Mansehra Village Support Project

Despite a good potential for agricultural development, this area remains impoverished. Many farming households are not self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs and are dependent on other sources of income. In some areas accelerated soil erosion is reducing the amount of land available for cultivation, threatening food security. The project’s objective was to help communities initiate and sustain rural development. Specifically, it aimed to:

• improve productivity through the introduction of new technologies and land use systems
• help form village and women’s organizations
• help develop small-scale enterprises and marketing and processing systems

The project helped increase crop yields and milk production. The number of the poorest farmers was reduced by about 69 per cent.

Source: IFAD