Research Reports (2000): Economic Studies, Vol - XV
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Item Sustainability assessment of BRAC's rural development programme: a pilot study(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-09) Rafi, Mohammad; Akther, ShahnujThis is a pilot study on the sustainability of BRAC Rural Development Prgoramme (RDP). As because of the short duration (I) the sustainability of social and economic aspects of RDP VOs and (2) the sustainability of AO at organizational, human resource, and financial levels have been taken into consideration in this study. In 1998 a sustainability work plan (SWP) was developed for BRAC. By using it the study has operationalized the plan. The sustainability assessment has been done in tenns of four levels that the VOs were expected to pass through, i.e., Level l: 13-36 months old, Level 2: 37-48 months old, Level 3: 49-72 months old, and Level 4: 73-96 months old. Data for the study were derived from three sources. First, a survey was conducted for this study. Three AOs for each level, three VOs from each AO, and nine members from each VOs have been randomly selected and surveyed. Thus, the survey observed 12 AOs, 36 VOs, and 324 YO members. Second, data collected for studies conducted in the past were reanalyzed and used to support the objectives of this study. Third, data on finances were derived from RDP's Management Information System (MIS) and Accounts Department. The VOs were expected to evolve over a period, as they mature they get a step closer in meeting their objectives. It was assun1ed that the VOs at each level would cumulate the attributes reflecting sustainability present in the preceding levels. The levels considered were based on the shift in two VO characteristics. First, shift from BRAC dependent management to selfmanagement. Second, from a BRAC related credit channeled through a development action to a fully autonomous civic body. Although the complete machinery (committees) as framed by BRAC for self-management were not present in all VOs it appeared that they achieved some capacity in managing themselves. The members both collectively and individually projected organizational capacities and powers both at social and economic aspects. Similarly they projected a higher capacity to take decision and conduct activities of their own particularly those relating to credit. Of course in many instances they took advice of BRAC for action. As a whole the members both individually and collectively showed a higher level of perfonnance in all the aspects of sustainability. It was highest in the case of both social and economic wellbeing but a little less in the case of social organizational capacity. The study intends to show different stages that VOs pass through over a period. The directions in which things are moving, not what they are at any given time are important. The achievement of sustainability was expected to project a trend over a period. Although the VOs and AOs projected a satisfactory level of sustainability but failed to show a trend that it increased with their aging. In the case of most indicators the younger and older VOs projected a higher level of sustainability. The findings indicate that the sustainability did not cumulate over time. The absence of a visible sustainability trend was probably because of the fact that the study was conducted on a small sample not representative ofBRAC VOs. Therefore the findings over here should not be considered conclusively. The model used in this study was observed to be effective in the sustainability assessment of RDP. The Research and Evaluation Division plans to keep on contributing to the SWP by assessing the sustainability of different components of BRAC. As a first step to this, the sustainability of AOs and VOs with a special attention to the I GAs of VO members and with a larger coverage so that the findings may be representative of the entire program will be assessed shortly.Item Changes in socio-economic condition of Ex-VGD women: a review report(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-06) Chowdhury, Nusrat S.Item Literature review of women's empowerment(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-03) Hannan, RowshanItem NGOs and village impacts: a case study of perceptions(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-05) Tudor, Maya JessicaItem NGOs and village impacts: a case study in Badhair Union(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-05) Tudor, Maya Jessica; Mallick·, DebdulalItem Measuring the dynamics of BRAC's contribution to employment generation(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-09) Halder, Shantana R.This study explores the areas of employment /types of job created through BRAC activities and estimates the actual achievements of BRAC in terms of numbers and/ or person-years of employment generated. BRACpaid full-time and part-time employment and the non-paid selfemployment are considered in the analysis. The study has rwo parts. The first part gives a picture about the dynamics of BRAC's overall achievements in number of jobs created. The second part focused the changes that have occurred in the last five years in one specific RDP area. For both, the Head office MIS data and the case study results were used. Results show that in 1999 BRAC employed 40,756 full-time and 46,420 part-time workers. To carry out certain other work on temporary basis it employed a large number of individuals which created 1,463 person-years of employment. Annual growth rate for both full and part-time employment in the last five years was around 11%. Regarding self employment, in 1999 BRAC created 2.96 million jobs (either full-time or parttime), of them 2.85 millions are direct RDP beneficiaries. Annual growth rate of RDP beneficiaries was found to be 25.5%. Extension of programme activities to new geographical locations and inclusion of new activities are the major contributing factors explaining the high growth rate. In 1999 the total RDP beneficiaries generated 627,621 person-years of additional employment, i.e., 0.19 person-years per beneficiary. The case study results show that the MELA loan that has been introduced in Jhikargacha in 1999 created, on average, 0.56 person-years of additional employment per enterprise. A more detailed analysis of the employment dynamics based on field-based data representing various regions will be covered through the Third Impact Assessment Study.Item Hybrid rice adoption in Bangladesh: a socio-economic assessment of farmers' experiences(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-12) Husain, A.M. Muazzam; Hossain, Mahabub; Janaiah, AldasThe study aimed at finding the farm-level adoption pattern, differential performances, relative profitability and constraints to adoption of two hybrid rice varieties viz., Alok 6201 and Sonar Bangia (CNSGC 6). These varieties were introduced during 1999 Boro season in Bangladesh. Findings show that farm size had a negative but education had a positive effect on adoption rate. Grain yield of hybrids were 15% higher than that of HYVs though Sonar Bangia did much better than Alok 6201. Input costs of hybrids were 23% higher. Profitability of Sonar Bangia was higher but that of Alok 6201 was lower than that of HYVs. Constraints