Thousands of Afghan farmers, mainly women, inked their thumbs to sign letters calling for the expansion of an FAO dairy project to include their villages and homes. Those letters, written in 2010, testify to the project’s success, achieved in spite of escalating security problems and a lack of proper infrastructure at the project sites. The women said they had seen how their neighbours were benefiting from the project, and hoped to see it extended to cover more people and more villages. When it began in 2005, the project focused on increasing milk production, but has gradually expanded to offer a total supply-chain approach that has increased family food security. The average annual income of participants rose from US$550 in 2005 to US$2 000 in 2010, and new employment opportunities were generated in Afghanistan’s dairy sector.