Opinions & Insights | 24 October 2024

Afghanistan shows how times of crisis can catalyse real change

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

By Jerry E. Pacturan

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The isolated village of Gularam lies in the foothills of the imposing Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan. To arrive here, one has to traverse 15 kilometres of rugged roads from the nearest large town of Laghman.

The 1,500 people who live in Gularam rely on 20,000 livestock both for food and to earn an income in this secluded and hard-to-reach place. Much of their grain is imported.

But when a whole village depends on the same single source for survival, they are particularly exposed when crisis hits. This is what happened when the war in Ukraine raised food prices.

Support when crisis hits

IFAD’s Crisis Response Initiative (CRI) aims to address this. Set up in response to a series of concurrent crises, the CRI provides extra support to rural people in 16 of the world’s most vulnerable countries. Through it, IFAD can continue its transformative long-term development work while responding to immediate changing needs brought about by shocks.

When I recently visited Afghanistan, I saw how this support meant rural people could improve their food security, notwithstanding the ripple effects of the Ukraine crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, the CRI protected assets – such as livestock - provided training, enhanced production, facilitated access to markets and provided finance for over 165,000 households.

Village vets

Thanks to projects supported by the CRI, local farmers in Gulnaram no longer have to take the treacherous and expensive journey to Laghman when their animals get sick. Instead, they can visit one of 40 newly established Veterinary Field Units (VFU).

These units are set up and run by a community para-veterinarian, or paravet, who is trained on vaccination, deworming and other veterinary services. They are also provided with a set of basic veterinary supplies, a solar-powered fridge and a motorbike. With this, they have everything they need to set up their own VFU in a location that is conveniently accessible from several villages.

Since the VFU was established in Gularam, the mortality rate of animals there has decreased from 14 per cent to just 6 per cent. For the first time in their lives, they now have a paravet who can provide accessible and affordable care to their animals.

Meeting with community residents and elders in Gularam. © IFAD/Dutch Committee for Afghanistan

More milk, more money

What’s more, local farmers now have access to better feeds thanks to community feed banks set up with CRI funding. These are owned and managed by the community – with positive knock-on effects. Not only are the animals healthier, but their milk production has also increased. This means that farmers have more milk to sell and earn an income from.

Beyond farming, the CRI also creates opportunities for rural business. Abobakar combined CRI funds with his own savings to set up a milk processing plant, transforming surplus milk into yoghurt. I tried it for myself and it’s delicious!

His plant can produce 500 litres of yoghurt every hour. Yoghurt has a longer shelf life than milk so, by processing it, not a drop goes to waste. And with local herders now trained in producing quality milk, Abobakar can provide the tastiest products to his customers.

Moving forward, there are plans to setup a one-stop shop for the Veterinary Field Unit, the Community Feed Bank and the milk processing plant, so herders can access these three vital services even easier.

What’s more, a new milk collection centre – a crucial point in the dairy value chain – connects livestock herders and milk producers to ensure fresh, quality milk is collected, aggregated and processed.

A goat receives vaccines and deworming medicine in Kabul province, Afghanistan. © IFAD/Dutch Committee for Afghanistan

Short-term responses for long-term progress

A recent IFAD assessment shows that nine in 10 participants in Afghanistan believe the CRI helped them cope with the Ukraine crisis, while seven in 10 people said their production had in fact increased. This shows that the CRI not only protected but also enhanced their agricultural output.

As the case of Gularam shows, the CRI doesn’t just help meet immediate needs brought on by crises. Instead, short-term responses can have long-lasting positive impacts.

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