The regional office of Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) here disbursed around Taka 941 crore as loan among poor and destitute people till December last.
The loan was distributed for poverty alleviation by creating self-employment facilities in agricultural and non-agricultural income-generating fields.
About 2.18 lakh members including 1.76 lakh women were brought under the project through forming 6,310 including 5,115 women Bittahin Samabaya Samity.
“We recovered loans about Taka 1028.80 crore from the beneficiaries under the programme, showing recovery rate at 97 per cent till the same time,” said Moktar Hossain, Regional Director of BRDB, while talking to BSS here Thursday.
The beneficiary members saved capital share worth Taka 5.12 crore having another Taka 15.49 crore as normal savings.
BRDB is implementing a programme titled Rural Livelihood Project (RLP) as a follow-up of the Rural Poverty Cooperative Project (RPCP) in 49 upazilas in Rajshahi and 11 upazilas in Rangpur divisions since January 1999.
RPCP started its implementation work in 1993 and ended in 1998 after finishing the tenure of Northwest Rural development Project, launched in 1984 to improve the socio-economic condition of the rural people by utilising local resources.
Moktar Hossain said the RLP project is being implemented to empower rural poor people, especially women, by upgrading their ability in different income generating activities. There is also provision of strengthening the institutional capacities and skills of project beneficiaries.
Necessary measures were adopted to create short and long-term employment opportunity and socioeconomic development. Participation of beneficiaries including women in planning and implementation relating to poverty eradication were intensified.
The beneficiary people are being imparted training on cooperative management and other skill development for elevating income and awareness building through engaging them in women empowerment and other development activities.
Northwest part of Bangladesh comprising Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions has seen much faster rate in poverty reduction than other parts of the country, mainly because of the government’s targeted programmes, said Foyzullah Chowdhury, Director of Barendra Unnayan Prochesta, referring to the grassroots level RLP activities.
Dr Abdul Khaleque Khan, former Deputy Managing Director of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, said public investment in human resources development and other rural infrastructure improvement projects triggered a significantly higher reduction rate in conventionally depressed areas.
“The spill-over impacts of remittances, booming construction across the region and microfinance have also contributed significantly to reduce poverty at the pockets,” said Dr Khaleque Khan.
The estimates of poverty reduction are based on the calorie intake, particularly on the cost of basic needs.
“Also, people’s income source has been diversified,” the senior banker pointed out. “Obviously, other aspects of human development are also important in identifying poverty,” said Dr Khan, reports BSS, Rajshahi.
