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Strengthening the Dairy Value Chain
in Bangladesh
Funded ByBill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Goal of the ProjectGoal of the ProjectTargeted landless and smallholding households
(incomelt$2day) in North and Northwestern Bangladesh have increased incomes and more sustainable livelihoods through incorporation into a strengthened milk value chain
Improve the milk collection system in rural and remote areas
Increase production by improving access to inputs markets and services by mobilizing groups of poor producers and input service provider
Improve the breedingArtificial Insemination (AI) network
Ensure access to quality animal health services at the producer level
Improve the policy environment
Objectives of the ProjectObjectives of the Project
Area of operation District 9
Upozila 23
Union 91
Village 385
Total participating households 27068
Farmer leaders 2529
Milk collectors 276
Livestock health workers 171
Information Service Centers (ISC) 47
Community Agri-Shops (CAS) 130
Household average production 147 (litersday)
Household average milk sales income 3354 (Takaday)
Average income of Input shops 18141 (TakaMonth)
Livestock health worker income 12604 (TakaMonth)
Pro
ject
fig
ure
s ti
ll d
ate
ldquo The project has employed a group approach to mobilising farmers
From engagement farmers progress through categories C B and A
(chronologically) graduating from C to B to A on the basis of their skill and
competency acquisition rdquo
SDVC Group status
Year Only Women Group
Only men group
Mixed group
Total of women group
Year 1 115 6 170 291 32
Year 2 66 1 161 228 36
Year 3 142 6 216 364 41
Total 323 13 547 883 37
Group Savings Prospect amp Progress
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Goal of the ProjectGoal of the ProjectTargeted landless and smallholding households
(incomelt$2day) in North and Northwestern Bangladesh have increased incomes and more sustainable livelihoods through incorporation into a strengthened milk value chain
Improve the milk collection system in rural and remote areas
Increase production by improving access to inputs markets and services by mobilizing groups of poor producers and input service provider
Improve the breedingArtificial Insemination (AI) network
Ensure access to quality animal health services at the producer level
Improve the policy environment
Objectives of the ProjectObjectives of the Project
Area of operation District 9
Upozila 23
Union 91
Village 385
Total participating households 27068
Farmer leaders 2529
Milk collectors 276
Livestock health workers 171
Information Service Centers (ISC) 47
Community Agri-Shops (CAS) 130
Household average production 147 (litersday)
Household average milk sales income 3354 (Takaday)
Average income of Input shops 18141 (TakaMonth)
Livestock health worker income 12604 (TakaMonth)
Pro
ject
fig
ure
s ti
ll d
ate
ldquo The project has employed a group approach to mobilising farmers
From engagement farmers progress through categories C B and A
(chronologically) graduating from C to B to A on the basis of their skill and
competency acquisition rdquo
SDVC Group status
Year Only Women Group
Only men group
Mixed group
Total of women group
Year 1 115 6 170 291 32
Year 2 66 1 161 228 36
Year 3 142 6 216 364 41
Total 323 13 547 883 37
Group Savings Prospect amp Progress
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Area of operation District 9
Upozila 23
Union 91
Village 385
Total participating households 27068
Farmer leaders 2529
Milk collectors 276
Livestock health workers 171
Information Service Centers (ISC) 47
Community Agri-Shops (CAS) 130
Household average production 147 (litersday)
Household average milk sales income 3354 (Takaday)
Average income of Input shops 18141 (TakaMonth)
Livestock health worker income 12604 (TakaMonth)
Pro
ject
fig
ure
s ti
ll d
ate
ldquo The project has employed a group approach to mobilising farmers
From engagement farmers progress through categories C B and A
(chronologically) graduating from C to B to A on the basis of their skill and
competency acquisition rdquo
SDVC Group status
Year Only Women Group
Only men group
Mixed group
Total of women group
Year 1 115 6 170 291 32
Year 2 66 1 161 228 36
Year 3 142 6 216 364 41
Total 323 13 547 883 37
Group Savings Prospect amp Progress
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
ldquo The project has employed a group approach to mobilising farmers
From engagement farmers progress through categories C B and A
(chronologically) graduating from C to B to A on the basis of their skill and
competency acquisition rdquo
SDVC Group status
Year Only Women Group
Only men group
Mixed group
Total of women group
Year 1 115 6 170 291 32
Year 2 66 1 161 228 36
Year 3 142 6 216 364 41
Total 323 13 547 883 37
Group Savings Prospect amp Progress
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
SDVC Group status
Year Only Women Group
Only men group
Mixed group
Total of women group
Year 1 115 6 170 291 32
Year 2 66 1 161 228 36
Year 3 142 6 216 364 41
Total 323 13 547 883 37
Group Savings Prospect amp Progress