to hybrid rice adoption included external dependence and higher seed cost, higher need for management skill, input intensity, higher incidence of pests and diseases, inadequate yield gain and lower head-rice recovery. Special constraints of A/ok 6201 include high rate of unfilled grain, grain shedding, crop lodging and poor keeping quality of cooked rice. Stickiness of cooked rice and relatively inferior quality in terrns of taste may also be considered as other constraints for boi.h varieties. Some of these problems would have been avoided if, instead of introducing rice hybrids without a clear deployment srategy, they were introduced to Bangladesh after scientific on-farm testing for 2-3 seasons/years across agro-ecological regions. Results tentatively imply that Alok 6201 may not be sustained for adoption. Though Sonar Bang/a was highly profitable, its inferior quality may also inhibit growth in its adoption in the long run. High quality local hybrids may be developed and domestic production of hybrid seeds may be expedited. Hybrids for rain-fed environment and resistant to biotic stresses may also be developed. Research infrastructure, scientific onfarm testing of new hybrids before releasing them, integration of credit with extension services, better management practices and co-ordination between public sector and NGOs/private sector should be strengthened.Item BRAC's contribution to gross domestic product of Bangladesh(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-07) Mallick, DebdulalThis paper estimates the contribution of BRAC programmes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh. BRAC's contribution to GDP of Bangladesh has been divided into four components. These are 1) Value added in BRAC as an organization in a given year, 2) Incremental value added in linked sectors due to input supply to BRAC in a given year, 3) Incremental value added in linked sectors attributed to loans disbursed by BRAC in a given year, and 4) Incremental value added in linked sectors attributed to nonfinancial development inputs (skill training, non-formal primary education, and health services) in a given year. BRAC contributed Tk. 8,215.3 million, Tk. 10,479.1 million, Tk. 13,558 million and Tk. 17,770.3 million to GDP ofBangladesh in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 respectively. In 1995 BRAC's share to GDP was 0.7%, which increased to 1.15% in 1998. This shows that output of BRAC increased faster than GDP of Bangladesh. During the period output of BRAC increased, on average, at 29.1% annually. But estimating the contribution of education intervention was not possible due to lack of information on the sectoral wage differential of the BRAC graduates and those without any education. Therefore, the total output of BRAC is not fully captured in the present study.Item Listening to the "Extreme Poor": IGVGD participants speak on their success(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-07) Chowdhury, Nusrat SThose dealing with the issues of poverty and development have recently acknowledged the heterogeneity of the poor. The extreme poor rest on the other side of this poverty spectrum. Women in the extreme poor households bear a larger burden of poverty than men do. The Income Generation for Vulnerable Groups Development (IGVGD) is a programme designed to link these destitute women from the poorest 10-15 percent of the population to mainstream development activities of BRAC. The aim of this paper is to locate the factors accountable for elevating the socioeconomic situation of some of these IGVGD participants. The discussion focuses on the lives of nine ex-VGD participants {those who have finished their 18- month food ration cycle/ with different involvement status and varying degrees of success. It appears that having male earning members in the household along with being inuolued in multiple income generating activities were important reasons for the success of these particular members. While searching for factors contributing to success, this study also encountered an existing discourse on the relationship between a woman's status, her idea of "honour," and her views on the changes due to programme intervention. This dialogue is suggestive of changes initiated by an exogenous source, such as the IGVGD programme, as well as their link with existing cultural ideals.Item A study on the present status of lAS-II comparison group(Research and Evaluation Division, Brac, 2000-09) Alim, Md. AbdulThe Research and Evaluation Division (RED) of BRAC has over the years been making efforts to evaluate the impact of Rural Development Programme (RDP) on its members through impact assessment studit:S (lASs). RED has already conducted two such evaluations : IAS-I and LAS-II. A Uurd lAS is now underway. The panel comparison group, for L-\S , had been formed during lhe first lAS to measure the effective impact of RDP interventions making comparison between Ulis group and RDP beneficiaries group. The present report anempts to provide a few necessary inputs to LAS-III by examining the present status of the comparison group that would be required for the study. Although sdet;tion of t;Omparison household group is of vital necessity for impact assessment studies, it has been found that impact srudies have been perennially pla.:,oued by the lack of availability of appropriate non-beneficiaries. This is because NGO penetration has been pervasive. The reasons for this are lbe phenomen.1l growth of micro credit and proliferation of NGOs. The objective of the study was to examine the present status of IAS-ll comparison group .md find out whether household members were stillli"ing in their villages and whether they were involved ~ith any GO!NGO programmes as well as to look into the reasons for joining with these programmes. The present report was based on a survey that was conducted on 239 comparison households spread in 10 upazilas and 10 districts. It showed that 95% (228) were still living in their respective villages which meant that migr:ltion was quite low. The survey 3lso revealed the ex"lent of NGO membership status of the comparison hous~!holds and found that 55% households were involved in various GO/NGO development programmes since 1996. Almost half of the households out of 55 % were involved with Grameen B:mk, 15% joined BRAC followed by Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), Proshik.l, ASA tmd several other snuller NGOs. Data on lenoot.h of involvement of rhe members involved in different GO/NGO programmes have pointed out certain defects in the selection of comparison group for L~-II by showing that 21% of the membrn were already involved in GO/NGO programmes when the lAS started. This weakness limited the impact assessment to some ex-tent. It was found that .t 1% households did not join GO/NGO programmes. However, 29% out of these were earlier associated with GOINGO programmes. Reasons that were cited by households who never joined GO/NGO programmes indude worry and tension of these households fearing failure in n!pa:ying loan installments and lack of scope for invesunent. Only ~<% households numbering ten were not found owing to migration to other villages or cities in search of work or otl\er reasons to survive and 1% households heads died during the period.