Notes for virtual meeting on Sharing Meeting on IBP FS field activity during COVID-19 crisis period
5th May 2020
On 5th May 2020 a Sharing and Learning meeting with IBP FS in poultry sector partners and PROKAS team held at 11.00 am to 12.30 pm through Microsoft team meeting connection. The PROKAS team and IBP FS partners from BBF, CAB and BCAS (participants list mentioned below) participated in the virtual meeting. The agenda of the meeting was to discussion of organizing field activity on COVID-19 as a triage issues. AHM Taslima Akhter, IBP Manager, Food Safety, PROKAS, British Council, organized and facilitates the meeting. The entire meeting was conduct on each and every field level concern activity that had accompanied during crisis time of pandemic diseases. The sharing meeting was fully rich with partner’s activity during COVID-19 situation, sharing with successful feedback and advice from the management of PROKAS team.
Meeting Agenda:
- Update about COVID response from field staff
- Priorities demand from government officials in project areas from CSOs regarding COVID_19 response
- challenges from local communities
- Response from IBP FS partners and discussion by PROKAS
Discussion:
At first the meeting was started with worm greetings from IBP Manager, AHM Taslima Akhter, PROKAS and Gerry Fox, Team Leader, PROKAS, British Council. At the beginning after everyone’s presence confirmation, everyone gives their introduction for starting the program. There were 5 members from PROKAS team, 7 members from BBF, 4 members from CAB and one member from BCAS, which has given in details in the participants list below. At first AHM Taslima Akhter requesting the field coordinators to describe the field activities have going in the COVID-19 crisis situation, as most of the activity running from the project working area.
Gerry Fox, Team Leader, PROKAS, British Council suggested to documentation with the rules, activity having jointly doing in the field, working in different level for response in COVID-19 crisis period with resources. He mentioned that recent work is humanitarian responsibility. Need more inclusive process with government, UCC and other areas where government cannot do. His three main questions are
- How to support process
- what around the financing
- What around the increase the relationship with government and CSO’s and how that achieve by local government.
He also asked for
- What case that through the engagement of rural society that government is recognizing more mold rules such a society could comply such a collaboration
- Around the whole point of financing, what role can play by PROKAS for damaged poultry farmers
- What can do for necessary financing of farmers to get back on the field by link with stimulus packages in the field but resources are not coming to poultry farmers
- What role can play by PROKAS for farmers who unable to invest across the business and have lot of hardship, there is also upcoming festivals when demand of poultry will higher.
Gerry Fox said that-
“Loss and damage research will be very helpful for farmers, like where the resources are needed, it is also a matter of identify exact need of investment of each farmers and how they able to re turns their farms, need to have farmers business plan for damage repay.”
Md. Abul Basar, IBP Manager, Climate Finance, PROKAS, British Council raised a question that what about the attitude and behavioral changes of private sector regarding poultry sector to support poultry value chain, AHM Taslima explained that “AFTAB, KAZI and Paragon like big entrepreneur change their mind and distributed hundred thousand of meat and egg among the general people, media awareness campaign going on and cooperate with government to start up poultry value chain. Animal health care association responsible for rules and regulation of animal health had approved the letter from government for transportation of animal feed and products all over the country and also from Chittagong port during COVID-19 emergency lockdown period. They take another initiation to start mobile egg and chicken selling point by upazilla livestock officials, to help poultry and livestock producer to sale easily.”
Shirin Sultana Lira, IBP Manager, Fair Labour Migration, PROKAS, British Council suggested that
- Awareness through leaflet should be source of massage information could miss mass the program further.
- Need more research before dissemination of paper, case study, must be compile more analytical style, by taking more information, contact number, impact in life etc. for compilation.
- To finding impact of vulnerable and socially excluded groups need one year information on COVID19 crisis situation to compile.
- Need support from local government stakeholders to support socially inclusion group and others like transgender, potter, midwives, woman worker etc.
- Essential to Sensitize local government about that group of transgender, potter, woman worker etc for support them with detail information.
- Asked project staffs jointly with UCC, with local admin and UP members from local level for giving support to this excluded group.
