Shamim Akhtar of northern Pakistan had a small piece of family land she had inherited but wasn’t sure how to best use it. Interested in agriculture and recognizing the potential to raise her family’s income, she began cultivating vegetables in a small kitchen garden. She attempted other uses for the land, but nothing panned out. Knowing she was interested in expanding her business, a local vegetable association formed by CNFA’s Improving Livelihoods and Enterprise Development project (I-LED) recommended her for a matching grant to set up a vegetable seedling enterprise.

Speaking about her experience I-LED, which led her to create a seedling nursery, she said, “It was a new experience for me and I had never raised a vegetable seedling nursery before.” But after attending CNFA trainings, she was ready to begin her new business. “Initially,” she said, “I faced many problems but now I have full command to manage a nursery. I spend most of my time in the nursery as it is close to my house. My husband is helping me in my business.”

The first year’s progress of her seedling nursery was very encouraging. Akhtar grew a variety of vegetable seedlings, with each seedling crop requiring a forty day cycle to sale size. She also successfully managed to raise tomato seedlings through cuttings and complete three cycles of vegetable seedling production. With the fourth in progress, she is already netting $500 a year, a significant increase from her previous subsistence-level production. And she has the potential for more—a one-acre nursery can net $4000 a year.

“I got a handsome return,” she said, “but the marketing was initially really tough.” She embarked on an ambitious marketing campaign, identifying and contacting those local and regional farmers who could buy her ready-made seedlings. Even when her tomato seedlings failed to sell, she raised and harvested them herself at a healthy profit.

She used certified and hybrid seed varieties, so her seedlings see higher yields. While some have been reluctant to use the new seeds, those who have can see the positive results already. “The farmers are getting excellent production from my seedlings and are now more inclined towards using quality seedlings,” she said.

“I-LED played a vital role in creating awareness in the farmer community. I have established my marketing linkages…and I am hopeful that in the coming months my income will increase further and I will be able to expand my nursery as well”.