UK Aid Match project six month review template
Purpose of the review
The six month review is an opportunity for you and DFID to check the progress of the project, discuss any new or on-going challenges and risks, as well as any changes you would like to make to the project. It is also an opportunity to check whether actions agreed after the previous annual report have been implemented. The review will include a discussion with DFID either face to face or by phoneonce the review template has been completed.
How to complete the template
All reports: Complete the table below and either section A or section B of the template. Expand boxes as required.
Initial report (i.e. in year 1 of your project): complete all questions in section A.
Six month reports for subsequent years: complete all questions in section B.
Name of organisation: Islamic Relief Worldwide / Project title:Project Value: GBP xxx (DfID contribution GBP xxx) / Review Date:30 September 2015
Project start date: / Project end date:
Current quarterly forecasts for this financial year: (Note: the DFID FY runs from 01/04 – 31/03)
April – June:
July – Sept:
Oct – Dec:
Jan – March: / Project expenditure to date for this FY: / Revised annual forecast for this FY: (if applicable)
- Initial six month report
A1. Please confirm whether the following project documents have been finalised. If documents have been produced or revisions have taken place since the start of the grant funding period, please attach new/revised documents. If documents have not been finalised, please explain what action you are taking to finalise them.
Log-frame: Y/N
Budget: Y/N
Project activities plan: Y/N
Risk Matrix: Y/N
Monitoring and evaluation plan: Y/N
Asset register: Y/N (see annex 5 of your accountable grant)
UK aid Visibility Statement (see para 21 of your accountable grant): Y/N
Inception activities
A2. Are all staff required to deliver the project in place? If not, please explain what action you are taking.
A3. Have due diligence assessments on funding partners been completed, and any recommendations from the assessments been implemented? Have funding agreements with partners been signed?
A4. Have all due diligence recommendations relating to your organisation been implemented? What action are you taking to implement any outstanding recommendations?
A5. What activities have taken place during the first six months of the project? How will activities contribute to the project achieving year 1 output targets? (Include inception activities eg. baseline surveys, beneficiary sensitisation work). At this stage, do you expect to meet your year 1 output milestones by the end of year 1?
Reporting on your appeal:
A6. Have you delivered your report on your appeal coverage? (with actual OTV, broken down by channel, and visual examples)
A7. Please confirm the (estimated) number of donors that contributed to your appeal?
- Six month review for years 2 and 3
B1. What action has been taken in response to DFID feedback on your previous annual report? Are any actions outstanding?
DfID feedback on previous annual report was examined in the May meeting. Since then;- IRW responded to 31 July deadline actions on 12 August. Submission was to Cathy Welch
- IRW responded to remaining actions xxx
B2. Is the project on track to achieve output annual milestones? What monitoring data have you collected to support your assessment?
Key Impact during Reporting Period (1st April 2015 to 30th September 2015)(Please Describe in ● Bullet Point)
The project "Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Resilience in Bangladesh (ECCADR)" has been under implementation by Islamic Relief, Bangladesh since the reporting period (April 2015– September 2015) the project has made significant progress in line with the agreed milestones.
Key Impact during Reporting Period
- Household’s average income increased to 153.76% (BDT 2500 to 6344) by the end September 2015 through promoting climate adaptive on farm and off farm livelihood options.
- 69% of beneficiaries out of 2400 households are applying new option(s) for increasing homestead and agriculture production which assist to increase their additional income to BDT 486 and improved nutritional status.
- 2400 vulnerable families have been adopted with climate adaptive on farm and off farm livelihood options which increased their household incomes significantly and improved their status by multiplication of productive asset;
- 89% Beneficiaries (out of 2400 households) Income Generating Activities (IGAs) has been diversified 1 time, 47 % have 2 times and respectively 25% have 3 times during this reporting period.
- 34 climate adaptive varieties were trialled under 157 Farmers Field Laboratory plots. 202 farmers were involved, resulted 78% crops with successful.
