Staff Reporter
Peshawar
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is distributing Kharif crop packages to 16 000 vulnerable households to strengthen agriculture-based livelihoods in the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Under a similar intervention, the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (US-INL) is supporting distribution of Kharif crop packages amongst 2 000 people to help these communities resume agricultural production. The packages consist of 25 kilograms of certified maize seeds, 1.5 kilograms of sunflower seeds, 5 kilograms of red beans and 10 kilograms of French beans for each household. The distribution is being conducted in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and District Administration and in strict compliance with the COVID-19 prevention protocols.
With the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affecting the farming community, FAO is stepping up efforts to protect livelihoods of food producers and all food chain workers by providing quality agri-input packages to beneficiaries so that the season bound agriculture activities are not disrupted. Through its interventions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s newly merged districts, FAO has introduced high value crops.