US Announced $80-million Commitment to UN Food and Agriculture Organization

The United States, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced an 80 million dollars commitment to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to improve food security and nutrition for the people of Afghanistan experiencing serious food insecurity, including, women-headed households, herders, and smallholder farmers.

With this funding, USAID will help farmers of Afghanistan to increase the production of nutritious food using the environmentally-sustainable practices, and increase the availability of quality seeds, and several other agricultural inputs.

This funding will improve the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate and economic shocks through the promotion of best agricultural practices, and crop diversification, which includes support for small-scale food producers, family farmers, women, fishers, and pastoralists.

This funding will also benefit small-scale agriculture businesses in Afghanistan, helping to ensure sustainable food production systems, and improving the food security and nutrition of vulnerable families in Afghanistan.

Since August 2021, USAID has been focused on addressing high levels of hunger that resulted from the economic collapse, and are compounded by years of poor harvesting and drought. This funding also builds on more than 775 million dollars in humanitarian assistance that the United States has provided to support the people of Afghanistan since August 2021.