SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): Local officials in northern Jawzjan province say 300 farmers including 85 of them women received cash aid in Shiberghan city, the provincial capital, on Thursday.
QariEbadullahAnsar, director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Department in Jawzjan, told Pajhwok Afghan News the total amount of money distributed was $66,000, which was provided to men and women farmers by the Save the Children.
Each farmer received an amount of $220, he said, adding that 85 of total 300 farmers were women.
Ansar said the cash aid was distributed to farmers in order to support their livelihood, taking into account the problems caused by the drought this year.
Fariba, a resident of Ghora village on the outskirts of Shiberghan city, who earns her living by growing vegetables, said she was happy with the aid she received. “As a gardener, this is the first time I have received assistance from the agriculture department,” she added.
“Before I started farming, I had a hard time making a living, I was washing people’s clothes and doing hard labor because I was obliged to do so in order to earn food for my family,” she said.
“I lost my husband who was a soldier in the former government 10 years ago in a fight in Helmand province,” said the woman, who lives alone with her four children.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rasool, a farmer, said that he had cultivated700 kilograms of wheat in Dasht-i-Laili area, but it did not yield much due to drought.
He appreciated the assistance and said, “So far, I have received twice cash assistance from the agriculture department and once wheat seed, which has reduced our economic problems.”
Rasool hoped that his farms would produce good crops coming year. He asked aid agencies to pay attention to the problems of farmers and their agriculture development.
Save the Children also distributed cash aid to a number of farmers in Shiberghan about a month ago.
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