This book examines a state-led rural development initiative in Bangladesh that integrates household-based farming with cooperative savings to strengthen livelihoods and food security. Drawing on empirical research and field evidence, it evaluates how small-scale agricultural production, collective finance, and community participation interact to address multidimensional poverty. The analysis situates this approach within broader debates on development theory, governance, and the Sustainable Development Goals, while remaining attentive to local realities shaped by inequality, climate stress, and institutional constraints. Through case studies and comparative perspectives, the book offers a balanced assessment of outcomes, limitations, and possibilities for adaptation. It neither idealizes nor dismisses the model. Instead, it asks what works, under what conditions, and for whom. The result is a thoughtful contribution to scholarship and policy on poverty reduction that places households, cooperation, and agency at the center of sustainable change.
