march 2017 traidcraft exchange · - linkage building and consultation meetings between farmer...
TRANSCRIPT
EqualiTEA III: Sustainable Livelihoods for 1500 Smallholder Farming
Households (7500 people) in The Extreme North of Bangladesh
Mid Term Review
March 2017
Traidcraft Exchange
Introduction
Bangladesh is one of the most deprived country in the region; incidence of poverty is very high particularly
in extreme north Tetulia, Panchgarh Sadar in Panchgarh district and Baliadangi in Thakurgaon district. The
soil here is sandy, acidic and bears close affinity with the soil of the old Himalayan basin. The growing tea
sector has ushered in a new hope for enhancing the standard of socio-economic life and women
empowerment in this region. The STG (Small Tea Growers) sector is now an important sector for
decreasing the gap between increasing domestic demand for tea and slow growth of production in
Bangladesh. This sector has a huge potential in meeting the increasing domestic demand for tea.
Therefore, the EqualiTEA project, has a vital role to play in bringing a visible change in the lives of the poor
farmers. The EqualiTEA III project planned to support small and marginal farmers in Northern Bangladesh
to grow tea to give farmers a diversified, sustainable source of income and reduce poverty. The project
aims to build an inclusive value chain and to encourage smallholder farmers to work collectively and
collaboratively.
Duration 36 months (1 October 2015 to 30 September 2018)
Budget £ 614,565
Partners - Traidcraft Exchange
- Bikash Bangladesh
Location Panchgarh District (Tetulia and Panchgarh Sadar Upazilas) and Thakurgaon
District (Baliadangi Upazila)
Target Beneficiaries - By the end of Year 1, 1500 Smallholder Households Tea Growers
have been reached.
- Farmers are organized into 60 groups (average size: 25 households)
Field Staff - 6 staff: 1 Project Coordinator of EqualiTEA working with 5 Field
Facilitators (FF). They are also called Project Officers.
- Panchgarh Sadar – 02 FF
- Tetulia - 01 FF
- Baliadangi - 2 FF
Management Support Field teams are managed and supervised by the local implementing partner
Bikash Bangladesh based in Panchgarh.
Project Outcome 1,500 smallholder farming households in the extreme north of Bangladesh
are reducing poverty and making more sustainable livelihoods through tea
cultivation
Project Outputs 1.1,500 smallholder farming households are working collectively and
collaboratively to increase their resilience.
2.1,500 smallholder farming households have improved their agricultural
practices. Out of 1500 STGs, 812 STGs have started cultivating tea and yet
to see increase in income through tea cultivation.
3.1,500 smallholder farming households have appropriate on-going
services/support for agricultural cultivation.
4.Ongoing policy works to keep systems in place to support smallholder
farming households to diversify their income and increase their resilience.
Objectives The purposes of this evaluation are
• To learn from experience specially to interpret the successes and failures so that both ongoing and
future activities can be improved.
• To investigate transparency in responsible utilization of the resources
• To deepen knowledge and understanding of the assumptions, options and limits of the project
activities
• To improve communication and foster understanding within and between the PMT members,
partners and donors.
Achievements till date
- At the beginning of the project implementation, the project has conducted a day long Staff
orientation program for capacity Building of project staff on Group Formation and Project
Management. All project staff and Executive Director (ED) from Bikash Bangladesh actively
participated in this training. Both of these trainings were conducted by Traidcraft personnel.
- The project had successfully completed its baseline survey and well-being survey. The project team
has successfully carried out Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) with 60 Groups for needs assessment
and group selection based on the criteria set for target participants.
- In the project till date, a total of 3000 STGs have been mobilized into 60 Primary Producer Societies
(PPS) formed in the project area of Tetulia, Panchgarh, Sadar and Baliadangi Upazila in
Thakurgaon district. All of the 60 groups elected their 9-member governing body to operate the
group; and selected 2 BSPs to receive technical training so as to serve their needs better.
- From the 60 groups, 2 members (president and secretary) from each group were selected as group
leaders. Hence, a total of 120 Group leaders received training on effective group operation. 120
GLs have knowledge on effective group operation. 3000 STGs received training on effective group
operation. All trainings were conducted by GLs. The STGs now have clear understanding and
education about effective group operation.
- The project encouraged the farmers and made them introduced to regular savings.120 Group
leaders received training on group savings and investment scheme and also 3000 STGs received
training on group savings and investment scheme. After this training, 120 Group leaders and 3000
STGs have knowledge on the topics. 60 functional groups have been doing meetings regularly
every month. They are collecting savings regularly and creating awareness about the benefit of
working together and ensuring that the small tea growers are engaged in collective action. 52 PPSs
established financial relationship with banks and other FIs.
- A total of 120 Barefoot Service Provider received technical training on Income Generating Activities.
120 BSPs have knowledge on crop cultivation and livestock rearing.3000 STGs received training
on income generating activities. All trainings were conducted by those BSPs. The STGs now have
clear understanding and education about alternative livelihood option.
- 3000 STGs (60 Groups) received training on modern agricultural practice, they have knowledge on
modern agricultural practice which would be helpful and they would benefit from its application on
their fields.
- A total of 120 Barefoot Service Provider received 03 module technical training on Tea Cultivation.
120 BSPs have gained sufficient knowledge on 03 module technical training on Tea Cultivation.
And they conducted the same trainings for 3000 STGs. The STGs now have clear understanding
and education about tea cultivation.
- Consultation meeting between prospective smallholder tea growers and Govt. and Private
Stakeholders was held with view to introducing and linking the STGs with public service providers
(extension officers).
- Linkage building and consultation meetings between farmer groups and tea factories were held all
in 3 Upazilas.
- Linkage building regional workshops between smallholder farmers and local service providers held
at Muktijoddha Complex Bhaban, Panchgarh. Respective district and Upazila govt. officers of three
Upazilas (Sadar and Tetulia Upazila under Panchgarh district, Baliadangi Upazila under
Thakurgaon district) and also different level stakeholders like BLFs, journalist, one or two
participants from each group attended the workshop. They are linked to public service providers to
whom they can now go for any services easily.
- An Association is formed in Tetulia Upazila and two more associations are in the process of
formation and a combined regional association will be formed incorporating all three associations.
- Tea sector research and tea policy paper preparation works are being conducted by Mr. Kawsar
Rahman, consultant hired by TXUK for policy research. He already conducted two important Key
Informant Interviews (KIIs) with high officials and published articles on those interviews in the
leading newspaper of the country named ‘Daily Janakantha’. The two interviews were – one with
the honorable commerce minister Mr Tofayel Ahmed and another one with a senior secretary Mr
Hetayet Ullah Al Mamun. The Commerce Minsiter said “Small scale tea cultivation has the potential
to bring revolutionary change for the country’s economy. This concept is transforming the lives of
our small farmers in the poverty-stricken areas. We will be with all the organizations providing
support to promote small tea growing.” On the other hand, honorable Senior Secretary expressed
his hope in his speech saying “small tea growing can eradicate poverty from rural people’s lives.
1600 hectors of land will be under small tea growing in near future and there will be tea action
center in the North of Bangladesh.” The scanned copy of the articles is attached in the annex 7.
- The project provided 16,24,000 Sapling (BDT 79,57,600 @ 4.9/ Sapling) among 812 selected small
tea growers based on their needs. The project provided BDT 18,38,500 as partial credit among 812
selected small tea growers based on their need assessment. The credit support is helping to
achieve increased technical and organizational capacity of the STGs to improve their livelihoods.
- The overall expenditure incurred under the EqualiTea III budget is 51.474% after the completion of
18 months. The major expenditure is on Project activities which is an evidence of the successful
implementation of all target activities.
Relevance Before the project, extensive research was done to know the viability of the tea industry, its value chain and
the beneficiary requirements. In 2000, Bangladesh Tea Board did soil test in the extreme north of
Bangladesh and recommended the land as tea growing region in the extreme north of Bangladesh based
on which the target locations were decided. The beneficiaries are chosen from small and marginal farmers
(owning 1.44 acre of land) and half of them are women as the project took a household approach; they
were targeted because of their vulnerability since women farmers are characterized by social exclusion
from social and government welfare services and from decision-making in household. Their involvement in
community-based agricultural resource management is often minimal due to the prevailing social stigma as
well as time and mobility constraints. So, the project chose a strategy called Household approach where
all the groups are formed with both husband and wife from each household. As a result, women are able
to demonstrate their abilities and are being elected in the leadership positions in the group committee and
being able to show success for the project.
