Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian nation. Most of the people of the country directly or indirectly
depend on agriculture. Rural people are more involved in this sector compared to urban people.
Agriculture is the single largest producing sector of the economy since it comprises about 18.6 per
cent of the country's GDP and employs around 45 per cent of the total labour force (Wikipedia
2015).
The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives
like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development and food security.
The acceleration in economic and agricultural growth has made a positive impact on the diversity of
food intake, away from the rice- and vegetable-based diet in favour of quality food. A recent
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) study notes that nearly 20 per cent of the
population is still calorie deficient and the gender disparity in calorie intake still persists. Bangladesh
has made significant progress in reducing under nutrition of children. The prevalence of underweight
children below five years of age declined from 60 per cent in 1990 to 36 per cent in 2011. However,
progress in reducing stunting, the indicator of chronic malnutrition, shows a less encouraging
picture. The level is still about 41 per cent, much higher than countries in sub-Saharan Africa with
lower levels of income than in Bangladesh (BRAC 2012). An appropriate integration of agriculture
and nutrition is essential to achieve better nutrition security, especially for the poor and marginalised
people of the country.