Bangladesh Red Cross Society (BDRC) in collaboration with the British Red Cross has tried to enhance resilience of cyclone and disaster prone communities through the Vulnerability to Resilience (V2R) program since 2012. In the light of the nation's second wave of COVID-19 infection, the V2R program has reshaped its planning to support the communities of Teknaf, Cox
's Bazar who were vulnerable to the economic downswings of COVID-19.
With this objective, BDRC commissioned a project to assess the opportunities for business value creation and improvements in livelihoods across the value chain of Agriculture, Livestock and Poultry, Fresh Fish and Dried Fish, Salt, Small Business (Tailor, Hairdresser and Grocery shops) and Rickshaw-Tomtom.
To evaluate the status of the value chain, the team developed qualitative instruments after reviewing VCA (value chain assessment) instruments used by USAID, IFRC and ILO. Also, the team did a comprehensive literature review on the market ecosystem and outlined the key income generating activities of local communities. To identify the correct actors and avoid selection biases, snowball sampling techniques were applied.
A trained group of local field investigators conducted 43 Key Informant Interviews (KII), 10 Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and 6 In-Depth Interviews (IDI) with local producers, MSME/SME entrepreneurs, farmers and other value chain actors to capture comprehensive information on value chain and market ecosystem.
From this detailed study, ARCED Foundation in collaboration with other consultants were able to map out and analyze the value chains and market ecosystem of six prioritized products. The team has assessed the impacts of COVID-19 on these value chains and identified both the bottlenecks and opportunities in the market ecosystem for developing more income generating channels. From this study, BDRC received point-to-point intervention strategies which will improve local livelihoods.
Data: Qualitative Study
Method:Snowball Sampling
Outcome:
- Mapping out and analyzing the value chains and market ecosystem of six prioritized products (Agriculture, Livestock and Poultry, Fresh Fish and Dried Fish, Salt, Small Business and Rickshaw-Tomtom)
- Assessing the impacts of COVID-19 economic downswing on these value chains
- Identifying both the bottlenecks and opportunities in the market ecosystem for developing more income generating channels
- Designing point-to-point intervention strategies which will improve local livelihoods