Islamabad, July 8, 2006: More
than 18,000 farmers in the fertile Kaghan, Siran
and Konch Valleys of NWFP and Bagh Tehsil in AJK
who lost crops, equipment and livestock in last
year’s earthquake will reap a maize harvest
this fall from seeds funded by the U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID). The maize
seed allows farmers to build back their agricultural
output and ensures food for their families this
winter.
Farmers in these mainly agricultural areas were
busy harvesting maize when the October 8 earthquake
struck. Harvested crops were buried under collapsed
houses or shops and standing maize was left to
rot in fields because residents were hobbled by
emergency needs.
“Last year’s harvest was wasted because
there was no one to harvest it,” said Mohammed
Saleem Khan, a landowner from Assa village in
Garlat Union Council. Without seed from this year’s
crop farmers faced a shortage for this year’s
Maize planting season.
To address this shortfall, USAID worked with
its partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations and the American Refugee
Committee (ARC) to procure seed to sow more than
14,000 acres of land.
In NWFP, the FAO distributed the seeds with the
help of field staff from the NWFP agriculture
department and local elected representatives,
who assured that the worst-affected farmers received
at least 12.5 kg of seed from USAID and 50 kg
of fertilizer from other sources.
In Bagh District, the ARC distributed USAID-funded
seeds and fertilizer by organizing communities
into one day workshops headed by agricultural
specialists that trained the farmers in the latest
farming methods. Farmers were given enough seed
and fertilizer to plant up to 4 kanal (about 1
acre).
In Balakot, about 100 farmers, community members
and local agricultural and elected officials gathered
June 23 to thank USAID and its partner FAO for
the seed. Fida Mohammed Khan, a Mansehra District
farmer, praised the American government for its
help immediately after the earthquake and encouraged
USAID to continue working with local government
resources to contribute seed.
“The government is well aware where the
farmers are in the community. That’s why
the agricultural department should be involved
in the distribution,” Khan said.
The United States, through USAID, is providing
more than $1.5 billion in development assistance
to Pakistan over the next five years to improve
education, health, governance and economic growth.
In addition, the United States has pledged a total
of $510 million in earthquake relief and reconstruction
efforts to assist the people of Pakistan and to
support Pakistani government relief and reconstruction
efforts.
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