Final: During the second year of the school-feeding program (October 2002 through March 31, 2003), Land O’Lakes (LOL) provided meals to 220,354 primary school children in 957 schools. The number of children fed exceeded the program goal target by 4.43%, and was almost 16% higher than the previous year’s program coverage of around 190,000 children. The GFE school meal consists of 200ml UHT packaged milk, fortified with vitamins A and D, and a 40-gram wheat biscuit fortified with a complete range of micronutrients.

LOL found that school enrollment increased by 24% from their base line study and the enrollment for girls increased by 20%. There was also an increase of 23% in the attendance rate for both girls and boys. Teachers reported improvements in the health and weight of the children. All participating children received de-worming medication twice during the school year.

Midterm: School meal distribution began on April 15, 2002. The goal of this LOL, Inc., project is to provide a daily ration of milk and a fortified wheat biscuit to 200,000 of Bangladesh’s most needy school children. Overall attendance increased 29%, with a 30% increase for girls, in the first five weeks of meal distribution. Project resources will be used to address educational quality issues such as teacher shortages, lack of teaching materials, and the need for school supplies for children. Effective collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh and other donors will contribute to project sustainability. Monetization of U.S. agricultural commodities was successfully undertaken, although the proceeds were lower than projected because of declining international prices and the Government of Bangladesh’s policies to restrict imports. This Global Food for Education (GFE) school feeding project will continue through March 2003.

Bangladesh is one of the poorest, most densely populated countries in the world. The government’s development efforts for several years have focused on poverty reduction. Social services and development programs have received increased funding, the birthrate has declined to 1.4%, and a model micro-credit movement flourishes. However, the number of people living in poverty remains very high. Half the Bangladeshi people live in poverty today, lacking enough income to purchase the minimum calories necessary for human survival. One-third of the population lives in extreme poverty, defined as those who could not purchase even two-thirds of the calories necessary for survival. High population density, numerous natural disasters, low educational attainment, weak governance, high levels of corruption, and limited financial resources all contribute to the existing situation.

Half of all children in Bangladesh under five years old are underweight for their age. About one-fifth die before their fifth birthday, and two-thirds of these deaths are related to malnutrition. Children’s malnutrition in Bangladesh increases by about 23% between age five and six, when the children start primary school.

The combined effect of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies can reduce a child’s learning ability. The provision of nutritious food supplements, such as milk and biscuits fortified with vitamins and minerals, can greatly improve their learning ability and health.

Bangladesh spends $28 per child per year on education, with international donor support accounting for 50% of the budget. The Government of Bangladesh has been successful in expanding access to primary education but faces major challenges with educational quality. The number of primary schools increased by about 41% between 1990 and 1995. When the government began providing free primary schooling in 1992, enrollment increased by almost 6% a year for girls and 5% for boys. According to the World Bank, gender disparity in primary school enrollment has disappeared, and almost 100% of primary-school-age girls are enrolled in school.

The poor quality of education is also a limiting factor for educational attainment. 73% of children attending school complete primary school. However, only 43% of primary school students attained minimal standards for literacy and numeracy in 1997. Less than 2% of primary students achieve all the minimum basic primary school competencies established by the Government of Bangladesh, and it takes an average of six years for a child to complete the 5-year primary school cycle. Secondary school enrollment is only about 20% of the eligible student population.

Many children living in "high food-insecure areas" are considered "ultra-poor" and are frequently absent from school or drop out in order to look for food or income. In 1993, Bangladesh was one of the first countries in the world to implement a pilot Food for Education (later named Food for Schooling, or FFS) program. By 2000, the pilot program covered 17,811 public and private schools, accounting for about 27% of all primary schools in Bangladesh. Eligible students and their families received food grains through the FFS program. To maintain their eligibility, children had to attend 85% of their classes each month.

For reasons not entirely clear, the Government of Bangladesh has decided to phase out the FFS program by June 2002 and begin Cash for Education program. The criteria will be the same, but in addition to wheat and rice some of the students will receive money. There is some concern regarding how the family will spend the cash and whether food will reach the neediest members of the households. Like most donors, the World Food Program (WFP) and USDA still prefer to offer food directly to needy recipients.

