FAO provides 400,000 kg climate-resilient wheat seeds to 8000 tribal households.

PESHAWAR -- In a bid to support the conservation of agriculture practices in the newly merged districts North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Khyber, Orakzai and Kurram of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has provided 400,000 kg improved climate-resilient certified wheat seeds to 8000 households including 410 female-headed households.

FAO, a body of United Nations with support from UK's Department for International Development (DFID) provided 50 kg wheat seeds to each household, said Mina Dowlatchahi, FAO Representative in Pakistan.

She said that farmers of tribal districts have already started harvesting wheat crop to ensure food availability during the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that the Rabi crop that was sown before the onset of COVID-19 is providing much-needed relief to local farmers of tribal districts where livelihoods have been severely disrupted due to the ongoing crisis.

The expected yield will help counter the difficulties being faced by local farmers who heavily rely on agriculture-based livelihoods, FAO rep added.

The harvest will also provide a relief to smallholder farmers who can use the wheat for their own consumption at a time when agriculture and markets are being affected due to the lockdown.

Smallholder farmers in these areas are extremely vulnerable to any shocks to their agriculture system, and they now also face higher risks in agriculture production due to the COVID-19 outbreak, making their livelihoods even more precarious, Mina said.

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