FAO project titled Livelihood Restoration, Protection and Sustainable Empowerment of Vulnerable Peasant Communities in Sindh Province (OSRO/PAK/206/UNO) provides chickens to help flood-affected farmers enhance their nutrition and incomes

“Thanks to FAO, our family a source of food and income,” says Bhoori Shanker, a young mother of six living in Imran Khatiyan Village, Mirpurkhas District of Sindh Province. Bhoori, her husband Shanker and their children are among the 500 flood-affected poor farmer families in Mirpurkhas District who received chicken from FAO in late 2014. The activity was funded by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) under an FAO project titled Livelihood Restoration, Protection and Sustainable Empowerment of Vulnerable Peasant Communities in Sindh Province.

Each family received 10 hens and 2 roosters, as well as a water troth, a feeder, several feet of wire net for a bird pen and some chicken feed. FAO estimates that during their 2-year productive lifespan, each chicken will lay approximately 320 eggs, improving the nutrition and income options for the families.   

Bhoori also attended training sessions that the FAO project organized for the recipients of the birds. During the training sessions, women studied together how to take care of their chickens, how to earn some income from eggs, and a variety of other useful skills. “We have even learned to draw and make sketches,” says Bhoori. She had never attended school, and these lessons were her only education she has ever received.

To house their chicken, Bhoori’s husband built a small hut using mud and other locally available materials. The couple white-washed the walls of the hut, and Bhoori decorated it with drawings of flowers and logos of FAO and various other organizations participating in the project.  

Within weeks of arriving to their new home, Bhoori’s hens started laying eggs. The family now collects 6-7 eggs daily. Some of the eggs are used for meals, while the rest are sold at the local market at 8-10 Rupees per egg. “Before, we could rarely afford to have eggs for meals,” says Bhoori. “Equally importantly, we are able to sell eggs and earn a little bit of cash.”

The family also shares eggs with their neighbours.  “Most of our neighbours are as poor as us. To help each other, we all share whatever food we produce,” explains Shanker.  “This way, our entire community benefits from the chickens.”