In April 2002, based on the success of its pilot school-feeding program in the floodplain region, WFP planned to expand its Bangladesh school feeding program to include some 600,000 children attending 7,000 government and non-governmental schools nationwide. It will be one of the largest WFP school-feeding programs in the world.

Within this social and economic context, LOL proposed to target districts in which the problems of malnutrition and primary school enrollment and attendance are among the most severe in the country. Jamalpur and Sherpur were chosen because they are two of the three most needy districts. LOL also took into consideration accessibility by transport for food shipments.

Final: USDA donated 24,400 metric tons, in addition to the previous year’s donation, of agricultural commodities to LOL under the GFE program. The commodities included 29,300 tons hard red winter wheat and 500 tons non-fat dry milk. The monetized proceeds were used to pay for additional costs associated with the milk production, which include extra ingredients, processing, packaging and distribution.

Midterm: In fiscal year 2002, USDA donated nearly 35,000 metric tons of agricultural commodities to LOL under the GFE program. The commodities included hard red winter wheat, 30,000 tons; non-fat dry milk, 950 tons; and soybean oil, 4,000 tons.

LOL monetized most of the wheat and part of the non-fat dry milk and refined soybean oil. Proceeds from the sale of the commodities to Bangladeshi buyers provided funds to implement the GFE school feeding program. Some wheat (2,500 tons) was bartered, and wheat was also used in the fortified biscuits.

Commodities were made available by USDA in January 2002, shipped in February/March, and arrived in Dhaka in April 2002. Commodity sales were negotiated in February and the first funds were received in May 2002. LOL advanced its own funds to the project beginning in November 2001 so that work could begin immediately after the agreement was announced in December 2001.

While the commodity sales proceeded within the expected timeframe, the revenues were significantly less than expected. The commodity sales provided about $6.5 million for the first year of the GFE project, which was approximately 70% of the amount originally projected in the LOL/USDA agreement. Sales revenues were reduced by falling prices, particularly for non-fat dry milk, and by high Bangladeshi tariffs and duties on refined soybean oil. LOL has modified its project to accommodate this revenue shortfall.

The LOL project staff was determined to begin the Bangladesh school-feeding program as soon as possible so the children would have the benefit of the snacks. The staff needed to act quickly, but at the same time develop long-term strategies to ensure a sustainable milk supply for the schools. Milk supply contracts were signed with processors in February and

March, and arrangements were made to import processed milk until Bangladeshi processors developed the capacity to supply the project. The fortified biscuit supply was contracted in March, including the requirement to use U.S. wheat when that wheat was available in Bangladesh. A barter agreement was made in late April to exchange USDA-donated milk powder for ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk. Distribution of UHT milk in 200-milliliter packs and fortified wheat biscuits began in the project area in mid-April 2002, four and a one-half months after the start of the work and prior to the arrival of the commodities in Bangladesh.

Goals and objectives: The goals of the LOL GFE project are to increase overall enrollment and attendance by 20%, increase girls’ attendance by 15%, improve child nutrition by showing a 10% increase in weight/height ration, and improve dairy and food processing operations in the country. Through the implementation of its school feeding program, LOL had planned to feed 350,000 primary school students a daily snack of UHT milk and fortified biscuits for one full school year. Because monetization proceeds were less than expected and costs higher than expected, LOL now plans to feed around 200,000 children.

The GFE program has the full cooperation of the Primary and Mass Education Division of the Education Ministry. In addition, LOL is working to integrate the program with other related development programs through collaboration with additional donor agencies to ensure maximum impact and avoid redundancies.

Final: From October 2002 through March 2003, LOL provided meals to 220,354 primary school children in 957 schools. The number of children fed exceeded the program goal target by 4.43%, and was almost 16% higher than last year’s program coverage of around 190,000 children. The meal consists of 200ml UHT packaged milk, fortified with vitamins A and D, and a 40-gram wheat biscuit fortified with a complete range of micronutrients.

LOL found that school enrollment increased by 24% from their base line study and the enrollment for girls increased by 20%. The attendance rate for all increased 23%. Teachers reported improvements in the health and weight of the children. All participating children received de-worming medication twice during the school year.

