Melbourne and Bangkok are renowned for the quality of their food. While many residents assume that they will always have access to good food, the leaders of both cities recognise that their food systems face serious challenges.   

Bangladesh's national food priorities and policies will be inspired by the Dhaka Food Agenda 2041, which aims at making the city’s food system more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable. As part of a drive to achieve these aims, FAO’s Dhaka Food System project organized a two-week study tour for select government officials to learn from the world renowned ‘foodie’ cities in Thailand and Australia.  

The 18-strong delegation comprised of officials from the Local Government Division (LGD) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives (MoLGRD&C); Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Food; and all four city corporations. They were joined by a representative from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.   

They learnt about policies and best practices, seeing first-hand how successful food systems operate. The City of Melbourne food policy, for example, provides an overarching vision and framework that guides coordinated action and decision-making to improve the food system. Lessons learned from the tour will help to shape the Dhaka Food Agenda 2041 which will be led by the LGD and Dhaka's city corporations.