Improving Rural Livelihoods through Dairy and Fisheries Development

 

Despite high potential for income generation, poverty reduction and nutritional improvement, both the dairy and fisheries sectors of Bangladesh remain highly underdeveloped. The World Bank, in close cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has conceptualized the potential for financial assistance to improve rural livelihoods through acceleration of development of the country’s dairy and fish sectors. The focus of two probable new projects would be: I. broadening the livelihoods and raising the incomes of poor landless households and marginal farmers through increased production of milk and fish respectively; II. improving the market availability of high-quality milk and fish at accessible prices for consumers, which in turn would improve their nutritional status.

The Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock would implement the projects if the World Bank Board approves funding. Both projects would aim to improve rural welfare by increasing factor productivity, strengthening institutions and capacities, and investing in appropriate infrastructure.

The dairy development project is expected to significantly raise the incomes of approximately 500,000 poor rural households; and increase the supply of milk to satisfy the daily milk needs of up to 2 million households. The fisheries development project is expected to increase incomes of approximately another 370,000 poor rural households; increase the marketable surplus of fish; and establish a total of 1200 community-based management fisheries organizations.

Tackling the range of issues facing the rural poor would require institutional strengthening and capacity building in key implementing agencies to improve the effectiveness of core areas including monitoring and evaluation, research and development, and policy analysis and implementation. The projects would also support building up institutional infrastructure required for managing dairy and fish production.

At the field level the projects would support building community capacity to manage fish and dairy production, with a special focus on supporting market and value chain development to improve rural incomes, primarily from the sale of dairy and fish products. Investments in appropriate infrastructure would also be supported, as part of improving market access and product quality for participating communities. Finally, the projects would support the legal, policy and regulatory framework for both dairy and inland fisheries to remove impediments to sector development.