Traidcraft Bangladesh has extensive experience in the project area. Based on the experiences acquired
through the implementation of EqualiTea I & II projects, Traidcraft is not only aware of the challenges of the
small tea growers in the project area but also could identify the relevant and suitable activities those are
relevant for all the stakeholders of the project. In addition to group and association formation, all other
interventions of EquiliTea III like making bridge with government and private service providers, knowledge
dissemination trainings, Group savings and investment scheme, soil testing, technology transfer, marketing
supports etc. were very much appropriate for not only the direct beneficiaries but also for other
stakeholders.
There was no inclusive plan by government or any other NGOs to promote smallholder tea growing in the
region though there were huge potential for it. A lot of lands owned by small farmers were fallow for a long
time as they were not suitable for any crop cultivation. The soil was suitable only for tea cultivation. Many
farmers lost their land since they had to sell them off for almost no money to the large tea estate owners.
Because of their remote location and poor soil composition, smallholder farmers depend on a limited
number of crops. Only source of income was low paid day labouring in tea gardens of large tea estates.
Landless labours also struggled to find enough work in local area. Failure to get a decent yield or a fair
price therefore has a significant and negative impact on their ability to afford basics such as food and
healthcare. The focus of the project has been to improve the lot of these marginal and poverty stricken
farmers of the area to benefit by bringing them into tea cultivation business in their small land holdings
which is most of the times less than 1.5 acre.
In the target districts, smallholder farmers had very few resources to invest in their agriculture. A lack of
access to proper sources of credit was preventing farmers from improving their agricultural practices,
purchasing quality inputs such as fertilisers and irrigation, and entering/expanding into tea cultivation. The
project took initiative to make tea saplings available to such farmers for free and also gave them a small
amount to start tea cultivation. The project also simultaneously invested in human resources in organizing
the STGs into groups and providing trainings for their capacity building for tea cultivation. The savings
schemes undertaken by the groups through the project also addressed the challenge of lack of access to
finance for growth of the target farmers.
The beneficiaries lacked skills and knowledge about good, environmentally-friendly agricultural practices.
They did not have the necessary know-how about good agricultural practices that could help them get the
most out of their sandy, acidic soil. The project included trainings ranging across topics of group
management dynamics, decision making, negotiating skills - technical guides to improved production from
fertilising, pest control to maintenance (pruning, plucking techniques) - awareness of how they fit into /
interact with the other parts of the tea value chain.
Most farmers were unaware of their rights and of government responsibilities and lacked a collective
identity. Hence, they were even more vulnerable, and unable to benefit from shared learning, economies
of scale (through group purchasing/selling), collective negotiation and lobbying/advocacy etc. They also
lacked access to services or support. And finally, the project linked the STGs to the necessary contacts
from government and private service providers for information and for influencing policy.
The project is equally beneficial and supportive to its different stakeholders like the public and private
service providers. Government officials reported an increase in outreach with the help of the project
activities. Private services providers (BSPs) have reported to have expanded their businesses and
customer base by engaging themselves with the farmers’ groups. Level of purchases by the beneficiary
farmers was relatively much lower in the past since they are marginal farmers, and not aware about the
right and appropriate doses of inputs. As a result of the project activities, demand for (quality) inputs have
increased at producer level. Revenues have also increased for the direct beneficiaries and other
stakeholders like traders.
Efficiency
The efficiency of the project design and delivery has been good so far. The project has so far efficiently
managed the challenges that came during the implementation of planned activities. The project
management team has been very careful about the cost-effective delivery of target activities.
The overall expenditure incurred under the EqualiTea II budget is 51.5% after the completion of 18 months.
The major expenditure is on project activities which is an evidence of the successful implementation of all
target activities. Not all members of the PPS organized have been provided with the saplings, while the
members who have availed credit already are also keen to cover more area under tea cultivation if more
saplings are given as credit. Shortage of saplings locally and higher unit costs had affected the supplies
and hence this activity was delayed for a short span of time than the planned schedule. This has to some
extent affected the efficiency of the project as the sapling plantation and overall tea cultivation had got
delayed due to this.
The implementation mechanism is very strong. The number of staff is average compared to the efficient
delivery they are providing. 1 worker, on average, is covering 12 groups with 600 people. There are 5 field
facilitators and a project coordinator. The project staff are highly competent, working well and maintaining
team cohesiveness under the supervision of Executive Director, Bikash Bangladesh. The project has taken
Traidcraft’s long tested group approach which enables one activity to reach 25 households of the group.
This is the core factor which enabled a small, highly-competent and cohesive field team to control such
large beneficiary numbers. While staff costs may seem to have a relatively high share of project costs
(29.74%), but it is justifiable as the crucial project activities of identifying, forming, organizing groups and
training them to function depends completely upon the field staff. Staff retention is also high in this project.
Most of the staff that work in EquiliTea III had prior experience of working with Traidcraft Exchange and
Bikash under previous projects like EqualiTea I and EqualiTea II. Thus, the staffs are experienced enough
to manage the groups, the training activities and specifically the group savings and investment scheme.
The staff being well acquainted with development projects, they could easily connect to the beneficiaries
and understand their situation and use the best approach to communicate with them. The capacity of the
staff built with prior experience was further strengthened by in-depth training and capacity building initiatives
from the project.
The implementing partner Bikash Bangladesh has been operating in the region from 1997 having expertise
in development project implementation and good networks in the project areas. Hence the project has been
able to manage an effective and smooth implementation of activities since the initiation. Moreover, Bikash
Bangladesh has strong and extensive networks and relationships with local tea factory owners, tea board
and government officials, which could be leveraged to ensure smooth running of the trainings, workshops
etc.
The project activities are very well designed and are being implemented timely and efficiently. Ample time
has been given to develop a collective voice of the farmers and to make them work collectively and
collaboratively. The staff dedicatedly worked to build strong sense of collectivism among the group
members, hence a lot of time have been given to group formation, governance mechanism, mobilization
and group operation. Now 1,500 smallholder farming households are working collectively and
collaboratively to increase their resilience. They have a strong sense of unity that when asked to break their
groups down, none of them would be convinced by any means. 100% group members were confident and
could talk very logically about how dedicated they are to be in the group. These strong grassroot institutions
show the signs of sustainability.
Cost effectiveness is high. The strong delivery mechanism kept all costs down. Training was conducted
through ‘train the trainer’ approach, which is cost-effective and is able to cover large number of farmers.
The group leaders and Barefoot Service Providers (BSPs) are usually trained and the STGs receive the
trainings through them. When asked about the services of BSPs, the farmers were found very happy with
the services rendered by them. All the trainers are local experts either the government officials or sometimes
from the Tea Board Industry. This approach has resulted in increased efficiency and ownership of the
government officials and industry experts. It has also been very cost-efficient than using external experts
as trainers. They also could have opportunity to get a stronger understanding of the locality and the
beneficiaries. As a result, the trainings seemed relevant and useful to the beneficiaries as well. “The best
thing is this project did not work alone, rather it engaged all necessary stakeholders to their fullest capacity.
The trainings were conducted by the relevant officers from relevant departments. Another major point is
barefoot service provider approach, where I see people from them being capacitated as trainers. The
project is successfully making them empowered and building leadership capability through this approach. I
know some of them who already got other jobs (for e.g. in square) after they received trainings and built
their capacities.” said Mr Siddique, Senior Farm Assistant, Bangladesh Tea Board, Panchagarh.
The PPS are yet to start collective operations like leaf trading, inputs supplies, etc. But in Baliadangi, the
project beneficiaries are already receiving services for free of cost from different Government and Non-
government organizations the calculated value of which is BDT 49,825. A detail list of collective and
negotiated actions in Baliadangi Upazila is given below
SL. Name of Group
No. of Participants
Description Receiving
Place Calculated
value
1 Bongovita 5 Wheat Seed (5 Kg), Fertilizer
30kg DAE 650
2 Uttar paria 5 Power Thresher (30% Less) DAE 31000
3 Lohagora 1 Foot Sprayer 2 (30% Less) DAE 5000
4 Jotpara, chaol 9 AWD pipe DAE 450
5 choutaki 120 Cattle vaccine (150 cattle) Livestock
Office 7600
6 Jotpara,
Banagaon 70 Cattle vaccine (100 cattle)
Livestock Office
5125
Total 49825
Sapling distribution got delayed than planned schedule due to high sapling price. The price went almost
double than what was budgeted for. But the project could efficiently handle the situation, kept close
observation about the sapling market. Then finally made a long-term agreement after a lot of efficient
negotiation with nursery owners. The credit solely goes to the wide networking and vast market knowledge
of the staff and project coordinator under the supervision of the country director.