Midterm: The selection of target areas for school snack distribution was based on low school enrollment, low girls’ attendance, poor nutrition levels, good access for food commodity transportation, and sufficient numbers of primary school students to reach the original goal of 350,000 children in one administrative area. The GFE staff wanted to include all primary schools (government and non-government) in the area. By providing snacks to schools in the district, students would not switch from one primary school to another to take advantage of the meals. Similarly, the area would need to be large enough so that measured increases in enrollment and attendance would reflect real increases throughout the area and not simply students coming into the area from outside. The establishment of specific need-based criteria also reduced political pressure on the Government of Bangladesh and the GFE program staff to include non-targeted schools.

The project management plan called for gradual expansion to cover all schools in the target district while simultaneously establishing distribution management and monitoring systems. Inventory control with receipt and distribution management systems is to be developed around a project area warehouse. Schools report on receipt of snacks and consumption by the children. A local private group delivers the supplies to the schools and ensures that receipts and reports are returned to the district control center.

The strategy for biscuit supply was based on providing for the unmet nutritional needs of Bangladeshi primary school children. The current food intake and nutritional requirements of seven to nine-year-old rural children were analyzed, and the gap between the nutritional need and current intake was identified as the target for the combined milk and biscuit snack. The fortified biscuits are meant to provide the nutrients not provided by the milk; therefore, biscuit companies were asked to produce biscuits to meet the children’s kilocalorie (Kcal) requirements. LOL also identified suppliers of a vitamin-mineral pre-mix and negotiated for a nutrient mix that could be added to the biscuits to meet the children’s need.

A national NGO was contracted at the local district level to distribute food snacks to the schools and to assist in monitoring. A computerized information system was developed to provide distribution management and monitoring, inventory control, and school attendance, enrollment, and consumption data, and to produce all required GFE reports. Distribution of UHT milk in 200-milliliter packs and fortified wheat biscuits began in the project area in mid-April 2002.

The total number of student beneficiaries is now estimated at 200,000. The original goal of feeding 350,000 children for a school year was not reached for several reasons. There was a $2-million shortfall from commodity sales, and the price per serving of milk was higher than calculated in the proposal. Also, a miscalculation in the number of school days (six days/week rather than five days/week) increased the daily rations. Lastly, due to the extremely poor nutritional status of the children, LOL decided to serve the fortified biscuits for the entire duration of the project rather than for 16 weeks as envisioned in the original proposal.

Final: LOL has sought the technical and financial support of multinational development groups, donor institutions, and government agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO-UN) and the Agro-based Industries Technology Development Project (ATDP) which is being led by the Louis Berger Group with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

LOL is working with PMED officials to obtain resources to support the recruitment of additional teacher aides, conduct in-service teacher training, distribution of needed textbooks and instructional materials and upgrading of school infrastructure.

Midterm: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) invited LOL to meet with its project preparation technical assistance team to discuss how the Bangladesh GFE school feeding program can work together with proposed ADB investments in educational quality in the Second Primary Education Development Project.

The FAO requested staff from the Bangladesh GFE school feeding program to visit FAO’s program to discuss how the two groups can work together to expand dairy development. The FAO program focuses on the development of small and medium farmers and the role of the dairy industry in improving the quality of lives of dairy farmers. FAO would like to see if LOL and the GFE Program can find common interests in dairy development programs.

The Agro-based Industries Technology Development Project (ATDP), supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is led by the Louis Berger Group and includes LOL as a sub-contractor. The project provides technical assistance to agribusiness clients, and the ATDP staff expressed interest in milk processing and biscuit manufacturing. ATDP staff wants to work more closely with GFE staff to identify milk processing and biscuit manufacturing entrepreneurs who can develop successful products. ATDP would provide technical assistance to these agribusiness entrepreneurs to assist them in expanding their business and to develop new business opportunities.

Final: LOL assisted policy makers and education ministry officials in preparing budget allocation documents that could provide resources in support of the school-feeding program. The recent announcement by the Government of Bangladesh regarding access to development bank loans has made way for the development of the dairy and livestock industries and the expansion of agro-processing in the dairy sector.

