Dhaka: Bangladesh and the Netherlands today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aiming mainly to reduce food wastage and promote a balanced food intake habit in the South Asian country as part of its efforts to address food security challenges, officials said.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the CoMove Foundation of the Netherlands will support Bangladesh in reducing food wastage and taking steps to ensure food security. The MoU focuses on changing food habits in Bangladesh and promoting balanced food intake to reduce vulnerability regarding food security by developing necessary policies.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2024 indicates that every year 14.10 million tonnes of food is wasted in Bangladeshi households. The UNEP study found that an estimated 82 kilograms of food is wasted by a person in Bangladesh per year, a figure higher than in countries like the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan, where the volumes are 73 kg, 59 kg, and 60 kg respectively.
The food ministry issued a statement saying CoMove Foundation director general Bert Dautzenberg and the ministry's additional secretary Ziauddin Ahmed signed the MoU. CoMove works globally to support local, regional, and national governments, organizations, and communities by designing and implementing sustainability policies and programs, according to the CoMove website.