Microfinance Programme for Food Security of Poor and Assetless People in Bangladesh

Microfinance and Technical Support Project (MFTSP) was started in some regions of Bangladesh in 2004 with the financial support from IFAD. This study evaluated the role of MFTSP on food security status of the poor and assetless people in Bangladesh. This study was based on primary data collected from 500 farm households from three different regions with direct interview method. Middle aged farmers especially women were found to run livestock based enterprises. They were found to be successful in running their businesses with the help of support services from NGOs. It helped increase employment, income, consumption, and nutritional status of the poor people. Consumption of almost all food items increased substantially. Households’ poverty reduced slightly due to the intervention from MFTSP. Both hard core and absolute poverty reduced relatively. Some private related businesses were developed in the supply chain to support the livestock based enterprises where increased number of labourers were employed. As a policy implication, in case of exogenous shocks government should provide financial supports to the farmers with easy terms and conditions to further setting up their livestock based enterprises. Marketing conditions should be improved to enable farm households to get fair prices for their livestock and products.