- 590 Decimal (5.9 Acre) of arable land are being utilized for three times a year instead of one.
- 229 fishermen has been helped to be registered with department of fisheries under the ongoing activities of the Government.
- 100% livelihood beneficiaries (2400 Households) number of food intake per day has increased, the quality of the food intake was also reported to have increased with more meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables reported in their diets moving from either one or two meals, to three quality meals a day.
- 3000 beneficiaries have Household Adaptation Plan and Self Initiatives i.e. different disaster preparedness measures with prepared dry food, portable Chula and other essential items to keep available for the disaster time.
- Women oriented income generating activities (44.70%) i.e Goat rearingand Beef fattening, poultry farming etc narrowing the gender gap in employment and contributing to empower of women.
- 24710Sampling (Fruits, Herbal) was distributed among Households expected to absorb 96000 pounds of CO2 per year.
- About 17% Producer Group have started their own savings in banks and about 77.67% beneficiaries have other regular savings as a range average of BDT 500 to BDT 1500 monthly.
- 11790 Households have access to improved water sources.
- Community Based Early Warning System operationalized at all 5 targeted unions.
- Contingency Plan developed and updated at union for effective implementation of Disaster Management
- 8917 School Children has been directly benefitted through school ground rising and school led micro project.
- 15 School Safety Plans developed to promote a culture of safety at schools as well as increase the resilience of schools to climate shocks.
- 100% Volunteer group’s Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) integrated into Early Warning and emergency systems and its own ability to take effective action in a disaster.
- 1067 socially excluded people regularly participating in all activities of the DMCs and have access to existing social protection schemes.
- BDT 62.02 million (48 Schemes) have been allocated for disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation which is enhanced 50.33% compared to previous year.
- 52 Articles related to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction have been published in the daily newspapers reaching around 20000 people.
- IR’B facilitates a session on 1st National Char Convention where research findings on “Healthcare Seeking Behaviour and Facilities Available in Char Areas of Bangladesh” were shared among participants from the char areas
Output-1: Households supported to take-up new climate / disaster resistant income generating activities.
a)Indicator 1.1: People trained in alternative climate resilient income generating activities (IGAs).
Milestone 03: 2,400 HHs (960 women headed HHs trained)
Refresher Training on Climate Resilient Income Generating Activities: Initially the project has selected 2,400 HHs and provided training on selected climate adaptive income generating activities. Beneficiaries received productive assets which contributed to multiplying and diversifying their assets. In the reporting period theses beneficiaries received refresher training on climate resilient alternative income generating activities. This training intended to enable existing income generating activities more profitable. The training was conducted in 106 batches where a total of 2400 (Male -1327, Female – 1073, PWD – 303, Elderly – 408 and Socially Excluded - 6) beneficiaries received refresher training.
“In the training we had gained knowledge through different materials such as booklets, posters and calendars, which showed the different methods for climate resilient income generating activities. I have kept all relevant documents, such as training material and reports I will give it to others when they need. Those should not be lost” - A training Participant /
Group and Individual Savings Mechanism: There were very limited options for extreme poor households living on the Coastal and Haor areas in access to savings mechanism. During this reporting period the project aims to overcome this deficiency by establishing individual and group savings for core beneficiaries. This allows participants to save and gain access to small loans for household-based Income Generating Activities (IGAs), as well as for other household expenses. During this reporting period:
- 20 Producer Group (about 17%) have started their own savings in banks.
- 1864 Beneficiaries (About 77.67%) percent beneficiaries have other regular savings as a range average of BDT 500 to BDT 1500 monthly
Milestone 03: 2,400 HHs (960 women headed HHs) receive assets
Promote Climate Adaptive Livelihood Options - CALO: Through this project 2400 beneficiaries got Climate Adaptive Livelihood Support on small business, goat/ sheep rearing, pulling and maintenance of vans, tailoring, duck/ hen rearing, poultry rearing, support for fishing equipment (boat/net), making handicrafts (Bamboo/wood), crab fattening, paddy cultivation, vegetable cultivation, fish culture and cow rearing. These livelihood options were selected on the basis of the practical situation on the ground and based on the demand of the beneficiary. Suring this reporting period it is found that the average income of the Households increased from BDT 2500 to 6344 BDT (153.76%) by the end of March October (Cumulative Achievement).
