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FAO-led projects aids Afghan farmers

19 novembre 2019 | 13.31
LETTURA: 3 minuti

FAO-led projects aids Afghan farmers

A $9.5 million project led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation aims to boost the resilience of farmers hit by conflict and natural disasters and help 660,000 people in Afghanistan, FAO announced on Tuesday.

"The impact of the 2018 drought and 2019 floods, exacerbated by the protracted conflict, has been devastating for smallholder farmers, impeding their ability to cultivate large plots of land or carry over surplus seed stocks for use in future planting," said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Afghanistan.

Last year's climate shocks disrupted local markets as well, Aryal underlined.

"This meant zero or little availability of local or improved varieties of seed within local communities," he said.

The new FAO-led project will give the farmers essential agriculture inputs - especially improved and certified wheat seed, fertilizer and training on improved agriculture practices to build the resistance to future shocks of over 100,000 households (660,000 people) whose livelihoods have been damaged by conflict and natural disasters, according to the statement.

The project will enable highly vulnerable small farming households to grow wheat during the upcoming cultivation season and contribute to higher farm yields, boosting food self-sufficiency and generating surpluses that can be used as seed stock or sold for profit, the statement said.

The 16 provinces aided by the new project are Badakhshan, Kunduz, Faryab, Sar-i-pul, Samangan, Daikundi, Nimroz, Nuristan, Helmand, Kandahar, Bamyan, Badghis, Farah, Herat, Ghor and Wardak and they are include areas of Afghanistan at highest risk of food shortages.

The funds for the project are being distributed by the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, which is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and helps donor funds to be allocated and disbursed swiftly.

"This AHF assistance will restore access by food insecure farmers to certified seed for the upcoming season, protecting their livelihoods and the main source of food and income for their families. FAO is extremely grateful to the AHF," said Aryal.

Under the project, each beneficiary family will receive inputs to plant around half a hectare with wheat, allowing them to grow and harvest more than 900 kilogrammes of the staple grain - enough for their household consumption needs for one year and possibly a surplus.

Total gross wheat production of 113,200 metric tonnes is expected in 2020 thanks to the FAO-led project, said the statement.

Deliveries of the agricultural inputs and training will be carried out by FAO in close collaboration with NGO partners and the Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL).

"Farmers are key to ensure food production in Afghanistan and yet they have limited access to good quality seeds and other essential farming inputs," said Toby Lanzer, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan.

"This time-critical allocation to FAO and partners will protect farmers' livelihoods and enable them to cultivate wheat during the ongoing season, which is vital in fighting the widespread food insecurity that is affecting so many vulnerable people", Lanzer added.

Small farms are crucial for food security in Afghanistan, yet they are highly vulnerable, according to FAO.

Around 70 percent of Afghans rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, making the sector critical to poverty reduction and food security. At the same time, most farmers in the country are smallholders (67.5 percent) who work in irrigated plots generally ranging from just half a hectare to a hectare and a half, the UN agency noted.

Many smallholders in marginal areas of the country "are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, food insecurity and seed insecurity," said the statement, noting the challenges posed by Afghan farmers' inability to access farming inputs and the soaring costs of these inputs.

Small farmers are also affected by declining soil fertility, which increases the use of marginal and fragile lands. Drought and floods linked to climate change are also a growing threat, FAO stated.

In order to build the resilience of communities and ecosystems to drought, FAO is also supporting MAIL in the formulation of a long-term national drought risk management strategy, the statement concluded.

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