NEW

This report attempts to trace the consequences of financial liberalization in agriculture on the lives and livelihoods of farmers in Bangladesh in general, with particular emphasis on the profitability of major crops comprising different varieties of rice and wheat. For the majority of the crops studies, profitability have sharply declined, measured in terms of returns to costs ratio. Though there are some ups and downs in the trend of profitability over the years (1980-81 to 2005-05), liberalization has not led to an increase in the profitability of major crops, rather the data suggest that return to cost ratio has declined over the years.  Details

The report makes an attempt to investigate the rationality behind the conditions set by the IMF for Bangladesh under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) programme (2003-06) and its consequences in Bangladesh economy. Under the PRGF, the IMF has used its clout to encroach upon countries national sovereignty. Government of Bangladesh is on the verge to lose their authority in fiscal and monetary management. For illustration, the paper has emphasized three core areas where the IMF has maintained its supremacy on fiscal and monetary policy under the current reform programme. These include (i) consequences of the on-going fiscal austerity measures; (ii) viability of the divestment of Nationalized Commercial Banks (NCBs) in improving efficiency of the financial sector; and (iii) objectivity of prolonged contractionary monetary policy to contain inflation and its impact on economic growth.  Details

Unnayan Onneshan attains the meeting of WB president and IMF Executive Director with civil society representatives in Singapore on 15th September. In that meeting, the civil society representatives vastly raise the issue of airport harassments of the civil society representatives who are critical about WB/IMF policies. At one point, some civil society representatives walked out from the meeting. Representatives from Unnayan Onneshan also left the meeting with other representatives of civil society on the issue of airport harassments as a delegate of Unnayan Onneshan was one of the victims.

In course of the meeting the Civil Society boycotted the conference at Singapore on valid grounds. Unnayan Onneshan also boycotted the meeting with full-hearted agreement on the actions taken by the civil societies. For this reason, Unnayan Onneshan could not present paper in civil society centre at Singapore but the delegates distributed the copies of the research papers to the civil society participants present in the civil society centre.

Bangladesh national coalition of civil society organizations, involving NGOs, social movements, trade unions, women’s groups, grassroots organizations, networks, and research and advocacy organizations, which have been resisting the IFI policies and neo-liberal development paradigm, have planned a host of activities in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, in Batam, Indonesia at the International People’s Forum, and in Singapore parallel to the World Bank and the IMF Annual General Meeting. Details

Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir of Unnayan Onneshan attended in the Indigenous and Local Communities Natural Resources Management: Implementing the convention on Biological Diversity workshop on 18- 22 September organized by Forest Peoples Programme at UK. In the workshop he addressed the issue of Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) especially 10c of the convention and indicators relevant to CBD, MDG and rights of indigenous and local communities in case of Sundarbans. He presented the report titled Sundarban Reserve Forest an Account of People’s Livelihood and Biodiversity Conservation in the event.  See full report