The project required the groups to save on their own a certain amount of money (BDT30,000) to be eligible
to receive matching fund; such strategic disbursement of fund has proved to be a highly motivating factor
for the groups to start, and more importantly sustain their savings mechanisms. The concept of this
matching grant has been very successful as it provides a backup to credit needs for various purposes
including an increase in investment capacities.
The group savings fund is currently much higher than that of the initial matching grant. This has helped
reducing beneficiaries’ vulnerability to market or environmental shocks. This has efficiently increased the
psychological and financial preparedness of the beneficiaries. The average amount of savings per group is
BDT 36,076 and average savings of per individual is BDT 1,443. 60 PPS have bank accounts and the rest
10 PPS have some cash in hand. The following table summarizes the savings of the Beneficiaries (BDT)
against the Matching Fund in 3 Upazilas.
Trainings and networking with government officers opened a new door to increased income and social
security for the members within the group South Goalpara Khudra Cha Chashi Samity. One of the
poorest members of this group was [name redacted] who could not run the family well with the scanty
income her husband would earn. She could never imagine of having BDT 1100 savings of her own as
many times she and her family used to starve for food. She said crying “we were passing real hard
days. We thought there is no way of getting out of poverty for us. We thought we were among the least
fortunate of the world.” Her goats and chickens were dying and she could not afford to send her little
son to school. Her yearly income was less than what they needed to survive properly.
Then she received trainings on effective group operation, Cattle Rearing, Beef Fattening, Fodder
Production and Poultry Rearing. Besides this, Project Staff linked her with Upazila livestock office. After
receiving training, she decided to rear cattle again. In January 2017, she bought cattle for BDT 25000
and after three months she sold this cattle for BDT 40000. Rearing cost was 3000 and net profit was
BDT 12000. She spent this money for her children’s education purpose.
Moreover, she received trainings on tea cultivation technique and started preparing her land for tea
cultivation. She received sapling and partial credit with which she bought inputs for tea cultivation. She
wants to put all her efforts into tea cultivation now as this would give her security for the next 60 years.
She has been elected as a barefoot service provider. she is now able to deliver trainings without any
hesitation. She is now thinking of secured and profitable means of re-investing her savings and also
plans to take loans from the group savings fund.
Sl.
no.
Name of
Upazila
Total
group
Total Number of
group member
Total Own
Savings (BDT)
Community Fund
from Project
(BDT)
Total Group
Fund (BDT)
1 Tetulia 17 425 490,000 390,000 880,000
2 Sadar 18 450 640,000 420,000 1,060,000
3 Baliadangi 25 625 134,000 90,000 224,000
Total: 60 1,500 1,264,000 900,000 2,164,000
Effectiveness
Project is greatly effective in reaching the target output and has been performing most of the target activities
timely. The designed activities towards all the outputs are going on track which denotes the good quality
and appropriateness of implementation. It was planned for people with specific needs from the specific
geographical location that faced agriculture challenges. Beneficiaries from Monga prone and seasonal
famine areas Tetulia, Panchgarh Sadar and Baliadangi were chosen based on their poverty and
vulnerability criteria. The project not only collaborated with other projects being implemented in the working
area, it has also undertaken the strategies that were proved successful in earlier projects (like EqualiTea I
and EqualiTea II)
The project has met its targeted number of STGs to engage with and form PPS. In the project so far, a total
of 3000 STGs have been mobilized into 60 Primary Producer Societies (PPS) formed in the project area of
Tetulia, Panchgarh Sadar and Baliadangi Upazila in Thakurgaon district. It was hard to convince the
engagement of farmers with this project as they have been deceived many a time and also making profit
from tea cultivation is a time-consuming process.
By end of
March
No. of STGs
mobilized
No. of
Women
STGs
mobilized
Group
Mobilized
No. of STGs
with existing
plantation
No. of STGs new to
tea cultivation
Tetulia 850(425 HHs) 197 17 0 850 (425 HHs)
Sadar 900(450 HHs) 166 18 0 900 (450 HHs)
Baliadangi 1250(625 HHs) 75 25 0 1250 (625 HHs)
Total 3000 (1500 HHs) 438 60 0 3000 (1500 HHs)
All of the 60 groups elected their 9-member governing body to operate the group; and selected 2 BSPs to
receive technical training so as to serve their needs better. This group approach helps build strength,
solidarity and cohesiveness among the members and in terms of community development, this approach
has the highest success rate. It has paved the path towards reaching the first outcome where the farmer
groups are united to negotiate better with local government and local tea companies/factories for better
services and support.
A total of 120 Group leaders received training on effective group operation. 120 GLs have knowledge on
effective group operation. 3000 STGs received training on this conducted by GLs. The STGs now have
clear understanding and education about effective group operation.
A total of 120 Barefoot Service Providers received 03 module technical training on Tea Cultivation. 120
BSPs have knowledge on 03 module technical training on Tea Cultivation. From the beginning of the
project, 3000 STGs received 03 module technical training on Tea Cultivation. All trainings were conducted
by BSPs. The STGs now know the necessary information and developed skills on how to prepare land,
how to nurture the saplings and finally how to plant them and take care till they start giving leaves.
A total of 120 Barefoot Service Provider received technical training on Income Generating Activities. 120
BSPs have knowledge on crop cultivation and livestock rearing. 3000 STGs received training on income
generating activities. All trainings were conducted by BSPs. The STGs now have strong understanding and
knowledge about alternative livelihood option. These knowledge dissemination activities on tea cultivation
and other income generating activities is expected to contribute in reaching outcome 2 by increasing income
of the HHs through tea cultivation and making them less vulnerable by changing their livelihood.
Livestock and poultry vaccination trainings have been highly effective for the female members of the groups
as it provided them with an immediate source of income. In addition, the vaccination training had an
immediate impact compared to other trainings which was well appreciated by the women during the FGDs.
This activity has made it possible for them to rear their poultry very well. It has reduced the mortality rate
and make the chickens suitable to give sufficient eggs or be sold in the market within 6-10 weeks.
3000 STGs (60 Groups) received training on modern agricultural practice. As a part of this activity, soil
testing of farmers’ land has also been started and received much appreciation.
Sl. Upazila # of
Group
# of
Beneficiary
Soil
sample
collected
Total
report
collected
1 Tetulia 4 20 20 0
2 Sadar 4 20 20 0
3 Baliadangi 2 10 10 0
Total 10 50 50 -
These have increased the farmers’ knowledge on modern agricultural practice. it has been helpful and they
would benefit from its application on their fields. Such informative trainings have been very successful and
effective that they already started demonstrating their results.
120 Group leaders received training on group savings and investment scheme and also 3000 STGs
received training on group savings and investment scheme. After this training, 120 Group leaders and 3000
STGs have knowledge on the topics. 52 PPSs established financial relationship with banks and other FIs.
They have opened bank accounts. The detail of savings status in all 3 Upazila is attached in Annex 5. As
a result, all 60 functional groups have been doing meetings regularly every month and collecting savings
regularly. There are no reported incidence of members failing or unwilling to deposit the monthly savings.
it has helped them understand the benefit of working together. This ensures that the small tea growers are
engaged in collective action. Savings is found to be an important motivational factor for the most members
of the group during the FGDs. The farmers have not yet started investment.
Consultation meeting with prospective smallholder tea growers with Govt. and Private Stakeholders held.
As a result, they have been introduced and linked with public service providers (extension officers). The
effectiveness of such consultation workshops leads to meeting outcome 3. Linkage building regional
workshops between smallholder farmers and local service providers held with the presence of respective
district and Upazila govt. officers of three Upazilas and also different level stakeholders like BLFs,
journalists, representative from each group. Thus, they are linked to public service providers to whom they
can now access easily. The strongest sign of effectiveness was found in the networking with public
institutions. Beneficiaries and government officials stated mutual benefit from the repeated engagements
during trainings. Relationship with public and private service providers strengthened and many of the
beneficiaries believed that without the help of project, they would not have been able to access the service
providers.
