Bangladesh Rural Advancement Council or BRAC (www.brac.net) is possibly the largest and most successful NGO operating in Bangladesh. Started in 1972 with a grant of about $100,000 from the UK, it is now a huge operation with annual expenditures in the vicinity of $200 million.
I am working with BRAC to provide price support to a program of producing and packing fresh vegetables for export. BRAC has the necessary infrastructure and the certifications. The initial goal is to enable about 100 farmers in each of two villages to grow broccoli for export to Japan. BRF will provide limited price support by guaranteeing a minimum price for the farmers in order to help mitigate their risk of a new crop. To the extent the market price is higher than the floor set by us, we would have spent no funds. To the extent the costs are greater than the revenues, we will absorb the loss. The goal would be to determine the feasibility of exporting broccoli to Japan. If the losses are manageable and it looks like that over a short period of time the farmers can be weaned off the subsidy, then we will continue to provide price support. If it is apparent that the project is not economically feasible, we would terminate the program after a year or two.
I am currently awaiting a draft MOU from BRAC regarding our specific roles.
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