UMERKOT- Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) and Oxfam-GB have provided agriculture input support to those women land grantees who don’t have resources to cultivate their land and feed their family members a healthy food diet.
Shahnaz wife of Mohammad Sadiq Arisar, living in village Kamaludin Arisar UC Shah Mardan Shah taluka Pithoro district Umerkot was allotted 5 acres of land by Sindh government under the scheme of land distribution program. Forty-year old woman Shahnaz has two daughters, sons and living along with her spouse in her mother's home. She was worried as she did not have enough resources to start cultivation of her land (given by government).
The PDI officials met her and provided her seed, fertilizer and gave her money to rent a tractor to start cultivation. PDI not only provided agricultural input support, but also gifted her three goats. The PDI officials are visiting her land site regularly and communicate with her for achieving better crops of wheat.
PDI and Oxfam-GB agriculture input support proved blessing for such women who mostly depend on others for nutrition of foods for their family. She said that after receiving support from the PDI she has become self sufficient in producing milk and using milk as healthy food diet in dinner for their family.
She further said that she is no more dependent on others to buy wheat flour others, saying that her wheat crop is ready for harvest and she will soon start reaping fruit of her crop. She said that she would store wheat for whole year requirement of her family and also earn money by selling surplus wheat.
She added that the PDI’s support proved a blessing for her. Government only allotted land to me but neither provided money nor agri-inputs to start cultivation. PDI official informed Shahnaz that this is our mission to serve people and open door for their economic empowerment, especially women like (Shahnaz) living in rural areas of Pakistan. Shahnaz said that after getting guidance by PDI staff, she would cultivate seasonal crops like sunflower, vegetable crops in her land to generate revenue for her family and also contribute in securing food security for their remote village where majority of the inhabitants are deprived of basic food security and are forced to lead life under poverty line.
Manna, another woman land grantee, who hails from village Sahirari Sar, UC Pathro 1 taluka Pithoro district Umerkot was allotted four acres land by Sindh Government. She, however, was not provided any agriculture input support by Govt to do any cultivation on her allotted land.
Manna and her poor spouse mostly do labour on others farming land for their survival and to get diet to her family. PDI with support of Oxfam-GB gave her three goats and met her all requirements to cultivate crops on her allotted land.
She said that after getting goats by PDI and Oxfam-GB, she was using milk as diet for her family members. She said that she was able to cultivate wheat crop on her own land. She shared her grievances with PDI staff saying that she had mostly visited far-flung areas for doing labour on others land and earned not more than 80 rupees per day which was not enough to provide healthy food to her family members. She said: 'I salute the PDI and Oxfam-GB administration for enabling me to do hard work for my own land and to get rid of sordid labor
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Needy women farmers get agri input
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