An Association is formed in Tetulia Upazila and two more associations are in the process of formation and
a combined regional association will be formed incorporating all three associations. These associations are
expected to be established to act as a voice of all the STGs to help them get their rights fulfilled. A simple
notion of the effectiveness of this 18 months’ work on collectivism is where we see the farmers are already
benefiting from the project activities which was not possible or used to get delayed before the project came.
A detail of such collective and negotiated actions has already been mentioned above.
The project provided 16,24,000 Sapling (BDT 79,57,600 @ 4.9/ Sapling) among 812 selected small tea
growers based on their needs. The project also provided BDT 18,38,500 as partial credit among 812
selected small tea growers based on their need assessment. This credit support is helping to achieve
increased technical and organizational capacity of the STGs to improve their livelihoods. The detail status
of sapling and partial credit in all 3 Upazila is attached in Annex 6.
Tea sector research and tea policy paper preparation works are being conducted by Mr. Kawsar, consultant
hired by TXUK for policy research. He already conducted two important KIIs with high officials and
published articles on those interviews in 2 leading newspapers of the country. The two interviews were –
one with the honorable commerce minister Mr Tofayel Ahmed and another one with a senior secretary Mr.
Hetayet Ullah Al Mamun. In the interviews the two knowledgeable persons talked about their hope about
the potential of small scale tea growing business in Bangladesh and how this can bring revolutionary
change in the country’s economy by transforming the lives of poorest people of the country. The works on
tea policy research paper is going on well while the effectiveness of this initiative is predicted to be highly
valuable for the STGs.
Sustainability
Sustainability of the project without outside support is an important aspect for ensuring project success. It
lies at the core of any project where long lasting impressions are expected for beneficiaries from the funded
Living in extreme poverty as well as suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity along with poor health
and hygiene due to limited income, [name redacted] has gone through a lot of struggle and was
dependent on agriculture and livestock. He had 7 cows and 2 goats. Total yearly income derived from
agriculture and livestock was BDT 60,000 and BDT 30,000 respectively, in total BDT 90,000.
[Name redacted] is 57 years old. He is part of the JothPara – 1 group from Banagao Jothpara Village,
Thakurgaon District. He has studied up to class 8. He has one son ad one daughter who are involved
in private service and graduate study respectively.
He used to be a small farmer and as said earlier, his main income is derived from agriculture and
livestock. The land that he used for agriculture production was not suitable for seasonal cultivation. “I
did not get any money from it, so I could not live a reasonably good life. With such limited money, it was
not sufficient to bear all expenses like-shopping, purchasing essential commodities and even bearing
the educational expense for the children. So, I was in problem and was struggling a lot. This land is
suitable only for tea cultivation”. The total land area under his possession is 165 decimals and he has
utilized 60 decimals out of it for tea cultivation.
At this critical situation, he decided to join the EqualiTEA III Project implemented by Traidcraft Exchange
and Bikash Bangladesh. “I talked with project Staff and what impressed me was that Tea is a long-term
crop and it has a lifespan of 60 to 70 years. So, anybody can live his life out of its economy and also
from proper livestock rearing. So, when I recognized this, I have put all my efforts into tea plantation. I
am a Bare Foot Service Provider. I received 3 modules technical trainings on tea cultivation & 01 module
training on effective group operation and received training on cattle rearing, beef fattening, fodder
production and poultry rearing through improved method. I am the president of the standing committee
of the group. Besides this, Project Staff linked me with the Upazila livestock office.”
In 2016, I bought two cows amounting to BDT 40,000 and after six months I sold this cows for BDT
70,000. Rearing cost was BDT 12,000 and thus the net profit was BDT 18,000 and I spent this money
for family expense and my children’s education”.
This is a very inspiring story of [name redacted]. In near future, he will use 66 decimals of land for tea
cultivation and plan to construct a permanent residential building for his accommodation.
[Name redacted] is proud on his achievements. He is very much excited and enthused tea farmer who
has a careful strategy to cultivate tea and earn more money out of it. The most important aspects about
his activities is that other members of the group also get encouraged by him as he shares his stories
with other members in the group meetings to become better farmers, earn big income and provide daily
necessities for their family members. He is very much thankful to the project and conveyed his gratitude
to Traidcraft, Bikash and UKAID.
interventions. The potential for sustainability of the project activities and their results seemed quite strong
as the activities are fully owned and based upon STG needs and requirements.
60 farmer groups have been formed which have a total membership of 3000 beneficiaries. All the groups
have functional and operational 9 membered executive committee; are already knowledgeable on group
operations. As we visited around 10 groups during our visit, it seemed that all of them are well formed and
may not require further operational support from the project by now. They clearly talked about the need and
mutual benefit of organizing and working collaboratively. The collective power of the STGs have been
enhanced through capacity building, mentoring and ensuring good governance. They already know how to
nurture their capacities to access information and subsidies for the future. Hence, there is a strong likelihood
that the STGs will continue to use PPS as they are already getting proven benefits in terms of collective
actions, knowledge sharing, efficient services and advice etc.
In addition to building capacity, our approach achieves a multiplier effect by ensuring the transfer of
knowledge and skills to large numbers and leaving behind a resource to help scale-up after the project
ends. In order to ensure improvements and long term knowledge sharing and skill transfer, EqualiTea III
has trained 120 Barefoot service providers to provide ongoing support and mentoring to smallholder
farmers. With the support of the project, these technically skilled persons are developed enough to provide
raining, services and at the same time earn money through community works such as vaccination of poultry.
This will not change after the project leaves.
60 self-sufficient farmer groups and 1 already established association provides an inherent indication of
financial and institutional independence and sustainability. The groups are already acting in the interests of
the community members and therefore having full support which is expected to continue beyond the project.
With the completion of 2 more Upazila and 1 regional associations and their work for each other’s’ interest,
probability of the groups and associations to sustain will be much more enhanced.
EqualiTea III has focused its activities on strengthening the linkages of service providers by using them to
provide the services to existing farmer groups. The input sellers of these areas now provide good quality
inputs and agriculture advice to the EqualiTea farmers. This has created a win-win situation between
farmers, and service providers. The convincing approach of mutual benefit of involvement with the project
ensures that all groups have a stake in continuing to engage with each other even after the expiry of the
project. From both the beneficiaries and service providers’ end, there has been strong assurance to
continue the relations as they are mutually beneficial.
All the Government Officers interviewed were found committed to working with the project as they found it
effective to reach a large a number of people in the easiest way. The beneficiaries during the FGDs said
that that the government officials designated to the project areas did not visit them ever before this project.
After the initial introduction facilitated by the project, it became easier for the government officials to do their
jobs more effectively. The group members also mentioned that previously they had no access to any
government offices or they did not have any courage to talk to any officer; but now after the project
introduced them to the Upazila Livestock Officer and Upazila Agriculture Officer, they are welcomed at the
government offices whenever they go for any assistance from them. They also have the mobile number of
the officers and can ask for any help from them. “I visited all the 17 groups in the Upazila. All the farmers
know me very well. They can come to me anytime for any kind of assistance without hesitation, which they
would never do before. I can also access a large number of people if I visit farmers in groups. These readily
available groups have been proven as a very good reaching point for us as we do not have sufficient officers
to reach out to a lot of people from our government department. I think almost all the farmers of EqualiTEA
know me, and have access to my office. They have my cell number and talk easily for solving their
problems.” Mr Alam, Upazila Agriculture officer in Tetulia Upazila was saying as we asked him about the
perceived benefit he had sought from involving with this project. According to him, the project’s best
approach was to take them to the farmers and introduce the farmers with these officers to build a good
contact with them. He thinks such relationship is going to last as long as the officers are here and even
after that, if a new officer gets appointed, the farmers are already self-confident enough and have known
the ways to reach out the officers by themselves. They will leverage their collective power which no new
officer would be able to deny or ignore. This confidence and relationship are something the project would
not be able to take away at the time of expiry. From both end, this commitment was visible which improves
the sustainability aspect to a great extent.
The capacity of groups and association on lobbying and advocacy is being built as part of the project
activities. This is helping the farmer groups and the association to lobby government bodies for different
services from government scheme. A list of successful receptions of some services were discussed in the
previous sections. This indicates the project is already showing its success in developing the networking
and lobbying/advocacy skills of beneficiary groups After the successful establishment of regional
association it is expected to help the group members and associations to lobby government bodies for the
proper implementation of existing policies and to voice farmers’ concerns and needs to influence future
policy formulation. This is crucial to the sustainability of the project impact.
