Food for Work (FFW) a government programme launched in 1974 in a situation of acute food shortage in the country when the people, particularly in the greater rangpur area, were facing starvation due to the high price of foodgrain and rural unemployment. The immediate objective of the programme was to create job opportunities in rural areas and at the same time to ensure the supply and availability of sufficient food grains in the affected areas. The idea was to pay wages to the workers in kind (food grains) instead of cash. The programme started with grants from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States of America under PL - 480. The programme proved to be very useful and effective, and the other donor countries and agencies including Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and EEC provided grants and assistance for its continuation. It has gradually turned into a large programme for the development of rural infrastructure, healthcare facilities and the environment in rural Bangladesh.

FFW is in fact an updated version of the Village-Aid Programme (V-Aid), a donor supported initiative of the government of Pakistan undertaken in 1952. V-Aid formally aimed at increasing agricultural production through overall development of rural areas. The programme was supposed to provide assistance for the preparation and implementation of village-based development projects in different sectors. The government had appointed a field worker in each union council and assigned him the task of creating awareness among the rural people about the programme. local government bodies, however, were not properly involved in the V-Aid activities and as a result, the programme failed to yield the desired outcome. The programme was wound-up in 1962 and as an alternative, the government initiated a new programme called the Works Programme for the development of rural infrastructure through construction of roads, bridges, culverts and flood protection embankments and the excavation of canals for irrigation. The new programme was designed for implementation with the involvement of local government bodies, while the central government provided the technical manpower. Under the programme, the food grains, particularly wheat received mainly from the United States, were sold in the local market at a much lower price and the sales proceeds were used for payment of wages to the unskilled labour engaged in the work. Major projects implemented under the Works Programme included construction of new earthen roads and repair of existing ones, excavation of canals and construction of embankments.

The Works Programme continued after the liberation of Bangladesh until the launching of the FFW in 1974 on an emergency basis to save people from hunger by making food available in food shortage areas. The programme was effective in extending short-term assistance to the people and contributed significantly to building a rural food security system and developing the rural infrastructure. According to an estimate during 1978-79, FFW had created employment opportunities of 60 million workdays with 0.23 million ton of wheat. Employment opportunities created under the programme in 1982-83 were 98 million workdays.

The FFW, as it stands today, may be termed as an extension of the V-Aid and Works Programme with some changes and modifications in approach and operational method. A major change has been in the mode of payment to the workers. In the initial stage, payment to the workers was made in cash from the sales proceeds of food grains received as grant and assistance. But at present, the payment is made in kind (food grains) although cash payment is also made from the sales proceeds of wheat in limited and special cases. The FFW programme has now taken the shape of an integrated rural development programme aiming at the development and maintenance of the rural infrastructure, preservation of the environment and social development. A combined fund for the programme has been created by pooling together the grants and assistance from different countries, grants from WFP and allocations from the government. The allocations for the FFW programme are made under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and projects under the programme are implemented by various agencies and organisations under different ministries and also by some non-government organisations. The major agencies that implement the FFW projects are, however, the Department of LGED under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, Directorate of Afforestation under the Ministry of Forest and Environment, and some organisations under the Ministry of Water Resources.

A part of the resources of the FFW programme is spent in the government's Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme, initiated in the 1980s, under which poor and distressed women in rural areas were given VGF cards. A holder of this card (a distressed or landless woman, or a widow having no or very little income, or an extremely poor lactating woman) could receive a grant of up to 31.25 kg of food grain per month from the government store managed by local government units. The VGD cards were issued for a period of two years and in order to avail herself of the programme benefit, a woman was required to undergo some livelihood training and make a compulsory savings deposit of Tk 25 per month in her own bank account so that she could start some income generating activity in 18 months. After 18 months a new group is selected under the project. A part of the allocations under the FFW programme is also utilised during natural calamities like floods, cyclone and tidal bore. The projects under the FFW programme are implemented mainly during the dry season, which is suitable for all types of earth works. But the programme also remains in operation under the name Test Relief (TR) during the rainy season. Main projects implemented under TR include planting of saplings, repair of school buildings, colleges, mosques and temples and making of bamboo bridges.

The budget allocations for FFW during the financial year 1999 - 2000 were Tk 8.31 billion, which include both foreign and local components. [Syed Sadiqur Rahman]