Japan to assist Afghanistan in strengthening food security

The Japanese Government, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan are to work on a new project to enhance the resilience and livelihoods of Afghan livestock farmers.

The project will cost around $18m (¥1.998bn) and will be jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Afghan ministry.

The aim of the project is to establish a network of local focal points and community-based animal health and extension workers who would be trained in detecting diseases in sheep, goats and cattle, which forms a major part of Afghanistan’s livestock production.

The project would also involve the setting up of a system that would ensure rapid response to outbreaks. A component of preventive vaccination programmes against known animal illnesses such as foot and mouth disease, among others will also be included.

Afghanistan’s acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) Mohammad Asif Rahimi said: "The support pledged by the Government of Japan to assist vulnerable Afghan livestock owners, including nomad Kuchi communities who heavily depend on livestock for their food security and livelihood is greatly appreciated.

"This support is in line with MAIL’s strategy in combatting transboundary animal diseases (TADs), as well as with FAO’s country programming framework (CPF)."

The project will be divided in six main parts, which comprise building self-alertness of Kuchi pastoral communities, strengthening surveillance and diagnostic capability and capacity for FMD and peste des petits ruminants (PPR). strengthening the overall surveillance system and response mechanisms

The remaining three areas are increasing early warning mechanisms for the community and livestock owners, implementing preventive and emergency vaccination programmes against FMD and PPR, as well as strengthening collaboration with neighbouring countries for coordinated control efforts.

Japan’s chargé d’affaires for Afghanistan Yasunari Morino said: "Supporting the livestock sector in Afghanistan is a key element in the country’s rehabilitation and development. This project also envisages agriculture education which will play a significant role for the future development of Afghanistan. We hope that this project will adequately support the government’s new agriculture and livestock sector policies and strategies."

The development of the agriculture sector of Afghanistan is Japan’s priority in assisting the country. Japan has contributed more than $100m to FAO agricultural interventions in Afghanistan.

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Image: Japan will carry out a project to enhance the resilience and livelihoods of livestock farmers in Afghanistan. Photo: courtesy of xura / freedigitalphotos.net.