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Group Savings Prospect amp Progress
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
ldquoAccess to finance is critical for small holder farmers to enable them further
invest in dairy development But due to lack of attractive financing options
farmers who have one or less than three cows are reluctant about seeking loans
from financial institutes since the conditions are not favorable rdquo
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Access to Finance by Smallholder farmers
The traditional financial institutes in Bangladesh are wary of the dairy industry in general for its exposure to various forms of risk and are thus unwilling to provide seasonal loans without some risk mitigation Very few loans are available that cater to the specific needs of the industry
Dairy farmers need relatively larger loan than an average micro-finance loan and if held to the weekly or monthly repayment schedule like others it becomes problematic to repay because a cow does not become profitable or in other words it can not generate milk as soon as itrsquos bought The financial institutions exist in the working area that SDVC has observed are
1048698 Public Bank 1048698 Private Bank 1048698 NGOs 1048698 Moneylenders 1048698 Families Friends and Relatives
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Role of Financial institutions to support smallholder farmers
The loan requirements of Public banks in Bangladesh albeit encourage various agro based industry to apply for financing may be too stringent for small scale farmers to apply In reality on the local level small scale farmers are often out of the lending net because of various inadequacies in terms of meeting bank requirement As a result only mid size farmers who are potentially less risky clients with collateral can only use these loans Interestingly cooperatives do not mitigate the risks for the banks as well as there is no one to hold responsible in case of defaults
There is apathy and indifference in the Private banks about giving loans to dairy industry The industry is considered to be too risky and inefficient to be considered for large loans
The issues regarding NGOs credit are like Paying in weekly installment did not go with the milk production cycle very high interest rate (12-15) was detrimental to the small farmersimposing flat method of interest rather than decline method and Do not have risk mitigating coverage for damage to the cattle
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
ldquoSince banks and other financial institutions are not interested in providing loan to the small producers in the bottom
of the pyramid SDVC facilitated an informal savings activities through
clustering efforts ie encouraging farmer groups in group savings mechanismrdquo
Group Savings
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Group Savings status
Region
No of Groups engaged in savings (As of Mar2011)
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
SDVC 109 175 252 536
of groups formed 291 228 344 863
of groups engaged in savings
37 77 73 62
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Savings figures across the regions
Region
Avg total savings per group (As of Mar2011)In BDT
Year-1 groups
Year-2 groups
Year-3 groups Total
Bogra 9890 8361 3310 7187
Rangpur 13912 6501 2451 7621
SDVC 12125 7327 2833 7428
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
How do the groups utilize theirSavings
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Utilization of Savings
Group members are using the savings amount in different mechanism such as
1 Revolving savings amount as loan within group members Group members taking loan from savings amount to meet their dairy related need
2 Weekly savings providing to members by rotation to purchase feed only In this process producer can purchase big volume of feed which results lower purchase cost
3 With the savings amount few groups purchasing cross breed cows and giving to members based on agreement among group and members In some groups members are providing cross breed cows with a view to ensure improved breed cow for 100 group members
4 Group purchasing bulk volume of feed and medicine or arranging schedule vaccination with the group savings This cost low for bulk purchasing and they can arrange vaccination and de warming program maintaining schedule
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
5 Deposit savings money in Bank or in group fund (Some groups that yet couldnt set mechanism for utilization of savings
7 In maximum cases members using the savings amount in dairy purpose but some times groups are also providing loan to meet other emergency needs
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Group year
Input purchase by Members ()
Input seller Development ()
Cowcattle Purchase ()
Credit for other dairy related purposes ()
Cash in handbank ()
Total savings ()
Yr-1 groups
16 5 13 33 33 100
Yr-2 groups
13 2 3 29 54 100
Yr-3 groups
7 1 0 27 65 100
All Year 13 3 6 30 47 100
Distribution of Savings Usage by Year 1 2 amp 3 farmer groups
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Success Of savings groups
