To enhance the added value aspects of cultivating the strategic wheat crop and expand its cultivation in the future in 15 villages and clusters in Mohambal (sub-district of Ariha region), Watan has started implementing the project “Supporting the added value of wheat crops” in partnership with SCHF/OCHA. The programme was designed based on needs assessments, through focus groups that were held with wheat farmers in the targeted area, and after identifying the problems and obstacles they suffer from.
The activities of the project represent a large production cycle that benefits many segments of society; it provides many job opportunities and promotes the marketing of wheat products by purchasing its production from its farmers at a favourable price. It also includes sifting part of the purchased wheat, sterilizing it and preparing it as seeds for the next season, as well as distributing it to the beneficiary farmers. Additionally, it includes the exporting of the remaining amount to Watan’s Mill to extract the flour needed to operate Watan’s bakery, produce bread and distribute it free of charge to beneficiary families in all communities and villages, and then distribute the fodder (wheat bran and straw) to livestock farmers in the region. This will provide wheat farmers with production requirements, including fertilizers, pesticides, and harvest costs.
The project is still in its early stages, as 420 tons of wheat intended for bread production and 320 tons of wheat intended for seeding were purchased from 300 farmers, and these quantities were sterilized and stored according to the specific requirements related to storing wheat.
Currently the names of 2420 livestock farmers who benefited from the fodder are being registered. The intervention will enhance food security for which bread is a mainstay, in addition to maintaining and increasing production levels for farmers by supporting them with reliable sterilized seeds and production requirements, thus reducing production costs and increasing productivity. This will positively affect livelihoods, as well as develop the livestock farming sector and increase farmers’ economic efficiency by supporting the distribution of fodder.
