ISLAMABAD: Nearly 51,000 households in two districts of the merged areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are now able to rebuild their lives under a project completed in two phases with the Japanese grant amounting to $10.3 million.
The ‘project for the restoration of livelihoods in the merged areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ was implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) in close collaboration with the KP government and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
The project was implemented from 2015 to 2021 as a vital support for 77,200 families and households to rebuild their lives upon return to home after years of displacement in the province.
Speaking at the project closing ceremony here on Friday, Ambassador of Japan Wada Mitsuhiro said his country recognises livelihoods in Pakistan have been increasingly affected by the Afghanistan humanitarian crisis and considers sustainable agriculture essential for securing livelihoods. The strong partnership demonstrated by the completed project has laid foundation to continue to work together to achieve sustainable development in Pakistan, he said.
Jica Chief Representative Furuta Shigeki noted that the project has contributed to ensuring food security through sustainable agriculture development, value addition in agriculture, and capacity development of those who engage in the fields of agriculture and livestock. Building sustainable livelihoods is essential to achieve peace and stability in the region, and where peace and stability exists, further development and prosperity can be realised, he said.
Highlighting the achievements of the project, the FAO deputy representative in Pakistan, Farrukh Toirov, said the FAO has scaled up its interventions to ascertain improved farming practices and enhance productivity and thus created linkages of farmers with the outside markets. He said that by now stabilisation and well-being of the target households are mostly done; however, development initiatives need to further support local market systems for enhanced jobs and incomes.
KP Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Dr Mohammad Israr Khan said that apart from supporting displaced persons, the Japanese government and Jica had launched and implemented several other developmental projects in the province which have far-reaching impacts on the livelihoods of people.
Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2022