A project concept on dairy and food processing is also being developed for possible DANIDA (Danish International Development Assistance) assistance. DANIDA continues to be among the leading donor agencies in Bangladesh.

LOL is conducting discussions with local leaders to determine ways in which local development plans and investment decisions can be supportive of the school-feeding program.

In partnership with a technical resource person from the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), a project plan on integrated dairy development is being designed. The goal is to initiate and model an organized dairy industry that builds on local resources, expertise and experience (i.e. Milk Vita in Baghabari, Pabna where local producers were organized into cooperatives).

Midterm: LOL and USDA staff understand the need to develop local capacity and relationships with related government and multinational development groups to ensure the sustainability of the GFE program. The program began Dec. 1, 2001, and LOL has preliminary agreements with the Government of Bangladesh to support the GFE. The Minister of Education has informed LOL that the ministry will support a budgetary allocation in the Annual Development Plan to provide government funds to supplement funds available through GFE. The budget development process begins in September, and LOL will meet with education ministry officials to help prepare the budget allocation documents.

The Government of Bangladesh has also announced that it will encourage the development of the dairy and livestock industries and the expansion of agro-processing in the dairy sector. To do this, it will make available credits from the development banks to dairy development and livestock projects.

Final: See evaluation methodology in Appendix 1.

Midterm: Both USDA and LOL are carrying out monitoring and evaluation activities. A local monitor hired by USDA provides the local monitoring for USDA. USDA and LOL have coordinated their monitoring and evaluation efforts to avoid redundancies while insuring independence of action. USDA will use input from its National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to determine the number of schools to be selected. These schools will then be used for the baseline questionnaire and qualitative data collection.

Final: LOL conducted monitoring and evaluation studies to measure the effect of the program on enrollment, attendance and performance. A baseline survey conducted by LOL showed that enrollment for SY 2003 increased by about 24.35% in relation to SY 2002. Participating schools in Islampur Upazila had the highest enrollment increase of around 45%, followed by those in Sarishabari, Jamalpur Sadar and Melandaha with about 34%, 18%, and 9%, respectively (Figure 4). Meanwhile, initial girls’ enrollment for SY 2003 is 20.85% higher than SY 2002 enrollment of 108,214 (Figure 5). Although the varying rate of enrollment increase also reflects the order of program expansion among the four Upazila, it signifies the receptivity of target communities for the program regardless of location, accessibility and social status. The program started late in Islampur, which is the farthest and most rural among the four Upazila, but the response has been more positive compared to urban Jamalpur Sadar.

Higher enrollment rates are expected as more parents learn about the benefits of the school feeding program. Much of the increase this time took place during the enrollment period between January and March 2003. Also, the participation of over a hundred additional schools this school year helped contribute to the increase in enrollment

Midterm: Enrollment changes will not be seen until January 2003 because school enrollment is open only between January and March of each school year and feeding began in April 2002. However, some names have been added to the roles in spite of the March cutoff, and LOL calculates the enrollment increase in the areas where the school feeding program started to be 3% during the first half-month (April 15–May 2).

Final: The school attendance rate at the end of SY 2003 stood at 87%, which was 23% higher than the baseline figure of 64%. Girls’ attendance rate in SY 2003 was 23.5% higher than the pre-project rate of 64.5%. The average attendance rate was about 72% from January to March 2003. The previous year’s experience has shown that school feeding activities lead to a rapid increase in attendance. Schools are open during the rainy season, monsoon, and during the floods because the children know that they will receive milk and biscuits once they arrive at school. The program also has helped to eliminate tardiness and children not returning to school in the second half of the school day.

Midterm: Data shows a rapid increase in attendance for schools receiving GFE snacks. During the first program week (April 15-18), only biscuits were distributed because the milk had not arrived. Nonetheless, attendance increased by an average of 22% in Nangla and 29% in Nayanagar in the first five weeks of the program. The spread of information regarding the school feeding program has already increased attendance in schools throughout the sub-district in anticipation of a school snack; in the areas that started later, attendance had already increased by the time the food arrived.

LOL will compare current attendance records with the original NGO "head count" survey prior to the start of the project to measure changes in attendance in the project areas.