The Scaling up rice fortification initiative aims to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in Bangladesh through distributing fortified rice. It is a joint initiative between the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Bangladesh running from 2013 to 2017. The initiative has scaled up its distribution of fortified rice through various safety net programs reaching over 140,000 people, as well as partnering with garment factories to provide fortified rice to employees. Key achievements include distributing over 4,600 tons of fortified rice and facilitating the approval of a standard for fortified rice by the Government, which will help commercialize fortified rice. Moving forward, the Government and partners plan to further scale up distribution and work to create market demand for fort

1. Scaling up rice fortification
Overview
Through rice fortified with essential vitamins and
minerals, the initiative Scaling up rice fortification
aims to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in high-risk
groups with a strong focus on women and children.
With funding from the Netherlands and support from
global science company Royal DSM, the joint
initiative between WFP and the Government of
Bangladesh runs from 2013 to 2017 and is on track
to reach its target of 500,000 beneficiaries by 2016.
Activities
By providing fortified rice, WFP supports the
Government to overcome the country’s
intergenerational cycle of undernutrition. This joint
initiative has now been scaled up in four ways:
 By distributing fortified rice to ultra-poor
women and their families under the Vulnerable
Group Development (VGD) programme in 12
subdistricts and to disaster-affected families
through a relief programme in one district
(covering 141,000 people in 2014);
 By supporting programmes that enhance
resilience to disasters and the effects of
climate change (covering almost 37,000
people in 2014);
 Through cooked school meals to 25,000
schoolchildren; and
 In cooperation with garment factory
owners to encourage them to provide fortified
rice to their employees, most of whom are
young women.
Key achievements
The Government and WFP distributed 4,600 tons of
fortified rice to more than 140,000 people reached
by safety net programmes up to December 2014.
Garment manufacturer Dulal Brothers Limited (DBL)
made good progress toward the distribution of
fortified rice to their workers by importing rice
premix kernels, and construction company Abdul
Monem Limited (AML) initiated local production, a
key step to make fortified rice a commercially viable
product.
To support commercial sale of rice premix kernels
and fortified rice, WFP facilitated the process for the
Government’s approval of a Standard, a milestone in
the development of a market.
Way forward
The Government will finance further scale up of
fortification in the VGD programme.
DBL prepares to distribute fortified rice on a small
scale and AML is set to begin commercial sale of rice
premix kernels and fortified rice.
WFP to increase national capacity to reach the poor
with fortified rice and create market demand.
Government capacities will be enhanced through
technical support.
Rice Fortification
World Food Programme
Bangladesh
AT A GLANCE
Beneficiary: 500,000 people, mostly women and children
Duration: 2013-2017
Government partners: Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief
Donor: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Photo credits: WFP/Ranak Martin

2. World Food Programme
Bangladesh
About rice and nutrition
Why rice fortification?
The overall objective of rice fortification is to fight
micronutrient deficiencies among the poorest.
The nutritional challenge
Low dietary diversity and scanty intake of
nutrient-rich foods remain a challenge in
Bangladesh, despite a significant decline in
poverty in recent years, and deficiencies in
vitamin A, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin B12 and
folate are widespread.
These micronutrient deficiencies, especially
among adolescent girls and women, are a key
factor in the persistence of undernutrition as a
woman’s health significantly affects the health
and development of her children.
Undernutrition slows economic growth and
perpetuates poverty. Productivity losses to
individuals through underdeveloped physique and
cognitive functions as well as increased health
costs are estimated at roughly 10 percent of
lifetime earnings.
Beyond ’plain’ rice
Rice is the main staple food in Bangladesh and
the poorest often eat only rice with vegetables
and spices. Regular milled rice although high in
carbohydrates is low in micronutrients.
With rice being the main commodity distributed
through the Government’s food-based social
safety nets reaching the ultra-poor, the
introduction of fortified rice can address the
widespread nutritional deficiencies and help
ensure an active and healthy life.
Fortified rice kernels look, taste and cook like
ordinary rice but are enhanced with essential
micronutrients. They are combined with regular
rice at a ratio of 1 to 100.
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PARTNERS AND DONORS
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs dis-
tributes fortified rice through VGD
Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief
can distribute fortified rice
DSM supplies fortified kernels and provided fi-
nancial support to an acceptability study
BRAC conducted the acceptability study
Abdul Monem Limited (AML) produces premix
kernels locally and prepares for commercial sale
Dulal Brothers Limited (DBL) distributes forti-
fied rice to its garment workers
Icddr,b measures the effectiveness of distrib-
uting fortified rice
Zanala Bangladesh developed a training mod-
ule and arranged awareness workshops
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Nether-
lands supports the expansion to 500,000 people
Photocredits:WFP/RanakMartin;WFP/CorneliaPaetz;WFP/AnnikaHarald