A weekly round up of articles about employment, the labor market, skills training and workforce development. This week’s round up is drawn from The Daily Star. Here is the news for the week ending 6th October 2016.
This week in the Bangladesh English Press…
…The World Bank celebrates success in reducing extreme poverty while the Asian Development Bank increase its loan portfolio. Older farmers are less able to meet the country’s food requirements and a Dutch ministers says retailers must review buying practices.
Ageing Farmers and Food Security
The average age of a farmer in Bangladesh is now over 50. A speaker at the International Agricultural Conference in Dhaka urged young people to farm.
Bangladesh has progressed quickly in agricultural practices and production. But ageing farmers and the conversion of farmland mean the country might not be able to feed its growing population in future.
Fair Deal for Garments Sector
Garments producers have paid for expensive upgrades to their factories. And working conditions have improved.
But retailers do not want to pay more for their products. This business practice is unsustainable says the Dutch minister for for foreign trade and development cooperation.
The minister suggested retailers change their pricing and buying practices. These changes should support continuing improvements in factory working conditions.
Asian Development Bank Aligns with Government Goals
The country director of the Bangladesh Resident Mission says the ADB’s new country partnership strategy aims for new sources of growth, employment, and rural development.
The Bank will loan Bangladesh $8 billion over the next 5 years.
World Bank Says Fewer in Extreme Pover
Only 12.9 per cent of the population are in extreme poverty according to the latest Bangladesh development update.
Resetting the extreme poverty line to $1.90 per person per day has led to this downward revision.
In 2005 the rate of extreme poverty was 43.3 per cent.
Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, will celebrate this achievement in a visit to Bangladesh on October 17th.
And that’s the news from The Daily Star this week.