Food Minister stresses building sustainable infrastructure to increase food grain storage capacity

On Thursday morning, at an event organized at the Directorate General of Food, the chief guest was Food Minister Afroz Khanam MP. Special guests were Minister of State for Food and Public Administration Md. Abdul Bari MP and Minister of State for Housing and Public Works Ahmed Sohel Monzur MP. The event was presided over by Food Secretary Abu Taher Md. Masud Rana.

In her speech as chief guest, the Food Minister said the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is working to ensure people's food security and improve living standards. To achieve this goal, along with increasing food grain storage capacity, it is essential to develop warehouse infrastructure and ensure long-term preservation arrangements. In building infrastructure, a sustainable plan must be adopted considering the needs of the next 10 to 15 years alongside immediate needs.

She also said the design of food warehouses must ensure adequate ventilation, maintain the quality of food grains and provide a suitable working environment for officers and employees. Priority should be given to building storage infrastructure in areas with higher food grain production, and the work of renovating existing warehouses and constructing new facilities must be accelerated. She also emphasized building adequate stocks to tackle future food crises, considering the international situation, wars and the impact of rising fuel prices.

Minister of State for Food Md. Abdul Bari said adequate stocks of food grains and a proper distribution system are important foundations of food security. To increase storage capacity, planned infrastructure must be built and ongoing projects must be implemented within the stipulated time while maintaining quality. Cooperation from the Public Works Department is important in this regard.

Minister of State for Housing and Public Works Ahmed Sohel Monzur said regular maintenance is essential to ensure the durability of government installations. Cooperation from the Public Works Department will continue in developing the infrastructure of the Directorate General of Food. He also said a dashboard-based system has been introduced to reduce delays in project implementation and monitor work progress.

At the event, speakers expressed hope that the coordinated initiative of the two directorates will further accelerate food warehouse construction, renovation and maintenance activities. This will increase food grain storage capacity, reduce wastage and strengthen the country's food security.

After the speeches, Director General of the Directorate General of Food Md. Jashim Uddin Khan and Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department Md. Khalequzzaman Chowdhury signed the memorandum of understanding. Later, they exchanged the signed memorandum in the presence of the Food Minister. Senior officials of the Directorate General of Food, the Public Works Department, the Department of Architecture, and the Ministry of Food and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works were present at the event.