Online food stock, market monitoring system to be launched: Minister

 The government will soon launch online food stock and market monitoring system to ensure transparency in procurement, movement, distribution and storage of food grains, said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Tuesday (15 March).

The activities of the Directorate General of Food will be brought under online monitoring to ensure transparency, he said.

The food ministry is not lagging behind in honesty, nor in using technology, said the minister at a workshop "Online Food Stock and Market Monitoring System" at Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) auditorium here.

Beximco Computers Ltd Bangladesh, Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd of India and Tech Valley Networks Ltd JV are working to implement the project. The contract value of the project is Tk261.71 crore.

Once implemented, it will create a central database that will radically change the management of food grain collection, movement, distribution and storage activities, said the minister.

Under the project, 2,500 people get training. More than 1200 areas (CSD and LSD) will be connected through optical fibre.

The 28-month project will end in October next year.

Sadhan Chandra urged the project implementing agency to focus on the quality of work and deadline.

He said the usefulness of Digital Bangladesh was proved during the Covid pandemic which made it possible to easily deliver services to people.

Senior officials of the food ministry and Directorate General of Food, including Director of Directorate General of Food Md Shakhawat Hossain and Food Secretary Dr Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum, regional food controllers, District and upazila food controllers were present at the workshop.