The policy of providing microcredit and skill training to poor agricultural workers in developing countries is wellestablished. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the effectiveness of the training part of that policy. BRAC (formerly the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the largest non-governmental organization in Bangladesh, is making efforts to alleviate poverty by providing microcredit and relevant training to landless and marginal borrowers, who have less than 1.5 acres of land, in order to enhance their standard of living. The study aims to assess the effects of BRAC's training programs on the recipients' total household expenditure. Primary data were collected from female borrowers who participated in the microcredit programs of BRAC and these data reflect the key role women play in agricultural work and the lack of research on their status. The study shows that the training provided to the borrowers failed to create any significant impact on their household expenditure because only a small percentage of borrowers received training and the duration of the training was limited (on average three days per person). Moreover, many of those who received training experienced only a modest income effect. The findings are important ❒ not just for the practical purpose of influencing policies for reducing poverty in Bangladesh but also for their contribution to the understanding of the effectiveness of training. The existing literature is concerned mainly with the effectiveness of training in the context of business and other organizations in developed countries. Research on the effectiveness of training in developing countries, particularly in alleviating poverty, is less evident. Moreover, the present research is also exceptional as it focuses only on female trainees.

The Masjid Council for Community Advancement provided zakat funds (compulsory alms giving) and training facilities to very poor people in Bangladesh through the Hasana project to improve their living standard. The prime objective of the study was to assess the impact of zakat funds on household income and expenditure. Propensity score matching technique was used to assess the impact of the Hasana project on the households who received zakat. This study shows that income and expenditure of the zakat-receiving households increased due to project intervention.

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The goal of this study was to assess the effect of training programme on the healthcare expenses of the households under BRAC's microcredit programme. This study showed that training played a significant role in improving the healthcare expenditure of the household. Other socioeconomic variables such as household income, family size, age of the borrower, noninstitutional loan received by borrowers, amount of microcredit received from BRAC by borrowers, amount of loan instalment and distance of rural market from the borrowers' house were also appeared as the key determinants of households' healthcare expenditure.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of zakat fund on the food expenditure of the households to assess the impact of zakat fund on the agricultural production of the households and to assess the opinion of the zakat recipients on food security status under zakat program. Design/methodology/approach – Samples were selected for this study using the simple random sampling (SRS) technique. A total of 149 households were selected from 196 households. A survey was conducted during January to March 2011 among the project beneficiaries using questionnaire. The ordinary least squares technique was used to assess the impact of zakat on food security status of the zakat recipients. Heteroscedasticity problem was detected in this study which was corrected using White's method. Logit model was used to assess the opinions of the zakat recipients on their food security status under the Hasana project. Findings – This study shows that amount of zakat provided to the poor recipients failed to create any significant influence on their agricultural production, food expenditure and food security status. The study also shows that household income, family members’ involvement in agricultural activities and numbers of income-generating activities pursued by the households were the key determinants of households’ food consumption. Originality/value – This study helps in assessing the opinion of the zakat recipients about the effectiveness of the zakat program on their living standard in terms of household agricultural production and food security and also assisting in policy planning for alleviating rural poverty in Bangladesh through the zakat system.

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