Protect livelihoods of vulnerable livestock holders in drought-affected areas through the provision of animal feed in Uruzgan and Faryab provinces in Afghanistan

The main activities of the project were to procure 837 tonnes (including the additional 217 tonnes) of concentrate animal feed from four local dairy unions and to distribute the feed to 4 185 vulnerable livestock holders in drought-affected districts of Uruzgan, Kandahar and Faryab provinces. Each beneficiary received 200 kg of animal feed (rations for 100 days at a rate of 2 kg per day) for four sheep/goats or one cow and two sheep/goats. The following activities were carried out during the implementation of the project:

• defining technical specifications and procurement modality;
• issuing local purchase orders to the four dairy unions for 837 tonnes of animal feed;
• selecting districts for feed distribution in close consultation with Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)/Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) ;
• selecting regional offices (ROs) to assist in the implementation of the project;
• providing training to RO staff and DAIL extension workers;
• conducting quality control of animal feed through a contracted third-party superintendence company;
• preparing a distribution plan in close collaboration with ROs and DAIL;
• transporting inputs to FAO warehouses (located in Kabul. Balkh, Kunduz and Hirat) and RO distribution points;
• inspecting animal feed at arrival point in FAO/RO warehouses; and
• rapid impact assessment survey.