Improving livestock sector
WB to provide $500m
BSS, Dhaka
The World Bank will provide $500 million assistance to improve livestock and dairy production in Bangladesh in a bid to meet the countrys growing demand for egg, meat and milk and thereby improve the nutritional intake of its citizens.
In this regard, a loan agreement will be signed tomorrow between the government and the World Bank at the NEC-2 Conference Room in the citys Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area, said an Economic Relations Division (ERD) official yesterday.
The official told the news agency that ERD Secretary Monowar Ahmed and World Bank Acting Country Director for Bangladesh Dandan Chen will sign the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
The credit from the World Banks International Development Association, which provides grants or zero-interest loans, has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period.
Through implementation of this project, growth will be stimulated as well as livestock production systems will be improved and thus livestock farmers in Bangladesh will have better access to livestock services and practices.
According to the ERD and the World Bank, the Livestock and Dairy Development Project will improve agricultural productivity and market access of 2 million smallholder household farmers and small and medium-scale agro-entrepreneurs.
The lending agency also said livestock sector employs 14 percent of the total labor force, but more than 70 percent of
rural households are engaged in livestock production.
Currently 68 percent of the agricultural labor force is women and they are mainly involved in livestock and poultry production.
Climate change impacts on livestock production threaten to hamper the development of livestock, said Manievel Sene, World Bank Team Leader for the Livestock and Dairy Development Project.
The official also said rural households livestock assets are highly exposed to risks, including loss of livestock, associated with natural events and major disease outbreaks.
Mitigating risks by creating an enabling environment for livestock insurance will reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers as well as enhance productivity. added the official.
