encouraging picture. A review on existing agriculture value chain-based interventions that focus on enhancing the availability, affordability, acceptability and/or consumption of nutritious foods in households beyond the farm gate in Bangladesh has been undertaken. This review covers: interventions focused on foods that are naturally nutrient-dense interventions focused on enhancing the nutritional value of foods, including staples and prepared foods, whether directed at particular nutritional uses or for consumption by the general population food distribution programmes that might incorporate foods in either of the preceding categories