Farmers are happy receiving farming tools, bringing smiles to their faces. @FAO

In the heart of Totoo village, located in Shirzad district of Nangarhar province, a 55-year-old farmer, Mr. Safdar, has been eking out a living from his 3 jeribs of land (0,6 ha, or 1,5 acres).  With a family of eight to support, including three sons and a daughter, his livelihood depends entirely on agriculture.

For years, he has been relying on his neighbors to borrow essential farming tools. Their unavailability often resulted in missed irrigation turns, uncleared ditches, and delayed harvesting, affecting both his own productivity and his crop yields. This in turn negatively impacted the well-being of his family.

Safdar was among the 500 smallholding farmers in the district who received a set of small agriculture farming tools through the Asian Development Bank-funded, FAO implemented ‘Sustaining Essential Services Delivery Project’. This package includes a wheelbarrow, a shovel, a spade, a rake, a sickle, a fork hoe and a watering can, and a short training on the use of these simple farming tools.

He said, "Previously, I have been asking my neighbors to lend me their tools, facing the uncertainty of their support. Now that I have my own tools, I will no longer miss my irrigation turn or delay my harvest."

To outsiders it may seem amazing that Afghan farmers lack even such basic tools, and that the borrowing of a spade or hoe may be difficult among farmers. The tools Safdar received allow him not only to work independently and increase his productivity, but also to share them with his neighbors, increasing his standing within his community.

We also interviewed Mr Nazeef in Mehtarlam district of Laghman province. He is the only breadwinner for his family of seven. He divides his two jeribs of land, between different seasonal crops, with a portion dedicated specifically to cultivating vegetables. Two jeribs of fertile land (0,4 ha, or one acre) is generally considered the absolute minimum for the subsistence farming of a smaller household.

He expressed his gratitude for the farming tools provided by FAO, saying "The donated farming tools have been extremely useful in all stages of crop cultivation, from preparation to harvesting. We are very happy for the support we received."

His words of gratitude are much appreciated, but the role FAO plays by providing basic farming tools is secondary to the hard work farmers themselves put in. A Dari expression says ‘Azbab laf zad, mard kar kard’ meaning ‘The tools boasted, but man did the work’.

In Shirzad district alone, close to 10 000 vulnerable families are still struggling to make ends meet after several years of drought, lack of cash through employment and remittances, and rising prices for basic necessities. Providing basic farming tools is but the first step to lifting smallholder farmers out of despondency. When donors support the livelihoods of the most destitute of the rural poor with such small-scale interventions that raise their productivity, the rural economy can grow from its roots upwards in a sustainable manner.