BSS-39 Weeklong workshop for Food Ministry officials starts

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ZCZC

BSS-39

WORKSHOP-FOOD-MINISTRY

Weeklong workshop for Food Ministry officials starts

DHAKA Feb 24, 2019, (BSS) – A weeklong training workshop for the officials
of Food Ministry started at CIRDAP auditorium in the city today.

Shahabuddin Ahmed, secretary of Ministry of Food, inaugurated the workshop
under the ‘Integrated Food Policy Research Program’ (IFPRP)’ organized and
implemented jointly by the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI), Bangladesh Institution of Development Studies (BIDS) and University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The panel speakers for the event included Dr. K. A. S. Murshid, director
general of BIDS, M. Badrul Arefin, director general, Food Planning and
Monitoring Unit (FPMU), Gazi Ur Rahman, project director for Modern Food
Storage Program (MFSP) and Dr. Akhter Ahmed, country representative for
IFPRI.

The closing remarks were delivered by Mr. Md. Arifur Rahman Apu, director
general, and directorate general of Food (DG Food); who served as the Chair
of the event. The training is being provided for a selected group of mid-
level officials of Ministry of Food and Directorate General of Food with an
aim to increase the analytical capacity of the trainees for the formulation
and implementation of more effective and efficient food policy decisions.

The training is largely aligned with the government’s Vision 2021 mandate
which aims to eliminate food insecurity. As Bangladesh has graduated from low
income country to a lower middle-income country, the government intends to
establish e-governance in each sector including the Food Sector. Based on
research findings and recommendations from IFPRP team, the project intends to
revamp its food monitoring system to reduce loss of food grains that are
being procured by the government.

The session was attended by around 100 participants largely including
researchers, development professionals, and sector specialists.

BSS/PR/RQ/GA/1909 hrs