Japanese funding supports livestock-related livelihoods in remote Afghan provinces
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has received a generous grant of USD 900 000 from the Government of Japan for the one-year project “Urgent support to protect and improve livestock-based livelihoods and subsistence production capacity of nutritious food of vulnerable, rural smallholder households affected by multiple climatic and economic shocks in Afghanistan”. The project aims to assist 1 600 vulnerable households (about 11 200 individuals), particularly those led by women, who rely on livestock for their livelihoods. The initiative aims to enhance their capacity to produce nutritious food for their families and mitigate the impact of climate change and economic challenges. The project will be implemented in the provinces of Daikundi (Nili and Pato districts) and Nuristan (Paroon and Kamdesh districts). These are among the poorest and remotest areas of the country.
Livestock plays a crucial role in semi-arid highlands like Daikundi and in the mountainous humid environment of Nuristan, where opportunities for crop production are limited. It provides essential resources such as food (dairy products and meat), pulling power, and manure for fertilization and fuel. When a surplus is generated, livestock contributes to income. FAO will provide a livestock protection package including concentrated animal feed, deworming medicine, fodder crop seeds, dairy production equipment and training to 1600 of those districts’ most vulnerable households, with the objective of helping them surpass the mere subsistence level, achieving some revenue generation.
The most vulnerable small-holding livestock raisers are selected for this programme, usually proposed by village elders and verified by FAO’s local implementing partners. Households headed by single mothers and people with a disability receive priority. They are taught how to dilute the concentrated animal feed, use dairy production equipment, recognize symptoms of ill health, how to plant the seeds for animal fodder FAO provides (alfalfa, barseem), tend to the crops and harvest them. This provides livelihood opportunities for many of Afghanistan’s most destitute rural women and their families. Indeed, the livestock sector employs over 60 percent of women in the country and contributes more than 15 percent to the national GDP.
"We greatly appreciate the continuous and timely support of the Government of Japan in safeguarding livestock, supporting vulnerable families in dairy production, improving food security, and enhancing the livelihoods of local communities, particularly in remote areas of Daikundi and Nuristan provinces," said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan, while announcing Japan's additional assistance.
Media contact:
Robert Kluijver, FAO Afghanistan communications: [email protected] / +93 79 227 4551