Project to ensure food, livelihood security of one lakh distressed farmers

The project, financed by the European Commission (EC), will be implemented in Kurigram, Satkhira, Khulna, Patuakhali, Noakhali and Sunamganj through six local partner NGOs from the middle of this month engaging 20,000 household farmers. The project will continue till April 30, 2009.

The NGOs are Jibika, Uttaran, Jagroto Jubo Sangstha(JJS), Speed Trust, Noakhali Rural Development Society (NRDS), and Voluntary Association for Rural Development (VARD).

Jibika will work at Ulipur and Sadar thanas of Kurigram, Uttaran in Tala and Sadar thanas of Satkhira, JJS at Rupsa and Kawra thanas of Khulna, Speed Trust at Kalapara thana of Patuakhali, NRDS at Begumganj and Sadar thanas of Noakhali and VARD at Vishambhapur thana of Sunamganj districts.

As many as 80 members of six NGOs were given two-month-long training at Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) at Kakraid under Modhupur upazila in Tangail district with a view to implementing the project efficiently.

"We will build up 800 sustainable livelihood groups in these districts by giving training to poor farmers on on-farm and off-farm issues," said Nasreen Parveen Huq, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, at the closing ceremony of the training course at Modhupur yesterday.

"To improve the food and livelihood security of agriculture dependant food insecured households in Bangladesh, EC is implementing Foshol project in six districts by ActionAid, in Rajshahi, Nababganj and Habiganj by Care, in Jamalpur and Faridpur by Intermediate Technology Development Group, in Rangpur, Bogra and Sirajganj by Proshika. International Rice Research Institute will play as technical capacity building role," said Vianney Labe of EC delegation to Bangladesh while addressing the function.

Later, certificates were distributed among the participants of the training course.