CIRDAP's e-News

September October 2014

International Workshop on Sharing Best Practices on Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation in
CIRDAP Member Countries
CIRDAP organized an International Workshop on sharing best practices on rural development and poverty alleviation in
CIRDAP Member Countries during 17-18 September 2014 back to back of its regular meeting of the Technical
Committee (TC-29) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The International Workshop aimed to disseminate the best practice of Vietnam
and other CMCs and facilitate a forum to build stronger collaboration between and among CIRDAP Member Countrys
Link Institutes and other relevant institutions in the Asia and Pacific region.

Best Practices/Programs of CMCs presented in the TC-29 meeting are:

1. Afghanistan- Strategic Intent 1389-1393(2010 - 2014)
2. Best Practices on Rural Development (RD) and Poverty Alleviation (PA) of Bangladesh
3. Rural Development Best Practices FIJI
4. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) A Best Practice in India
5. Rural Community Empowerment Programe in Indonesia
6. Supporting Fund for Investment Development in Agriculture Sector (SFIDANGO) as a Best Practice in Iran
7. Enhancing district delivery and management of agriculture extension in Lao PDR
8. Skills Training and Career Programme (Program Latihan Kemahiran dan Kerjaya (PLKK): A Malaysian
Government Policy Programme for Poverty Eradication/ Rural Transformation Programme
9. Training Making wonderful Change in Dhanusha District; A Case Study of Best Practices in Nepal
10. Pakistan- Akhuwat: The first interest-free micro-finance network in the world
11. Philippines- Moving Together to the Market : The Clustering Approach to Agro-enterprise Development for
Small Farmers

12. Supplying Vegetables through Super market Channels as a Mechanism for Better Price for Farmers Products:
Lessons and Experiences from Cargills Super market Collection Centers in Sri Lanka
13. Thailand: Sufficiency Economy: Chang Hua-Muu Royal Initiative Project
14. New Rural Development in Vietnam- 03 years of implementation: Achievements, Difficulties and Challenges
15. Poverty reduction: Experiences from Vietnam

The following projects have been identified to be implemented as joint collaboration with CLIs:
Pakistan : i) Interest Free Microfinance
(ii) ICT4D
(iii) Disaster Risk Management
Thailand
: Sufficiency Economy: Chang Hua-Muu Royal Initiative Project
Fiji
: Climate Change/Disaster Risk Management
Indonesia
: PNPM and Village Empowerment
Philippines : Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Insurance Project and Agro-enterprise Development
i) Insurance of ARBs ii) DAR-CRS Linkage ARBs to Corporate Supply Chain (ARB IR)
Iran
: International workshop on SFIDA or Rural Management
Bangladesh : Agricultural Insurance
Malaysia
: i) Home stay ii) Rural Transformation Programme (RTP)

Dr. Akhter Hameed Khans Centennial Birth Anniversary Observed in Befitting Manner
Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan is well known in Asia and a large part of the wider world for his distinguished leadership to
empowering the disadvantaged rural people in the region.
He lead the foundation of the Bangladesh Academy
for Rural Development of which he was the Founder
Director and the Rural Development Experiment in Comilla,
Bangladesh.
CIRDAP and a few former colleagues and admirers jointly
celebrated Dr. Khans Birth Centenary by organizing a
Seminar on his works and memories on 12 September 2014
(Friday) at CIRDAP International Conference Centre (CICC),
Dhaka. A book titled AKHTER HAMEED KHAN: A TRIBUTE
published by CIRDAP was released on the occasion. The
speakers while highlighting the works and memories of AHK
vowed to continue the unfinished task of Dr. Khan.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of newly established Rural Savings Bank (Palli Sanchaya Bank) of
the Government of Bangladesh called on Director General, CIRDAP
Dr. Mihir Kanti Mazumder, former Secretary, Government of Bangladesh and newly appointed Chairmen, Board of
Directors of the recently established Palli Sanchaya
Bank met Director General CIRDAP and briefed him
about the vision, mission of the Palli Sanchaya
Bank.In his briefing, Dr. Mihir mentioned that the
Government of Bangladesh is going to set up a new
bank called Palli Sanchaya Bank (Rural Savings
Banks to give One House, One Farm project an
institutional form, with the hope, will be instrumental
in alleviating poverty. Director General, CIRDAP
mentioned that Indonesia has also similar kind of
Banking system with enormous capital assistance
from the Government but its utilization is very limited.
So, we exchange ideas, lessons from the
experiences of the Bazngladesh project.