The project has selected beneficiaries based on their needs and interest to convert their fallow or less
productive land to tea cultivation. Though this needed much effort to convince these people to understand
the concept as they have been deceived many a time in the past by many NGOs. However, the project
encouraged beneficiaries to diversify their income through alternative livelihood options in the local area.
Since a lot of the work is happening through groups, there is also encouragement among other farmers to
work together to continue tea cultivation. The existing members, by seeing the success of our previous
project in this area, are also convinced that once planted with tea bushes, their land will be a resource that
will be available for the next 50 years (the life of a tea bush).
Matching fund and savings deposit creating opportunities for utilization against Income Generating
Activities, both individual and joint, is an effective strategy for socioeconomic sustainability. However, the
match fund was provided after a savings of BDT 30,000 with own fund from the group. The detail summary
of Upazila wise savings and matching grant is attached in Annex 5. This also has been a motivation for the
members to be together and not leave the group activities as their money is involved in here.
Impact
The extensive impact of the project is yet to be seen. But the most advantageous here is the fact that in
traditional tea cultivation practice, result can be seen after 4-5 years whereas in Panchgarh, the soil is so
suitable that the effect can be seen within 2 years of time span. As a result, there has been no visible or
real profit increase till now though more than 50% farmers have planted the saplings and received some
income. Nevertheless, many have earned through engaging in alternative income generating activities.
Beneficiaries have started to diversify their income sources through project activities utilizing a greater
integrated farming system. Along with agriculture, many of them have adopted livestock rearing as
additional livelihood options. Poultry and goat rearing have been found to be the most popular activities for
women. This is bringing instant income for a lot of them. Apart from livestock and agriculture, some people
have been found to be investing in small multipurpose shops, handicrafts, mobile accessories business etc.
The socioeconomic condition of the group members is improving.
The group savings fund has an impact both as a safety measure and collective action. The plan is to ensure
the beneficiaries have an emergency fund, which they can use instead of informal loans or micro-financing
loans – which have higher interest rates and rigid payback terms. With group savings, all beneficiaries are
now protected against these vulnerabilities since each member has an option of taking small loans, when
required. The impact of this easily accessible loan and readily available investment fund is expected to be
very noteworthy. The project staff have planned to devote next few months on developing investment
committee for each group, train on their operation and works and helping the beneficiaries to access loans
and make effective investment.
In 2000, Bangladesh Tea Board did soil test and recommended the land as tea growing region in the
extreme north of Bangladesh. The target location of the project beneficiaries was chosen based on this
suitability of land for tea growing. At the same time, the project took an initiative to do specific soil testing
for the producers’ land to know the required amount of fertilizer and other inputs for cultivating their land.
According to field surveys, the beneficiaries have already started testing their soil to determine the amount
and types of fertilizer required for their soil and crop so that they can apply fertilizer in the right quantity.
This is going to help them use the required amount of fertilizer without compromising the production yield
which eventually will lead to the reduction of their production cost. some of them also received
vermicomposting demonstration. Such practices undoubtedly have very positive impact on the conservation
of environment.
Trainings have already started demonstrating positive impact as the farmers are applying the learning
relevant to their agricultural practices. Specifically, the trainings on tea cultivation has been very effective
and has a long-lasting impact which has enabled the STGs (who already received saplings) to prepare their
land, plant saplings and take regular care of those. The impact of such training is likely to last and even get
stronger as the beneficiaries proceed on with the stages of tea cultivation. Training on poultry rearing and
vaccination is also expected to be long lasting.
The project activities have enabled the beneficiaries to raise their collective voice and use their social capital
to address common challenges. Groups have developed the habit of meeting regularly and discussing
individual issues. Substantial impact can be seen in the communication skills of beneficiaries with outsiders.
They now keep good contact with public service providers, input sellers and tea board officials and do not
hesitate to ask for their help when necessary. The level of confidence among the specially among the
women beneficiaries is reflected in their ability to communicate clearly. This is especially significant for
women because generally they are not used to maintain a social circle outside their own family, neither are
they used to have professional interactions.
In the design of the project, women were given special focus. The project took an approach to work with
both husband and wife from one household. Among the 1500 HH beneficiaries, 438 are female headed
groups. Many women are holding leadership position by rotation in the group committee. Some have been
developed as the Barefoot Service Providers (BFSP). Among the 120 BFSP, 27 are women. The detail list
of Barefoot service providers in 3 Upazilas is given in the Annex 4. From the field visit, it was found that the
women members now feel empowered both socially and financially and their self-confidence has gone up
after involving with the project activities. When asked about them feeling overburdened due to getting
engaged in both household work and economic activities outside the home, all the women showed the
same consensus that they do not mind working more as long as their hard work pays off, rather they are
more motivated as they feel independent and valued. Their social acceptance has also gone up. Taking a
household approach, where both husband and wife are present in the same group, proved to be a very
effective strategy to include both of them to understand each and other and act as a compliment for each
other in all kind of activities.
The strongest impact has been generated in the linkages with government officials with improved
relationships. The beneficiaries have been capacitated to contact the government officers directly for advice
and some even go to input retailers to purchase their own inputs for their homestead gardening activities
promoted by the project. These private/business service providers expect a positive impact in the future
years through increasing growth of their customer base. The government officials also appreciated their
involvement in the design and execution of project activities especially trainings
In many cases, it was reported by the beneficiaries that neighbors of EqualiTea group members have shown
interest in their activity and in some areas, stated interest to join in the groups. But this is discouraged as
the project do not have any discretion for this now. But a positive energy has been found among the
community members, even when we were conducting our FGDs, a number of people from outside were
very enthusiastic to know what is being discussed for that day.
Both Traidcraft and Bikash Bangladesh have prior experience in group mobilization strategy implemented
during EqualiTea I and EqualiTea II projects. As a result, it is recommended and is very possible for them
to measure the right impacts for self-evaluation as well as promoting their success.
Lessons and Recommendation
➢ The farmers who have been given the saplings and partial credit, need to be kept under close eyes
to ensure the best use of the partial credit. These should only be used for buying inputs like fertilizer.
Pesticides etc. for tea cultivation rather than for their own consumption.
➢ 2 Upazila Associations and 1 regional association are yet to be formed. Project team should
complete this as soon as possible as they now need to devote more time in the nurturing of these
associations. These should be capacitated well to perform independently with full functional,
financial and technical capacity of their own. It is crucial to ensure they have clarity on their purpose
and they reach-out to their farmer members to begin to build the relationship & understand their
needs. Moreover, lobbying with Bangladesh tea board and negotiating with tea factories would be a
vital role that the associations need to be capable of playing.
➢ Group members and specially the group leaders and leaders of associations need to be specialized
in negotiating with tea factories to ensure proper pricing of their leaves. The groups need to unite
together to negotiate for reducing percentage deduction from their leaves. Also, a concrete
documentation method for recording these negotiated actions and their values is necessary to
maintain regularly to assess the project’s success during final evaluation.
➢ Data on producers’ income change could not analyzed at this stage as tea cultivation is a lengthy
process and most of the farmers have not yet started getting leaves. So, it is recommended to collect
accurate information on the income change of the farmers preferably with a certain interval, to
analyze and get a clear picture during final evaluation. It would be better to disaggregate the picture
of increases in tea income versus overall income of STGs through alternate sources of income.
➢ A feedback mechanism is to be maintained regularly especially with the grassroots level
stakeholders in order to make the implementation strategy more effective, sustainable and flexible.
➢ More time and efforts should be given for nurturing the groups as they are new to tea cultivation.
Since tea cultivation is a long-term process, the PPS need to be kept motivated to wait for more 6
month or a year in some cases to see the benefits. This time is very crucial for the project staff to
extend their highest support and effort in strengthening the groups.
➢ It was found that Tea board has provision for distributing some saplings of BT variety with subsidy
(BDT 1 subsidy for per sapling) and some shallow pumps for free of cost. 60 of our farmers have
been selected who will receive these services. This is a very good initiative which the Association
leaders with support from project team may lobby for and try to make it faster to ensure that these
advantages reach our farmers in real before the project leaves.
➢ A lot of new tea factories were found to be being established recently. At the same time, many new
small farmers are getting involved with tea cultivation. In this case, the project has high potential for
involving the factory owners form their CSR perspective.
