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AIDCO/546/04-EN Orig. 1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION EuropeAid Co-operation Office Horizontal operations and RRD Food security and Thematic support Bruxelles, AIDCO/546/2004-EN FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY Proposal for a Commission Decision on a Food Security Programme in favour of Bangladesh (To be presented to the Food Aid and Food Security Committee) Project Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Recipient Country Bangladesh Authority presenting the project GoB Sectoral classification (according to OECD classifications) 52010 – Food Aid/Food Security Commitment proposed as grant € 20 million Budget year 2004: € 20 million Case Officers Official responsible, AIDCO/F/5 Xavier Guillou Geographical Unit, DG Relex Ana Beatriz Martins Delegation to Bangladesh Head of Delegation Esko Kentrschynskyj Programme Officer Vianney Labé

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION EuropeAid Co-operation Office Horizontal operations and RRD Food security and Thematic support

Bruxelles, AIDCO/546/2004-EN FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Proposal for a Commission Decision on a Food Security Programme in favour of Bangladesh

(To be presented to the Food Aid and Food Security Committee)

Project Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA)

Recipient Country Bangladesh

Authority presenting the project GoB

Sectoral classification (according to OECD classifications)

52010 – Food Aid/Food Security

Commitment proposed as grant

€ 20 million

Budget year 2004: € 20 million Case Officers Official responsible, AIDCO/F/5 Xavier Guillou Geographical Unit, DG Relex Ana Beatriz Martins Delegation to Bangladesh Head of Delegation Esko Kentrschynskyj Programme Officer Vianney Labé

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SUMMARY Bangladesh is a major country of intervention for the EC. The country has registered an improvement of Human Development Index (HDI) over the last few years but still remains among the lowest in the world (134 on 175 countries). Demographic pressure and nutritional imbalance remain. Women and children are especially vulnerable. Poverty affects around 50% of the population; half can be considered ultra poor, which represents about 30 million people. About 78% of the population is living on less than 2 USD per day. Poverty is particularly high in rural areas and among female-headed households. Food security and poverty are intimately interrelated. Both have their root causes in insufficient and irregular income for a majority of the population. This is particularly affecting female-headed households in rural areas. Food security programme is an integral part of the EC support to Bangladesh. Priorities are set on access to food and improving nutrition. The latest National Indicative Programme (NIP) (2003-2005) focuses primarily on poverty alleviation and targets HDI improvement. Whereas in the early 1990s, food security interventions focused on food availability and agricultural production, the emphasis from the late 1990s stresses on access to food and nutrition. This entailed a shift from food aid supported activities to cash based interventions for the most vulnerable groups. The shift in focus is justified by recent developments towards food self-sufficiency in Bangladesh. EC is committed to addressing food insecurity through increasing incomes of the poorest segments of the population. As far as poverty alleviation and food security are concerned, the GoB has committed itself through a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), to be finalised by the end of 2004. The paper outlines the ambition to reach the Millennium Development Goals including “halving poverty” and “halving hunger (malnutrition)” which seems to be the most difficult ones to reach in Bangladesh. The Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) focuses on three major objectives: (1) increase income of destitute women and landless poor by providing employment; (2) improving public assets for the benefit of the rural communities; (3) strengthening Local Gov Institutions for better response to pro-poor growth. REOPA addresses the problem of lack of regular or sufficient income by providing the targeted beneficiaries with year round employment through creation and maintenance of public assets. The intervention also extends its scope to seasonal employment for other targeted groups. On top of employment, the programme provides the beneficiaries with a development package consisting of wide scope training and opportunities. In addition, the intervention has a clear second objective by providing the poor rural communities with more relevant and better public assets as well as more sustainable natural environment. Thirdly, REOPA has a strong component on enhancing Local Government capacities in management and in particular to make it more responsive to the voices of the poor. With REOPA, the Food Security Programme in Bangladesh hits directly three of the six EC’s priorities for Least Developed Countries (LDC): Rural Development and Food Security, Social Services delivery, and sustaining vital Transport systems. It also touches on two other priorities, namely Governance, and protecting the Environment. REOPA has a strong focus on gender equality. Lastly, REOPA is to work with other Member States, and other donors. This financing proposal proposes to allocate € 20 million for the Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA).

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A. RELEVANCE

1. Consistency with global objectives

1.1 EC aid policy objectives and priorities In Bangladesh, food aid and food security have been a central area of intervention for the EC since the country’s independence in 1971. It remains among the first priorities in the 2002-2006 CSP and in the 2003-2005 NIP. The Food Security programme is in full compliance with the Community’s development co-operation objectives (art. 177 EC Treaties) in general and its development policy with regard to Least Developed Countries (2001), as well as the integration of food security objectives within poverty reduction framework. The Food Security interventions for Bangladesh were found relevant by the evaluations of the Food Aid/Food Security Regulation (1292/96) and the multi-annual programme Mid Term Review carried out in 2004.

1.2 Objectives of National Indicative Programme (NIP) The Food Security programme is an integral element of the EC’s support to Bangladesh. Priorities are set on access to food and improving nutrition. The latest NIP (2003-2005) focuses primarily on poverty alleviation and targets Human Development Index (HDI) improvement. It aims at improving essential needs: strengthening the health and education public sector and ensure a higher food security. These three complementary sectors represent two third of the total NIP budget and the food security programmes alone 21%.

1.3 Link with annual country review The latest evaluation of the 3 EC Country Strategies for Bangladesh shows a clear trend over time towards integrated approach combining rural development and food security in one strategy aimed at poverty alleviation. The evaluation welcomes having poverty alleviation as overarching goal and getting more explicit prominence over time. According to the evaluation, the Food Security programme interventions are in conformity with revised Bangladesh and EC policy and strategy and that reorientations of EC food aid interventions into targeted food security for poverty alleviation interventions following the Food Aid/Food Security Regulation are actively pursued with relative success. Gender issues are well attended to (target groups, project personnel, gender sensitive data, training on gender issues…). However, the institutional and capacity building aspects are most crucial strategy components, to be attended to in a more systematic manner (further decentralisation, strengthening of local governance, strengthening of ownership of the interventions by the target groups / beneficiaries / clients). Strengthening sound management based on effective use of rational management instruments needs to be given higher priority at both overall programme and individual interventions levels in order to ensure enhanced cost-efficiency, cost-effectiveness and sustainability. REOPA is precisely addressing these possible short comings.

2. Sector analysis

2.1 Features of the sector: Food security situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh has registered an improvement of HDI but this index still remains among the lowest in the world (134 on 175 countries). Poverty affects almost 50% of the population; half of it can be considered ultra poor, which represents about 30 million people. Extreme poverty is predominantly female and malnutrition is also highest among women and girls.

