Exploring the Bangladesh smallholder livestock sector through network analysis

Insights, assessment results, and future directions

Abstract

Livestock production is a key livelihood strategy in rural Bangladesh, especially for smallholder farmers who often face barriers such as limited access to business services and markets. Increased livestock production is linked to improved household income, nutrition, and health outcomes. This study analyzes the USAID-funded Livestock Production for Improved Nutrition (LPIN) Activity, focusing on how livestock service providers’ (LSPs) access to business service providers—analyzed through networks—affects their performance. We find that LSPs with higher network connectivity have signif­icantly greater sales and serve more clients. LPIN-supported LSPs had higher sales but did not serve more clients compared to non-assisted peers. Barri­ers such as limited access to quality services, gender gaps, and sector-specific challenges were analyzed. Youth and female, youth-owned LSPs showed high network centrality, but this did not always translate into better performance. These findings indicate that while connectivity matters, other structural barriers must be addressed to improve outcomes and foster inclusive growth in the livestock sector. Policy efforts that facilitate higher-quality, reliable business service linkages could be particularly advantageous if they are effectively targeted. Our results demonstrate actors’ willingness to leverage these services to become leading sector network performers.