➢ Factories which are established in Panchgarh area, are called Bought Leaf Factory (BLF). For
establishing BLF in Panchgarh area, permission from BTB is a must. For traditional tea, no such
type of permission is required from BTB. It is a concern that the Tea Board is giving license to a lot
of new factories. But this may reduce the bargain power of the tea growers. In this case, it is
recommended to initiate a talk with the tea board to leverage on this issue where the tea factories
will go for contractual agreements with the farmers to buy back their leaves. For this they will be
engaged in the initial capital investment as the tea growers are small and marginal farmers with very
less or no assets and tea cultivation requires a good amount of initial investment. Thus, the factory
owners will have a handsome amount of investment preferably in sharing the sapling costs which
will also keep them bound to buy from those STGs. The farmers also need to agree to provide good
quality leaves which can be ensured with proper pricing of leaves by the factory owners. This would
be a way for both parties to flourish sustainably.
➢ Demonstrations are very popular and effective. Therefore, number of such events should be
enhanced with the help from government service providers and may be by the engagement with
development organizations as well.
➢ The groups can be taught to keep a monthly newspaper named KrishiKatha from the group to get
regular new updates about modern agriculture practice.
➢ Refresher trainings for service providers on effective service delivery is required as many officers
have been changed in las 2 years. It is required to give them such trainings for their capacity building
before the project leaves.
➢ The groups have not yet started investing. A committee for loan processing and investment analysis
need to be formed within a short time as many groups have already reached a handful amount of
savings and also received matching grant. They need to start disbursing loans and making
investments with no delay.
➢ While the impact on the farmers who have taken up tea cultivation under the project would be very
highly positive in the country, they do not have a support system through Government and
Bangladesh Tea Board, nor is the involvement of the formal banking system to meet their credit
requirements. While more such marginal farmers are already attracted to tea cultivation through the
demonstration effect of the project, lack of resources (initial investment as well as working capital
requirements) is a barrier for them. For any kind of agricultural loan, farmers have to keep their
original deeds of land as mortgage against the loan. The farmers of North Bengal do not have this
opportunity as original copies of their land deed are lying with Jolpaiguri district in India since 1947.
So, taking agricultural loan from any schedule bank is impossible for them without the original deed.
So, initiatives should be taken to make the condition easy for them by Government or Tea Board
can act as a grantor against every bank loan for tea cultivation. The project may enhance the
involvement of the associations to lobby with BTB and local development organizations to help in
this regard to open the doors for the interested new farmers to come in the business.
Annex 1: Questionnaire of FGD
Group Evaluation Format
Name of the Group :
ID :
Village :
Union :
Upazila :
District :
Total Member :
Date of Formation :
Broad Criteria
Good Governance
Do you have a constitution?
Are the group members respectful to the leader and the constitution?
Do you hold election for leadership?
Does the group maintain proper documentation?
Is the group united and resolve any issues/ makes decisions collectively?
Effective group operation
Does the group hold monthly meeting regularly?
Are all the members present in all monthly meetings?
Have you ever done anything or taken any initiative collectively?
Are you able to negotiate better with local government and local tea companies/factories for better services and support now?
Have you ever negotiated unitedly to gain anything and become successful?
Do you perceive benefits from group membership? How?
Do you have good linkages with the BSP and PSP?
Are you satisfied with the services/support provided by barefoot service providers?
How are the leaders' relationship with the others in the society?
Does your group have any future plan together?
How is your relationship with the associations? Do you know the members or leaders of associations?
Is association essential for getting better support or benefit from different stakeholder (BLFs, PSP, Input Supplier etc)?
Project participation and
effectiveness
Do you know about the project? What’s the name, who are the donors and implementers etc.?
Are you aware about opportunities and problems in tea production?
Are you aware about the challenges we are facing?
Can you tell us the name of trainings you have received so far?
Are the trainings useful? How?
Has the project or the trainings helped in growing your self-confidence?
Do you get engaged in the group activities? How?
Savings and investment
Do you think saving is needed for you or for the group? How?
How often do you save and how much?
What is the size of your savings?
Have you made any investment so far? How and where?
What is the outcome/ profit that you made through this investment?
Who does the bank transaction?
Who does the documentation? How?
How do you pay back the loan? How does the group do the collection activity?
How much fund is available in the safety fund? How is it used?
Project Outcome
What is the average yield (in kg) of tea (before processing) per acre?
How much income has increased since you started tea cultivation under the tea project?
Do you think there is an improvement in your wellbeing after involving with the project?
What proportion of your income is earned from tea cultivation?
How much of your land is being cultivated using improved practices learned from this project?
Are you getting assistance from agricultural services?
How much of your yield per acre of existing crops increased using improved agricultural techniques?
Do you see benefits from improved agriculture practices? (soil testing, organic fertilizers, efficient irrigation etc.)
Have you adopted any new income-generating activity since you got involved with the project? What and how much you are earning from that?
Gender and Women
Empowerment
How many female members are in the group?
Are women holding president/ secretary or both positions in the group?
Do the same women continue to hold these positions or do they rotate?
Do you think mixed groups (male and female) are best for working?
What impact does being a president or secretary have on a woman’s self-confidence?
What impact does having a woman in these positions have on the self-confidence of other women in the group?
How men feel about having women in these positions? – Is there a risk it may provoke a backlash in other areas of life?
Do you (women) feel overburdened as you have to play role in the economic activities as well as in the household works?
Annex 2: Highlights from FGDs
- Lohakachi Khudra Cha Chashi Samity
o Some group members feel that their savings are the single best thing about being involved
in the project. They currently have 30,085 BDT in savings, did not receive any grant yet.
They have their own group bank account. Each of them save BDT 100/120 per month.
o They received trainings on Group formation, Committee formation, Agriculture practice,
savings and loans etc. These trainings have been provided by government officers, some
by the project staff or barefoot service providers.
o The group collectively made a signboard, seal and also opened a bank account. They have
learned a sense of togetherness from being united in this group.
o They still do not have very good or strong connection with the PSPs and BSPs as they
have not approached them yet for any service. But they plan to start such communication
soon.
o The group members plan to spend their extra earnings on better food for their children,
family expenses, cultivation costs and their children’s education. The husbands of the
female members are very happy with their wives’ equal participation in the group.
o The secretary is a woman and her family is supporting her and gives her encouragement
which she could not imagine before.
o They have not yet cultivated tea but they are applying their learnings from agriculture
training. They are using natural remedy of insects. Thus, they reduced their insecticide
cost.
- Kamarpara Khudra Cha Chashi Samity
o Rural people of our country are far from accessing basic services of government as the
number of people are higher than the number of service providers and allocated services.
The project came as a blessing for the group. The members materialized the idea on which
they used to pay no attention earlier. Hence their poultry were dying at a rate of 50-90% in
some cases.
o They received 7 modules of trainings on tea cultivation, group operating, poultry and cattle
rearing and agriculture practices. They explained that if they were not in the group they
wouldn’t get these. It has been the most important benefit of their involvement in the project.
o They explained that others want to know the new things that they have learnt. Neighboring
farmers come to attend their training and also come to them to ask for advice and most of
the time they try to share the information with them.
o They have a very close relationship with the government officers now; previously they didn’t
know them at all. The president has all their mobile numbers. They explained that from
communication with the government officers, they have learnt a lot.
o Through collective and negotiated actions, they try to communicate with tea factory owners,
government, and private service providers for any required services/rights that they could
not imagine before. They have been invited by the local tea factory owner during its yearly
opening ceremony. They received maize and wheat seeds through negotiated action from
the government office.
o They want to register their group and grow as an institution.
o 10% of them have started tea cultivation and expecting an average yield of 8000 kg leaves
per acre.
o All the members of the group are happy with the benefit. They feel they can do something
for themselves now. Specially the women feel self-confident more than before.
