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Signing Ceremony for Livestock Project to Help Rural Women in Bangladesh

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (26 September 2002) - The signing ceremony for an Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance grant of US$500,000 to Bangladesh to help rural women was held today at the Ministry of Finance, Dhaka.

Shaking hands after the agreement are A.M.M. Nasir Uddin (left) and Toru Shibuichi

The Bangladesh Government was represented by Mr. A.M.M. Nasir Uddin, Joint Chief of the Ministry of Finance's Economic Relations Division, and ADB by Mr. Toru Shibuichi, Country Director for Bangladesh. Mr. Toru Maeda, Counselor/Head of Economic and Development Cooperation Section of the Embassy of Japan was also present.

The grant will come from ADB's Japan Special Fund, financed by the Government of Japan.

The assistance will design a project to promote livestock production among poor rural women.

Nearly half of Bangladeshi families living in the countryside are either landless or own less than 0.2 hectare. Encouraging women to raise livestock can significantly raise household income, as ADB's ongoing Participatory Livestock Development Project has demonstrated.

The grant will prepare a similar, and more effective, project that includes more participation by the beneficiary women in planning and management. The project will also involve the private sector in producing and marketing livestock and related products. Other components will cover the improvement of breeds and animal health, research, livestock and poultry husbandry, fodder development, livestock produce processing, and environmental management.