Assistance for Reducing Humanitarian Deficits of War-affected Rural Communities in Afghanistan through Increased Agricultural Productivity and Promotion of Auxiliary Income-generating Activities

June 16, 2004

1. On June 16, the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend the total of 876,579 dollar assistance through the Trust Fund for Human Security for the project "Assistance in reducing humanitarian deficits of war-affected rural communities through increased agricultural productivity and promotion of auxiliary income-generating activities" to be implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Afghanistan..
   
   
2. This project is intended to increase the viability of Ghazni and Herat in Afghanistan which contain internally displaced persons, returnees, former fighters and poverty groups by the following activities.

   1)	Supply of simple agriculture tools, power-tillers to raise productivity of agriculture.
   2)	Training in the manufacture, repair and maintenance of simple agriculture tools.
   3)	Support for the local communities in establishing of a variety of income-generating activities such as food processing, blacksmithing and others.

   
   
3. This project is expected to increase the capability of marginalized and poor rural communities in Afghanistan to engage in viable farming and non-farming enterprises, thus reducing their dependency on relief aid and helping them to move towards sustainable livelihood.

(Note)

Japan established the Trust Fund for Human Security in the United Nations Secretariat in March 1999, with total contributions of 25.9 billion yen (approximately US$ 227 million) up to the present. The Trust Fund has assisted more than 100 projects of UN agencies funds and programmes that address various threats to human life, livelihood and dignity, from the perspective of human security.

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