Gender and Development

Bangladesh

Loan 2070-BAN: Second Participatory Livestock Development Project - 2003¹

Background:

Most people in Bangladesh live in rural areas and are extremely poor with little access to productive resources. Animal husbandry can play an important role in reducing poverty by providing food, cash income, and employment opportunities for the rural poor. Over 70% of the women in the country raise livestock.

In the first phase of the project, landless households that had been unable to access credit through the formal banking system to invest in livestock got technical assistance and microfinancing. Support services were provided by NGOs. The project benefited about 400,000 households, 70% of which were headed by women. Household incomes rose by more than 50% with significant increases in savings as well as expenditures on food, clothing, and education. Building on lessons learned, the second phase (PLDP II) has been designed to maximize opportunities for livestock rearing for the poorest of the poor, particularly those in female-headed households who are landless, small marginal farmers, farmers on riverbanks, and farmers in riverbed flood areas. Socio-economic surveys indicate that 18% of households in the project area are headed by females. Their status in their families and communities is marginal, and they lack negotiating skills. As a result, they have had no real participation in decision making. PLDP II will provide opportunities to address these concerns and raise women's employment and incomes by achieving the following:

• ensuring that gender aspects of poverty reduction are addressed in all project components
• increasing women's involvement at all stages of project planning and implementation
• improving women's access to and control over resources like credit, information, training and livestock support services through mixed and female farmer groups
• increasing women's employment in livestock rearing and in marketing livestock products like feed

PLDP II is classified as a core poverty intervention with economic growth and gender and development thematic classifications.

Top

Objectives and Scope:

The goal of PLDP II is to reduce rural poverty by benefiting 660,000 households in 20 districts and 68 upazilas in the North West Region of Bangladesh. A detailed gender action plan was prepared and covenanted during the design of PLDP II with the assistance of the Bangladesh Resident Mission Gender Specialist. It outlines specific interventions under each project component.

Top

Gender Inclusive Design:

1. Community Development: NGOs will form 26,000 farmer groups to raise awareness on enterprise and marketing opportunities, and community extension workers will be trained to provide livestock extension, vaccination and other services . At least 50% of group participants will be women. Women will be informed of available resources and services and will receive training in leadership, legal awareness, group solidarity, and how to identify and access community resources. Times and venues for training and meetings will be suitable for women. NGOs will be urged to use female staff and to train them to develop and implement pro-poor and gender-sensitive extension services
2. Livestock Enterprise Development: Credit will be extended to develop 250,000 micro and 50,000 mini livestock enterprises including a pilot program that will create assets for 5,000 women of ultra poor families and will train them in social mobilization. They will be given an orientation on economic and social asset creation and be introduced to a flexible savings program. They will also be provided with a cash grant for weekly subsistence. Based on their performance, they will be linked to the microfinance package and to related training activities. Gender sensitive training schedules and venues will ensure at least 50% of all training participants are women, and 50% of the 300,000 micro credit packages including training in enterprise management and livestock technology will be provided for women. A total of 200 new or improved livestock markets will be formed including slaughter slabs and training in meat hygiene. Marketing information and support programs to establish marketing links and consumer awareness programs on meat hygiene will also include women. Research on innovations in livestock varieties and feeds will be carried out to assist small livestock farmers with ways to increase their cash incomes
3. DLS Capacity Building: Under the poverty reduction framework, DLS staff will be oriented on their roles as facilitators and regulators of livestock development and as promoters of private sector development. Their role in promoting gender equity in the livestock sector will be incorporated into capacity building workshops that will include DLS female staff
4. Project Services: Consultants will help PKSF and DLS manage the project A group of established NGOs with gender and development experience and networks in the project area will be selected to implement the training programs and to establish offices and operations. At least 50% of their extension workers must be women. All NGOs will use gender sensitive service delivery mechanisms and will develop their capacity to address gender issues. All extension staff will be trained in working with female community groups and in addressing gender concerns. Gender training will be conducted for PKSF and DLS staff and all project training modules will incorporate gender concerns. NGOs will seek assistance from elected female union council members to bridge the gaps between the project participants and public offices. Institutional links with government departments will be established to ensure services to women on extension technologies, promoting market share, environmental preservation, legal aid, and access to financial institutions. In addition, the project will employ a gender specialist to ensure that gender concerns are properly addressed in all components and to monitor implementation of the gender action plan

Top

Guidance on GAD Activities:

As a member of the design team, the BRM Gender Specialist addressed gender and poverty reduction issues. She maintained constant liaison with the PPTA consultants, reviewed their outputs on a regular basis, and guided the development of the gender action plan (GAP) for the project. A format for the GAP was provided to the PPTA consultants. The BRM Gender Specialist joined wrap-up meetings of the inception, mid-term review, PPTA and loan appraisal missions. As the draft GAP developed by the consultant was not adequate, she prepared a core appendix and a detailed gender implementation plan as a supplementary appendix to the Report and Recommendation to the President . The BRM Gender Specialist will continue to collaborate closely with the project gender specialist throughout project implementation to ensure that gender issues are properly addressed and monitored.