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Bangladesh is close to self sufficient in rice. In addition, due to market liberalization, food grains are now available throughout the country even during the period of severe crises (floods, droughts, cyclones). Food insecurity, at least in the short term, is no longer a problem of supply availability at the national or village level, but is mainly a problem of affordability for the poor. Nevertheless demographic pressure and nutritional imbalance remain. With regard to malnutrition, Bangladesh has higher rates of infant stunting and infant underweight than in Sub-Saharan Africa (IFPRI, 2004). More than half Bangladeshi’s children under five are underweight and 60% stunted. Apart from the prevailing deficit in total calorie intake, the normal diet of Bangladeshi people is seriously imbalance, with inadequate shares of fat, oil and protein and with more than 80% of the calories gained from cereals. Women and children are especially vulnerable. In Bangladesh, food insecurity is closely linked to poverty. Although there has been significant progress in reducing the birth rate, nevertheless increasing population pressures have resulted in marginalisation and landlessness for many people. In the rural economy of Bangladesh, poverty and food insecurity are directly linked to access of natural resources, especially land. Some 65% of the rural poor are landless and the availability of land per capita stands at less than 0.09 ha. The poorest must therefore gain their income from other sources, namely wage employment for menial services. Wage employment does not ensure food security, since unskilled labour in the agricultural sector is poorly compensated, and wage-earning opportunities are either temporary or seasonal. It is difficult if not impossible for the majority of poor families to find permanent employment in rural areas. With sharp seasonal variations in labour demand in the agricultural sector, many of the rural poor are jobless during the lean seasons, between planting and harvest. Lack of marketable skills and knowledge, combined with high illiteracy and limited or no access to capital, are the main barriers which hinder the poor from acquiring alternative off-farm rural employment. Poor health is a major contributing factor to food insecurity among most vulnerable households. Many of the poor suffer from frequent illnesses caused by inadequate sanitary conditions and lack of clean potable water, even when they have sufficient food. Many poor families are unable to purchase adequate food, cannot afford regular daily meals, or are unaware of balanced food requirements in their diet. Consequently, malnutrition contributes to the poor health status of large sections of the population in rural Bangladesh, with direct negative effects of people’s ability to work and to the detriment of the national economy. Gender is another key determinant of food insecurity and poverty in Bangladesh. Local perceptions and deeply ingrained cultural factors result in women and girls often being deprived of basic “human development” needs, such as access to health and education, and adequate legal protection. The debilitating combination of high morbidity, high malnutrition (50% of women suffer from chronic anaemia), low literacy levels and extremely limited access to labour markets give evidence of high social discrimination against women and girls in Bangladesh. Food insecurity and poverty are also related to regional and local characteristics. Households located in rural areas with better access to roads, electricity, health facilities and other basic infrastructure generally have lower poverty rates. Whereas poverty and food insecurity are higher in regions where the risk of natural disasters – flooding, river erosion or droughts – is high. Development strategies and programmes often lack accountability to the needs of people living in different social strata. Participation of the rural poor in the development process is severely overlooked, mainly because they have no political voice, organizing capacity or bargaining power through which to influence development policies.

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The status quo scenario in rural areas remains unchanged in such situations, with the majority of the poor continuing to be marginalised by ignorance and abject poverty, far removed from any genuine participation in their own development or the development of the nation. While many of these programs have gained wide recognition for their significant achievements, nevertheless new approaches are required which will allow and promote much greater involvement of the poor in the management of those development projects which directly affect their lives. Perhaps only in this way can development projects hope to succeed in making a more permanent contribution to significant and fundamental change vis-à-vis poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. The GoB and EC believe that the proposed Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets, with its emphasis on involving the poor and vulnerable groups in decision regarding local development, can fulfil some of these hopes and objectives

2.2 Status of national policy The process of preparation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) started in early 2001. The Interim PRSP was published in early 2003, while the final PRSP is expected to be completed at the end of 2004. The paper displays the ambition to reach the millennium development goals including “halving poverty” and “halving hunger (malnutrition)” which seems to be the most difficult goals to reach in Bangladesh. It even proposes a more ambitious target for reduction of extreme poverty, from 28% to 5% by 2015. It is emphasised that an annual growth rate of 7% will be necessary to reach these goals. Substantial capacity strengthening and technical assistance are likely to be required from development partners -as well as a very strong political commitment from the GoB- in order to reach these ambitious goals. The National Food Policy is underway and three major donors (USAID, DFID and EC) have committed support to capacity strengthening of the GoB in the field of Food Security Policy (Financing Agreement 2003). The new GoB legislation mandates that Local Government Institutions (LGIs) be the centre of development activities at the local level. With this step taken, GoB is committed to decentralisation and to re-activate the role and involvement of Local Government Institutions.

3. Problem analysis 3.1 Target groups, beneficiaries, stakeholders

The Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) has four broad categories of beneficiaries: the destitute women targeted by REOPA for year-round employment, the landless and casual labour (irrespective of their gender) targeted by REOPA for seasonal employment, the poor rural communities using the public assets build and or maintained by REOPA, and the Local Government Institutions partners of REOPA. The first direct beneficiaries, named after “Women”, are the destitute women to which year round employment will be provided through maintenance of public assets. They will be selected using pre-established selection criteria, indicating their disadvantaged status:

Women are divorced, widowed, abandoned; Women are predominantly single heads of households; Women are young, 18-35 years, with children; Women are physically and mentally fit to do road maintenance work and

receive life management training packages; Women with little or no schooling;

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Women are and their families are well below the “extreme poverty line”; Women are unable to provide their families with 3 balanced meals daily; Women have few assets, may be landless and without their own shelter; Women who are forced to beg or seek, irregular, short-term work at low

wages. The number of identified eligible destitute women per Union Parishad is usually between 50-150. Final selection of 30 (10 per ward) women is done through lottery draw in order to maintain fairness. With an average of over 5 persons per household (BBS, 2001), and approximately 300 UPs targeted, REOPA will directly contribute to the livelihood of some 50,000 people. For seasonal employment schemes, the profile of the beneficiaries will be extended to poor women and men of landless households, who depend on manual labour as their main source of income and do not own more than 0.5 acres. This group will constitute the group of second direct beneficiaries. However, the effective selection of the poorest strata of the rural population depends not only on the establishment of restrictive selection criteria but also on the selection process itself. Selection process used by IFADEP (funded by EC between 1995 and 1999) will be adapted. In this process, beneficiaries are organised in Labour Contracting Societies (LCS) and the selection of beneficiaries as LCS members is done in public sessions and is based on socio-economic poverty indicators. The implementing agency supervises the selection process. Additional methods can improve the selection such as the IFADEP Rural Maintenance Schemes, where the Community Organiser or the NGO representative, in consultation with selected local people, is responsible for the final selection of poor people who have applied and fulfil criteria. In the case more candidate members have registered than can be accommodated, a prioritisation is done, preferring individuals being absolutely landless and not affiliated with any NGO. The total number of women and men of landless households employed in seasonal schemes will be known only at the implementation. The third category of direct beneficiaries are the rural communities using the public assets (earthen rural roads, health centres, primary schools, irrigation and drainage systems, tree plantations, waste management centres etc.) maintained or built by REOPA and from where the first and second categories of individual beneficiaries are originating. Particularly, the roads connecting between villages, Upazila centres, markets, health clinics, schools, government and non government service agencies, mosques and temples, and other socio-economic gathering points are of prime interest for the poor rural communities. Assets to be built or maintained will be selected for year-round maintenance based on priority needs of the community. Lastly, the fourth category of beneficiaries is the Local Government Institutions (LGIs). At present there is only one tier of elected local government in rural areas, the Union Parishad, each of which has jurisdiction over 10 to 15 villages (1). Union Parishads are under the national authority of the Local Government Division (LGD) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MLGRD&C). Each UP consists of the Chairperson and 12 members, with 3 positions reserved for women in each UP area of jurisdiction. UP members are elected for a period of 5 years. One of the purposes of 1 The Government of Bangladesh is subdivided nation-wide into the administrative units: Country, Divisions: 6 each consisting of 4 to 14 Districts, each consisting of around 10 Upazila Parishads (487): each consisting of 8-10 Union Parishads, Union Parishads (4,461 plus 118 in the three Hill Districts): each consisting of 10-15 villages, Gram Parishads: each consisting of about 3 villages, Bangladesh has 85,000 villages, with an average 1,650 people per village.

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REOPA is to involve and strengthen the capacity of UPs and UZs in all daily project management and monitoring activities. In this regard, the 300 participating Union Parishads are considered to be frontline grassroots partner and beneficiary institutions in the project’s local development planning and implementation activities.

3.2 Specific problems REOPA addresses a number of interrelated problems in rural areas of Bangladesh. Foremost of these is unemployment and/or under-employment which is one of the root-causes of endemic poverty and food insecurity especially among female headed families. The second major problem is lack of knowledge, awareness and life management skills of rural disadvantaged women to challenge the widespread discrimination against impoverished women, which is common throughout Bangladeshi society. Disadvantaged women are frequently ostracized or extremely marginalized by traditional customs and accepted social practises, and therefore, unable to access basic human services that are required for their livelihood. The third major problem impeding economic development in rural areas is the low quantity and quality of public assets serving the rural communities, especially the most disadvantaged, such as continuing breakdown and frequent washout of important rural earthen roads, on which village life and community economy depend upon, other public goods such as schools, dispensaries, irrigation and drainage systems are either non existing or poorly maintained. The environment is being more and more endangered, threatening village life. The fourth problem is that local government institutions, which are increasingly expected to assume a greater role in local development, remain weak, with scarce resources and inadequate development of project management and monitoring skills. Further, the project greatly extends perceived “gender norms” of women’s traditional roles in rural Bangladesh, since responsibility for labour-intensive outside of the home, is traditionally seen as men’s occupation. Building this extended gender capacity for women demonstrates publicly the new potential roles and associated human dignity that is possible for women. The four types of problems mentioned above are addressed together in REOPA by employing destitute women, landless and casual labour to build and maintain public goods serving the poor rural communities, and so enhancing the rural economy, while at the same time guaranteeing poor individuals and families an increased income. For those women who will enter the maintenance schemes, REOPA will secure their wage income, and enhance their life skills development over a 3-year period. LGIs which are participating in REOPA will receive support to strengthen their project management, implementation, and monitoring skills.

