IFPRI HOLDS INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF FOOD, BANGLADESH
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) held an introductory meeting with Mr. Abu Taher Md. Masud Rana, Secretary, Ministry of Food, Government of Bangladesh, at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka on July 5, 2026. The meeting marked the beginning of continued engagement between IFPRI and the Ministry of Food, building on a partnership that spans over four decades of evidence-based policy support on food security, agriculture, nutrition, and social protection in Bangladesh.
Dr. Shahidur Rashid, Director, IFPRI South Asia Office, welcomed the opportunity to brief the Secretary on IFPRI's historical collaboration with the Ministry, noting that IFPRI's research contributed to the establishment of the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) as the Ministry's principal food policy institution. Which helped inform the transition from the Rural Rationing Program to the Food for Education Program, supporting in improvement of targeting, monitoring, and operational efficiency of the Public Food Distribution System.
The key topics discussed during the meeting were:
- Solar-powered paddy dryers and warehouse storage: aimed at reducing post-harvest losses, improving grain quality at the procurement stage, ensuring fair prices for farmers, and generating rural employment opportunities.
- Digital procurement and traceability system: an integrated platform to enable real-time tracking of rice bags across the supply chain, strengthening transparency and logistics management.
- Rice fortification: building on progress already made in integrating fortification into the harvest and procurement process to address hidden hunger, with scope for further scale-up.
Delegates also discussed opportunities for collaboration with the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) on food safety, ongoing IFPRI research on lead contamination in the food chain using Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) data, and the potential for Bangladesh's Ministry of Food to engage more actively in regional and global platforms, including Indo-Pacific and ASEAN food security initiatives.
Representatives from IFPRI's Better Diets and Nutrition (BDN) program highlighted continued support to Bangladesh's Food Systems Transformation (FST) agenda through CGIAR initiatives, including SHiFT, BDN, and the CapSha project, implemented in partnership with FPMU under an existing Memorandum of Understanding.
