Investing in rural people in Bangladesh

In line with the five-year plan, IFAD’s 2012-2021 country strategic opportunities programme (COSOP) for Bangladesh has had three main objectives:

• enable poor people in vulnerable areas to better adapt their livelihoods to climate change;
• help small producers and entrepreneurs benefit from improved value chains and greater market access;
• economically and socially empower marginalized groups, including poor rural women.

The country programme’s target groups include people living in extreme and moderate poverty, especially women, who will benefit from infrastructure development. Value chain development will help landless and marginal farmers, smallholder producers and rural entrepreneurs. IFAD’s participatory rural appraisal mechanism and similar tools are designed to ensure women and indigenous peoples are included.