Support to drought-affected and food insecure farming families in agriculture, livestock protection and water infrastructure rehabilitation

The project was developed through 5 outputs :

• Output 1: protect the livelihoods of livestock-dependent farming families and enhance early recovery from the drought through the provision of animal feed.
   A total of 7 100 drought-affected livestock farming households in Daikundi, Farah and Kunar provinces were assisted through the distribution of 1 420 tonnes of concentrated animal feed. Each household received 200 kg of feed to boost their livestock’s meat and milk productivity and to sustain them during the lean season. This distribution of feed was enough to cover the consumption needs of 117 597 animals for two months, with each of the 7 100 households owning an average of 16.5 animals.
• Output 2: Increase access to fodder crop through provision of fast-growing fodder crop seed to livestock-dependent farming families.
  A total of 19.5 tonnes of fast-growing fodder crop seed were distributed to 6 500 households in Daikundi, Farah and Kunar provinces who also benefited from the distribution of livestock feed under Output 1. Each household received 3 kg of clover seed. The fodder crop seeds were provided to beneficiaries to sustain fodder production and medium-term feed availability, complementing the distributed feed for the following months. The distributed seeds were cultivated in about 780 ha of land, and fodder crop seed (berseem) produce and average yield of 75 - 80 tonnes/ha in one year. Therefore, the total cultivated area will produce 62 400 tonnes of fodder.
• Output 3: Improve the food security and nutrition status of vulnerable families through the distribution of poultry packages.
  A total of 1 500 poultry packages were distributed to 1 500 female-headed households in Daikundi, Farah and Kunar provinces. Each poultry package consisted of 20 pullets (young hens), 100 kg of poultry feed and materials to build a coop, including one door, one window, three beams, two feeders and two drinkers.
• Output 4: Increase access to diversified food through provision of vegetable seeds to vulnerable female-headed households.
  A total of 1 500 vegetable kits were distributed to the 1 500 female-headed households who also received poultry kits. Each kit consisted of assorted vegetable seeds and hand tools, including one rake with a handle, one hoe with a handle and one shovel with a handle. The total quantity of seeds distributed included 75 kg of onion, 75 kg of coriander, 45 kg of tomato, 45 kg of eggplant, 150 kg of okra, 150 kg of squash, 75 kg of red radish and 75 kg of cabbage. Further, the beneficiaries who were trained on poultry production under Output 3 were also trained on good agricultural practices for vegetable production.
• Output 5: Increase water availability for livestock and small-scale irrigation while providing a cash income to vulnerable households.
  A total of 3 000 households in Daikundi, Kunar and Laghman provinces benefited from cash assistance; 1 800 households benefited through participation in cash-for-work activities; and 200 female-headed and 1 000 nomadic households received unconditional cash transfers. Each beneficiary household received 3 978 AFN (roughly 50 USD), which was expected to cover the cost of 50 percent of the food basket, which cover food needs for one month during the peak hunger gap in the targeted provinces. The project overachieved on its goal of supporting 2 000 vulnerable households through cost savings in other areas on the project.