Women increase their income and improve their family’s food security and nutrition through kitchen gardening thanks to the support provided by FAO in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan

Bibi Aqiq, 58, gets ready to start picking the vegetables in the garden. “I couldn’t imagine this produce when I planted it, and in no way having a surplus to sell in the market,” says Bibi looking at her crowded garden. She can’t hide her satisfaction with the quality yield she has produced.

Bibi heads one of the 4 500 vulnerable families that have received an emergency agriculture package in Badakhshan province. This kit includes wheat seeds and fertilizers, a home gardening package and specific training, all of that thanks to funding provided by Denmark.

“The whole family had been living out of my son’s teacher salary for several years. We were constantly in a precarious situation. That salary wasn’t enough for us ten,” explains the Afghan widow farmer.

A garden for women’s empowerment

Bibi lives in Ishkashim district, one of the most remote areas of Badakhshan Province, in Northeastern Afghanistan. Winter is harsh in Ishkashim. The district is usually covered by snow for months. But the overall climate is warmer than in most neighbouring areas. Over 80 percent of the working age population in Ishkashim district work on agriculture and livestock activities, but surprisingly enough, growing vegetables is not common.

“At first, we did not know much about how to cultivate of vegetables and its benefits,” says Bibi, who allocated 0.5 jeribs of land (0.1 hectares) to grow the various vegetables.

Poor and food insecure female farmers like Bibi were provided with eight types of vegetable certified seeds (cabbage, coriander, onion, okra, squash, red radish, tomato and eggplant) alongside home gardening tools. In addition, they have also received specific training regarding vegetable cultivation, pest control and fertilization.

Cultivating vegetables helps female farmers generate an empowering income, while they improve the nutrition of their families and the whole community, and preserve natural resources.

Now, as a producer, Bibi faces different challenges. “We don’t have enough storage as to keep our production for a long time,” says the farmer while picking some ripe tomatoes. “Fortunately, I am happy that the water canal, which was often destroyed by heavy rains or flash floods, was finally fixed,” she adds. Ishkashim district neighbours have rehabilitated water canals in the district through FAO’s cash-for-work assistance funded by Denmark, too.

Wheat, key to food security

Under the same intervention, Bibi has also got high-quality certified wheat seeds and fertilizers to cultivate three jeribs of land (0.6 hectares) with the invaluable support of his son. They will use the seeds for the upcoming spring season, starting in April. Wheat production is a key pillar of Afghanistan’s food security.

Bibi is excited because she has learned that the certified high-quality wheat seeds provided by FAO can increase the wheat production in up to one ton per jerib. This would represent the income that takes her family out of the constant struggle they have withstood over the last few years. That extra ton of wheat production equals, at market prices, to the cost of a basic food basket for a family for five months. Besides, she will produce new seeds for the autumn wheat cultivation season; by that time, Bibi will have already had a second harvest in her garden and, hopefully, forgotten the scarcity of last years.

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 The Kingdom of Denmark provided funding for FAO to rebuild agricultural livelihoods and strengthen both coping capacities and the overall food and nutrition security of vulnerable smallholder farmers across Afghanistan.