When 500 farmer households of Babuzai, District Mardan, were sitting disheartened with the hailstorm damaging their wheat crop last year, leaving one third of the total land to lie barren, LSO Babuzai in Mardan, with help of the USAID in Pakistan, facilitated these farmers to rise again. Through assistance from USAID’s Ambassador Fund Program, these farmers successfully sowed wheat seeds in the barren land in January 2011 so to reap a bountiful harvest in May 2011.
The land turned from barren to lust green to golden as crops are now ready to be harvested. The heavy showers in Pakistan eased the farmers’ task and relieved them off all anxieties of not having a generous yield. Each farmer received 100 kg of rain fed wheat seeds, with equal amounts of urea and fertilizers, yielding about 70 Munds of good crop and generating about Rs 75,000 revenue in total for each farmer.
Shaukat Hyatt, Momin Shah and Nawab Shah, are a few of the many farmers whose households suffered during the hailstorm till January this year. With USAID’s assistance “This bumper crop has relieved me of my fears of supporting my family as these seeds will be multiplied over the next 2 years, becoming a reliable source of my future income, and it has relaxed my insecurities towards food and fodder shortage for our livestock”, expressed Shaukat.
“These seeds have not only benefited us in generating good revenues, but has provided many a people an employment opportunity, “ exclaimed Momin Shah. Besides these benefits, the program has helped generate employment in the area where labor is now making Rs 400-Rs 450 in daily wages.
