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Social Sciences 2013
Geographic Concentration and Development Potential of Poultry Microenterprises and Value Chain: A Study Based on Suitable Sites in Gazipur, BangladeshKeywords: microfinance, poultry microenterprise, spatial distribution, GIS, sites’ suitability, development, poverty reduction Abstract: In Bangladesh, many poultry microenterprises (MEs) have flourished through the lending of microcredit to the poor. These MEs are linked to the value chain and play a significant role in poverty reduction. Not all of these MEs are located in favorable places. Almost all are developed utilizing homestead lands, which results in poor input supply and marketing facilities, and causes higher costs and less profit. This paper tries to uncover the constraints in value chain development, mainly those related to its physical and infrastructural environment; verify the potential of MEs through an analysis of their geographic concentration in sites with different suitability levels; and make recommendations as to how to overcome the constraints, with a view to ensuring higher profit levels for vulnerable poor. The suitability of sites was delineated through Geographic Information System (GIS). The analysis—a combination of field survey data with a site suitability map of farms/MEs concentration—is important, because it helps to validate the GIS analysis-based results of sites’ suitability, helps supporters to design interventions in areas where the farms exist, and thus, helps farmers in vulnerable sites to lift themselves out of poverty.
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