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Key successes
bull Savings help small-scale producers reduce their costs in ensuring access to
services and markets
bull In group activities higher participation rate is observed among the savings groups
than other non-saving groups
bull Savings group have become more organized than non-savings group
bull Savings group get easy access to different input and services eg groups can
easily purchase necessary inputs and services utilizing their savings and organize
regular vaccination and de-worming campaign with their savings money)
bull Savings groups also invest their money to purchase high breed cows for their
group members
bull The relatively large amount from savings can be used as collateral when a group
seeks credit from financial organization
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Group savings
bull increase resources for potential group or individual activities and reduce
dependency on outsiders
bull serve as a form of ldquoinsurance against riskrdquo
bull improve a sense of group ownership and promote group repayment discipline
bull facilitate access to outside loans (banks are more willing to give loans to groups
that save)
bull can lower the costs of banking and can be used to give bigger loans to members
of the group
bull can be used as emergency loans to members in times of need
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Group savings enable
Credit facility Credit within the groupnce the group saving fund becomes big enough the group may decide to lend part of their funds to individual members to help them meet their short-term emergency credit needs These loans should be small and should be repaid in a short time so that other members can also use the fund
Credit with formal institutions The advantages of getting group credit from formal institutions are
bull a group can get more credit
bull members can assist each other in preparing loan applications
bull a group is in a better position to discuss credit with the organization or bank
bull the group can provide evidence of profitability of milk production in the area
Group loans are usually granted with group liability This means that each member is individually responsible for repaying his or her part of the group loan If any member fails to repay his or her part the other group members must repay it This rule ensures that all group members repay their part of the loan - otherwise the group will not be able to borrow from the bank again
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Challenges With savings groups
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Impediments
bull Some of the savings groups failed to figure out the savings utilization process
bull Challenge in keeping fund credit and accounts by semiliterate members is
commonplace Though some groups have few literate persons but they are not
capable enough to keep proper records of savings
bull It is seen that group members can manage small amount of savings money by
themselves but for big volume they need full assistance from CARE staffs
bull In maximum cases banks are reluctant to open group bank account due to
factors like policy of central bank and absence of proper registration of such
informal groups from government
bull However registration of the savings groups remains a challenge It is due to
complicacy of various preconditions rules and regulations of different ministries
of the government
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Registration of savings groups
ldquo Registration of the savings group under agencies of government like ministry of Youth ministry of Women Affairs or ministry of cooperatives is important to provide farmers a legal recognition for their group This formal recognition will help farmers attain annual grant aid from government take financial loans from banks or from other microfinance institutionsrdquo
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future
Importance and plans for registration
Importance of registration
(1) The annual grantaid from government departments will help the farmers in their group
mobilization after SDVC exits
(2) Registration will give the group recognition as a unique entity which will encourage farmers
to continue different group activities
(3) Extreme poor producers from registered group can get easy access to VGD card or other
aids (sewing machine cow etc)
(4) Other CARENon CARE Project may give prioritized support to the registered groups
(5) women affairs will work in awareness and empowerment issues with registered groups
They will also keep the group in close follow up through regular communication
Group registration plan
SDVC is actively facilitating the registration process with government ministries like Youth
Women Affairs and Cooperatives etc Though 50 of the groups will be eligible for
Registration by year 5 of the project but for governmentrsquos internal policies of enrolment SDVC
opts for registering 10 of the savings groups which will work as model groups for other dairy
Communities to be registered gradually in future