RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE PROBLEM OF ACCESS: THE CASE OF THE INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN BANGLADESH. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London By SALIM MOMTAZ B.Sc. (Hons.) (Dhaka); M.Sc. (Dhaka) University College London March, 1990. ProQuest Number: 10609862 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10609862 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 ABSTRACT Rural development programmes are normally regarded as necessary for alleviating mass rural poverty in the Developing World, but to be successful they must reach small farmers and the landless. The available evidence suggests that major rural development programme instituted by the Bangladesh Government in the 1960s, the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), has failed to assist the poorer sections of the rural community to any great extent. Although recently re-designed to provide better access to its services for small farmers and the landless, it will be argued that the main reason for its continuing failure to meet their needs arises from their variable access to land and other private resources which to-gether limit the advantages to be acquired from the goods and services provided under the IRDP. Understanding the process by which access is differentiated is, therefore, crucial to designing improvements to existing programmes and to developing appropriate institutions for those who lack access. This study is an attempt to understand this process. Data have been collected through interviews with officials responsible for the IRDP at all levels of its operation and from the Sherpur Upazila Central Cooperative Association (UCCA) in Bogra District of north-west Bangladesh. Farmers and landless people in two villages in that upazila (sub-district), one employing the IRDP and the other not, have been interviewed. The surveys show that in principle the IRDP can work effectively on behalf of the rural poor but its impact is greatly reduced in practice by a complex and poorly supervised administration at the local level and weak links with potential recipients. The ownership of material assets, especially land, and the individual's position in the local power structure, remain the determining factors in the receipt of benefits from the IRDP. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all the people that helped me during the preparation of this thesis. My special debts of gratitude are to my supervisor, Professor Richard Munton for his invaluable advice, constant guidance, encouragement and co-operation during the entire period of my research. I do not think that I can fully acknowledge the appreciation I owe and feel. Thanks are also due to other members of staff of the Depertment of Geography (UCL). Particularly I am grateful to Dr. Anthony O'Connor and Dr. Alun Jones, for their valuable advice. My special thanks go to Dr. Atiur Rahman of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Dr. John Tarrant and Dr. Stephen Biggs of University of East Anglia, Dr. Geof Wood of University of Bath, Dr. Martin Greeley and Michael Lipton of IDS, Sussex, Dr. Diana Conyers of University College of Swansea and Mr. Abdul Khaleque of Bogra Rural Development Academy for their help and advice during this research. A number of persons helped me in conducting the village surveys. I must acknowledge my gratitude to these people who include Mr. Abdul Khaleque, Mr. Abdus Sattar and Mr. Yusuf Khan. I also wish to record my gratitude to the hundreds of my respondents and informants who provided information most sincerely, knowing fully that I could 4 not provide them with any material reward in return. