Speakers at a view exchange meeting have stressed the need for expanding access of poor people to natural resources aiming to cut poverty through improving their livelihoods.Marginalized people in rural areas have a little access to natural resources, which is largely responsible for rural poverty, they told the meeting in the conference room of World Food Programme (WFP) at IDB Bhaban in the city on Tuesday. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) organized the meeting.Acting country programme manager of IFAD Nigel Brett, director South Asia of WorldFish Dr Craig A Meisner, senior officials of IFAD and representatives of government and non-government organizations, among others, attended the meeting. Country Programme Officer of IFAD Nicolas Syed made a presentation at the meeting to highlight activities of different projects of IFAD.Nigel Brett said IFAD is working in Bangladesh to ensure better access of rural people particularly vulnerable areas including haor and char to natural resources to enhance their incomes and to improve nutritional status.Fisheries are also an important part of the Bangladeshi economy, providing a source of high-value protein, he said adding, “We are implementing project in haor area to ensure access of poor people to open water bodies to improve their livelihood.”In his presentation, Nicolas Syed said IFAD is implementing five projects in Bangladesh to cut poverty through infrastructure development in rural areas and empowering poor people. The five projects are coastal climate resilient infrastructure project, haor infrastructure and livelihood improvement project, char development and settlement project, participatory small-scale water resource sector project and national agriculture technology project.The IFAD sources said IFAD has been working in Bangladesh for more than 30 years and has developed in-depth knowledge in the areas of infrastructure, inland fisheries, agriculture, market access, microfinance and gender.