Training Programme on Renewable Energy: Micro Hydro Power for Rural Development
The Government of Indonesia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources) in cooperation
with the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC), in support of the InterChurch Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO Foundation) and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development
for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) shared experiences with developing countries through Training Programme on
Renewable Energy: Micro Hydro Power for Rural Development from 22-29 September 2014 at Surabaya, Indonesia,
Field studies were conducted at the Micro Hydro Power Plant of Kalimaron in Seloliman Village of Mojokerto District.
Eighteen persons from the government institutions, universities and state enterprises working on energy-related
activities from 10 developing countries, namely: Cambodia, Cuba, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the programme . There are 2 persons from Cuba and South
Africa as well.

CIRDAPNIRD Collaborative International Training Programme on Results Based Management:

Performance Indicators, M & E with Special Focus on Rural Wage Employment Programme
The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India,
is generously providing financial support to CIRDAP to
promote regional cooperation and capacity building of rural
development functionaries of the CIRDAP Member
Countries (CMCs) for last one decade. CIRDAP is
assisting its member countries to build a core of
functionaries in the field of Monitoring and Evaluation
(M&E) so that they can contribute to their countries. In this
context CIRDAP in collaboration with the National I
Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, India,
organized this training programme at NIRD from 09 to 18
October 2014. There were 20 participants Bangladesh, Fiji,
Indian, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The programme was
inaugurated by Dr. M.V. Rao, Director General, NIRD on 09 October 2014.

Report on Study Visit of Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh and Dhaka University,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
CIRDAP organised a Student youth Exchange Visit
between Daffodil International University, Dhaka,
Bangladesh and Dhaka University, Dhaka, to Rajiv Gandhi
National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD),
Chennai, India to provide exposure to disaster
management in India.

Workshop on ICT Based Young Rural Women Entrepreneurs in India: Replication of Best Practice in
Bangladesh
A five -day Orientation Workshop on ICT Based
Young Rural Women Entrepreneurs in India:
Replication of Best Practice in Bangladesh is
being jointly organized by the Rajiv Gandhi
National Institute of Youth Development
(RGNIYD) and Centre on Integrated Rural
Development for Asia and Pacific (CIRDAP) ,
Bangladesh from 23-27 September 2014.
Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran, Director, CIRDAP said that
CIRDAP a inter-governmental organisation
established by FAO in Dhaka is mandated to share
the best practices among its member countries
.CIRDAP is keen on replicating the successful model
of Infolady from Bangladesh in India. She highlighted the objectives of the programme and how Bangladesh is way
ahead in empowering women through unique ICT based entrepreneurial initiatives. Mohammod Mosharrof Hossain who
worked as Head of INFOLADY Global in Dnet and is one of the champions of INFOLADY model development was the
expert who oriented the youth functionaries in India.