- Kodomtali Khudro Cha Chashi Samity
o When asked about the main benefits of group membership, some members described that
savings and trainings or knowledge gathering were most useful benefit for them.
o Most members are present in all monthly meetings. They now negotiate with government
officers and received demonstration of wheat and maize through negotiation. They also
received seed and fertilizer for preparing these demo plots.
o They had a lot of fallow land where now they have planned to cultivate tea. They prepared
their land after receiving trainings on tea cultivation. The land where last year nothing was
cultivated is now brought under use and they dream of making a good future out of it.
o Now they have good practice for solving problems. They have good communication. The
group president explained that this will continue for them beyond the life of the project.
o Previously they had no communication with the government officers. Now they
communicate a lot. They phone the officers for any kind of advice they need.
o They have good relationship with the village leader.
o In future, they plan to focus more on cattle rearing for increasing their earnings.
o They have a saving amount of BDT 12,400. They have not yet started any investment.
o They have seen alternative sources of earning. Some are making profit by poultry rearing
and cattle rearing.
o Some group members have received 2000 saplings each and started planting. Some have
received partial credit of BDT 2500 which they are suing for buying other required inputs
for agriculture production and tea cultivation.
- Choutaki 2 Khudra Cha Chashi Samity
o There are 29 HHs in this group. 22 are male headed and 7 are female headed. Basically,
all these families are male headed as the nature of the country’s social system, but those
7 HHs are registered in the group by the names of their female partners.
o They have attended Group formation meeting, need assessment meeting, Technical
training on tea cultivation techniques, groups savings and investment mechanism,
livestock rearing etc.
o The group described how previously they used to use a lot of fertilizer and now they use
less and in balanced amount after knowing about the right dosage and effective ways of
cultivation.
o They received vaccines from government livestock office. Poultry rearing was never a
profitable venture since a huge number of poultry died due to diseases. But now it has
become profitable as the mortality rate went down drastically after getting their poultries
vaccinated.
o Most of them are from Hindu community and they think religion has not been any barrier
for them to participate and work together in the group spontaneously.
o They have reduced their costs of cattle feed after they received training on livestock
rearing. But they are now getting more milk and taking better care of their cattle and using
beef fattening techniques successfully.
o They maintain a good relationship with the chairman of the locality and get assistance and
support from him now.
o They plan to sell their leaves together to get better price through negotiation. They plan to
demand less reduction in weight by the factory owners so that they can earn better. At the
same time, they have decided to provide good quality tea leaves to factories so that they
can have a long term mutually beneficial relationship with them.
o They have been visited by the Agriculture officer and livestock officer and has built good
rapport with them by now.
- Moddho Charol – 1 Khudro Cha Chashi Samity
o There are 26 HHs in this group. They formed this group and started operation from
February 2016. By now they have started seeing better livelihood options by the help of
the project.
o They received trainings on tea cultivation, livestock rearing, group operation, GSIS and
agriculture practice etc.
o They save BDT 100 per month and has a total saving amount of BDT 15,500 in excel.
o The women members explained that their husbands are very happy with their wives’
involvement in the group.
o The group members’ self-confidence has increased since they got involved with the project.
They now communicate well with others. The neighboring people of the society sometimes
come to them or call them up for advice on some social issues.
o They plan to pay off their loans to MFIs soon. They want their own fund to grow big and
want to help other members through lending.
o They know the leaders of association and know about the work of it. But the association is
yet to be form in a formal way.
o Now they have developed good communication skill. The group president explained that
this will continue for them beyond the life of the project.
o They believe tea cultivation can change their lives and give them security for a long time
even for their next generation.
- Grampara Khudro Cha Chasji Samity
o They are 50 members in the group, that is 25 households. 21 of them are male registered
and rest 4 are female registered.
o They have average grasp on group operation and documentation. They try to maintain
proper rules and follow guidelines.
o They have established good connection with nearby tea factory Green Field which is in the
process of opening.
o They have good communication with agriculture officer because of the project. They
received 2 demonstrations from union council. One on mustard and other on maize. They
received Boro Rice seeds from government office which they could not access previously
before the project came and got them introduced with the government officers.
o They want to grow their savings to face future uncertainty. They want to create an NGO to
alleviate poverty from their village. Currently they have a savings on BDT 30,000. Once
they receive the match fund, they plan to buy 2 cows.
o They are well acquainted with the project name, its modality of work the donors and
implementing agencies.
o They were visited by an animal surgeon to see their cattle. They received support and
vaccination training from them. Basically, Upazila livestock offices lacks human resource
to provide door to door services for village. To avail the services in-house is costly as
service providers take much to serve in-house. The group could get his service because
of being united and got to know about disease management.
o They used to face a lot of problem previously. Now they started tea cultivation. At the same
time, Green Field Tea Factory is opening. Si they think their problems will be solved now.
o They hope 25-50% of their earnings will be earned form tea leaves selling once they start
plucking. They expect 9000 kg of leaver from per acre land which can be sold to bring a
good earning for them soon.
- Choutaki 1 Khudro Cha Chashi Samity
o There were no tea factories in this area. But recently around 7-8 new factories are opening
here. The group members now hope to change their lives through tea cultivation
o They started savings for 5 months.
o They have a 9-member committee which they elected through voting by raising hands. 3
committee members are female.
o Their cashier and secretary can maintain the documentation very well.
o The female members talked a bit less than the male ones.
o They received livestock training from BFSP who received this training from Upazila
Livestock Office. They also received agriculture training in the same process. the Upazila
livestock officer and Agriculture officer also visited them.
o They got a campaign on vaccination for the first time. The camp was very near to their
village. They did never get such service before as they live in a very remote village.
o They have already opened a bank account. They have saved BDT 7500 so far in 5 months.
They want to grow their savings fast so that they can receive the matching grant early.
o The group members think that the knowledge on tea cultivation hat they received is the
most important benefit from this project. They also feel that being united gives them power
to get their rights approved. They can now talk collectively to negotiate better.
o They want to work collectively more in future. They plan to pluck leaves together, so that
plucking becomes easier and faster. They also plan to sell their leaves together, take the
leaves in one van to the factory so that their transport cost is low.
o Some of them said that the strength and support and above all the courage they get from
the project is the most important benefit of being involved with this project. They demand
more such support in future till they get stabled.
o 90% of them are involved in cattle rearing and poultry farming. This business was not
beneficial before as the cows and chickens used to die out of a lot of diseases. But when
the livestock officer came and diagnosed their cows, they could save their lives easily. He
also talked about various diseases and how to treat those. Now the mortality rate has gone
down tremendously.
o They want to stay in group and stay united even after the expiry of the project because this
is for their own benefit.
o They are doing rice and potato as well using improved agriculture techniques that they
learned from the trainings provided by the project.
- West Tokapara Khudra Cha Chashi Samity
o The group members are very vocal and enthusiastic.
o They have savings of BDT 31,800 by now. Cashier does all the transactions with bank. He
deposits the savings collected on each monthly meeting. They maintain a passbook for
each member to record their savings amount.
o Previously they had no knowledge on tea cultivation. But through the 3 module trainings
on tea cultivation, they got to know about how to sow the saplings, how to take care of the
saplings before plantation, how to fertilize them and irrigate them well. The 2 BSPs
provided trainings on this which they learned from Panchgarh Muktijuddha Complex, where
an extensive training was conducted by the tea board officer.
o They established good contact with the tea board officer and has his Mobile number. They
contact him whenever they need any advice or assistance.
o They want to spend more on tea cultivation. After receiving sapling and partial credit, they
added some more investment with it because this would a long-term business opportunity
for them. They expect to earn good from this business.
o Some of the members received seeds of lentil from government office which was never
accessible for them before. They used to live in darkness. No officers would reach them or
they would not gather courage to go to anyone. This has changed now.
o They are already earning extra money through poultry rearing, the women farmers could
increase the number of chickens and goats which previously were attached by diseases
and used to die.
o Some of them received sapling and started plantation already. They are waiting for rain to
finish the plantation. In the meantime, they keep the saplings in shaded area and give water
on it to grow new leaves in it.
o People who received sapling also received partial credit of BDT 2000 as well which has
come to a lot of help for them to start the tea cultivation.
o In future, they want to grow savings, buy land and make a room for doing meetings and
discussions. All these they plan to do on their own. They believe that they can do so if they
get the courage, knowledge, and support from the project just like they have been receiving
till now.
- Narayangoch 2 Khudro Cha Chashi Samity
o There are 24 households in this group. They want to stand as self-sufficient. They dream
to establish it as an institution and get it registered.
o The group is very organized, have been taught about group operation and management
very well. They have collective prepared a shade, seating mat, arrange table chair for
conducting important meetings when external people visit them.
o The group members think that it is a very good approach to include both husband and wife
in the same group. It has increased their cooperative sense. They can learn together and
work together. Also, they support each other in everything.
o They received training on livestock rearing which has been proved very beneficial for them.
