Expand safety net to help ultra poor cross poverty line

from The Daily Star

Experts tell int'l workshop
Staff Correspondent

Noted economists and development experts at an international workshop yesterday suggested expansion of social safety-net programmes and creation of short-term employment opportunities to help ultra-poor people cross poverty line.

They also expressed concern over the second round of flooding in various parts of the country, saying that it might have adverse impacts on the food production and therefore both the government and the donors should come up with more food assistance followed by cash incentives and employment opportunities for the affected.

The workshop on 'Dynamics of Food and Cash Transfers: Policy Discussion on the Results of Food and Cash Efficacy Study' was organised by Economic Relations Division (ERD) and World Food Programme (WFP) in cooperation with UK's Department for International Development (DFID) at a city hotel.

The discussion at the workshop was based on the findings from the study titled 'Relative efficacy of food and cash in enhancing livelihood of the extreme poor' conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and commissioned by WFP.

“Food poverty still remains in the country at an alarming level,” said renowned economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmood, former adviser to a caretaker government.

Referring to a Household Expenditures Survey (HES) of 2004-2005, he said it showed that poverty in the country declined much rapidly, but in terms of calorie intake, it has not declined that way.

The expenditure level of people might have increased in non-food sectors, Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud said, adding that more food transfer under the safety-net programmes therefore is a preferable option other than the cash.

Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive director of Power and Participation Research Centre, strongly recommended introduction of innovative ways of addressing the poverty reduction issues.

The safety-net programmes may also include food for social forestry, earthwork in making homesteads or public works depending on the eco-system of various regions, and incorporate effectively the training programme for changing food habits, he noted.

The economist said the pockets of poverty like monga-hit areas in North Bengal could be identified before initiating any programme, while nutrition issue of the pre-school children should be incorporated in the poverty reduction strategies.

Dr Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, former member of Bangladesh Planning Commission, suggested transferring of resources of the dysfunctional safety-net programmes to the effective ones to boost the social protection system.

He suggested for combination of food and cash in the social safety-net programmes saying that cash is the best form in certain circumstances and food is the best option in some other circumstances.

“Leakages in such programmes and lack of coordination among various ministries need to be addressed effectively,” said Dr Mesbahuddin, who chaired three sessions at the workshop.

WFP Senior Adviser Usha Mishra Joshi stressed the need for more attention of the government and the donors on the expansion of the safety-net programmes in a comprehensive way and creation of more productive employment.

Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session, ERD Secretary Aminul Islam Bhuiyan said the major challenge for food security of Bangladesh is 56 million people of the country who are still below the calorie-intake-based poverty line.

“Of them, 27 millions are living in extreme poverty, and they are also severely undernourished. This means our success in the availability of food coexists with very high prevalence of under-nourishment and malnutrition,” he added.

Presenting a study Dr Akhter Ahmed and Dr Marie Ruel of IFPRI said Income-Generating Vulnerable Group Development (IGVGD) and Food Security Vulnerable Group Development (FSVGD) are the most effective programmes in terms of increasing household income, while Food for Asset Creation (FFA) is the best targeted programme and Rural Maintenance Programme (RMP) has the largest effect on savings.

They recommended more efficient and timely cash distributions and concluded that fortified atta (flour) is more effective than rice in safety-net programmes because of its nutrition values.

Economist Dr Atiur Rahman, WFP Representative Douglas Broderick, DFID Extreme Poverty Coordinator Penny Davies and its Environment and Livelihood Adviser Yolande Wright, and Planning Division Secretary Jafar Ahmed Chowdhury also spoke at the workshop.