4. Origins and preparation of the programme The European Commission (EC) has a long experience in employment generation through creation and maintenance of public assets as a mean to increase access to food for vulnerable groups. A major intervention between 1995 and 2000 has been the Integrated Food Assisted Development Programme (IFADEP). The sub-component IFADEP-3 was a Food and Cash for Work programme working on construction or maintenance of culverts, roads, market places etc. Under IFADEP-3 several pilot activities were conducted. In 2002, the EC Food Security Programme joined the ongoing cash for work programme co-financed by GoB and CIDA, named Rural Maintenance Programme (RMP). In 2003 the

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Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has issued an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) demonstrating its commitment for fighting poverty. Programmes co-financed by GoB and EC, such as the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) or the Rural Maintenance Programme (RMP), are mentioned in the I-PRSP as types of interventions to be continued.

With REOPA, the GoB and EC intend to improve their intervention in the field of rural employment generation through public works for supporting pro-poor rural development, based on their previous experiences and lessons learned. The new programme REOPA is wider in its scope and more ambitious in terms of objectives, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. It builds on coordination with other Member States which are working in the same fields (Germany) or are looking for partnership and complementarities (UK).

B. FEASABILITY

5. Programme description REOPA is designed to:

alleviate rural poverty through providing year-round employment and wages to approximately 9,000 direct beneficiaries, selected among the most disadvantaged and hard to reach destitute rural women. In addition, REOPA will improve socio-economic conditions of thousands of additional direct beneficiaries employed in seasonal schemes;

train, counsel and support “Women” in acquiring necessary life-management skills, so that they can become self-reliant human beings and do not return to destitution once they are graduated from the REOPA;

support and expand a system throughout rural Bangladesh of socially and economically important rural public assets receiving year-round routine maintenance and eventually contributing to improve the social conditions and the rural economy;

enable local governing bodies, such as Union Parishads, and Upazila Parishads to plan, implement and monitor REOPA activities and other pro-poor development projects at the local level.

The Rural Employment Opportunity for Public Assets thereafter called REOPA, is to be jointly funded by the Government of Bangladesh, and the European Community. The proposed REOPA will begin on 1 July 2005 (2) and will extend for a period of 5 years (see below). The project will be implemented in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh, the Local Government Division of MLGRD&C, Upazila Parishads, Union Parishads, and EC. Technical Assistance and NGOs will assist the implementation of the programme. These partnership will be selected by tender (TA) and by a Call for Proposals (NGOs).

REOPA will be implemented in some of the Upazilas of Rajshahi, Kulna and Barisal divisions, as well as some of the Chars areas (3). The exact location of REOPA will depend on the complementarities and synergies with other programmes such as the FSVGD funded by EC, the Rural Development (RD-25) funded by KfW and ADB and assisted by GTZ, and the Chars Programme under DFID.

2 In Bangladesh, Financial years start on 01 July and end on 30 June. 3 Chars are river islands and are disaster prone areas (floods, erosion, tidal waves, etc.) colonised by very poor people in search of land.

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5.1 Overall objectives The proposed project’s overall objective is to contribute to the long-term sustainable socio-economic development of rural Bangladesh. Therefore, REOPA will contribute to GoB’s larger framework commitments to poverty alleviation in rural areas and mainstreaming women into development programmes.

5.2 Programme purposes The project has three parallel and interrelated purposes. They are formulated as follows: Purpose 1: Socio-economic conditions and food security of REOPA individual beneficiaries are improved and sustained. Purpose 2: Social, economic and environmental conditions of rural communities are improved through maintenance and creation of public assets targeted at the poor. Purpose 3: Local Government Institutions have strengthened their capacities to respond effectively and efficiently to pro-poor needs.

5.3 Programme Results and Activities In order to achieve its purposes, the project has to reach expected results which are to be measured using objectively verifiable indicators (OVIs) as detailed in the project’s LFM. For the first purpose “Socio-economic conditions and food security of REOPA individual beneficiaries are improved and sustained”, two results have to be passed: Result 1.1: REOPA individual beneficiaries have improved their financial conditions through more regular incomes and increased savings. Selected individual beneficiaries will be employed in the public assets creation or maintenance schemes. Round year employment schemes are targeted at destitute women. Women will form one group per participating ward. These women will receive approximately 80% of farm labourers’ wages as reported by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (4). Out of this daily wage, around 20% will be transferred to the beneficiary’s mandatory savings account. They will be working 6 days, except during all statutory holidays (5). Wages go straight to the bank account of each group account; and each woman also will have her own bank account for deposition of mandatory savings. The group wage payment and banking system is leak-proof, as demonstrated in EC former experiences. The total employment duration will not exceed 3 years. Women have many intersecting and interdependent productive, reproductive, and family care responsibilities. The women participating in REOPA are assigned sufficient work to be accomplished within a 6 hours period each day. When there are training sessions, such sessions are held during the scheduled 6-hour work period, 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The scheduled work or training hours allow women sufficient time to care for their families, as well making improvements to their shelter or attending to other care-giving and income earning priorities.

4 80% because Women work 6 hours a day from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm 5 For smooth and easy transaction, women will be paid 6 days a week throughout the year (=512 days a year), which means that their wages conditions will altogether be better than the average casual labours.

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In addition to wage employment, the project assists women to learn life skills which will enable them to overcome feelings and attitudes associated with poverty, inferiority, inadequacy, social isolation and gender discrimination. Towards this end, the REOPA will provide women with a systematic interactive training package. Women employed under REOPA maintenance schemes are selected by Project Management Committees (PMC) with the support from Union Parishads. Ten women are selected per Ward (3 wards per UP, 30 women per UP). Since numbers of eligible destitute women far exceed project limits, final selection is done through an impartial lottery draw. REOPA will work with approximately 300 Unions from which about 9,000 women will be recruited in this manner. Casual labours (poor landless women and men) employed in the creation of public assets schemes will benefit of season employment. These schemes are conducted during the lean seasons (February to April, and September to November). Seasonal work will bridge the gaps in income flows for the targeted beneficiaries. The total number of individuals to be incorporated in these seasonal employment schemes will be only known at implementation. Result 1.2: REOPA individual beneficiaries and their dependents have improved their human capital in terms of nutrition, health, education, social recognition and voice. The training package offered to women employed in the maintenance schemes is to strengthen the capacity of disadvantaged women who are employed for maintenance works and enable them to graduate from the project as self-reliant individuals capable of managing their own lives, so that they do not return to their previous destitute condition. The 3 years employment period offers tremendous opportunities for long term and in depth training and enhancement of human development. REOPA groups will receive a sequenced 3-year training programme on various issues and topics related to their social status, gender equity, legal and human rights, primary health care and nutrition, and special women’s health issues. Adult participatory training methods are used, including functional literacy. The training sessions are held during the scheduled 6-hour work period, 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Each woman will be assisted with selecting and training on viable business interests which will generate adequate financial returns on her labour and savings investments. A training package will also be offered to poor landless women and men employed in seasonal schemes, but on limited scope. The second purpose - “Social, economic and environmental conditions of rural poor communities are improved through increased use of public assets” – runs in parallel to purpose 1 and 3. REOPA is not a pure safety net but an employment opportunity programme. The “counterpart” of this employment is the creation or maintenance of public assets, which in turn will bring benefits (increase use of services and economic growth) to the poor in particular and to the rural communities in general. In order to make development work for the poor, the choice of public assets to be created or maintained is crucial. This purpose, which is clearly a benefit for the targeted poor rural communities, has one result: Result 2.1: public assets improving social conditions (such as village schools, dispensaries, latrines, etc.), promoting economic growth (such as rural earthen roads, village markets, irrigation systems, etc.), and enhancing environment conditions (such as waste and sanitary management systems, including composting, cleaning of and improvement of sewage systems, drainage systems, tree plantations, etc.) are maintained and created for the benefit of the poor of the participating rural communities.

