Rat Management for Rural Communities in Bangladesh

Achievements

The project was officially launched on the 2nd August 2008 at a meeting attended by more than 300 people in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Special guests at the meeting were:
• Dr. C. S. Karim, Honorable Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources
• Md. Nur-E-Elahi, Director General, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute
• Mr. M. Harun-ur-rashid, Chairman Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and Director General Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
• Mr. Roland Hodson, Team Leader, Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP)
• Mr. Abdul Majid Biswas , Director General , Department of Agriculture Extension
• Dewan Intajul Islam Director, Food Crops, Department of Agriculture Extension
• Mr. Abdul Momin, Senior Contracts Manager, CLP
• Mr. Zobairul Haque, Manager Infrastructure, CLP
• Dr. Zobaida Hannan, Executive Director, Jati Andha Kallyan Samiti
• Ms. Nayna Begum, UNICEF

Guests in attendance were from more than 30 different institutions, including:
• Ministry of Agriculture
• NGO Affairs Bureau
• Chars Livelihoods Programme funded by DFID
• Department of Agriculture Extension
• Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
• Bangladesh Rice Research Institute
• International Rice Research Institute
• Dhaka University
• Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University
• Agricultural Research Council
• UNICEF
• NGOs: CARITAS, Protoy, Holodia, Sheba, ARBAN, SHUSHILAN, MUKTI, PromPT, MAWTS, LDRO, Nari Depita, DIP, DMSKF,TARANGA, RCDS, PUSHPO, SSS, DESH, Faith & Hope, CCDA, PUP, SCA,
• Approximately 40 farmers from communities involved in previous rodent research projects funded by DFID
• Approximately 20 journalists from TV and print media

Further photos of the launch event can be found here.

A modified version of a presentation about rats given at the ceremony by Dr Steven Belmain from the Natural Resources Institute can be found here.

Television stations that telecast the project launch event
• Bangladesh Television (Government Owned)
• Channel I
• Boishaki Television
• ATN Bangla
• Ekusha Television

Video excerpts from the event can be found here.

Print Media who published news about the launch ceremony and the project in response to a press conference held the day before the launch ceremony.
• Daily Ittafaq (Bangla), published August 1st
• The New Age (English), published August 2nd
• Daily Prothom Alo (Bangla), published August 3rd
• Daily Ruposhi Bangla (Bangla), published May 15th
• The Comillar Kagog (Bangla), published May 15th
• Daily Janakhonta (Bangla), published August 3rd
• The Independent (English), published August 2nd
• Weekly Comilla (Bangla), published August 10th
• Daily Shakti (Bangla), published August 2nd

Print media that published a rodent article about the project
• The New Nation (English), published August 4th
• The Independent (English), published August 13th
• The Financial Express (English), published August 1st
• The News Today (English), published July 31st

Dr. C. S. Karim, Honorable Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, giving the Keynote Address to the audience at the project launch ceremony

Ms Rokeya Begum Shafali, Executive Director, AID-Comilla and Lead Organisation of the Rat Management for Rural Communities project giving the Opening Address at the project launch ceremony

See the article announcing the Rat Management for Rural Communities project on the UK Department for International Development's website

See the article in DFID's Developments Magazine. Belmain, S.R. (2009) Rat Race. Developments. 45: 33-35.

The project has recently held a mid-term review of project activities.