Government co-operative programme project proposal
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- 4. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
- 5. OVERSIGHT, MONITORING, MANAGEMENT INFORMATION AND REPORTING
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- 1. BACKGROUND 1.1. Introduction
- Chagai, Kech, Kharan, Nushki, Panjgur and Washuk
1. BACKGROUND 1.1. Introduction Between 2004 and 2008, FAO implemented the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded “Food Security and Poverty Alleviation in Arid Agriculture Balochistan (FSPAB) – Pilot Project Phase” in three districts of north-eastern Balochistan Province (i.e. Killa Saifullah, Loralai and Mastung). This Pilot Project Phase was followed by a four-year development response of tested and validated approaches in the same three districts, with the addition of the neighbouring districts of Quetta and Zhob, under the “United States Assistance to Agricultural Development in Balochistan Border Areas (USABBA) Project” (2009 to 2012). USAID and FAO are now preparing a successor to the USABBA Project (i.e. the “Balochistan Agriculture Project (BAP)”), which includes three new districts (i.e. Musakhel, Pishin and Sherani) and a timeframe of four years (2012 to 2015). It should be noted that the aforementioned eight districts are predominantly part of the semi-arid “Western Dry Mountains” agro-ecological zone and predominantly Pashtoon in ethnicity. The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has agreed with the Government of Pakistan to focus on, amongst others, agriculture and rural development in Balochistan Province and replicate the USABBA “model” of community and value chain development amongst the predominantly Baloch ethnic groups of western Balochistan. The Provincial Government of Balochistan has further agreed that such a project operate in the districts of Chagai, Kech, Kharan, Nushki, Panjgur and Washuk. It should be noted that these six districts are totally part of the arid “Dry Western Plateau” agro-ecological zone. The title of the proposed four-year FAO-implemented project is “Australian Assistance to Agricultural Development in Balochistan Border Areas (AUSABBA) Project”. 1.2. General Context 1.2.1. Socio-economic and Livelihood Characteristics With a population of over 184 million, nearly two-thirds of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas as does the majority of the country’s poor. Poverty is widespread in Pakistan but predominantly a rural phenomenon – 80 percent of the country’s poor live in rural areas. According to the Government of Pakistan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, about ten percent of the population is chronically poor, 30 percent are poor, and approximately one-third is vulnerable and likely to fall into poverty with any adverse social, climatic or economic shock. Rural poverty is characterised by uneconomic holdings, landlessness, poor skills base, illiteracy, poor access to social and economic services and political disempowerment. Due to the rural poor’s direct and indirect dependence on agriculture, any progression or regression in the agriculture sector has a pronounced impact on poverty. For example, after a decade of moderate growth, the agricultural sector registered considerable growth between 2001 and 2005, resulting in marked improvements in rural incomes, rural poverty and social indicators. According to 2007 World Bank figures, at the national level, agriculture (crops, livestock and farm labour) accounts for less than 35 percent of income amongst the poorest 20 percent of rural households. Among poor agriculture households, over 42 percent of total income was derived from non-agricultural sources. Balochistan is the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, covering 44 percent of the country’s total land area, but has the smallest population (i.e. 7.1 million people, equivalent to 5.1 percent of the total national population) and is considered the least developed. Poverty is high, increasing from 1.5 million in 1998 to 2.1 million in 2005 – mainly because of a long drought between 1999 and 2004. The World Bank estimated the rural poverty headcount rate in Balochistan in 2005 to be 34.6 percent, higher than the national average of 32.9 percent and below only that of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Literacy rates are very low, especially for rural women (i.e. eight percent compared to the national average of 20 percent). However, Balochistan is a province of immense mineral, agriculture (particularly livestock and horticulture) and marine riches with huge development potential. Directory: about-us -> publications -> Documents Documents -> Table of Contents 1 Introduction and Background 7 Documents -> Annual Review for 2014 Summary Report Documents -> East Asia regional development cooperation report 2009 October 2010 Documents -> East Asia Regional Organisations and Programs Annual Program Performance Report 2011 Documents -> Development Cooperation Report 2010: Afghanistan May 2012 Documents -> Review of the dfat ending Violence Against Women (evaw) Program in Afghanistan Documents -> Independent progress report Documents -> Annual program performance report: South Asia 2008–09 September 2009 Documents -> Kuala Lumpur, 22 November 2015 Download 2.13 Mb. Share with your friends:
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