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The selection of the different works to be undertaken will be done through a participative process. UPs will be directly involved in the decision making after consultation with pro-poor representatives. UPs will draw from the Local Government Engineering Division (LGED) for technical expertise, planning and supervision of the works. One LGED engineer is already placed in each UZ and makes extensive visits to the field. This enables the decisions, design and implementation to be fairly responsive to local needs, and technologically appropriate. For the third purpose “Local Government Institutions have increased their capacities to respond effectively and efficiently to pro-poor demands”, two results have to be reached. Result 3.1: Local Government Institutions have improved their management skills REOPA will provide a comprehensive training package on the project management cycle and project management skills to each UP and its affiliated PMC (see below). The continuity of the PMCs ensures that such training is permanently maintained to the greatest possible extent at each UP. Following this training, UPs and their associated PMCs become responsible for undertaking the following REOPA management and supervisory monitoring activities:

• Identifying priority public assets that will be maintained by each REOPA group; • Identifying priority public assets that will be created by REOPA groups and casual

labour; • Recruiting eligible women beneficiaries through advertising campaigns undertaken

by Union Parishads as part of the selection process; • Formation of REOPA groups; • Providing on going training to the REOPA groups on techniques of quality

maintenance work • Manage the maintenance work and the assist in the creation of public assets with the

LDG UZ engineer; • Reporting on project progress to the Upazila Parishad.

In addition, REOPA foresees pilot activities which include piloting some kind direct allocation (budgetary aid) to UPs. LGD has experience in similar types of development approach, e.g. in Sirajgonj district with the support from UNDP. LGD and EC expect to capitalise on the experience and lessons learned, as well as on the strong support such type of initiative received in the realms of the GoB, the National Union Parishads Forum (NUPF) and the civil society. Result 3.2: Local Government Institutions have increased their responsiveness to the needs and demands from the poor. Membership in LGIs is continually shifting; whereas continuity of direct local community representation is necessary to make REOPA more responsive to the decision making influence of local residents. Therefore, for purposes of managing REOPA at the local level, each Union Parishad establishes a “Project Management Committee” (PMC). Each PMC consists of a female UP member as the PMC Chairperson, the UP Secretary as the Member Secretary and 3 elected members from local communities (at least one of whom must be a woman) as General Members.

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The purpose of involving UPs is to create a strong element of local responsibility, with a special view towards using creation and maintenance of public works as a longer-term development programme for sustainably improving the food, livelihood security and social status of the beneficiaries while enhancing social, economic and environmental development of the rural communities. With the support from LGD, LGIs undertake different activities to establish sustainable project management procedures, structures and systems at the various levels of local government, including at LGD national level. In this context, REOPA undertakes training programmes for the different levels of LGIs in order to enhance their knowledge and skills for managing development projects at local level. Contents of training cover issues such as the importance and scope of community and women’s participation in development, community and local resource mobilization and techniques of project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation with community participation and feedback. REOPA encourages women’s leadership roles in the different project committees at the local level and, in support of this objective, undertakes special additional training programs designed to support and enhance the leadership and management capabilities of elected women members of the Union Parishads and Project Management Committees.

5.4 Indicators The proposed indicators are stated in the LogFrame Matrix (LFM) in annex.

6. Project analysis

6.1 Lessons learned from past experience

As stated above, the European Commission (EC) has a long experience in employment generation through creation and maintenance of public assets as a mean to increase access to food for vulnerable groups. A major intervention between 1995 and 1999 has been the Integrated Food Assisted Development Programme (IFADEP). The sub-component IFADEP-3 was a Food and Cash for Work programme working on construction or maintenance of culverts, roads, market places etc. Under IFADEP-3 several pilot activities were conducted and many lessons learned drawn. Almost all Member States working in Bangladesh have had at sometime, some kind of employment generation projects and therefore experience in this field is wide. In its design, REOPA is making the best used of lessons learned.

In 2002, the EC Food Security Programme joined the ongoing cash for work programme co-financed by GoB and CIDA called Rural Maintenance Programme (RMP). In 2003 in its Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP), GoB indicates its desire to continue similar programmes. However, after being run for over two decades by the same partners, RMP has developed flaws and although it had been assessed as an effective programme to fight poverty, its efficiency could be dramatically improved. With a very high cost delivery, and much resistance from the implementing NGO agency to hand over the programme to a more perennial entity, it has proved to be unsustainable. The Government of Bangladesh and the EC are therefore looking for a new intervention which will draw from RMP experience while striving for higher effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. REOPA is designed to answer this requirement.

A Mid Term Review of the EC Food Security Programmes was finalised in May 2004. It states that the projects are all relevant and together make a coherent programme. Still as a whole it appears mainly relevant to the needs of the ultra poor and not the hardcore ultra

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poor. The review makes several conclusions and recommendations: i) it is possible to develop programme that target the hardcore ultra poor by job creation at village level, community development to reduce the isolation of those households and homestead gardens to tackle the underlying nutrition problems. ii) educational and training needs should be reassessed and more integrated. iii) more emphasis should be put on nutrition.

Many of those recommendations have been taken into account during the programming of REOPA. Specific support and focus on nutrition issues is being put in place through the implementation of food policy research programmes and current EC funded programmes.

6.2 Links with other operations

As mentioned before, most Member States have a development cooperation with Bangladesh have touches on some kind of employment generation projects. Denmark, Swede, and Germany have ongoing programmes which present certain similarities. REOPA has already initiated links with Member States interventions. One of the first priorities of REOPA will be to make more formal links with the Member States interventions and to seek for more coordination and even pool activities. This is certainly the case of Germany and UK. As also mentioned above, REOPA intends to draw from UNDP’s experience on local governance.

Coordination with other interventions will be done through the Project Steering Committee to which GoB Planning Commission representatives are taking part and through the Local Consultative Group on Food Security, a World Bank grouping to dialogue and coordinate interventions within the donor community and with the GoB.

6.3 Results of economic and cross-sector appraisals

6.31 Capacity building

At individual beneficiaries’ level, the success of the project is based on paid work, on top of which income will be drawn from sustainable business activities owned and operated by individual women. Women are organized into 10-member groups which provide “solidarity groups” for decision making, shared work responsibility and exchange of information, experiences and ideas related to developing future self-owned and self-managed income generating activities. REOPA provides employment for a 3 year period, while at the same time developing their capacity to manage their own income-earning business activities after they “graduate” from the project. Women engaged in REOPA therefore do not develop a “dependency” on project support. Instead, they fully appreciate the importance of using this wage-earning period as a foundation for planning and developing their own income generating activities.

Capacities of LGIs (Upazila and Union Uparishads) will be strengthened to manage the project implementation at the local level. On the long term, these increase capacities will ensure enhanced sustainability at institutional levels.

The Government of Bangladesh benefits from cost-effective maintenance works, consistent with its policy of developing rural infrastructure in order to promote off-farm enterprises, trade and commerce, and on-farm crop diversification in rural areas. The Government of Bangladesh is committed to poverty alleviation and to improving the status of women, i.e. mainstreaming women in development, and closing the gender gap by increasing the socio-economic status of women. The Government of Bangladesh is further committed to

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devolving development planning, implementation and monitoring activities to regional Upazila Parishads and local Union Parishads.