Horizontal Learning Process in Afghanistan

Pilot Projects Division, CIRDAP organized two days workshop on Horizontal Learning Process on 2 3 September 2014
at Kabul in collaboration with National Solidarity Programme (NSP) and Afghanistan Institute for Rural Development
(AIRD) under Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and
Development (MRRD), Government of I.R. Afghanistan. A
welcome address delivered by Mr Omar Anwarzai, the
main coordinator from AIRD while Mr. Hossein Shahbaz,
Director, Pilot Projects Division, CIRDAP briefed about the
workshop objectives and introduction on HLP to all
participants. There was a speech delivered from the
Special Guest, Dr Cecep Effendi, DG, CIRDAP who
informed the meeting about the recent programmes of
CIRDAP like: Reduction of Post Harvest Losses in Fruits
and Vegetables Supply Chain in Sri Lanka and HLP
workshop in Nepal and Indonesia. He also expressed his
interest on creating Regional Network among CIRDAP
Member Countries on specific themes by which countries of one region can share their demands and supplies on the
specified theme. H.E. Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak-Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development attended in the
opening ceremony as Chief Guest of the workshop held at MRRD in Kabul. In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Wais
Ahmad Barmak, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development shed-light on value of such workshops and
appreciated from the presence of representatives of CIRDAP member countries in this workshop including Indonesia,
Bangladesh and Islamic Republic of Iran. Likewise, he wished further cooperation of CIRDAP with MRRD national
programmes. Mr. Hossein Shahbaz was the resource person and facilitator in HLP workshop. HLP workshop was for
two days with a total of 35 participants from NSP and AIRD. During workshop, participants shared their field experiences
as good practices to others like: a) Electricity as the Sign of Development; b) A Clinic Called Mariam; c) Access to
Healthy Drinking Water; d) Community Development Council Fulfill is Our Wishes and e) Fixing the amount of Dowry.

Sharing with Doctors of BCS Health Cadre in BARD

Dr. Cecep Effendi, DG, CIRDAP was invited to attend the
Concluding Session of the 106th Special Foundation Training
Course for Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Health Cadre
doctors/officials as the Chief Guest on 10 September 2014
at Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD),
Comilla, Bangladesh. Since, BARD is the Link Institution of
CIRDAP in Bangladesh and has a long association of
working together, DG CIRDAP spontaneously accepted the
invitation from BARD management. The general objective of
the training course is to create a base for developing a corps
of well groomed officers from Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS)
cadre, dedicated to the welfare of the nation and people in a
changing global context with special focus on Bangladesh.
The special foundation of the training course for BCS (Health) was for two months duration from 13 July to 10
September 2014. As a Chief Guest in his brief speech Dr. Effendi opined that the doctors profession as a noble job who
provided services to the community. Since, Dr. Sri Rahaju Effendi (Dr. Effendis spouse) is also a doctor by profession
(ophthalmologist) was invited by Chairperson of the session to speak something in front of the young doctors. So she
described briefly her own career as a doctor and working experiences in rural areas with different islands/areas of
Indonesia. At the end of the concluding programme Dr. Cecep Effendi, DG, CIRDAP handed over the certificates to the
young doctors based on the performances of the special foundation training course organized by BARD.

Discussions with Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BPDC)

A Team led by Mr. Saidur Rahman, Director, Bangladesh Disaster
Preparedness Centre (BPDC) and a renowned Flood Expert in
Bangladesh visited CIRDAP on 12 September 2014 and made a brief
presentation on best practices on Comprehensive Disaster
Management Programme (CDMP) in Bangladesh. The brief
presentation was included Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) and
Community Resilience to Disaster in Bangladesh context. Also, spoke
about the importance of multipurpose Cyclone Shelter, Warning
Dissemination etc. Director PPD and Director ICD along with APO,

PPD and Librarian from CIRDAP were present at the meeting. The short meeting and discussions concluded with a
hope of further discussions and find the common areas to work together and share Bangladesh experiences to other
CIRDAP Member Countries.