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my father Professor M. R. Tarafdar and my mother Mrs. Banu Tarafdar who have been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement to me. My deepest gratitude to my wife Shermin who not only stood by me with words of support through the difficult period of research but also helped me in preparation of maps and diagrams for this thesis. Finally, I would like to thank the Ministry of Education, the Government of Bangladesh, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities, U.K., for the Scholarship which made this research possible. S. Momtaz 5 CONTENTS Page Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 List of Figures 11 List of Tables 13 Abbreviations 17 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 20 1.1 Introduction 20 1.2 Rural Bangladesh and rural poverty 22 1.3 Poverty alleviation effrots by the Bangladesh government 48 1.3.1 Government's land reform programmes 51 1.3.2 Integrated rural development programme (IRDP) 53 1.4 The research questions 56 1.4.1 Major arguments 62 1.5 Objectives of the thesis 62 1 .6 Contents of the thesis 63 CHAPTER 2 PROBLEM OF ACCESS ^ SOME CONCEPTUAL POINTS 69 2.1 Introduction 69 2.2 The problem of access 70 2.3 The access constellation 78 6 2.4 Role of the state in access: the problem of implementation 82 2.5 Diagrammatic representation of access situation 84 2.6 Conclusion 88 CHAPTER 3 A HISTORY OF INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN BANGLADESH 90 3.1 Introduction 90 3.2 Rural development programmes in Bangladesh 91 3.2.1 Village agricultural industrial development programme (V-AID) 91 3.2.2 The Comilla rural development programme 92 3.2.2.1 Two-tier cooperative (TCCA-KSS) system 95 3.2.2.2 Thana training and development centre (TTDC) 97 3.2. 2.3 Rural works programme (RWP) 99 3.2.2. 4 Thana irrigation programme (TIP) 99 3.2.3 The integrated rural development programme (IRDP) 101 3.2.4 Rural development .expansion programme 105 3.3 Criticisms of the Comilla model and the IRDP in Bangladesh 109 3.4 The government's 1981 policy proposal 127 3.5 Conclusion 135 CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY 13 9 4.1 Introduction 139 4.2 Data collection 139 4.2.1 Study area 141 4.2.2 Survey of UCCA officials 144 7 4.2.3 Survey of UCCA field inspectors at Sherpur UCCA 146 4.2.4 Study villages 148 4.2.5 Steps in village survey 153 4.2.6 The questionnaires 157 4.3 Data analysis 164 4.4 Conclusion 166 CHAPTER 5 THE UCCA-KSS-BSS SYSTEM: FORMAL PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES AS THEY AFFECT ACCESS 169 5.1 Introduction 169 5.2 Sherpur upazila and Sherpur UCCA 171 5.2.1 Creation of new societies under Sherpur UCCA 176 5.2.2 Sherpur UCCA: the administrative system 182 5.2.2.1 Conflict and confusion among the UCCA officials and the staff 184 5.2.3 Corruption among UCCA officials and the general staff 193 5.2.4 Payment and repayment of loans 199 5.2.5 The training programme of sherpur UCCA 204 5.3 Conclusion 207 CHAPTER 6 LINKS AND COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE RECIPIENTS AND THE INSTITUTIONS 210 6.1 Introduction 210 6.2 Role of the BADC and the DAE and their links with the UCCA and the villagers 215 6.2.1 The BADC's role in the study area 219 6.2.2 Role of the DAE 222 6.2.3 Account of Jamal Shaikh 232 8 6.3 UCCA's links with the societies and their members 234 6.3.1 Visits from the UCCA and their usefulness 234 6.3.2 Visits to UCCA and their usefulness 237 6.3.3 Links through the weekly meetings in the village 239 6.3.3.1 Participation of the members 241 6.3.4 Story of the KSS manager 243 6.3.5 Story of a BSS member 244 6.3.6 Story of the field inspector 244 6.3.7 Story of an ARDO 246 6.4 Communication effects 249 6.4.1 Resource management behaviour of respondents 250 6.4.2 Socio-economic development 252 6.4.3 Change in poverty situation 252 6.4.4 Influence of power groups 254 6.5 Conclusion 256 CHAPTER 7 THE PROBLEM OF ACCESS AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL - RESULTS OF THE BASELINE SURVEY 262 7.1 Introduction 262 7.2 Demographic structures in Sonka and Juanpur 263 7.3 Major economic activities in the villages 265 7.4 Distribution of land 268 7.5 Distribution of income 286 7.5.1 Case 1 290 7.5.2 Case 2 291 7.6 Village power structure 291 7.6.1 Story of a tout 296 9 7.6.2 Account of a client 297 7.7 Conclusion 299 CHAPTER 8 ACCESS AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL - RESULTS OF THE IN-DEPTH SURVEY 304 8.1 Introduction 304 8.2 Access to land 304 8.3 Access to other inputs 327 8.3.1 Irrigation 327 8.3.1.1 Story of a member of KSS managing committee 331 8.3.1.2 Story of a member 333 8.3.2 Access to chemical fertilizer 334 8.3.3 Access to credit 340 8.3.3.1 Story of Yasin Ali 345 8.3.3.2 Story of Yunus Paramanik 346 8.3.3.3 Story of Mahmudul Haq 3 47 8.