6.32 Analysis of gender issues

REOPA introduces gender equality changes by example, through positive demonstration effects which clearly show the benefits of enabling and empowering women so that they may participate in development and income-generating activities that benefit society-at-large. Such “win-win” situations which benefit women, their families and society may eventually prevail. Women learn about ways of understanding and introducing gender equality into their own families, e.g. by supporting education for their girls and boys equally, by providing equal nutrition for both boys and girls and, when married, about resisting male abuse and sharing household work responsibilities. Women learn how to network with outside organizations in order to access rightful entitlements or gain valuable information. They learn to access natal and antenatal clinics, obstetric and other health care services. Women establish a credit rating through REOPA loans management, and develop savings and self-owned housing assets which make them highly eligible to borrow from micro-finance institutions, such as Grameen Bank, BRAC or ASA.

REOPA promotes active political and decision-making roles for women as elected members of Union Parishads and Project Management Committees. Union Parishads are provided training with regard to the GoB policy of mainstreaming women in development and showing the advantages of doing so.

6.4 Risks and assumptions (relating to implementation)

There are two identified major assumptions underlying the project’s measured probability of achieving its defined goal, purpose and expected results-outcomes, as follows: (1) Firstly, it is assumed that there will be no major natural disasters, such as extensive floods, which would reduce road access and so not only cause severe damages to construction works and roads, but also interrupt communication with project beneficiaries at all levels; (2) Secondly, it is assumed that there will be sufficient political stability to enable the project to continue its activities. In particular, it is assumed that there will be no prolonged nation-wide strikes (hartals) that negatively affect the government’s capacity to continue its support to the project both financially and through its good office.

The above assumptions, if controverter, would result in adverse impacts at different levels of the project. A severe natural disaster would result in wide devastation of rural road public goods maintenance. Such a disaster might also make it very difficult to continue other project activities, because of reduced road access. Such a disaster would also deplete the financial capital of the individual women to continue their individual IGA. Political unrest might also cause harm to the continuity of project activities. As well it would additionally impede women’s independent income generating activities, since such activities depend on regular on-going commerce, which could come to a standstill. If political instability increases during next years, there is a risk that the implementation of political and economic reforms will further slow down. Political instability will in particular hamper the development of poor and disaster prone regions in Bangladesh.

Local pressure groups often try to obtain influence on political decisions at local level, to serve their own clientele and their own private interest. In particular the case when resources for local infrastructure development are scarce and only a few will benefit from a project. Some of them will certainly be against a process where the vulnerable poor are

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encouraged to participate in decision-making. Therefore, a certain risk cannot be excluded that these pressure groups will undermine planned activities. In such instances local influence groups will frequently use political channels to try to co-opt infrastructure resources for their own benefit, and may oppose any process which empowers the poor or other vulnerable majorities to voice their own priorities. In a project with an infrastructure component such as in REOPA, vigilance is required to guard against the always present risk that pressure groups will undermine planned project activities when their powerful interests are threatened by a more democratic process, supported by Union Parishads, which acknowledges the priorities of the majority poor.

Effective co-ordination and co-operation between different GoB departments will be essential for the project start or implementation of programme activities. This can be reinforced by clear plans and responsibilities well defined from the beginning.

REOPA payment to beneficiaries is leakage free as demonstrated by several studies conducted on former EC experiences using the same system. Corruption for entering into REOPA is addressed through an open lottery system for selection of women beneficiaries. The involvement of community people in the local Project Management Committees ensures additional fairness.

7. Programme implementation

7.1 Physical and non-physical means

REOPA maintenance works will not require sophisticated equipment, but creation of assets such as buildings may need more sophisticated tools. However, in Bangladesh, indigenous techniques are still prevalent, including in the construction sector.

Costs for implementation of capacity strengthening of individuals as well as communities (training) will be marginal compare to the total cost of wages. Most of the manpower to deliver REOPA will be from the existing GoB structures and elected bodies. Some NGOs will be involved in some parts of the delivery of development package provided to the individual beneficiaries. A Technical Assistance is foreseen for the overall monitoring and evaluation system, as well as some back up support to LGD.

7.2 Organisational and implementation procedures

The main implementing partners will include the Local Government Division (LGD), Upazila Parishads (UPs), Union Parishads (UZs), NGOs, Technical Assistance, and the European Commission (EC).

REOPA will work through the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MLGRD&C), consisting of devolved government agencies or Local Government Institutions (LGIs) operating at the Division, District, Upazila and Union levels. The Local Government Engineering Division (LGED), which will play the role of technical assistance to the Union Parishads is also part of the same Ministry. Specifically, REOPA will be managed by the Monitoring, Inspection and Evaluation Section (MIE) of the Local Government Division (LGD) under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MLGRD&C). At local level, REOPA will work through the Upazila Parishads and Union Parishads. Union Parishads are the lowest level of elected government organizations closest to the grassroots in Bangladesh and, as such, are most in touch with the people’s needs and so are the most

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appropriate local organizations for building, promoting and ensuring people-centred development and decision-making.

The management of REOPA will be three-tiered, with strategic, operational and implementation management structures, systems and procedures. The project organisation shall include the Project Steering Committee (PSC), the Project Coordination Committee (PCC), and the in-country project management by LGD. The official language for the project management is English. EC will be a standing member of the REOPA’s Project Steering Committee (PSC) and Project Coordination Committee (PCC), unless subsequent contractual modification.

The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is responsible for Strategic management, reviewing the strategic directions and take decisions on LFM level changes to the project. The Committee should meet at least once a year or more frequently if required.

The Project Coordinating Committee (PCC) will be responsible for the operational management, namely Project organisation; Short term plan (such as Annual Work Plan and Budget); Inputs within the limits of the approved budget consistent with LFM; Implementation oversight; Advising on strategic management; external monitoring and evaluation. The role of the PCC is essential in REOPA management structure and should be considered as the focal and decision making point for operational issues. The Implementing Agency (LGD) will be responsible for the preparation of an annual workplan, with its accompanying budget, that is consistent with the approved LFM and present the workplan to the PCC for review and approval. Once the work plan is approved the Implementing Agency will implement the workplan. The LGD will be assisted at field level by the Upazila REOPA cell and the UP Project Implementation Committee. At UZ level, REOPA will benefit of the support from one Upazila Engineer. The Union Parishad (UP) is overall responsible and accountable for planning, implementing and managing the maintenance work of REOPA through a Project Management Committee (PMC). Each UP comprises of 01 Union Chairman, 09 elected members from 09 Wards, 03 elected female members and 01 Secretary (appointed).

The banks and their branches maintaining accounts for the REOPA at the union level are directly accountable to LGD in relation to the group account and REOPA crew escrow accounts. NGOs will play a large role in assisting the UPs for the section of beneficiaries, the selection of the public assets to be maintained or built, as well as for training the individual beneficiaries. A Technical Assistance is expected to be put in place for assisting the LGD to implement the project, as well as to undertake the overall monitoring and evaluation unit of the project.

7.3 Appropriate technology Work maintenance by REOPA uses simple and inexpensive hand-tools, including hoes (kudal) for breaking soil, woven reed baskets (jhuri) to carry soil to the roads, water pails to spread water on newly dispersed soil, and weighted hand pile-drivers (durmuz) to compact the soil. This level of technology is appropriate since it is cost-effective and provides high manual labour opportunities for a large number of women.

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7.4 Timetable, cost and financing plan November 2004: Financing proposal submitted to the Food Aid and Food Security

Committee December 2004: Financing decision made by the EC February 2005: Financing decision with beneficiary signed

March 2005: launch of Call for Proposals (training of beneficiaries by local NGOs)

Launch of tender for TA (Monitoring and evaluation, assistance to LGD)

July 2005: Programme implementation starts

Budget: the detailed budget will be spelt out in the grant agreement to be signed with the Government of Bangladesh.

REOPA main intervention: construction and maintenance works, including wages; development package, management

€ 18.00 million

REOPA technical assistance (external monitoring and evaluation unit, assistance to LGD, external studies when ever required)

€ 2.00 million

Total € 20.00 Million

The EC contribution is planned to be yearly and equally disbursed over the 5 years duration of the implementation of the programme.

7.5 Special conditions and accompanying measures to be taken by

the government The Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance is the key government interlocutor for donors. The grant agreement for decentralised management will be signed between the EC (Delegation) and the Economic Relations Division.

