On the eve of the 13th National Parliamentarian Election: People’s Manifesto on Right to Food and Nutrition

Food is a fundamental human right, and guaranteeing access to food is essential for sustaining life. Under international human rights frameworks, the state is responsible for ensuring food security. Bangladesh has committed to this through the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 15 of the Constitution requires the state to ensure basic necessities, including food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare, through planned economic measures. In line with Sustainable Development Goal 2, Bangladesh aims to end hunger and achieve food security by 2030.

The Global Report on Food Crises 2025 ranks Bangladesh fourth among countries with the largest populations facing acute food insecurity. In the 2025 Global Hunger Index, it ranks 85th out of 123 nations. Nationally, 16 million people face acute food insecurity, including 1.6 million children with acute malnutrition, driven by climate, economic, and humanitarian shocks.

Rising food prices worsen the situation. By December 2025, overall inflation reached 8.49%, and food inflation 7.71% (BBS), caused by regional differences, import dependence, market cartels, middlemen, and hoarding. Low-income families spend about 55% of their monthly income on food. Natural disasters further reduce assets and limit food production. Inflation shocks put 18% of families at risk of falling below the poverty line, while around 36 million people live in poverty, many just below it.

Marginalised groups are particularly vulnerable. About 1 million tea garden workers across 167 estates, including women, men, and children, earn Tk187/day. Around 50,000 are unemployed, and 250,000 lack regular work. A January 2023 survey by BBS and the UN found 74% live below the poverty line. Over half of urban slum households face food insecurity, causing stunted growth in nearly half of children and severe health risks for adolescent girls and pregnant adolescents.

Farming communities face climate shocks, rising costs, and rural debt. Floods and erratic rainfall damage yields, while reliance on high-interest loans and lack of fair pricing increase distress, with reports in 2025 linking farmer deaths to economic hardship.

Malnutrition affects millions, including 17 million women. Among children under five, 30.7% are stunted, 8.4% wasted, 21.8% underweight, and 11.9% undernourished, with 23.6% showing impaired growth (GHI 2024).

Unemployment rose from 2.46 million in 2023 to 2.62 million in 2024, with 10 million youth aged 15-29 out of education, employment, or training. A healthy adult requires 2,122 calories/day. BBS estimates the food poverty line at Tk1,851/month, but current prices make this insufficient, forcing nearly one-quarter of households to rely on loans.

Social Safety Net Programmes remain inadequate. Allocations in the 2025-26 fiscal year total Tk7,89,999 crore, down from Tk1,36,026 crore in FY25. While some schemes expanded, others, including Vulnerable Group Feeding and Employment Generation Programme for the Poorest Plus, have declined. Budget cuts amid high food prices risk worsening food insecurity.

Access to safe and nutritious food affects health, productivity, and quality of life, and must be recognised as a legal right. Legislation aligned with FAO guidelines is essential, with proper implementation and policy reforms. Political parties contesting the 13th National Parliamentary Election are expected to include this commitment in their manifestos.

We present ten key demands on behalf of the people of Bangladesh.

Enact the law on the right to food to ensure food security for the citizens

The Constitution does not treat food as a fundamental right. Bangladesh, as a signatory to FAO, ICESCR, and the Vienna Declaration, must enact the Right to Food & Nutrition legislation to ensure self-sufficiency, strengthen social protection, and empower people to claim their rights. The law should follow the FAO Voluntary Guidelines, with proper implementation and policy reforms, to guarantee food security.

Ensuring food rationing and other assistance for the vulnerable groups and food-insecure hotspots to mitigate the seasonal food insecurity

Food-insecure groups in Bangladesh include low-income households, urban slum residents, landless char populations, tea garden workers, Harijan and Manta communities, coastal populations, haor farmers, fishing communities, and people in hilly areas. They face food insecurity due to social and economic marginalization, lack of identity documents, climate shocks, inflation, and limited resources. Many suffer from malnutrition and rely on poor-quality diets. Seasonal food insecurity is driven not by food shortages but by poverty, low wages, unemployment, lack of alternative income, and delayed or insufficient support.

Assistance often fails due to remoteness, complex procedures, weak community programmes, and poor communication. Targeted food rations, employment opportunities, and timely support are needed for vulnerable groups and high-risk areas.

Formulating accurate information-based policy on market regulations and monitoring

Inflation continues to be one of Bangladesh's most persistent economic challenges. During the fiscal year 2025, average inflation hovered around 9-10 percent, with fluctuations largely driven by rising food prices. Despite high retail prices in urban markets, farmers often incur losses because they receive low "farm-gate" prices and do not benefit from the price increases faced by consumers. 