Table – 01: Cumulative Status of Income
Income Interval / Beneficiary (HH) / Percent (%)
2500 / 12 / 0.50
2501-3500 / 316 / 13.17
3501-4500 / 450 / 18.75
4501-5500 / 474 / 19.75
5501-6500 / 319 / 13.29
6500 / 829 / 34.54
Total / 2400 / 100.00
Source: Cumulative Tracking Sheet Data, Apr-Oct, 2015
Data in Table-01 shows the household income from different sources after diversification. The result shows that among the on-farm and off-farm sources 19.75% households income ranged between BDT 4501 to 5500. Whereas a significant number of Beneficiaries (34.54%) income is more than 6500.
Asset Multiplication and Diversification: All the households have significantly diversifying their asset, indicating improved capacity to plan for the future and to manage risk. Households rapidly develop alternative sources of income to cope up with changing climate. It has been found that 89% Beneficiaries Income Generating Activities (IGAs) has been diversified 1 time, 47 % have 2 times and respectively 25% have 3 times during this reporting period.
“In Koyra, we saw women earning average 30-40 Tk. a day from collecting shrimp post larvae. Many of them face so many hurdles to bear family expenses. It is a huge opportunity for women to earn a standard earning who have started tailoring business.” /
Homestead Gardening: Homestead gardening both summer and winter seasons is gaining popularity with production of different vegetables. Islamic Relief Bangladesh arranging regular group meeting together with the producer group therefore they are getting ideas about climate adaptive method of growing vegetables by increased resource utilization side by side with enhancing use of modern method of vegetable gardening. As a result, women are increasingly getting involved in the respective productive ventures, proving their capabilities as good as the male counterparts.
In the reporting period homestead gardening practiced by almost all the beneficiary households, Some households sell vegetables at times when they need cash, most households cultivate different vegetables including beans, potato, radish and tomato. As well, these vegetables are consumed throughout the year by most households and are considered an important and normal part of household diets. Many households raise livestock that are regularly sold for cash and food as part of their normal annual activities.
Source: Cumulative Tracking Sheet Data, Apr-Oct, 2015
As from the above figure it is estimated that 69% beneficiary increased their additional income to BDT 486. Maximum income was obtained in the month of Asar(June-July) and the least in Chaittra (March – April) and Baisak (April- May), as the later two months were driest part of the year and also the time of new plantation of Kharif vegetable. Family labor utilization was increased. In land preparation, sowing and marketing male had a major role, while for intercultural operations, harvesting and cooking women had the major role.
Table – 01: Cumulative Status of Income Generating Activities
HH Expense / Percent
Repair and Maintenance of Housing / 2
Productive Asset Purchase / 9
Food / 68
Health / 6
Land Lease / 8
Others / 7
This table reflects the monthly expenditure distribution of the local people from their income. The major portion of this encompasses food sourcing, which is about 68%. They spend up to 9% for purchasing different productive assets. Land lease and other cover 8% and 7% respectively. Besides, they spend 6% for health related issues.
- Farmers Field Laboratory: During this reporting period potential climate adaptive crops (e.g. wheat, mustard, barely, tomato, potato, pumpkin, and radish etc) were trilled under farmer’s field laboratory. The learning was shared with wider farmer community of the respective area in different event where about 1200 farmers, community leaders, government officials of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) local government representative and media personnel were presented. It increased the cropping intensity as well as job opportunity with food security for the community where as most of the land were being fallowed.