Beside the Financing agreement, a contractual agreement in the format of a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the GoB and the EC.

7.6 Monitoring arrangements and follow-up

Project Monitoring will be of vital importance for the proper management as well as for the sustainability of the programme. The monitoring system will include well-defined impact indicators, systematic data collection and analysis and the execution of baseline and impact assessment surveys. Particular attention has to be given to the smooth functioning of the cash-payment system, since this an extremely sensitive issue, which requires permanent monitoring at all levels. For this end, an external monitoring and evaluation unit will be set-up, staffed by Technical Assistance. The independent external Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Unit is expected to also cover financial and management aspects. The M&E Unit will develop a concise monitoring format for use in reporting.

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Participatory Monitoring as piloted successfully in one of EC-Food Security Programme and recommended to be expanded (FAO, 2004), will be implemented especially for the “clients’ satisfaction” type of proxies.

Project monitoring will be against indicators for each expected project outcome as outlined in the project’s LFM. Most indicators are quantifiable (specific and measurable); as well as being efficient and affordable from the viewpoint of establishing feasible, accurate and timely data gathering systems. This will demand well-established baseline information, systematic longitudinal data collection, impact assessment surveys and analysis, and case studies. As well as tracking the allocation and efficient use of project inputs, the monitoring system will assess the project activities and, most importantly project results which contribute to the purpose and the overall goal. Monitoring of project indicators will be undertaken on a “with/without” project basis, i.e. by monitoring project achievements against the baseline or pre-project situation.

Project monitoring reports will be to the point and focus on presenting variance analysis of project achievements against baseline information, as well as explanations where achievements are not in line with expected results during the reporting period. Monitoring reports may also present narrative information as suggestions for altering project design to better achieve expected project results. The project’s planning, monitoring and reporting formats shall include the following documents: (i) an Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB), (ii) a 6-monthly and Annual Progress and Forecast Project report, (iii) an Annual Programme Size report (providing the list of UPs, UZs, transfers etc.), (iv) Quarterly Financial Reports (v) Monthly Operational Issue Summary. A table presenting the main reports is placed below. The purpose of these documents shall be seen as a dynamic and iterative means for maintaining or improving project performance. As such, the documents are not to be regarded as constraining blueprints to be followed regardless of the project’s positive evolution and “learning curve” over time.

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Table - Main Project planning and monitoring reports

Name of the report

Purpose and contents Responsibility

Issued to

Timing Approved by

Annual technical and financial Progress Report (APR)

Reporting period 12 months: Presents variance analysis of project achievements against LFM and AWPB, as well as explanations where achievements are not in line with expected results, outcomes or management decisions taken.

LGD PCC Draft 45 days after end of reporting year.

PCC

Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB)

Presents work plan against LFM for the year to come and related budget. Variance with the GWP and 2 previous years to be made.

LGD PCC Draft 90 days before start

PCC

Interim Progress and Forecast Report

Reporting period 6 first months of the AWPB. Forecasting period: 6 remaining months. Format similar to APR for progress and AWPB for forecast.

LGD PCC Draft 45 days after end of reporting year.

No formal approval but presentation to PCC

Quarterly Financial Report

Presents financial activities achievements against AWPB

LGD PCC Quarterly, 45 days following the last day of reporting

- do -

Annual Programme Size report

Provides the list and status of UPs, UZs, participating in the programme, transfers etc

LGD PCC Annual - do -

Baseline survey report LGD PCC For each new

batch of beneficiaries

- do -

Monthly Operational Issue Summary

Purpose is to prevent delays in problem resolution. Informs PCC’s members of any “important” deviation or problem occurring or remaining outstanding during the reporting period. Any deviation from the plan with regard to the payment of the Women is to be mentioned in this document. Issues likely to come up put as reminder.

LGD PCC Monthly, 15 of each month

-

Mid Term Review (MTR) report

Provide stakeholders with in depth analysis of the progress made against LFM.

Independent consultant

PCC End of third year

PCC and PSC

Ex-post evaluation report

Measure impact on individual beneficiaries 2 years after their graduation.

M&E unit and independent consultants

GoB and EC

Year 5

Final evaluation report

Assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact of REOPA

M&E unit and independent consultants

GoB and EC

Year 6 EC, GoB

Monitoring reports and other reports

Monitoring reports may also present narrative information about suggestions for altering project design to better achieve expected project results or outcomes

M&E unit and independent consultants

Case by case

- Case by case

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7.7 Reviews/evaluations/audits: procedures and reports An external mid-term review (MTR) of the REOPA is planned for year 3 of the programme. Because quantitative and qualitative data will be generated by the external M&E unit, the MTR is expected to measure progress and impact.

A final evaluation is to take place at the closure of the programme and ex-post evaluations are foreseen to take place 2 years after the graduation of the first batch of the beneficiaries (which means that one ex-post evaluation will take place while the programme is still running).

C. SUSTAINABLITITY

8. Measures ensuring sustainability

8.1 Ownership by beneficiaries REOPA provides employment to destitute women that creates income opportunities for the women and their families, while at the same time developing their capacity to manage their own income-earning business activities after they “graduate” from the project. Women participating in REOPA therefore do not develop a “dependency” on project support. Instead, they fully appreciate the importance of using this wage-earning period as a foundation for planning and developing their own income generating activities.

Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MLGRD&C), is at the centre of REOPA management. At local level, REOPA will work through the Upazila Parishads and Union Parishads. Union Parishads are the lowest level of elected government organizations closest to the grassroots in Bangladesh and, as such, are most in touch with the people’s needs and so are the most appropriate local organizations for building, promoting and ensuring people-centred development and decision-making, which in turn ensure full ownership to the communities.

8.2 Cross-sectoral sustainability

As mentioned in section 6.3, appropriate technologies, environment sustainability, and gender issues, are at the basis of REOPA.

8.3 National policy measures

The Government of Bangladesh benefits from cost-effective rural road maintenance, consistent with its policy of developing rural infrastructure in order to promote off-farm enterprises, trade and commerce, and on-farm crop diversification in rural areas.

The Government of Bangladesh is committed to poverty alleviation and to improving the status of women, i.e. reducing the level of violence against women, mainstreaming women in development, and closing the gender gap by increasing the socio-economic status of women.

The Government of Bangladesh is further committed to devolving development planning, implementation and monitoring activities to regional Upazila Parishads and local Union Parishads.

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8.4 Institutional and management capacity Upazila and Union Upanishads as well as elected PMCs will manage the project implementation at the local level. Capacities at this level will be strengthened with assistance from REOPA. The whole LGD involvement in REOPA is all about enhancing sustainability at institutional levels.

REOPA work schemes dimension focuses on employment and technical aspects of maintenance as well as the organization of groups and supervision of maintenance work by Union Parishads and their affiliated Project Management Committees.

Women employed for work are selected by Project Management Committees with the support from Union Parishads. Project Management Committees (PMC) provide training on road maintenance techniques in order that rehabilitated roads meet required standards. Both UPs and groups are trained in conflict resolution. The local Union Parishad is responsible for identifying those rural public assets such as roads which meet selection criteria, i.e. are defined as “important” because they are needed for the communities. Care is taken in this way not to include public goods for political or other indefinite reasons. Work sections are assigned by the UPs and PMCs to the care of REOPA groups. PMCs are further responsible for developing monthly work plans, which identify sections of selected public assets that most urgently require repairs. These sections are “flagged” by UP and PMC technical staff; and such flagged public goods are assigned as work responsibilities to be repaired by the groups within a given timeframe. Follow-up monitoring and approval of roadwork is subsequently completed by the PMC which “scores” the quality of work completed by each assignment. Unsatisfactory work is brought to the notice of groups, whose elected leader carries a logbook of signed-off work responsibilities.

