StrategicApproach

TheBangladesh Government has entered in to an agreement with the USG to supportBangladesh for its future food security initiative. The goal of the Feed theFuture (FTF) program is “to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger” which alignswell with both USAID/Bangladesh’s goal for Bangladesh “to become aknowledge-based, healthy, food-secure, and climate-resilient middle incomedemocracy”, and to achieve the GOB’s goal of the Sixth Five-Year Plan and thevision “to become a middle income country by 2021”.

Theoverall goal of Ag-Infra is to improve food security by upgrading criticalinfrastructure to enhance productivity, increase income, improve access tomarkets, and facilitate flow of agricultural input, thereby strengthening valuechains of agricultural commodities.

InfrastructureSelection Process

LGEDand USAID shall jointly identify and select activities under the project. Selectionof infrastructure activities will link to USAID FTF projects-specifically valuechains-and will coincide with LGED selection priorities. The project will consultwith IFAD, DANIDA, DFID, ADB, and JICA project officials who are supportingrural infrastructure improvement works in the region. Selection shallincorporate consultation and collaboration with existing USAID project staff inthe region, LGED district and upazilla offices, local authorities, relevantdonors, local private sector, civil society organizations, member(s)of thedistrict council, and communities. Extensive collaboration with theaforementioned stakeholders will serve to identify potential priorityactivities for improvement and construction of market and collection centers,rural road rehabilitation, and farm-level irrigation and drainage projects.Activities will be selected in accordance with the following criteria for ruralroads, market and collection centers, and irrigation and drainage projects withthe primary objective of complimenting GOB, USAID, and other donor’s efforts tolink production pockets of value chain commodities to markets in order to enhanceagricultural productivity, increase income and nutrition, and improve foodsecurity.

SelectionCriteria: 

Theselection criteria for Ag-Infra activities will be as follows:

1)Activities will be limited to those described in the Activity Description asagreed with the USAID. This will include: a) design and construction and/orimprovement of market and collection centers; b) rehabilitation andconstruction of rural roads at the upazilla, village, and union level criticalto linking production pockets to markets; and c) improvement of farm levelirrigation and drainage systems. All activities should include discussion andorganization with local communities related to infrastructure maintenance basedon availability of local funds.

2)Allphysical work will be conducted on GOB-owned land to the greatest extent possible.When clear legal title to uplands, submerged lands, and waterways within theproposed area of work for each respective activity is not available, work willbe conducted only on lands historically demonstrated to be granted to the GOBfor construction and/or utilization for the public good. Construction activitieswill take place wholly within the footprint of existing infrastructure to thegreatest extent practicable.

3)No activity will be considered on lands or on existing infrastructures that areunder legal dispute.

4)Activities will be bundled for maximum efficiency. Market and collection centers,rural roads, and farm level irrigation and drainage activities should beconcentrated whenever possible and applicable to best complement selected valuechains from farm to market. When possible, rural roads will connect farms tomarket and collection centers. These farms, as appropriate, will also be selectedfor irrigation and drainage activities to further revitalize the value chain.

5)Selected activities are expected to strengthen food and non-food commodity valuechains in other USAID projects. Ag-Infra activities must link markets of thecommodity value chains to the major production areas of the commodities. 

6)The schemes under Ag-Infra project will comply and fulfill all GOB and USAID environmentalregulations and requirements for Environmental Procedures regarding InitialEnvironmental Examinations and Environmental Assessments.