Skill Development under Family Strengthening Programme

CIRDAP has developed a cordial working relationship with
underprivileged children at SOS Childrens Village in Bangladesh
since 2012. Accordingly, CIRDAP conducted a programme namely,
Skill Development on Embroidery from 15 23 October 2014 at SOS
Childrens Villages at Mirpur Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 19
mothers from various districts participated in the programme and
resource persons were nominated by Pilot Projects Division, CIRDAP
who were namely, Ms. Ismat Ara and her associate Ms. Ishrat,
specialized trainer on embroidery and handicrafts. Dr. Cecep Effendi,
Director General, CIRDAP , Mr. Hossen Shahbaz, Director, Pilot
Projects, Mr. David Hilton, APO, PPD were present at the
inauguration of CIRDAPs Skill Development Programme on Embroidery under 18th Formal SOS Mothers Training
Course. The skill received by this programme on embroidery would be disseminated to children by their mothers which
would be useful involving in income generating programmes in future.

Food Security Cluster

The Bangladesh Food Security Cluster (FSC) was formed in 2012
to support the Government and the Local Consultative Group on
Disaster and Emergency Response (LCG-DER) on both
preparedness and response measures in times of emergencies,
and to strengthen the collective capacity of humanitarian actors.
Since CIRDAP gets regular invitation and accordingly, APO, PPD
Mr. David Hilton participated from CIRDAP at the monthly FSC
Meeting held in World Food Programme (WFP)-Bangladesh office
on 20 October 2014. It is co-lead by FAO and WFP and functions
under the overall coordination of the Humanitarian Coordination
Task Team (HCTT), which acts as a coordination platform
between different thematic clusters and the Government. The FSC members in Bangladesh include Government
partners, UN agencies, INGOs, NGOS and donors. There was short presentation on Follow-Up on Flood Response by
Mr. Anwarul Kabir (Head of Northern Operations WFP-Bangladesh). It was also, decided to promote coordination in
these areas by assigning District Focal Points (DFP) in flood affected areas of Bangladesh. It is expected that the lead
agency will assign a field based representative from the relevant district to act as the DFP.

Road Map on Horizontal Learning Program (HLP)

A Brainstorming Session to share ideas on HLP Road Map:
November 2015-October 2020 was held at the National Institute
of Local Government (NILG), Bangladesh with Mr. Mustafa
Kamal Haider, Director General of NILG in the Chair. The
session was moderated by Senior Decentralization Consultant
of Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) of the World Bank, Mr.
Santanu Lahiri, and attended by the representatives of HLP
partner organizations including Mr. Hossein Shahbaz, Director,
Pilot Projects Division as one of the HLP core members from
CIRDAP. The meeting started with a short presentation on HLP,
made by Mr. Santanu Lahiri. Participants took part in the
discussion and shared their ideas to help formulating HLP Road
Map: 2015-20. Mr. Hossein Shahbaz said that CIRDAP is branding HLP as a Bangladeshi innovation among its member
countries. At present CIRDAP replicated HLP in seven member countries. Referring to the need for institutionalization of
HLP, he said the proposed Framework would help in this regard. Mr. Shahbaz said that there is scope of changing the
proposed Framework through sharing and discussion and NILG, on behalf of the Government, should play the main
role. He said that the role of the Government must be strengthened in the Framework. Mr. Shahbaz proposed to help in
preparing the proposal for the HLP 2015-20 Phase on behalf of CIRDAP. Referring to the active involvement of partner
organizations he suggested taking the HLP beyond Bangladesh borders.

Presentation of Youth Forum, Bangladesh

Ms. Tanzina Naushin, Chief Executive of National Youth Forum of Bangladesh along with few members of the forum
consisting BRAC University Islamic University Bangladesh and ASA University presented the Forum activities at
CIRDAP on 01 October 2014. Dr. Cecep Effendi, Director General, CIRDAP; Dr. Hussein Shahbaz, Director Pilot
Projects and Director Research a.i and other staff members were present in the presentation. Ms. Naushin mentioned
YFB was formed in 2000 by a group of enthusiastic young people who are prominent in their own profession. This group
of young leaders have been really concerned and worried of the issues that directly affect the well being of youth
community in Bangladesh. Having gained first-hand experience in youth issues, they came forward with commitment to
contribute to the well being of the young people and in order to go for concrete action they formed the Forum.

