Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, U.S. Government inaugurate agriculture market in Bara to bring businesses under one roof
Bara, July 24, 2020: The Deputy Commissioner of Khyber District Mahmood Aslam Wazir, along with USAID/Pakistan Director Julie Koenen, today inaugurated the Fruit and Livestock Market in Bara Tehsil of District Khyber, a merged district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The market was constructed as a partnership venture between the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the U.S. Government with funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and will act as a hub for agriculture and livestock-based businesses in Bara. This is the first of 13 such markets being constructed with support from USAID in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The returning farmers in the Merged Districts face a number of challenges, and one of them is not having proper markets in their areas,” said Mrs. Koenen. “These structures will ensure year-round marketing of fruits, vegetables, and livestock, improve packaging, and provide a business-friendly environment to farmers.”
The construction of the markets is part of a joint initiative of more than $10 million in recovery and rehabilitation funding to improve livelihoods and recover market systems for the returning Temporary Displaced Populations in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
USAID is partnering with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Khyber, Orakzai, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan districts to develop the agriculture sector. To date, this partnership has helped local entrepreneurs establish more than 700 fruit and vegetable enterprises; brought around 1,000 acres of unused agricultural land into cultivation; and restored water supply to grow crops on over 3,000 acres of land.
