Background
Livestock farming plays an important role in reducing poverty in Bangladesh, where 80% of the 16 million farming households are smallholder farmers. However, marginal poor cattle farmers lack the capital and ability to get formal interest-based loans.
IFPRI-WeGro evaluation study
Under the CGIAR Research Initiative on Rethinking Food Markets, researchers from IFPRI and the University of Oxford will evaluate a model profit-sharing system for cattle in rural Bangladesh for its impact on income and other measures of well-being among farming households in Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and divisions. The study will be implemented by WeGro, a tech-based agri-startup operating in several parts of agricultural value chains in Bangladesh. Overall, this study aims to compare the impact of the implementation of a model profit-sharing system with a standard loan versus smallholder farmers with no access to capital. As cattle fattening is traditionally a female-led task in Bangladesh, yet men typically handle the work of buying and selling, this evaluation will also examine how shifting the identity of the contract holder (between men and women) affects women's empowerment within the household.
Among households that are randomly selected to participate in the model profit-sharing system, the offer for credit or profit-sharing will be made to the husband or the wife. In the case of the profit-sharing contract, the person who the contract offer is made to will have a bank account opened in their name, and the proceeds from the sale will be deposited in that account. In the case of the debt contract, the person will have a bank account opened and whoever the contract offer is made to will be responsible for paying back the loan.
Baseline survey
Between February 9-March 10, 2023, the baseline survey was conducted. This collected various types of information on household demographics, housing and sanitation facilities, economic activities and employment, land and agricultural production, livestock inventory and income, remittance and government transfers, credit and savings, consumption expenditure, assets, and decision-making, mobility, freedom of mobility, time allocation, and risk preference. The data were collected at the household- and individual-levels from male and female members.
Summary
The study on evaluating microequity models for financing livestock fattening in Bangladesh is an important effort to provide a fair partnership arrangement that allows capital owners and cattle farmers to enjoy the same benefits. The study may have positive implications for the economic and social status of marginal poor cattle farmers in Bangladesh, as well as to shed light on how to improve women's empowerment within the household.
The Principal Investigators of this evaluation are Kate Ambler, M. Mehrab Bakhtiar, Alan de Brauw, Muhammad Meki, and Simon Quinn.
For more information on the CGIAR Regional Initiative for Rethinking Food Markets, please visit the official website.