Yar Mohammed, a beneficiary of the Asian Development Bank

A farmer about to irrigate his fields in Eastern Afghanistan © FAO/Robert Kluijver

11/07/2024

This is a day in the life of a beneficiary. At the end of this story, information about the ADB-FAO program is provided.

As every morning, after his morning prayers, Yar Mohammed climbed to the roof of his small mud-brick farmhouse and scanned the horizon. Beyond the mountains that framed his valley on both East and West, there was not a cloud in sight. “God be merciful” he sighed “and end this drought”.

It was now the third consecutive year of drought. Last autumn, during the planting season of the wheat, no rain had fallen. Farmers that had kept seed for rainfed wheat had not planted it. Luckily Yar Mohammed’s two jeribs (one acre) of wheatfields were irrigated. Then there had been less snowfall than usual during the winter. He feared that the river would be reduced to a trickle by mid-summer. It would be difficult to get a good yield from the summer crops.

Maybe there was some truth in this thing called ‘climate change’ which he had heard about on the radio: the whole world was getting dryer and warmer, and it apparently was the fault of rich countries that used too much energy. Yar Mohammed preferred to think such matters were in the hands of almighty God. In both cases it amounted to the same: there was little he and his community could do about it, except adapt.

Which crop would he plant after harvesting the wheat? Yar Mohammed had planted cotton two years in a row, after harvesting the winter wheat in May. Cotton was relatively easy to sell on the market and fetched a good price. But it used a lot of water.

An NGO had helped the community by digging a deeper well and installing a solar-powered pump, seemingly resolving the water shortage. As the pump required no fuel, people used its water freely. More farmers had decided to plant the thirsty cotton, and the free fresh water was also used to wash cars, carpets and clothes. Children played happily in a small pool that had formed at the foot of the well. But after three years of operation, the well was nearly empty and its water brackish. The NGO refused to deepen the well, saying groundwater levels had been depleted, and blaming the community for the irresponsible use of this resource.

So: no more cotton, thought Yar Mohammed as he climbed down the wooden ladder. He could return to beans, as in previous years, but he wanted to try something new: alfalfa. On the porch his wife was preparing the fire to make tea for breakfast, while the children were stirring awake. He grabbed his shovel and pulled open the door in the outer wall of his courtyard to go towards his field.

He thought of the NGO, which had organized a kind of school, which they wanted the community to attend every two weeks. Actually, the community was even to organize these sessions, and the village elders had appointed a few people to be in charge. The NGO would send trainers, some of them people who had studied agriculture at the university, to teach the farmers some new techniques.

At first this had made Yar Mohammed and his neighbors laugh. What could city people possibly teach these farmers, who had inherited the knowledge and the fields from their ancestors? But since the NGO had helped them several times, they attended these ‘farmer field school’ meetings out of politeness. And in fact, they were learning some things. After all, some of the crops they were now using were not known to their grandparents, and new pests and problems had emerged that previous generations had no experience with. It was an NGO trainer who had suggested planting alfalfa.

There would soon be a distribution of alfalfa seeds, along with fertilizer and the precious animal feed, by that same NGO. Yar Mohammed hoped he would qualify. Otherwise he would buy the seeds himself, indebting himself. Alfalfa did not fetch a high price on the market, but it could be used as fodder. In addition, the NGO people had explained, the alfalfa fixed something called ‘naitol djinn’ in the soil, which meant that the following wheat harvest would be better. Just like clover, as he had learnt from his father.

Between the straw from his wheat harvest and the alfalfa Yar Mohammed might have enough fodder for his one cow and three goats during the lean months of the late summer and early fall, when there was little pasture, especially with this drought. He thought of the two sheep he had lost in the cold wave a month ago. Once the spring weather had set in, Yar Mohammed had sent his eldest son with the six heads of livestock he had to distant pastures. The animals were weak because of the long winter they spent in the stable, and they urgently needed some fresh air and food.

Two days after they had left, an unseasonal cold wave had set in, with freezing temperatures. His son had returned, but on the way back his two sheep had died. His son had been doubly upset: the loss of the sheep also meant his own engagement and marriage would have to be delayed, because the sheep were to help pay for that.

Yar Mohammed arrived at his wheat field and his eyes lighted up, as every morning when he came here. “Mash’allah” he said to himself, “I have never seen such a beautiful crop on my field”. He had received the seeds from his neighbour, who had gotten them from the NGO the year before. After a good harvest, the neighbour had kept many seeds, not only to plant himself, but also for his friends.

That is how they do it in this village. When an NGO comes to distribute something, they usually ask endless questions beforehand from almost each household in the community, to determine who is most needy and worthy of receiving aid. But after the distribution, the villagers share what they have received with each other. The NGO had become very upset when they heard about this sharing, saying that their selection process had not been respected, so now villagers did so discretely.

That wheat had done very well for a second year. It wasn’t too high and the sheaths of wheat were thick and abundant. It also seemed as if every individual wheat kernel was twice bigger than those Yar Mohammed had harvested in past years. The yield would perhaps be double. He would keep enough of these seeds to plant them again for a third year.

Yar Mohammed knew that the good yield came not only from the variety of wheat, but also from his care and attention. Some farmers just planted the seeds and then hardly returned to their fields. He had weeded his field several times, flattened it before flood-irrigating it (so that the water would be evenly spread) and he monitored his plants carefully for signs of rust or other pests. So far, God had protected his wheat.

