Speakers at a post-rally discussion in Rajshahi Wednesday emphasized the need for boosting food production to ensure food security of the urban poor and extreme poor communities coupled with improving their living condition.
Terming the poor communities as most vulnerable in the society they laid stress on collective efforts to eradicate their poverty.Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Programme (UPPRP) under Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) organized the discussion at its Green Plazae marking the “Urban Food Production Day 2014” celebrated for the fourth time here.Main thrust of the day was to stimulate optimum utilization of urban household and community level agro-based resources for food production, increased consumption to promote household nutrition.RCC Mayor Mosaddique Hossain Bulbul, who addressed the meeting as the chief guest, called for brining all the urban poor and other low-income group people under the agricultural income generating activities for releasing them from the vicious cycle of poverty.Community participation has become indispensable to engage the slum womenfolk in various income-generating activities for freeing the metropolis from poverty and hunger.With RCC chief executive officer Ajaher Ali in the chair, Superintending Engineer of Local Government Engineering Department Ali Ahmed, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension Saiful Islam, District Livestock Officer Dr Mijanur Rahman and District Fisheries Officer Golam Rabbani also spoke on the occasion as special
guests.UPPRP Town Manager Ershadul Haque gave an overview of the project activities, so far, achievements and on-going development activities in his address of welcome.UPPR promotes household and community level urban food production technology demonstrations, provides small input supports especially high yielding variety vegetable and fruits seeds, saplings, ducklings, chick and integrated fish farming in community ponds, mushroom and honey production, poultry vaccination.The scheme also provides business start-up grants to extreme poor women for poultry, goat rearing, beef fattening & agri-business etc.Marking the day, various other programs like mass gatherings, colourful rally, documentary presentations, cultural events, urban food production competitions and demonstrations were also organized.In an effort to address the vulnerable issues of the slum dwellers,
Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has been implementing the UPPRP in the city with financial support from UNDP in association
with UKaid and UNHabitat. -BSS, Rajshahi
