POVERTY AND FOOD SECURITY 

October 2012

The relationship between poverty and food insecurity is a complex one where several key dimensions could be found. For many reasons, such as ill health, disability, loss of job, lower level of education and employment and higher cost of living etc. are the factors besides the major causes of food insecurity. The risk of food insecurity in low-income families is associated with lack of access to land, single-parent families, and lack of alternative occupation, unstable income level and having a poor family head. The most important issue facing by the most people is inadequate access to food which is fundamentally an outcome of poverty (European Commission, 2000).

Food security of Bangladesh is adversely affected by higher food prices; since income may be increased but not sufficient for poor people to adjust with high prices compared to lower income. Therefore, the amount of food insecured population has been increasing. Food insecured population is now estimated in Bangladesh to be 65.3 million people; nearly 45 percent of the total population of the country is now food insecured (< 2122 kcal per person per day), and one-quarter (23.9 percent) of the population is understood as rigorously.

FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOOD 

October 2012

Now-a-days, the term ‘food security’ is very significant in the local, national and international level though it mainly focuses to the household and individual level in this occasion. Availability and access of food for all kinds of people are the two main elements of food security. Quantity and quality of food supply means availability of food in this context. Entitlement of food through purchases, exchange and claims include access to food. Food security is essential for a sustainable livelihood security. Insufficient food is the cause of malnutrition what reduces the capability of work and damage longterm and healthy livelihood. 

This chapter is an attempt to depict the picture of the living conditions of the respondents1 which have been assessed in a year round survey to improve the status of the poor people living in hard to reach areas specially, the three selected districts of concern here-Sirajgonj, Gaibandha and Shariatpur with variety of interventions for food security and better livelihood as well.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY 

October 2012

Scientists throughout the world are paying much effort to explore the relationship between irreversible climate change and its impact on food production and therefore, food security. However, with improvement of calculation models they have found tacit relationship between climate change and food security. The unprecedented impacts of climate change along with other environmental and geomorphologic changes make more concerns over food security especially, for the poor and marginal population (Gregory & Ingram 2000; Parry et al. 2001; Rosegran & Cline 2003). Considering global temperature into account, climate science says that mean global temperature has been increasing since about 1850 due to accumulation of greenhouse in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases are the resultant of burning fossil fuels whose abatement is difficult and gradual increase of these gases has long term effect on weather of the earth (FAO, 2008). Intensive agriculture to supplement for increasing food demand causes massive deforestation as well as significant effects on temperature, humidity, rainfall pattern, and water availability. These changes has long term impact on food system which encompasses dynamic components of food availability, food access and food utilization.

Livelihood Status of the Hardcore Poor Right Holders in Hard to Reach Areas of Bangladesh

Quarterly Comparative Report based on Monthly Livelihood Survey

(October-December, 2012) 

The present survey report for the period of October-December: 2012 reveals a comparative livelihood assessment of the hardcore poor between right holders (controlled) and non-right holders (uncontrolled) in hard to reach areas of some selected sample districts in northern, central and southern region of Bangladesh. The survey compiles the collected information of monthly survey conducted in specified rural Bangladesh, designated as Chars in the three districts of Gaibandha, Sirajganj and Shariatpur.

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