Successful / Failure
34 / 157 / 78 / 22 / 202
Source: CALO Tracking Sheet Data, Apr 2014 -Oct, 2015
As from the table 34 climate adaptive varieties were trialled under 157 plots. 202 farmers were involved, resulted 78% crops with successful. The beneficiaries have been linked with the agricultural service providers and they were able to purchase seeds of appropriate varieties of rice and other inputs like fertilizers and chemicals for productive assets.
Table 02: Yield of Different Crops under Farmers Field laboratory (Ton Per Hectare)
Name of crop / FFL Yield / Laboratory Expected highest Yield / National Average Yield / Percentage Increased
Pumpkin / 30.0 / 35 / 20 / 50%
Mustard / 0.95 / 1.5 / 0.89 / 6.74%
Barely / 2.5 / 2.2 / 1.87 / 33.69 %
Binadhan-10 / 4.0 / 5.5 / 4.0 / 0 %
Potato / 20.0 / 25.0 / 10.0 / 100%
Sunflower / 1.5 / 1.7 / 1.0 / 50 %
Source: Tracking Sheet Data, Apr-Oct, 2015
The above table - 02 shows a comparison of the production of different crops grown in the Farmers’ Field Laboratory (FFL) in relation with the expected highest yield and average national Yield. It was seen that pumpkin production Farmers Field Laboratory was 30 t/ha (Ton per hectare) where the national average yield was 20 t/ha which increased by 50% compared to national average. Mustard production from FFL was 0.95 t/ha while the highest expectation was 1.5 t/ha and 0.89 t/ha national average. Along with the other crops, saline tolerant variety rice Binadhan 10 production was 4 t/ha. Its expected highest yield was set to 5.5 t/ha. The national average yield for Binadhan 10 was 4 t/ha which is similar to the FFL production.
“I earned TK 50,000 by selling over 2200 pieces of sweet pumpkin last year. This year, I have cultivated the crop on large scale with the hopes of getting satisfactory yield from previous year.” /
The Results
Bangladesh belongs to an area of 147,570 km2. About 80% of this area is formed by alluvial sediment deposited by the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, Tista, Jamuna and Meghna. Coastal region covers up to 20% area that is almost 2.9 million hectares of land. On the other hand, Haor regions comprise 1.26 million hectares of land coverage. Crop cultivation in the regions both haor and coast is a challenge since the prevailing condition is not favorable. During the rainy season, Haor area lies under water from April till November. Thus crop production in this period is not possible. For coastal areas the conspicuous issue is soil salinity. People from these areas (Haor and Coast) used to practice crop cultivation only in one cropping season. They lacked adaptive technology and guidance for Agricultural production suitable for them. Islamic Relief Bangladesh occupied interventions in those areas to produce crops for more than one cropping season. The local people were trained up for cultivation of different crops and vegetables in different cropping seasons. As a result, presently almost 590 decimal (5.9 Acres) lands are being utilized for three times a year. That means, they get production from these land pieces throughout a year. 34 farmers are engaged in this practice. It is a great turnaround of the intervention considering the outcomes.
Vaccination Camp: This project organized a number of vaccination camp for livestock by which beneficiary households have been benefited. Livestock in the project areas are also vulnerable as the people live there. Excessive salinity, lack of vaccination turns the death more acute. Considering the above limitation Islamic Relief Bangladesh organized vaccination campaign to make the local people aware of the safety of their livestock and poultry. As an action, 3992 animals (cows and goats) and poultry were vaccinated during the vaccination campaign. In return, the livestock death rate decreased remarkably which was only 0.075% in the projected area. The recovery rate attained after vaccination was satisfactorily 99.93%. Theaverage overallmortality ratewas 5.60% (Hossain and Islam 2014)[1].
Total Number of Animal Vaccinated / No. of Animal Death Reported / Death Rate / National Mortality Rate / Recover rate after Vaccination
3992 / 3 / 0.075 % / 5.60% / 99.93 %
C) Indicator 1.3: New producer groups created and successfully linked to markets within target communities.
Milestone 03: 120 producer groups created (35% representation of women)