Food is no longer merely a matter of sustenance—it lies at the very heart of stability, sovereignty, and survival. As climate change intensifies and global protectionism rises, securing access to safe and sufficient food has become inseparable from safeguarding national interests. This was the resounding message from the session on Climate-smart Agriculture and Food Security, held on Saturday, 18 October 2025, during the International Conference on A World Beyond Crisis: Climate Solutions That Work.
Experts emphasised that traditional definitions of national security must evolve to encompass food systems, recognising that climate shocks, resource depletion, and market disruptions directly threaten both human welfare and economic resilience.
Bangladesh’s experience—from overcoming recurrent crises to achieving near self-sufficiency in staple crops—demonstrates both progress and vulnerability. While advances such as climate-resilient rice varieties and smart irrigation technologies offer hope, systemic reforms are essential to ensure that agriculture becomes sustainable, equitable, and adaptive to future challenges.
In his welcome remarks, Dr K. A. S. Murshid, Former Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), emphasised that food security must be integrated into national security strategies. He highlighted the need to balance farmers’ immediate needs with long-term resilience, ensure better access to finance and technology, and address food waste and nutritional deficiencies.
Building on this, Dr M. Asaduzzaman, Former Research Director, BIDS, underscored that fragmented landholdings and diverse local conditions demand tailored adaptation strategies. He called for fair water pricing, well-designed parametric insurance, and payments for ecosystem services to promote sustainable practices.
Addressing agricultural innovation, Dr Mohammad Khalequzzaman, Director General (Routine Charge), Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, shared that Bangladesh is the world’s third-largest rice producer, yet methane emissions from paddy cultivation and post-harvest losses remain critical challenges. He urged wider adoption of direct seeding methods, improved transport and cold storage, and greater farmer incentives for technology uptake.
From an insurance and risk management perspective, Dr Mokbul Morshed, Professor and Head of the Department of Development and Sustainability at the Asian Institute of Technology, highlighted that low participation in climate insurance among smallholders limits resilience. He stressed the importance of designing affordable and profitable insurance models that address behavioural and generational barriers.
Focusing on nutrition and waste reduction, Dr Md. Kamrul Hassan, Professor of Horticulture at Bangladesh Agricultural University, emphasised that food safety and nutrition are vital components of food security. He advocated for post-harvest management, rooftop and hydroponic farming, and new technologies such as gamma irradiation to cut food loss by half by 2030.
Complementing these views, Professor Dr Jahangir Alam Khan, Former President of the Bangladesh Agricultural Economists’ Association, called for greater policy and institutional support to promote crop diversification, efficient fertiliser and water use, and solar irrigation, alongside larger climate allocations for agriculture and women’s inclusion.
Dr Mohammad Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), discussed the success of solar irrigation initiatives but noted resistance rooted in social perceptions. Scaling awareness and addressing misconceptions could accelerate adoption and cut emissions.
Representing the development sector, Mr Mahabur Rahman, Head of Agriculture and Food Security at BRAC International, highlighted that arable land is shrinking by 1 per cent annually. BRAC’s work focuses on improving productivity, expanding crop insurance, supporting women farmers—who now make up 65per cent of BRAC’s network—and providing early weather information.
Sharing cross-country lessons, Dr Shikha Thapa Magar, Executive Director of the Nepal Development Research Institute, presented Nepal’s experience with women-friendly, low-cost tools such as drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting, and called for gender-responsive budgeting and market access free from exploitative intermediaries.
From the international policy perspective, Dr Anil Kumar Das, Senior National Programme Specialist at the FAO, described efforts to build farmer organisations, scale floating agriculture, and integrate fisheries into national policies. He also highlighted SMS-based climate information systems that are strengthening coastal resilience.
In discussing innovation, Dr T. S. Amjath Babu, Agricultural Economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), showcased AI-based forecasting models, decision-support algorithms, and conservation agriculture practices designed to optimise planting and harvesting decisions and empower extension services.
Representing the private sector, Ms Sumaiya T. Ahmed, Head of Sustainability at PRAN-RFL Group, discussed the company’s efforts to reduce food waste through contract farming, processing, and recycling initiatives. She noted that PRAN works with 8,000 women farmers and is partnering with Danish and Dutch institutions to expand climate-smart practices and animal husbandry skills.
From the humanitarian side, Ms Shamsun Naher Salam, Senior Programme Associate at the World Food Programme (WFP), described efforts to reduce post-harvest losses through aggregation centres, training for farmers, and improved market linkages that ensure fair prices and reliable access to buyers.
Dr Mohammad Sakhawat Hosen, Director of Sustainable Economic Development at Friendship NGO, shared how farmers’ clubs in remote riverine regions are helping smallholders access climate information, technology, and markets while prioritising women’s empowerment and community-led resilience.
Speakers called for greater investment in innovation, including AI-driven crop management, parametric insurance, gender-inclusive capacity building, and improved post-harvest management. The central message was clear: to protect the nation, Bangladesh must make its food systems climate-smart, technologically advanced, and socially inclusive, ensuring that the right to food becomes a defining pillar of national security in an era of climate uncertainty.
Discussions converged on a common understanding: achieving climate-smart agriculture that is inclusive, technology-driven, and nutrition-sensitive will require coordinated action across research, policy, private enterprise, and communities to secure Bangladesh’s food systems for a changing climate.
