The European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched a €5 million project in Afghanistan aimed at helping farmers and agribusinesses reach markets, earn more reliable incomes and withstand climate and economic shocks.

The project will work in districts marked by food and nutrition insecurity, climate risk and limited economic opportunity, and will target vulnerable households including returnees, internally displaced people and the communities hosting them, with particular attention to women and young people.

Its central element is a network of four one-stop service hubs. Each will connect farmers and rural entrepreneurs with agricultural advice, specialised services, agribusinesses and buyers, and will carry FAO's climate analysis and early-warning information so that growers can time production and marketing decisions as conditions change.

On the land side, the project will restore 2,000 hectares of degraded forest and rangeland and support 250 nurseries run by women and communities — work intended both to protect natural resources and to create paid work.

FAO will also award matching grants and provide technical and business advice to established agrifood and environmentally sustainable enterprises that have room to grow. Participating businesses put in their own money alongside the project funding, which is expected to let them expand processing and other services, buy from more local producers and create rural jobs.

"The European Union's contribution to FAO demonstrates our continued commitment to food security and economic empowerment of the Afghan people," said Nicola Bellomo, the new EU Chargé d'Affaires for Afghanistan. "Afghanistan's agricultural potential remains undervalued and constrained by the country's extreme climate vulnerability."

Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan, framed the project as a move away from emergency aid. "As we pivot away from largely humanitarian programmes towards more sustainable approaches, Afghanistan's agrifood businesses have demonstrated real potential to grow, create jobs and connect farmers to markets, even in a highly challenging environment," he said. "When farmers can produce with confidence, businesses can grow and products can reach markets, agriculture becomes a powerful engine for recovery and resilience."

Source: FAO Newsroom