FAO and UK launch £10 million project to boost Afghanistan’s rural resilience

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the government of the United Kingdom (UK), has launched a £10 million ($12.9 million)  initiative aimed at strengthening food security, boosting rural livelihoods, and increasing the resilience of Afghan communities facing climate and economic challenges.

The new programme, known as the Resilient Agriculture Livelihoods (ReAL) project, is set to reach more than 151,000 people—representing over 21,500 households—across 15 provinces in Afghanistan over the next 10 months.

The project is part of the UK-funded “Promoting Resilient and Equitable Recovery of Agriculture and Livelihoods in Afghan Communities” (PREVALE) initiative.

According to FAO, the project will prioritize smallholder farmers, herders, and landless laborers, with a special focus on widows and women-headed households.

Key interventions will include improving wheat and dairy production, restoring community irrigation systems, distributing quality seeds, and delivering livestock vaccinations and health services.

Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan, emphasized the importance of the UK’s support in strengthening local resilience. “Afghanistan’s farmers are extraordinarily resilient, but repeated climate and economic shocks are eroding this strength,” he said.

“This project lays down critical pathways to help rebuild that resilience—leading to better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and ultimately, a better life. In a country where agriculture sustains most lives, this is a short-term investment with long-term impact.”

Women are expected to play a central role in the ReAL project. FAO will provide targeted support for female-headed households through poultry starter kits, livestock training, and access to dairy markets, aiming to improve both nutrition and income generation for women and children.

Agriculture continues to form the backbone of Afghanistan’s economy and food system.

Between 2022 and 2024, FAO supported more than 30 million Afghans through a combination of emergency and resilience-building interventions. These efforts have significantly reduced the number of people facing acute food insecurity across the country.

The ReAL project builds on this progress by fostering climate-resilient farming, promoting sustainable land use, and helping communities reduce their dependence on emergency aid. It also aims to expand market access, encourage income-generating activities, and improve disaster risk management.

The initiative will run in parallel with a complementary PREVALE-funded project implemented by the Afghanistan Resilience Consortium (ARC), led by Afghanaid. Together, FAO and ARC aim to support climate-vulnerable communities, share best practices, and promote sustainable agricultural methods across Afghanistan.

FAO and its partners underscore that agriculture remains one of the most cost-effective means of addressing chronic food insecurity and malnutrition at scale. As Afghanistan continues to face overlapping environmental and economic pressures, long-term investment in rural livelihoods is seen as essential to safeguarding progress and enabling recovery.

The project reflects a growing shift toward building durable, community-led solutions that reduce humanitarian needs over time while restoring food sovereignty and economic stability in Afghanistan’s rural heartlands.