Presided over by Comrade Badrul Alam, President of Bangladesh Krishok Federation the rally was addressed by, among others, General Secretary of Bangladesh Krishok Federation Zayed Iqbal Khan, Central Member of Workers Party Bangladesh, Abul Hossain, President of Motherland Garments Workers’ Federation Saleha Islam Santana, General Secretary Al-Amin Hawlader, Central Member of Samyavadi Dal Sultan Ahmed Biswas, Sromojibi Andolon President Harunar Rashid, Bangladesh Sramic Federation General Secretary AAM Fayez Hossain, Bangladesh Jatya Sramic Federation President Shamim Akhtar, Jago Bangladesh Garments Sramic Federation President Baharane Sultan Bahar, Aawami League Leader Raju Ahmed and Labor Resource Center General Secretary Shibli Anwar Suman, Ideal Women and Children Welfare Foundation President Suraiya Akhtar Selina.

Lidy Necpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, expressed solidarity through WhatsApp, saying that the whole world is facing a major food crisis due to the increase in food and energy prices and the impact of climate change. Owing to multifaceted crisis created by export-oriented industries and corporate-controlled agri-food systems world hunger is growing more acutely. He calls for a sustainable food system that prioritizes domestic food needs and ensures adequate and nutritious food for all.

The president of the gathering, Comrade Badrul Alam, said in his speech that the world has not been able to achieve the goal of ending hunger with which the World Food Day was started in 1981. The number of hungry people in the world is constantly increasing. Today, more than 1 billion people in the world go hungry every day. More than half of the world’s people are suffering from malnutrition. Most of the malnourished people are located in Asia. If we want to say goodbye to the hunger, we need to establish farmer-centered eco-friendly farming and food sovereignty instead of relying on corporate agriculture. Recalling the achievements of the farmers of Bangladesh in producing a large amount of crops during the climate change and Corona crisis, he said, it is sad that those farmers are not able to take two square meals. He demanded the government to introduce one-time allowance, monthly pension and rationing for farmers aged more than 60 years.

Due to the climate crisis, Bangladesh is constantly facing various disasters, including the decline in crop production in the southern and northern regions of the country. Rising sea level, increasing salinity in cropland, disruption of seasonal cycles, extreme cold and extreme heat flow, melting ice in the Himalayas and flash floods upstream are a matter of deep concern for Bangladesh. Due to climate change, the rich countries of the world are responsible for the damage due to their consumption, which is causing climate change by increasing the global temperature by emitting excess carbon. Due to climate change and environmental pollution, there is a huge shortage of fresh water in the world. Despite knowing that water is life, water is food, every day industrial waste is polluting water and making public life dangerous.

Bangladesh, as one of the main countries in the world’s list of victims, the rich countries are obliged to pay for the loss and damages it has suffered so far. Comrade Alam opined that it is their historical and ecological dues to the south. They have to pay reparation for this as well.

Other speakers at the human chain called for the continuation of the fight against hunger, saying that billions of people will go hungry every day, which is not compatible with human rights. The conviction of the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate hunger and poverty remains just that. In this case, the progress is not calculated at all.

In the speech, they also said that since the basic food is produced by the farmers, all the policies of the state regarding food should be determined with utmost importance to the farmers. Farmers should be provided with interest-free loans, seeds, electricity, fertilizers, irrigation. The leaders also called upon the government to fulfill its constitutional duty to ensure the right to food for all.

News Sender,
Palash Hossain
Press and Publications Secretary
Bangladesh Krishok Federation