Militancy: Glimmer of hope for Swat farmers struggling to support families

UNDP programme offers financial and technical support to poultry farmers.

BUNER:

With the ongoing militancy and recession Said Irshad, a poultry farmer, struggles to provide a sustainable livelihood for his family. Hailing from Malakand, he tries to make ends meet amidst the residue left by the militants’ destruction.

“I started my small poultry business which expanded rapidly. All was going well but it started declining with the advent of militancy in the region, and I was forced to shut it down,” says Irshad. “The chaos snatched the livelihood of my family; there were days when we had no food at all.”

Poultry farming, prior to the militants’ presence, was emerging as one of the most dynamic and lucrative businesses in Malakand Division. Unfortunately, the sector was also one to be hit worst by militancy, leaving thousands of people jobless in the Buner District.

Now, however, with peace restored in the area, there is hope for the locals who want to take up the business once again – but they had to prepare themselves for the multiple hurdles awaiting them.

“At first, we had to import food supplements and vaccination for chickens from Rawalpindi which led to us paying through our nose. Plus, we wouldn’t get it in time and there was always a middleman involved. That has ended now,” says Alif Khan, a poultry farmer at Sawari Bazar in Buner District.

The situation has been helped by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the help of Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), who identified some 18 poultry farmers and formed an organisation titled Buner Poultry Organisation. The group supports farmers both technically and financially.

UNDP provided Rs900,000 and SRSP provided Rs600,000 to start a large-scale poultry business. “We can now buy food supplements which are cost-effective and not time-consuming,” Khan adds.

Ahmad Ali, another poultry farmer, is also relieved that he can avail a big discount now, “They [UNDP] are providing us free vaccination and we can get food supplements at our doorstep which saved me Rs21,000 this time. It also saved me transportation cost and a lot of time.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2011.