The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have joined forces to empower vulnerable Afghan refugees in Iran through a programme on livelihood improvement, an initiative that kicked off with holding a training workshop on Aloe Vera greenhouse cultivation in Mohajerin settlement on Wednesday 17 July 2019. 

Financed by FAO with supplementary support of WFP, this small joint programme will train Afghan refugees in managing, cultivating and marketing greenhouse-grown Aloe Vera over one year period.  

“The final objective is to train and build capacity among Afghan refugees in order to empower them in generating a sustainable source of income and make them independent from the UN or other domestic and foreign aids,” said Hooman Moezzi, the FAO Programme Consultant.

According to the agreed plan, the two UN agencies will also provide necessary fund for establishing a greenhouse in Mohajerin settlement.

Furthermore, in dealing with different aspects of greenhouse cultivation of Aloe Vera, the selected Afghan refugees will be supported by technical assistance of FAO and WFP throughout the next cropping season.

Mentioning the initial stage of the programme, Moezzi added, “At the end of the workshop, each participant received a pot of Aloe Vera to maintain it over the next few weeks, a practice that intends to identify the truly interested individuals who can successfully implement the first set of instructions in the smallest possible scale”.

In his concluding remarks, Moezzi stated that the participants were also trained over the basic facts of domestic market of Aloe Vera and familiarized with the main potential market players.

With an uninterrupted presence in Iran since 1992, FAO has implemented almost 200 projects and programmes in the country.