8.5 Complementary and sectoral co-ordination between donors

REOPA seeks complementarities within different realms. The first realm is the complementarities within the Food Security Programme especially with the FSVGD programme under the Department of Women and Children Affairs (DWA). This is done through active coordination between DWA and LGD. The second realm is REOPA’s complementarities with the EC interventions in Bangladesh. Again active coordination with the health sector programme, the non formal education and the disaster preparedness programmes will be on constantly sought. Linkages between REOPA and these programmes are expected to take place. A third realm is the complementarities with other GoB, and EU programmes. There is already advance negotiation on coordination, complementarities, and synergies with two major Member States programmes the RD-25 (funded by Germany and Asian Development Bank), and the DFID’s Char programme (UK). For RD-25, complementarities is sought in the management structure and the support given to the MLGDRD&C, whereas for the Char programme, DFID is looking for direct involvement of REOPA in order to increase employment and enhanced public assets in the areas targeted. The complementarities and coordination will also be sought with UNDP “Sirajganj Local Governance Development Funds” implemented by LGD.

8.6 Economic and financial sustainability

The financial and economic evaluation should encompass the impact at individual levels (women beneficiaries, and their dependents), household level, community level and regional level.

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The financial viability of the project may be investigated by measuring the accumulated increase in assets gained by women over the course of the project, including their increased savings, acquired land, improved housing assets, capital investments in IGAs and monthly income earned from self-owned business activities.

Proxy indicators are used to determine rising wealth levels of women post-project, namely whether women’s houses have iron roofs and whether they accumulate certain non-essential luxury goods (such as wooden cots, chairs and tables, wrist watches, jewellery ornaments, radio or cassette players).

D. PROPOSAL FOR A COMMISSION DECISION The Commission acting in behalf of the European Community proposes to make available to the GoB in the framework of the 2004 food aid and food security programme, a financial allocation of € 20 million. On this amount € 18 million will be managed by the GoB, € 2 million will be directly followed up by the European Commission.

To maximise flexibility and effectiveness in addressing beneficiaries’ needs, the Commission services are authorised to adjust the breakdown of operations approved under this decision. Adjustments shall remain within the limits of the maximum global amount.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION EuropeAid Co-operation Office Horizontal operations and RRD Food security and Thematic support

Bruxelles, AIDCO/546/2004-EN FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Proposal for a Commission Decision on a Food Security Programme in favour of Bangladesh

Annexes 1) Glossary 2) Bangladesh Data Profile 3) Logical Framework Matrix REOPA 4) Summary of EC-funded food aid/food security programmes in favour of Bangladesh

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Annex 1 Glossary

CSP Country Strategy Paper

DWA Department of Women Affairs

EC European Commission

ERD Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance

GoB Government of Bangladesh

HDI Human Development Index

IFADEP Integrated Food-Assisted Development Project

NIP National Indicative Programme

PCM Project Cycle Management

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

REOPA Road Maintenance Programme

VGD Vulnerable Development Groups

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Annex 2 Bangladesh Data Profile 1997 2000 2001

Population, total (million) 124.4 131.1 133.3 Population growth (annual %) 1.7 1.7 1.7 Life expectancy (years) 59.8 61.2 61.6 Fertility rate (births per woman) 3.3 3.1 3.0 Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 66.6 54.0 51.0 Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 children) .. 82.0 77.0 Child malnutrition, weight for age (% of under 5) 56.3 48.0 .. Child immunisation, measles (% of under 12 mos) 72.0 76.0 76.0 Illiteracy total (% age 15 and above) 61.7 60.0 59.4 Illiteracy female (% age 15 and above) 71.8 69.8 69.2 Net primary enrolment (% relevant age group) .. 88.9 .. Net secondary enrolment (% relevant age group) .. 42.7 .. Surface area (sq. km) thousand 144.0 144.0 144.0 Access to improved water source (% of total pop.) .. 97.0 .. Access to improved sanitation (% of urban pop.) .. 71.0 .. GDP (current $) billion 42.3 47.1 46.7 GDP growth (annual %) 5.4 5.9 5.3 Value added in agriculture (% of GDP) 24.7 24.6 23.3 Value added in industry (% of GDP) 24.1 24.4 25.1 Value added in services (% of GDP) 51.2 51.0 51.6 Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) 12.0 14.0 15.4 Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) 18.0 19.2 22.3 Gross capital formation (% of GDP) 20.7 23.0 23.1 Fixed lines and mobile telephones (per 1,000 people) 3.2 5.8 8.3

Personal computers (per 1,000 people) 0.2 1.5 1.9 Internet users thousand 1 100 250.0 Trade in goods as a share of GDP (%) 27.7 31.3 32.0 Trade in goods as a share of goods GDP (%) .. .. .. Net barter terms of trade (1995=100) 101.1 88.8 .. Foreign direct investment, net inflows in reporting country (current US$) million 139.4 280.4 77.5

Present value of debt (current US$) 0.0 9.6 billion 9.7 billion Total debt service (% of exports of goods and services) 10.4 9.2 7.3

Aid per capita (current US$) 8.1 8.9 7.7 Source : World Bank, World Development Indicators database April 2003

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Annex 3: Logical Framework Matrix (LFM)

Logic of intervention OVI Impact Area, Broad indicator and Operational indicator

SoV Assumptions

Overall objective

Contribution to long-term sustainable socio-economic development of rural Bangladesh

Purposes 1. Socio-economic conditions and food security of REOPA individual beneficiaries are improved and sustained.

Economic status sustained: Earning after graduation from REOPA Economic status maintained (measured through wealth ranking exercises) Number of women who continue to earn at least their monthly REOPA wage from IGAs or other sources; % of women operating large/medium size businesses (based on Capital size); % of women have savings Socio-economic status: Decision making Increased decision making in: control and/or ownership and/or access and/or use of assets % of women acquired productive assets (joint & separately); % of women spend their own earnings according to their own decision; % of women have access to and participation in different organization/service centres; % of women taking decision regarding household affairs (selling and buying assets, running own business, children education & marriage); % of women taking decision regarding community affairs (Salish, Violence, School Management Committee) Socio-economic status: Social identity % of women invited in social occasion; % of women interacting with social leaders, bank/upazila officials/NGO officials Food security Improvement in dietary intake (Disaggregated by age and gender and also assess intra-family equity of food distribution e.g. to pregnant, boys, girls. Also consider seasonality) Number of meals consumed per day (considering the cultural context); Number of different food items or groups consumed per day; Quantity of different food items or groups consumed per day; Number of months in a year household experienced food shortages

M&E system

Primary No major disaster depletes the financial capital of the individual women to continue their individual IGA education system works normally

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Logic of intervention OVI Impact Area, Broad indicator and Operational indicator

SoV Assumptions

2. Social, economic and environmental conditions of rural communities are improved through increased use of public assets.

Proxy Traffic flow Flow maintained passable by light traffic (rickshaw, rickshaw-van, bullock cart) year-round (indicators by season dry, monsoon) on REOPA maintained roads Proxy use of public assets Longitudinal surveys show increase in use of public assets maintained or created by REOPA Proxy “Clients’ satisfaction” Poor people from rural communities express improved conditions from better usage of targeted public assets (dispensaries, primary school, irrigation canal, sewage system, etc.)

PMC reporting system M&E system

A severe natural disaster resulting in a wide devastation of public assets maintenance does not occur.

3. Local Government Institutions have strengthened their capacities to respond effectively and efficiently to pro-poor needs

Local Government Institutions management Increased management capacities The LGI and its PMC implement and manage responsibilities following REOPA rules, policies and procedures Local Government Institutions pro-poor Poor needs and demands are translated into projects and interventions from the LGIs. PMCs have more members coming from disadvantaged groups.

M&E system

No major political turmoil. Elections are held on time, fair.

Results Result 1.1: REOPA individual beneficiaries have improved their financial conditions through more regular incomes and increased savings

Financial capital: Employment Regularity and levels of payment of wages Women are engaged on a continuing 4-year REOPA cycle, earning a regular salary, with a savings component) Economic status improved during cycle Improvement in economic status (measured through wealth ranking exercises) Number and Value of household productive assets; Number and value of household liquid assets; Changes in income sources with amount Financial capital: Savings Amount accumulated through out the cycle on mandatory as well as voluntary savings

M&E system

Natural disasters resulting in wide damages of rural road does not make it very difficult to continue project activities, because of reduced road access.