They got to know about vaccinating and now the mortality rate has gone down. Previously
80% poultry used to die due to diseases which now has gone down to 10%. But currently
they are facing a new problem which is the attack of dogs on their poultry. They asked the
project people to think about this and give them advice on how to get rid of this problem.
o They have very good knowledge on the project, its activities, donors and implementers.
o Many neighboring farmers are interested in joining their group but they only help them with
advice as they know that the project can’t take more members in one group. They
understand that taking more members would decrease the efficiency of group operation.
o They know about association but it has not yet been formed formally.
o They have savings amount of BDT 37,000. They plan to grow more savings soon.
o The group members think that guide books for each topic discussed in meetings can be
very beneficial to retain their knowledge. The educated people can often refresh the
knowledge and share with others for proper advice.
o Everyone in the group do not have the same receiving capacity. As a result, they think
refresher training is required for the weak members of the group on all the technical topics.
- Nitoldoba 2 Khudro Cha Chashi Samity
o The group members here seemed a bit backward compared to the performance of other
groups. They got united and started this group because they want to be involved in tea
cultivation. Some of them sued to work as labors in large tea estates. But after involving
with the project, they can now have their own tea gardens.
o They think working together, solving their own problems together by their own, taking
initiatives collectively are the major benefits of being in the group.
o They have started savings and have plans to buy cows from their group after saving
enough money and receiving matching grant from the project.
o They have good connection with the Upazila agriculture officer who gave them training on
agriculture method. Some members form the group have his phone number, but they still
have not called him for any service till now.
o They have not yet done soil testing of their soil. But the agriculture officer came and visited
their land and talked about proper dosages of fertilizer.
o Their cattle used to get attacked by worms, which is now solved after they received training
on cattle rearing and vaccinating.
o They plan to pluck leaves in 6 months. After that they will be able to earn money regularly
as tea leaves can be plucked every 40-45 days. So, they plan to change their lives through
engaging in the activities of this project.
Annex 3: Highlights from Key Informant Interviews
- “I visited all the 17 groups in the Tetulia Upazila. All the farmers know me very well. They can come
to me anytime for any kind of assistance without hesitation, which they would never do before. I
can also access a large number of people if I visit farmers in groups. These readily available groups
have been proven as a very good reaching point for us as we do not have sufficient officers to
reach out to a lot of people from our government department. I think almost all the farmers of
EqualiTEA know me, and have access to my office. They have my cell number and talk easily for
solving their problems.” Mr Alam, Upazila Agriculture officer in Tetulia Upazila was saying as we
asked him about the perceived benefit he had sought from involving with this project. According to
him, the project’s best approach was to take them to the farmers and introduce the farmers with
these officers to build a good contact with them. He thinks such relationship is going to last as long
as the officers are here and even after that, if a new officer gets appointed, the farmers are already
self-confident enough and have known the ways to reach out the officers by themselves. They will
leverage their collective power which no new officer would be able to deny or ignore. He suggested
the project now should arrange some demonstrations for farmers to make them impact more visible.
He also suggested that the groups can be taught to keep a monthly newspaper named KrishiKatha
from the group to get a lot of new updates about modern agriculture practice. He also suggested
to arrange refresher trainings for them on service delivery by external experts since he received
the first one and got benefitted from this. Now that many officers have been changed, it is required
to give them such trainings for their capacity building before the project leaves.
- “This area is very potential for tea cultivation. But the small farmers need a push as tea cultivation
needs a lot of technical knowledge and a quite large amount of investment in the initial stage. So,
focusing on this sector in such a modality has been the most important beneficial factor of this
project which convinced me to become involved with this project. The village people are usually
hesitant to reach out to government offices. But when this project took the initiative to get me
introduced with them and I conducted the first trainings as well, it brought a revolutionary change
among the poor villagers. I now receive a minimum of 3-6 calls per day from different farmers and
minimum 2-3 farmers visit my office to meet me for their problems. “saying Dr Matin, Upazila
Agriculture Officer, Panchgarh.
- “Farmers now use organic matter (less chemical fertilizer). It is reducing their production cost. they
are encouraged in tea cultivation and makes 8-10 calls to me each day. I also feel happy to help
them solve their problems when they refer to their involvement with the project. The best thing is
this project did not work alone, rather it engaged all necessary stakeholders to their fullest capacity.
The trainings were conducted by the relevant officers from relevant departments. Another major
point is barefoot service provider approach, where I see people from them are being capacitated
as trainers. The project is successfully making them empowered and building leadership capability
through this approach. I know some of them who already got other jobs (for e.g. in square) after
they received trainings and built their capacities.” said Mr Siddique, Senior Farm Assistant,
Bangladesh Tea Board, Panchgarh. He also appreciated the project’s easy delivery mechanism
where local Bangla language has been given preference. He suggested to promote BT variety as
this will reduce insect attack. The current variety is TV 23, 25, 26 which are thick, as a result farmers
use knives to pluck leaves which is bad for the lifecycle of the bushes. Another important
recommendation from his was promoting and branding Panchgarh tea along with BTRI and Tea
Board. He also recommended that the project can work with the new factories where they would
encourage them to go for contracts with farmers with a share of investment in their tea cultivation
and gardening. As result, the factory owner would be risk-free from not falling out of leaves and the
farmers would also be risk-free from falling out of buyers. The Tea Board will also help is this which
it is already practicing by not issuing license for those factories which do not invest in contract
farmers’ gardens. This would be a way for both parties to flourish sustainably. The project should
hence, take initiative to work in establishing the policy issues related to branding Panchgarh Tea
and licensing tea factories through its policy and research paper works.
- “The small farmers here are very poor. Some of them have land but those were fallow. The project
did very well when it brought those fallow lands under tea cultivation by giving the farmers proper
technical know-how and saplings as initial investment. “said Mr Moinul Islam, Project Engineer,
Bangladesh Tea Board, he attended some training events organized by the project and found it
very effective. He thinks training the farmers on tea cultivation and providing them saplings are the
major important activities. He suggested that the project can help tea board to register the tea
farmers and get ID cards for them. The farmers are usually hesitant to provide the necessary papers
for registration in BTB, but as the project farmers have good faith in the project staff, he requests
them to help them bring the farmers’ trust and make them understand the necessity of getting
registered.
- “I provided training to the Barefoot service providers on livestock and poultry rearing and disease
management in Baliadangi. I discussed about a technical detail of livestock rearing. The people
here are now very much enthusiastic in livestock farming as an additional source of income. My
farmers are very thankful to me as they always say that their cows now do not die only because of
all the good advice they received from me. I feel proud of being able to help them. “said Mr Dr
Azad, Livestock Officer Baliadangi. He also led a vaccination camp where he vaccinated more than
300 cows and prescribed the owners about the diseases of their cows.
- “My customer base is increasing each day. Many of the project farmers are my permanent
customers now. I sell pesticides for Lalmakor, mosquito, Plant Growth Regulator etc which are the
major diseases of tea. I sometimes visit gardens of your project farmers as they invite me to. Before
the project came, my customers used to come but such an interactive relationship with my
customers could only be built by the help of such a wonderful project. I think, even after the project
leaves, these people will keep such good interaction with me if I can provide them with good
services that is good quality inputs and advice.” Md Rahman, a pesticide business person in Sadar
Upazila, said these when he was asked about the project and its activities.
- “I started with 80,000 saplings production per year, whereas currently I grow and sell 8,00,000
saplings per year. I have provided 12,00,000 saplings to Traidcraft and Bikash for this EqualiTea
program intervention till the beginning. Panchgarh tea has a great potential to thrive in the country’s
market. But farmers need to use less pesticide and ensure natural cultivation.” Says Mr Islam when
he was asked about the growth of his business and as well as the growth and potential of small
scale tea growing in Panchgarh.
Annex 4: List of Barefoot Service Providers
Removed for the purposes of data protection. Please contact Traidcraft head office in the UK for
further information on this.
Annex 5: Detail list of Savings and Investment
Removed for the purposes of data protection. Please contact Traidcraft head office in the UK for
further information on this.
Annex 6: Detail List of sapling and Partial Credit Distribution
Removed for the purposes of data protection. Please contact Traidcraft head office in the UK for
further information on this.
Annex 7:
Article on Small Tea Growing in North based on Interview with Commerce Minister
Article on the success of Small Tea Growing based on Interview with Senior Secretary