At a Glance of Total Program Implementation (Up to June 2010)

Particulars	Status of 2008-09	Status of 2009-10
No. of Branches	35	35
No. of Districts Covered	10	11
No. of Upazilas Covered	22	27
No. of Unions Covered	114	125
No. of Staff Involved(operation)	295	326
No. of Villages	1,090	1,123
No. of Group/Samity	3,582	3,991
No. of Member	53,118	57,251
No. of Borrowers	43,014	45,154
No. of Borrower(Cumulative)	2,09,107	2,59,126
Cumulative Disbursement	248,23,85,000	331,64,60,000
Loan Outstanding(Portfolio)	37,03,29,300	43,25,51,710
Savings Balance	11,99,92,100	14,20,56,988
Member Welfare Fund Balance	84,19,324	1,23,42,459
Recovery rate	99.8%	99.8%

Source of funding: PKSF and savings of the group members and VERC itself.

Source of funds up to June 2010

Source	Amount (In Tk)	Percentage
PKSF	27,31,30,000	50%
Member’s Savings	14,20,56,988	26%
Member Welfare Fund	1,23,42,459	2%
VERC Own Fund	39,16,019	1%
Surplus Fund	10,93,19,227	20%
Others	45,75,000	1%
Total =                   54,53,39,693		100%

 

Program impact: Following are the outcome of trainings imparted to group members -

A. Skill training
 Training on integrated pest management and leaf color chart has enabled them to prevent loss of production that are caused by pests and other diseases. It also has enabled them to monitor the growth level of crop plants to determine the time and dosage for the application of fertilizers
 Use of Granular Urea is becoming popular in order to increase the efficiency of the amount of fertilizer used in cultivation
 Information available on vaccination and insemination has expanded the scope of rearing hybrid cattle heads for increased income
 Special training on ‘Sex Pheromone Trap’ for environment-friendly pest control has drawn attention of the farmers and they have been practicing the skill in practical grounds in terms of efficient pest control for increased agricultural production

B. Social Development issue based training
The training has enabled community people to maintain environmental hygiene through hygienic disposal of garbage in fixed place so that contamination can be prevented, at the same time they have started using the wastes as green manure through proper composting in pits. The wastes are now turned into resources contributing to increased crop production and increased income.

Collaboration and networking done during the reporting period

VERC has been taking part in PKSF organized workshops/trainings that are useful in enhancing the level of efficiency in staff members and making interventions more output oriented. Participation in the Exhibition that was held at the China-Bangladesh Friendship Auditorium in Dhaka was a scope for wider dissemination/exchange of experience of working with the poor and marginalized.

The implementation of program how far has achieved the objectives with positive impact and has addressed the Mission and Purposes of VERC

VERC interventions have been effective in smooth delivery of micro-credit support to rural communities across program locations within the country. Proper follow up and other capacity building supports extended from VERC side has been effective in addressing the poverty status of the country by increasing the productivity of the poor and marginalized people in line with MDG commitment. A qualitative change has been visible in terms of livelihood opportunities. A regular flow of additional income has been supporting the families to have access of schooling for the children, safe water and sanitation coverage, improved nutrition for the family members, medication in times of ailment and similar other needs. Discussion with community people under coverage of the program reveals that a wide range of benefits they have been enjoying what they can spell out easily if they are asked to explain. They feel confident that they have opportunities to be involved in activities whenever they find any scope and make a difference to the situation of their livelihood pattern.

Exceptions are there in respect of program success as there are instances of defaulters and unsuccessful projects taken up by borrowers, these are mainly due to lack of sufficient feasibility study and follow-up support from program personnel. As a remedial measure, regular monitoring of program at the field level and critical analysis of the same held by the head office team helps identifying the problems and recommended actions to keep things on track.

Over all status of the program is that VERC program is expanding and the reported year has maintained trend of growth and expansion like the previous years.