The Ministry of Agriculture, in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, organized a rally in the city to celebrate World Food Day on Friday. The theme for this year's event is 'Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis'. The Agriculture minister, Matia Chowdhury, officially kicked off the day's activities with the rally, which was followed by a procession starting from Khamar Bari. The event was attended by agriculturists, scientists, officials, and members of the public, along with hundreds of school children carrying colourful banners and festoons. The programme received support from Telefood, a FAO project dedicated to ending hunger, bdnews24.com, and Channel i. A seminar to commemorate the day is taking place at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, with attendance from agricultural minister Matia Chowdhury. Food and disaster management minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque and minister of fisheries and livestock Abdul Latif Biswas are also participating in the seminar, where FAO Bangladesh representative, AD Spijkers, is the guest of honour. A children's painting competition is set to take place at 3pm at Bangladesh Shishu Academy. Additionally, a three-day fair on 'Agriculture and Food' will be inaugurated at the Krishibid Institution premise at 12pm. Another similar fair will be held at Depasai village in Somobhat union under Dhamrai upazila. Channel i will broadcast the program live. In the afternoon, prime minister Sheikh Hasina will unveil postage stamps and envelopes to mark the day. Additionally, district and upazila administrations across the country are marking the day with discussion meetings and rallies. President Zillur Rahman emphasized the importance of taking appropriate measures to ensure food security in a changing climate, stating that research and technological innovation are key to increasing food production. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasized the significance of agriculture as the most affected sector by climate change, stressing the need to ensure food security in the face of this challenge. She highlighted Bangladesh's self-dependency in agriculture during the previous Awami League government in 1996-2001, noting that subsequent governments were unable to maintain this success. The current government is committed to achieving self-dependency once again and ensuring food security for all. In his statement, the UN chief Ban Ki-moon emphasized the importance of food and nutritional security as essential for a decent life, education, and the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals. He highlighted that volatile food prices, the economic crisis, climate change, and conflict have resulted in a significant increase in the number of people lacking access to food. Ban Ki-moon urged nations to implement coordinated strategies for agricultural development and social protection to ensure that vulnerable populations, especially women and children, have access to the food they need for their well-being. FAO representative in Bangladesh AD Spijkers warned that the progress towards achieving MDG 1, which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, is at risk of facing serious setbacks. He explained that the economic crisis and sudden increases in prices have led to a decrease in income and food accessibility for the poor, especially in the most impoverished regions of the world. Spijkers expressed confidence in the government's commitment to achieving food self-sufficiency by 2012 and maintaining it, and he believes that Bangladeshi farmers have the potential to reach this goal.