In the mountainous region of Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, where agriculture has long been part of daily life, smallholder farmers have traditionally relied on horticulture for their livelihoods. Apples, pears, and pomegranates thrive in the area’s cool climate, yet for many years, farmers struggled to earn fair returns from their hard work.
The Regional Farmers Cooperative Organization (RFCO) Chitral, established in 2022, was created to change this reality. Today, the cooperative brings together 302 members—112 men and 180 women, including 105 youth—with a shared goal of improving incomes through value addition and better market access. By providing quality packing materials and strengthening links to larger markets, RFCO has helped small farmers move beyond subsistence farming toward more sustainable livelihoods.
Through support from the Agribusiness Support Fund (ASF) and APFP-FO4A program, cooperative members received extensive training in cooperative management, good agricultural practices, and technical skills such as harvesting, sorting, grading, and packing. These interventions resulted in a 20% increase in farmers’ incomes, a significant improvement for households that once depended on unstable farm earnings.
The Asia-Pacific Farmers’ Program (APFP) – Farmers’ Organizations for Asia (FO4A) is implemented by the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC), with funding from the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The program aims to strengthen the capacities of farmers’ organizations to provide economic services, advocate for enabling policies, and promote sustainable livelihoods for small-scale family farmers across Asia.
One of the farmers who experienced this transformation firsthand is Syed Jamaluddin Shah, a young farmer from Chitral. Agriculture had always been part of his community, yet he initially lacked interest in farming. During the fruit-flowering season, middlemen would arrive and purchase fruits and vegetables at very low prices, leaving farmers with minimal profits and little motivation to continue.
That situation began to change when ASF started working in the area. With the introduction of practical, hands-on training, Jamaluddin learned how to properly harvest, sort, and pack fruits. These skills made handling produce easier and significantly improved its quality, opening doors to better markets.
With improved market access, Jamaluddin and other farmers could now sell their fruits in larger markets, including Islamabad, instead of relying on local traders. After the flowering season, farmers are now confident in harvesting and packing their own produce, allowing them to negotiate better prices and retain more value from their crops.
As a result, incomes have increased, awareness has grown, and confidence among farmers has strengthened.
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