Stories

It is something of a paradox that, while there is broad agreement that micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are an integral part of the economy in developing countries, they remain underserved.

Agriculture is the foundation of Bhutan’s economy, employing more than 70 per cent of the population. Bhutan has made huge progress overall in recent years in improving its people’s standards of living, though poverty rates remain high in the eastern part of the country.

The rapid economic growth in China has brought numerous benefits, but also many challenges. Rapid urbanization, environmental vulnerability, an aging population and internal migration of young men is putting pressure on rural agricultural production systems.

It has long been recognized that the money remitted by migrants is used to supplement the receiving family’s income and is therefore largely spent on consumption. Only a small amount of remittances is invested in productive assets, much less saved.

Most of the population of Bhutan depend on farming to make a living. However, as the climate crisis bites, this Himalayan nation is being hit by erratic rain, hailstorms and flash floods. This in turn is effecting farmers’ production.

Sri Lanka is a small island nation in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean off India’s southeastern coast. Given that a large proportion of the population is concentrated in coastal areas, the country is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

The Haor region is a wetland ecosystem in north-eastern Bangladesh, which is located in a tectonic depression. During the monsoon period, the Haor gets between 3,000 and 4,000 mm of rainfall, together with the flow of monsoon river from the Meghalaya and Barak basins.