She also said that “Awareness is important but not sure about leaflet distribution, just to share that for FLM partners, some of them initially did it but letter discourage that because that might cause farther problem on covid-19 spreading.”
Syed Abu Sufian, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Lead, PROKAS ask for the documentation for every work qualitatively and quantitative aspect the achievement, outcome and output in the field as the entire emergency period work is totally different from the regular PROKAS activity. Case study is for adaptively, productivity and revised with impact, also share the view. What new activity we could use for local level as lockdown is easy and market is open, adapting in this changing situation, keep record of what worked out or not and share. He asked to keep in touch in this COVID-19 situation. According to his proper documentation
Jahangir Alam Jony, General Secretary, BBF shared the motivation of COVID-19 response activity in BBF working areas and mentioned the strong multistalkholder relationship in upazilla level working areas that is seek a task BBF work to engage with CSO’s in preventing COVID-19 situation as collective action. As per PROKAS idea of joint activity and monitoring, continuous government multistalkholder and other CSOs demand with help of UCC BBF participate in government relief distribution and awareness campaign like miking, hand washing, spraying, SMS gateway, awareness campaign etc. Altogether in April’20 near about 5 lac beneficiary have been covered with these interventions and total cost was 2lac 95 thousand taka. Participate in government emergency food distribution through UCC to vulnerable people including BBF beneficiaries. He also suggested that-
“Food item like vegetable and others items could distribute by purchasing from beneficiaries, both could be benefited, the producer and who get. Help transgender vulnerable peoples were seeking help form BBF in local area, such another helpless groups are pottery, woman labour, midwives and woman home maid in working areas. As the whole poultry sector is vulnerable and losses in sale during COVID-19 situation and government pursue cooperation from BBF to reestablish the farmers.”
Md. Ekram, Project Manager, CAB deliberate the field activity during COVID-19 emergency period as SMS gateway, miking, hand washing etc in the field as awareness campaign. Cost of SMS service is 12000 taka, spent 70000 taka on miking, and listed affected beneficiaries 750, giving 300 taka from PROKAS. Distributed food package more than 1000 farmer by personal in initiation of CAB, cost was 5 lac 54 thousand taka and 12 thousand from CAB personal initiation. Cost involved 89 thousand taka spent from PROKAS.
Md. Mahbub, Project manager, BCAS said that as they have no community engagement so he mentioned that they had completed work on IBP FS governance, reviewed food safety policy and made report and plan to made method for field service, developed gender policy review in poultry sector for after that pandemic situation. Dealing with COVID 19 developed a social media campaign, Facebook page, improve coordination to mass people, and conduct assessment of loss and damage in poultry sector due to corona, impact assessment, and methodology of farmer and feed dealer of partner’s project areas to complete within end of May or early June. Support woman poultry entrepreneur, vulnerable group and marginal farmer to combat emerging zoonotic diseases. Planning to work with Bangladesh Food Safety Authority to developed MoE on post COVID-19 situations.
From the beginning all the field coordinator of PROKAS partners are described their field activity with justifications are given below:
Participants
- Gerry Fox, Team Leader, PROKAS, British Council
- Md. Abul Basar, IBP Manager, Climate Finance, PROKAS, British Council
- Shirin Sultana Lira, IBP Manager, Fair Labour Migration, PROKAS, British Council
- AHM Taslima Akhter, IBP Manager, Food Safety, PROKAS, British Council
- Syed Abu Sufian, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Lead, PROKAS
- Jahangir Alam Jony, General Secretary, BBF
- Farjana Haq, Project Officer, BBF
- Saiful Islam, Accounts officer, BBF
- Sirajul Islam, Field Coordinator, Gazipur BBF
- Dali Bhadra, Field Coordinator, Kustia, BBF
- Rabiul Islam Chunnu, Field Coordinator, Delduar, BBF
- Harun or Rashid, Field Coordinator, Tangail sadar, BBF
- Md. Ekram, Project Manager, CAB
- Rajaul Karim, Project Coordinator, CAB
- Md. Iqbal Hossain, Field Coordinator, Rangpur, CAB
- Tazmun, Field Coordinator, Chattogram CAB
- Mizanur Rahman, Field Coordinator, Rajshahi, CAB
- Md. Mahbub, BCAS.