Daffodil University and CIRDAP Collaboration in SME Development in Bangladesh

Professor Dr. Ahmed Ismail Mustaf, Dean, Department of Nutrition and Food Engineering, Daffodil International
University (DIU) had a meeting with Director General CIRDAP on 13 October 2014 at laters office to chalk out possible
collaboration on issues like food security of the rural poor in CIRDAP Member Countries. Director General, CIRDAP is
his remarks expressed his concern about the enormous fruits and vegetables growing in Bangladesh but a significant
portion of it are wasting due to lack of processing facilities. He mentioned that the growers are depriving of the proper
value of their product. Referring to the product Chips from the betel leap by Indonesian farmer, he mentioned that
simple technology can make their product valuable if the product can be brought under value chain.
He urged that Food Engineering Department of DIU can collaborate with CIRDAP to showcase the examples of
CIRDAP Member Countries. CIRDAP can assist them to identify relevant organizations like incubation of Bogor
University to join hands with DIU. Professor Mustafa appreciated the idea and expressed his hope to visit project site in
Indonesia by December 2014.

Seminar on SME Development: Role of an Effective SME Association

CIRDAP in collaboration with SME Department of Bangladesh Bank is going to organize the seminar on 22 November
2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the seminar, Mr. Rajiv Chawla, Chairman of Integrated Association of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprise of India (IamSME) will be the Keynote Presenter. Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor of Bangladesh will
present as Chief Guest.

Director General CIRDAP visited SMEPD of Bangladesh Bank on 9th

September to review the progress of collaborative activities under the
MOU.

Mr. Hossein Shahbaz, Director, PPD, CIRDAP made a presentation

on Poverty and Capital in meeting for Rotary Club-Shyamoli, Dhaka,
Bangladesh on September 8, 2014.

Recent CIRDAP Publications

CIRDAP Technical Committee 29 Report

CIRDAP Development Digest (CDD-136)
Annual Report 2013
Good Practices in CMCs
Regional Cooperation Fund Brochure
Akhter Hameed Khan: A Tribute
Highlights of CIRDAP Projects 2004 -2012.

Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Forum- 2014 on Cheap Internet key to

succeed on development efforts

Director, ICD and Computer Programmer, CIRDAP attended Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) Forum2014, 8-10 September, Hotel Radison, Dhaka.

Forthcoming Programmes:

Exposure-cum-Study Visit to Indonesia on Good Practices of Public Works and Services by High Officials,
Government of Bangladesh, 3-8 November 2014.
Parallel session on "Exclusive Value Chain of Agriculture Crops" during 2nd International Conference on
Agricultural & Rural Development in Southeast Asia; Strengthening Resilience, Equity & Integration in ASEAN Food
and Agriculture Systems, 13 Nov 2014, Philippines.
International Training Programme on Renewable Energy: Biogas Energy for Community Development, Solo,
Indonesia , 24 - 28 November 2014
International Conference on Responsible Business Conduct in Poverty Alleviation & Financial Inclusion through
Green Banking and CSR in collaboration with SR Asia, 29-30 November, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
CIRDAP NIRD KILA International Conference on Networking Local Government Institutions in CIRDAP Member
Countries, NIRD, Hyderabad, India and KILA, Kerala, India,1-5 December 2014
CIRDAP NIRD Collaborative International Training Programme on Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, 5-14 January
2015, NIRD.
Training-cum-Exposure Visit on Micro-Finance in Bangladesh for Indian Officials Sponsored by BIRD, Lucknow,
India, CIRDAP, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 17-23 January 2015.

For further details please contact:

Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran
Director, ICD, CIRDAP
GPO Box 2883, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Email: vasanthi@cirdap.org, web: www.cirdap.org, www.inford.org