Bangladesh, a country once known for its food scarcity and famine, is now self-sufficient in food, said the country’s Agriculture Minister Dr. Abdur Razzaque. He credited the success to the exemplary leadership of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Soon after the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, Henry Kissinger, then Secretary of state of the US, ridiculed the country, calling it a “bottomless basket.” On Friday, referring to his remark, the agriculture minister said that the country’s basket is now “full of food”. 

“The prime minister has shown the world that Bangladesh is not ‘a bottomless bask’, rather the basket of Bangladesh is now full of food. No one is hungry here now,” He was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune. 

He also said the demand for coarse rice in the country is declining given the increased purchasing power of the people. People, he claimed, are now preferring fine rice. 

Earlier, also Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momin said agriculture was the topmost priority for the government, and it would ensure that the country won’t face food shortage in the wake of the pandemic.