The project area comprises 32 villages in four unions of Gobindaganj Upazila in Gaibanda District of the Rangpur Division.

The main problem identified was poverty and the resulting food insecurity and great vulnerability of the target group to external shocks (natural disasters, debt, disease, etc.). The target group finds itself in a so-called poverty trap, i.e. in a self-reinforcing cycle in which the coping strategies to ensure the immediate livelihood of the target group generally lead to a worsening of the situation in the long term. The project region is one of the most underprivileged and neglected regions in Bangladesh. In the four selected unions (Darbost, Fulbari, Kocha Sahor and Mahimagonj) of Upazilas Gobindaganj, 80% of households are considered poor. A poverty map drawn up annually by the World Bank, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS[1]) shows that Gobindaganj is one of the poorest regions. Poverty is the biggest obstacle to sustainable development in the target region.