Challenge
The onset of COVID-19 led to immediate disruption to the market for agricultural products in Bangladesh. Lockdowns especially affected dairy and egg producers, given the limited shelf life of their produce. Consumers were also concerned that the virus would transfer to humans through the consumption of fresh livestock products. The crisis threatened to force livestock producers to abandon activity due to production losses and marketing issues. Other emerging challenges included the loss of continued technical support to producers by the Department of Livestock Services and the general lack of information about COVID-19 and response strategies.
Approach
The Bank activated a Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the IDA-funded Livestock & Dairy Development Project (LLDP) to make funds quickly available to finance an Emergency Action Plan put together by the Bangladesh government after the pandemic hit the country in April 2020. The CERC re-allocated funds from existing project resources in the amount of US$92.6 million, of which US$88.9 million (96 percent) was disbursed over a 15-month period. It was the first time a CERC was activated in Bangladesh, and it was the largest CERC ever activated by the Bank at that time.
The Action Plan executed by the Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock was particularly innovative. It included an extensive communication campaign about the safety of livestock products, cash transfers to vulnerable farmers, a marketing program to facilitate collection of livestock products for public marketing during the lockdown, and provision of equipment to farmers to support storage of dairy products during the market disruption.
The Bank trained LDDP staff how to use the GEMS (Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision) technology which helped create a database of beneficiaries, increase the speed and efficiency of data collection, and map aggregate CERC results for policymakers.
Results
Activities under the CERC delivered the following outcomes:
Public awareness: mass-media communication campaigns were aired on major national TV programs and radio channels to convey the message that COVID-19 virus transfer from livestock to humans is non-existent and that the consumption of meat and dairy products helps increase immunity. Public awareness was quickly generated about how to take preventive measures in the face of the pandemic.
Enhanced sector resilience and business continuity for small-scale vulnerable livestock farmers:
- 597,249 small-scale and vulnerable poultry and dairy farmers (of which 18.4% are women farmers) received cash transfers to support business continuation.
- a van rental program initiated during lockdowns collected livestock products at farm gates and sold them at village distribution points: 63,550 poultry farmers and 22,300 dairy farmers benefitted from the service, which reached a total of 5.65 million consumers.
- 1,500 Milk Cream Separators were distributed to village milk collection centers and producers’ organizations to extend product conservation time.
One-Health approach:
- 61 Mobile Veterinary Clinics (one per District) were procured for a quick response to farmers’ requests to foster animal health at the farm level.
- a total of 530 deep freezers were distributed to field offices (Upazila level) of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock for the conservation of veterinary products and vaccines.
- all Department of Livestock Services (DLS) staff involved in CERC activities were distributed surgical masks, surgical gloves, antiseptic disinfectant, and bleaching powder.
Bank Group Contribution
IDA financing of the LDDP, which was approved in 2018, amounts to the equivalent of US$500 million for a five-year period. CERC activation for COVID-19 emergency response in the livestock sector in 2020 added a further US$88.9 million for the following interventions:
- Public awareness campaigns;
- The large cash transfer scheme which is benefitting close to 600,000 small-scale and vulnerable dairy and poultry farmers throughout Bangladesh.
- Other activities to enhance resilience in the livestock sector (such as equipment for product conservation and marketing support during lockdowns).
- Expenditure for One-Health;
- Operational expenses for CERC management.
Partners
Many partners were involved at different stages:
- Initial consultations were led by MoFL with a range of stakeholders including private sector participants and livestock associations (Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association, Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council, and others) to evaluate the extent of the COVID-19 crisis and design mitigation measures.
- The Emergency Action Plan was collaboratively prepared with the participation of MoFL (government), FAO (technical agency), and Bank (financing agency).
- Beneficiary identification was done by Selection Committees led by Local administrative authorities and Civil Society representatives, including Farmers’ associations.
- Cash transfer payments involved the main private-sector mobile banking partners of Bangladesh (bKash, Nagad, and Agrani Bank).
- CERC evaluation was conducted by an independent entity (CEGIS – Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services).
Moving Forward
CERC activation led to the launch of MoFL’s first digital database to monitor the livestock sector: with WB-GEMS assistance, project staff helped the ministry transit from a paper-based monitoring system to one that is fully digital and integrated as an MIS (management information system). In a short time, MoFL developed a solid and clean digital database of over half a million CERC beneficiaries (with no duplicates, exact location, cell number, banking information, business information, pictures). Given this success, the Ministry enlarged the database to include its countrywide deworming program which covers over 2 million cattle owned by 280,000 farmers. The MoFL is now ready for follow-up actions using the new digital MIS and will soon be able to make better evidence-informed, real-time public policy choices.
Md. Abdur Rahim, LDDP Project Director, commented: “Using the GEMS information technology has ensured transparency in cash transfer to COVID-19 affected farmers in Bangladesh and is now assisting our deworming program beyond the emergency; this has not only enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of LDDP’s activities but also contributed to building a high degree of trust and solidarity among all stakeholders.”
Beneficiaries
Mossammat Jelly Begum (Belgari village of ‘Phapore’ union, in Bogra Sadar Upazila) is a 35-year-old dairy farmer with five daughters whose family income mostly depends on selling the milk from her four cows in her village. Her husband did not have regular work. Because of restrictions imposed to curb COVID-19, she said she was unable to feed the cows properly. “It was not easy to sell milk as well, not easy to work. I know what a hard time we experienced, we have even been starved,” she said. An agent from the Upazila Livestock Office visited her farm, listed her name, mobile number, NID card number, and took pictures of the farm. A few days later, Jelly Begum was surprised to receive BDT 10,149 from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoFL) on her mobile money account. She said she had never expected to get any compensation for the COVID-19 losses and expressed gratitude to everyone who selected her for cash transfer assistance. “I never imagined this would happen. I will make my farm bigger now," she said. She used some of the money to pay off a debt to the village shop, which had given her feed on credit, and said she would also rebuild the floor of her cow shed with bricks and sand.