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GROWING INCOMES, EMPOWERING PEOPLE: BOOSTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN AFGHANISTAN

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Page 1: empowerinG people - Christian Aid

GrowinG incomes, empowerinG people: boostinG aGricultural production in afGhanistan

Page 2: empowerinG people - Christian Aid

Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives.

Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty – and we believe that vision can become a reality. We urge you to join us.

christianaid.org.uk

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Christian Aid and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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GrowinG incomes, empowerinG people:boostinG aGricultural production in afGhanistan

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Poverty and conflict have dominated Afghanistan’s recent history. Most poor Afghans have seen little improvement to their living conditions since the foreign intervention began in 2001. Inequality remains firmly ingrained in Afghan society, while the fragile political situation stands in the way of policies to promote equity.

The country’s economy is largely based on agriculture, with more than 80 per cent of the population involved in farming, including mixed-crop, livestock and the Kuchi pastoral system. The availability of water is key to growing enough crops to feed everyone, but consecutive years of drought have contributed to the significant impoverishment of the poorest families.

Based on a World Food Programme (WFP) drought assessment of August 2011, in 2010/11, an estimated 2.86 million people are ‘food insecure’ – which means they do not have enough nutritious food to support an active, healthy lifestyle. This is due to below-normal food production in 14 of the 34 provinces in the northern, northeastern, northwestern and central regions of the country, as a result of drought.

A combination of food-price hikes, a downturn in the global economy, the effects of climate change, weak governance and the intensification of armed conflict now threaten to push even more Afghans into the ranks of the desperately poor.

Impoverished communities lack clean water and sanitation, adequate nutrition, land, shelter and other essentials that are fundamental to a dignified life.

The Comprehensive Support to Vulnerable Families to Increase their Access to Food Facilities programme, funded by the European Commission (EC), was established in three districts of Herat province, in western Afghanistan, to help tackle these problems.

The programme – which ran from November 2009 until October 2011 – was implemented by Christian Aid and our partner organisations Rehabilitation Association and Agriculture Development for Afghanistan (RAADA), Agency for Humanitarian and Development Assistance for Afghanistan (AHDAA) and Women Activities and Social Services Association (WASSA).

Its aim was not only to respond to the immediate needs of poor communities without enough to eat, but also to strengthen the local agricultural sector and promote sustainable growth in production. Local and national authorities helped to select villages to benefit from the project, while individual beneficiaries were chosen from the most vulnerable groups, including farmers, households headed by women, breast-feeding mothers and internally displaced people.

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During the project, Christian Aid’s partners boosted agricultural production by providing fertilisers, seeds and poly-tunnel greenhouses, and disseminating agricultural toolkits. Farmers were trained in fruit processing, pest and disease management, and cultivation to produce vegetables during winter, making them less dependent on food imports.

Female farmers were given pregnant goats, along with vaccines and barley for them, in Islam Abad village, Karukh District. The women, who were also trained in animal husbandry, can now produce milk for their families, and spin the goats’ hair to sell.

Partners distributed household toolkits to breast-feeding mothers, who received training in nutrition to help keep themselves and their babies healthy.

The project also strengthened silk production in Zenda Jan, where RAADA gave silkworm eggs to 3,120 people, mostly women and widows, and provided them with motors and equipment to spin the silk. As a result, production and income levels have doubled from previous years.

’If any one ask thee which is the pleasantest of cities, Thou mayest answer him aright that it is Herãt. For the world is like the sea, and the province of Khurãsãn like a pearl-oyster therein, The city of Herãt being as the pearl in the middle of the oyster.’

Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, 1207-1273 AD

The minarets, which are a historical symbol of Herat city, have been described as the ‘gate from heaven and earth’Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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The tractors are used to separate the seeds of the wheat from the straws, following harvest. The wheat is sold in Herat market and sent to be made into flourPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

Photo: Christian Aid/Serena Di Matteo

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Farmers use tractors supplied by the EC programme to thresh harvested wheat in Islam Abad village, Karukh District, western Afghanistan. The programme has also provided them with certified wheat seeds and fertiliserPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Christian Aid’s partners provided these farmers with seeds to grow watermelons, which are a common crop in the area. Farmers have also received toolkits, environmentally friendly pesticides and training on pest management (Islam Abad village, Karukh District, western Afghanistan)Photo: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Najibullah and his family, who benefited from the project, work in their poly-tunnel greenhouse. Najibullah moved to Islam Abad after being displaced by conflict. The project gave his wife Amena this greenhouse, along with 10 different types of seeds, toolkits and training on crop cultivation. The greenhouse is covered by a plastic sheet in winter, which is removed during summerPhoto: Christian Aid/Johanna Rogers

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Farmers in Afghanistan are among the poorest in the world, and the most vulnerable are women. Christian Aid partners have provided training and resources for female farmers in the Zinda Jan, Injil and Karukh districtsPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Nearly 500 female farmers were given training on animal husbandry. Toolkits, pest-control chemicals and animal feed, as well as 1,500 goats, were distributed to vulnerable widowsPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Tajwar Mohammed Yassin, 70, received four goats. ‘Three of them were pregnant and now I have seven goats. WASSA also helped with vaccination of the goats and distribution of barley [for animal feed]. Before, we were very, very poor. We are still poor but can feed the family with the goats’ milk,’ she saysPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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‘The goats provide us with milk, cheese, yogurt and hair for weaving. We don't want to kill them, we love them!’ Bibigul (right) received three goats from AHDAA and now has sixPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

The women make butter from yogurt, following a traditional method. First, the milk is turned into yogurt, then the yogurt is placed in a mashk (a traditional tool made from animal skin). After shaking the mashk for about 10-15 minutes, the butter separates from the yogurtPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Fatima, the daughter of a female project beneficiary, collects eggsPhoto: Christian Aid/Serena Di Matteo

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Nozeni Abdel Baqi received 10 chickens from WASSAPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Silk production has a long tradition in western Afghanistan, where the fruits of the abundant mulberry bushes are used to feed the worms (pictured). Through the EC programme, RAADA provided silkworm eggs to almost 3,120 people, mostly widows. Women in Langer village, Zenda Jan District, feed silkworms to produce cocoons, which they sell to local producers and markets. The programme has proved popular as it allows the women to work at home, in what is still a very traditional societyPhoto: Christian Aid/Serena Di Matteo

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The women harvest silk cocoons from the worms. With the profits from selling the cocoons, women can buy looms and other materials to weave cloth to sellPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

Gul Shah, 70, works a loom. She received silkworms from RAADA, and with the income from the silk she now makes she was able to buy thread to set up a cloth-making business. She sells the cloth in the local marketPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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Before the project, women in the district did not have an income. Now they can buy more food for their families and pay for their children's education. In the wider community, women are now seen as breadwinners. This is changing people’s perceptions of what women can achievePhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

Azatullah Amidi spins the silk provided by the women in a local silk-processing centre. Silk production used to be done manually, which was time consuming and costly. The centre is now equipped with motors and equipment provided by RAADA. Due to mechanisation, silk production has now doubledPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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The spun silk is put onto bobbins. It is then taken to local towns, where it is made into cloth, before being sold in cities. The increase in cloth and carpet production means that everyone involved in the process will have greater benefit and profitPhoto: Christian Aid/Serena Di Matteo

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The EC-funded project and the work of Christian Aid’s partners have contributed hugely to the economy of Herat. The programme, which selected local projects and benefited businesses in the region, has increased communities’ incomes and employment opportunities, and helped increase food production. In addition to this, it has stimulated agricultural development by supporting local farming systems and institutions, while building in measures to ensure projects are sustainable so people have enough food in the future. Local women in particular have been given a chance to learn new skills to improve their own prospects and those of their families.

Gultab Lal Muhummad received silkworms from RAADA and bought lambs with the income from selling the silk. With the profit from selling the fattened lambs, she will buy more lambs and pay for a long-awaited eye operationPhoto: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

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This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Christian Aid and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

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Printed on 100 per cent recycled paper

Front and back cover photos: Christian Aid/Sarah Malian

The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid December 2011

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