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Logic of intervention OVI Impact Area, Broad indicator and Operational indicator

SoV Assumptions

Amount of savings accumulated of mandatory savings and voluntary);

Result 1.2: REOPA individual beneficiaries and their dependents have improved their human capital in terms of nutrition, health, education, social recognition and voice.

Human capital of Women: Proxy training Passed test on: Numeracy, Primary health care, Nutrition awareness, Gender, legal and HR awareness, Business management; Proxy financial management Women are able to operate their bank account; Socio-economic status: Proxy Education of the children of Women Increased “REOPA children’” attendance and performance in primary education and Improved gender equity in education Gross enrolment rate (5-12Yrs): % of the children of Women enrolled in primary school; Daily attendance rate: - % of children attended in class daily (50% are of girls); Retention Rates: - % of boys and girls of women retained (who were enrolled) up to Class-V; % of boys graduated from basic education (primary school); % of girls (in relation to boys) who completed basic education programme from primary school Socio-economic status: Proxy Housing improvement Improvement of housing conditions Increased Ownership; Increased Quality of housing; Increased Quantity of housing Socio-economic status: Proxy Health improvement Improvement of health conditions Increased health for Women; Increased health for dependents

M&E system

Result 2.1 Public assets improving social conditions (such as village schools, dispensaries, construction of latrines, etc.), promoting

Maintained of public assets by REOPA Meet REOPA criteria Creation of public assets by REOPA Have pro-poor profiles and based on pro-poor analysis

M&E system

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Logic of intervention OVI Impact Area, Broad indicator and Operational indicator

SoV Assumptions

economic growth (such as rural earthen roads, markets, irrigation systems, etc.), and enhancing environment conditions (such as waste and sanitary management, including composting, cleaning of and improvement sewage systems, drainage systems, tree plantations, etc.) are maintained and created for the benefit of the poor of the rural communities

Result 3.1: Local Government Institutions have improved their management skills

Maintenance Maintained of public assets meet criterion of REOPA road maintenance; PMC understand technical aspects of road maintenance At PMC level Management of REOPA groups and Reporting to REOPA Recruiting destitute women as per REOPA groups selection Criteria; Providing training to REOPA groups on the technical aspects of maintenance; Assigning task and monitoring REOPA groups work performance every fortnight based on road work plan; Initiating disciplinary action against poor performing REOPA groups; Solving road work problems faced by REOPA groups in performing road work; Reporting to UP regularly on project activities and problems status; PMCs work plans compliance with REOPA criteria At UP level Management of PMC; Financial contribution to REOPA; Reporting to REOPA Forming Project Management Committee as per project rules and policies; Providing guidance and support to PMC in implementation and management; Submitting project

M&E system

Effective co-ordination and co-operation between different GoB departments function well. Upazila Parishads function well

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Logic of intervention OVI Impact Area, Broad indicator and Operational indicator

SoV Assumptions

performance report to the Upazila Parishad; Each year depositing UP yearly share of crew wage contribution; Monitoring and reviewing performance of the PMC At UZ level Management of UP; Training capacities; Reporting to REOPA Assisting UP to access and deposit UP share of yearly contribution of crew wages; Transferring crew wages received from LGD to Union Maintenance Crew accounts; Monitoring and reviewing performance of UP; Submitting quarterly financial and project performance status report to LGD REOPA Cell; Assisting in organising and facilitating training activities in the Upazila level; Providing refresher training to the UP and PMC)

Result 3.2: Local Government Institutions have increased their responsiveness to the needs and demands from the poor

REOPA groups, efficiency of maintenance Selection of women; REOPA groups achieved minimum score: Level of work done by REOPA groups, Level of technicality of REOPA groups

M&E system

Upazila Parishads function well

Activities Means Year round employment provided for Women through maintenance of public assets Seasonal employment provided for landless poor (men and women) through creation of public assets Training provided to individual beneficiaries Training provided to LGIs LGD machinery UZ, UP line of communication and function M&E unit Overall management back-up and support.

Budget: 20 million EUR

No natural catastrophes Stable economic development Labour market can absorb additional workers

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ANNEX 4: Summary of EC-funded food aid/food security programmes in favour of Bangladesh Project title and budget

Objectives Progress to date Next steps

FOOD SECURITY FOR VGD WOMEN AND THEIR DEPENDANTS € 35,6 Million (OL 1999, 2000, 2001) Project implemented by GoB, WFP and NGOs

The FSVGD is part of the national Government programme targeted at the extreme poor women- VGD. The project foresees the following components • Distribution of wheat through WFP and Government of Bangladesh • Cash transfer to beneficiaries through Government of Bangladesh • Awareness raising meetings and training on income generating activities through WFP and NGOs.

The full implementation has started, and first cycle of FSVGD has been implemented. Second cycle VGD is well underway and preparations are made for the third cycle.

WFP/EC to agree on ATTA / cash provision. To start second half 2004 till 2006

Rural Maintenance Programme RMP-III-3 €10,500,000 (OL 2000) + € 6,930,571 (OL 2001) Co-funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), and the participating local government. Project implemented by GoB and CARE.

• To contribute to poverty alleviation in rural Bangladesh by providing medium-term employment and life management skill training to some 41,000 destitute women. The women are employed in maintenance of rural earthen roads over 4,100 Unions Parishads (UP). RMP women’s socio-economic status and food security are improved and sustained. • This round year maintenance of rural roads improves rural infrastructure, increase communication and economic growth as well as access to essential services. • Local Government Institutions management is increased through capacity building.

Third year started. .

REOPA is a redesign of RMP to make the intervention wider in its scope and objectives, increase effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability

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LIFE NOPEST Phase II Support to Vulnerable Food Insecure Farmers € 4,000,000 (OL 1998) Project implemented by CARE

• Capacities for increasing agricultural productivity for 63,000 food insecure households in greater Mymensingh, greater Rajshahi, and Chapai Nawabgonj Districts are sustainably increased by March 2003 • No cost extension (15 months): Capacities for increasing agricultural productivity and income for 25,000 households increased by June 2004

The project has achieved most of its objectives assigned in the original proposal (to be assessed independently latter on).

Closure began

FOOD SECURITY THROUGH SUSTAINABLE INCOME UPLIFT AND POVERTY ERADICATION € 2,625,000 (OL 1997) Project implemented by IIRD

Overall poverty alleviation in five districts Sustainable income ensured among target families to meet annual food needs.

Project has been implemented according to latest work plan and received audit report. Financial issues to be arranged.

Closure began Recovery order underway

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES €1,284,414.00 (OL 1996)

• Routine maintenance and biological protection providing work for 2,030 women (100% cash) and 2,030 women (50 % cash, 50% food)

Hardly any activities undertaken due to delays in WFP to launch their own implementation and GoB involvement. Extension requested by WFP turn down by EC.

Closure started Recovery order underway

COORDINATING NGO INTERVENTIONS FOR IMPROVING SMALL AND MARGINAL FARMER HOUSEHOLDS' LIVELIHOOD AND FOOD SECURITY IN BANGLADESH € 1,496,881.00

• CfP 2002 has awarded 4 NGOs to disseminate and improve appropriate technologies for small and marginal farmers.

Started on 01-07-2004

FOOD SECURITY INCREASED THROUGH RIGHTS PROMOTION AND

• Action Aid • Following the Food security Call for Proposals 2002

Contract under preparation

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SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS TRAINING (FIRST) EUR 2,300,000 PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE AND DIVERSIFIED FARMING SYSTEM TO IMPROVE THE LIVELIHOOD AND FOOD SECURITY OF RESOURCE POOR LANDLESS, SMALL AND MARGINAL FARMERS IN BANGLADESH EUR 2,900,000

• PRSHIKA • Following the Food security Call for Proposals 2002

Contract under preparation

INCREASING FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY FOR RESOURCE POOR FARMERS IN JAMALPUR AND FARIDPUR DISTRICTS EUR: 1,300,00

• ITDG • Following the Food security Call for Proposals 2002

Contract under preparation

PARTNERSHIP FOR FOOD SECURITY PROJECT (KHADDO NIRAPATTAI ANGSHIDARITTO) EUR: 3,000,000

• CARE • Following the Food security Call for Proposals 2002

Contract under preparation