This mismatch is rooted in weak market structures, poor policy coordination, inadequate monitoring, and external shocks.

It is essential to formulate and implement accurate, information-based policies that strengthen market regulation, ensure transparency across supply chains, and protect both producersand consumers.

Emphasise on food-based nutrition instead of medicine-based approach 

Although the country has achieved self-sufficiency in grain production, balanced and nutritious diets have not yet become a common practice. Malnutrition directly weakens human capacity, reducing work efficiency and undermining national development, as a healthy and productive workforce is essential for progress. Greater emphasis must be placed on building family- and institution-based knowledge about food and nutrition, rather than relying primarily on medicine to treat nutrition-related illnesses. Policymakers must recognize food as a fundamental need and place it at the centre of public health and nutrition strategies, in line with Articles 15 and 18 of the Constitution, to ensure secure access to nutritious food for all.

Ensuring people's safe food purchase capacity through employment and income generation 

A WFP survey found 68% of people in Bangladesh struggle to afford food, often selling assets or borrowing. Low wages, unemployment, and inflation reduce purchasing power, forcing families to cut nutritious foods. To ensure access to essential food, stronger employment, income support, revised wages, and programmes to lower staple food prices for vulnerable groups are urgently needed.

Formulation of National Price Commission to ensure just price for agro-products

Bangladesh lacks a National Agricultural Price Commission, leaving farmers vulnerable to sudden price drops. High production costs, poor storage, weak bargaining power, and middlemen force distress sales, worsening rural poverty and food insecurity. Reports in 2025 highlight farmer suicides linked to debt and financial stress. 

A dedicated Agricultural Price Commission should calculate real production costs and set minimum support prices for major crops at the start of harvest, with technical support from the Department of Agricultural Extension and the Department of Agricultural Marketing. 

It would ensure fair prices for farmers and consumers by analysing costs, supply and demand, market trends, inter-crop price parity, and consumer impact, promoting transparency and market stability. Agri-based value chains should be developed, agriculture modernised, marketing systems for marginal farmers improved, and access to loans made easier.

Approve Land Ownership and Use law and zoning the land to stop the use of arable land for non-agricultural purpose 

Bangladesh is losing an alarming amount of its agricultural base every year, with 68,760 hectares of arable land being converted to non-agricultural use annually, posing a significant, long-term threat to the country's food security and agricultural sustainability. If settlements and industry could be built after land zoning, it will help save the arable land from being used for non-agricultural purposes. Equally, steps must be taken to stop the industry from polluting the waterbodies and arable land. The government first drafted the "Protection of Arable Land and Land Use Law" in 2009, which now assumed the title "Land Ownership and Use Law" and awaits approval. This law must be expedited to be passed as soon as possible. 

Prepare proper and accurate database of poor people, take proper programme to remove nutrition crisis 

All vulnerable, marginalised, and poor people must be included in programmes like TCB and OMS for food assistance and social protection. A reliable database is needed to ensure fairness, prevent errors, and reduce fraud. Over 39 million people live in multidimensional poverty, and nearly 62 million people, about one-third of the population, remain vulnerable to shocks, while only 12.6 million currently benefit from social safety nets. Coverage must be expanded, including for the urban poor, and vulnerable groups must be mapped to ensure no one is left behind. Households in extreme poverty should receive nutritious foods like eggs, fish, milk, and vegetables, along with staple rations.

Establish anticipatory action systems, and shock-responsive social protection to ensure food security, dignity, and stability for present and future generations amid demographic transition, climate change and disasters

The first demographic dividend window of Bangladesh is expected to close between 2033 and 2040, and the working-age population fell to 65.08 percent in 2023 (BBS). This requires a forward-looking food security strategy. Climate change adds to the challenge. By 2050, an estimated 17 percent of land could be submerged, potentially displacing 18 million people and reducing arable land and food supply. As one of the most densely populated and climate-vulnerable countries, Bangladesh needs anticipatory action, food reserves, early warning systems, and shock-responsive social protection to safeguard food security and livelihoods amid demographic change, climate shocks, and uncertainty.

Increase government investment in urban and family farming 

According to BBS, 31.66 percent of Bangladesh's population lives in urban areas, but most urban residents have little role in food production due to negative views of farming, limited markets, and scarce resources. Urban employment growth has been slow, averaging 0.8 percent per year between 2017 and 2022. To improve food security and livelihoods, local governments should invest in urban agriculture. The UN has declared 2019–2028 the Decade of Family Farming, emphasising its potential to boost nutrition and income for families below the poverty line. Government support should promote family farming with technical guidance, resources, and market access through local authorities and the Department of Agricultural Extension.