Kine khowa ("purchased food") is an indigenous concept of wealth ranking which has been adapted byNon-Govemmental Organisations (NGOs) to target and evaluate Farming Systems Research (FSR) for small farmers in Bangladesh. This analysis of the Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) FSR programme in southern Bangladesh suggests that kine khowa was useful for identifying target groups but less useful for evaluating the impact of FSR interventions since increases in household assets and income were not necessarily reflected in improved household food security.