The wheat would be ready to harvest in a month. The coming irrigation round would be the last one. He then set about on his private little project, digging a small channel from the edge of his field to the vegetable garden behind their home. He cursed the shovel for its blunt edge and coarse handle; he wouldn’t mind sharpening its edge and polishing the handle, but in his village nobody had that kind of equipment. He would have to go to town, and the next occasion would be after the wheat harvest.

As he got close to his vegetable garden, where his wife had planted squash, onion, coriander, radish and aubergines, he wondered whether the slope in his channel would be enough. He stamped on the ground of the small channel to tighten the soil and prevent seepage. Later he would get some clay from the riverbed to line the channel. It should not be too dry when his irrigation turn came. He imagined, satisfied, how the water would be running through the channel he had just dug.

Since he could smell that breakfast was ready, he entered his courtyard. His family was having breakfast on the porch in front of the house. His wife had milked the cow, extracting less than a jug of milk, which the children drank in their tea. “This cow has almost no milk” she complained “can’t you get some of that livestock feed that the NGO distributes? The Rahimis get three jugs a day since their cow started eating that mix”. “God willing”, Yar Mohammed replied, “we may qualify for that assistance. At the same time they give alfalfa seeds too. I would like to plant them after the wheat harvest”.

“I heard that the NGO people are out in the village selecting beneficiaries again” his wife then said; “You better go towards the mosque after finishing your tea, to make sure you’re on their list”. He hurriedly finished his tea, wrapped his turban on, and went to the center of the village.

Yar Mohammed came back a few hours later. “Were you successful?” his wife asked. She was washing pots and pans in the courtyard.

“No, they didn’t come to check about animal feed today. They were selecting people to receive their chicken breeding program. So I came back home.”

“Why didn’t you apply for that?” she asked, looking around. “There’s a perfect spot for them here in our courtyard”.

“It’s only for female beneficiaries. They’re going from door to door, looking for women living alone with their children”.

“Are they coming this way?”

“I think they’re going to all the houses in the village”.

“Quickly” his wife told him, “I will tidy up your things and you leave the house. I will say you are looking for a job in Iran!”

“Don’t do that” Yar Mohamed laughed. “They might check the list of people they have selected with the malik (village chief), and then they will say we are liars. Let’s just wait here until they knock our door, and we tell them the truth. If they hear we haven’t received wheat seeds, no farming tools, and no seeds for the vegetable garden, perhaps they will agree to give us the 30 chickens and feed. They will even give us the materials to build a chicken coop!”.

They both sat silent for a while, reflecting. “Who is giving this NGO all this money to help us?” his wife wondered.

“They explained that last time in the public meeting, but I can’t remember”, Yar Mohammed admitted. “I think it was an Asian Bank”

“God is generous” they concluded.

*****

Yar Mohammed’s household did not receive the poultry production package, but they did qualify for the livestock protection package. That included 100 kg of concentrated animal feed, that when mixed in the right proportions with wheat straw and other fodder would last him several months. His livestock was inoculated against internal and external parasites, and indeed, he received the alfalfa seed along with some fertilizers just in time to plant it as summer crop. Six months later, the alfalfa had been harvested and mixed with wheat straw from his fields and greens from the riverbanks as fodder. The impact on his livestock was noticeable: they were healthier, less skinny, and produced more milk.

This story reflects a plausible reality in a village favored by the regular presence of an NGO. For the sake of the narrative, all types of assistance are provided in one community; usually, an NGO would spread its distribution activities among several communities.

All the agricultural assistance distribution activities referred to in the story are FAO programs funded by the Asian Development Bank with an agreement called "Sustaining Essential Services Delivery Project (Support for Afghan People)".

This project, now completed, aimed to mitigate the adverse impacts of the ongoing crisis, particularly on vulnerable populations, while preserving the development gains of the past two decades. FAO and its NGO implementing partners focused on providing essential agricultural and livestock inputs to vulnerable households across all but one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The primary interventions included:

Wheat Cultivation Packages: Provided to 150,000 households, each receiving certified wheat seeds, urea, and DAP fertilizers, along with technical training on good agricultural practices and COVID-19 prevention measures.
Livestock Protection Packages: Delivered to 100,000 households, including animal feed and deworming medicine, coupled with training on livestock management and health practices.
Home Gardening Packages: Distributed to 70,000 households, predominantly female-headed, including assorted vegetable seeds and gardening tools.
Poultry Packages: Given to 20,000 households, comprising live pullets, poultry feed, and necessary equipment, along with management training.
Small Farm Equipment Packages: Supplied to 50,000 households, including essential farming tools.

Recorded improvements: The project supported over 3.4 million people, nearly 8% of the total Afghan population, reaching equal amounts of men and women. The provision of wheat cultivation packages alone provided yearly sustenance in wheat to over 1.4 million people, 3% of the total population. Beneficiaries of the livestock protection packages experienced an increase in heads of livestock, enhanced dairy production and better animal health. The project successfully targeted female-headed households, improving their livelihoods.

Long-term Benefits: FAO’s approach is sustainable, as it creates no dependency on aid. Farmers usually manage to keep up productivity levels once they have been helped through the crisis. With its emphasis on training and on involving targeted communities, programmes such as “Support for Afghan People” encourage self-sufficiency. By distributing aid very widely and directly to individual beneficiaries, social peace is maintained. FAO assistance also contributes to decreasing the trend of rural migration to cities and abroad. Most importantly, agricultural assistance of the type funded by the Asian Development Bank contributes to durably improving food security.