Supporting Women-Led Agribusiness Development in Gilgit-Baltistan
Immense potential for agricultural productivity lies in mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), where 90% of households are agricultural landowners. However, horticulture and livestock-based smallholders experience post-harvest losses because of limited access to agricultural technologies and quality inputs. In addition, innovative agribusinesses that manufacture new tools and products in other provinces lack the ability to make new technologies available to farmers and dealers in GB due to constraints such as logistics, limited knowledge of business expansion, and the lack of marketing and sales skills.
In partnership with key agribusinesses, the four-year USAID-funded Pakistan Agricultural Technology Transfer Activity (PATTA) is addressing these constraints by providing business opportunities to women and extending support for their use of agricultural technologies. Fareeda Begum, a farmer from the village of Oshikhandass, was able to sell 70 bags of cattle feed and promote the products to other women farmers through PATTA-supported awareness-raising sessions. “PATTA is developing our linkages with different agricultural technology companies, which is not only benefiting me as an entrepreneur but [is] also advantageous for other women farmers of my village,” Begum said.
Solve Agri Pak Limited, a Punjab-based agribusiness company offering products and services in the dairy and livestock sector, was unable to enter new geographical territories due to a lack of access to local dealers and limited business expansion opportunities. Seeing the investment potential for agricultural technologies in GB, Solve Agri Pak realized the importance of finding a gateway to launch special products and commercialize the best agricultural management practices in the GB region. In 2018, Solve Agri Pak partnered with PATTA to increase Solve Agri Pak’s capacity to expand, leverage new investments, and match farmers’ needs in GB. Since then, PATTA has provided several investment opportunities to 37 agribusinesses, including Solve Agri Pak, and helped them promote their products in demonstrations, field days, expos, and linkage-building initiatives with local dealers and other key actors across Pakistan.
In June 2019, PATTA’s support helped Solve Agri Pak establish a new business in GB, opening its very first franchise called Darwaish and Sons and achieving agricultural technologies sales of $9,803. Between June and September 2019, Solve Agri Pak introduced livestock products such as feed, minerals, and semen, and invested approximately $3,070.
Ghulam Raza, the franchise owner of Darwaish and Sons, earned a profit of $515 within three months of opening the business franchise, buying cattle feed from Solve Agri Pak, and selling it in local markets. “We are new in the agriculture technology business. PATTA has not only helped us to develop our linkages with Solve Agri Pak but also assisted us in reaching local farmers in GB. We have also collaborated with women farmers and entrepreneurs,” Raza said. Begum is one of the farmers who established a sub-dealership with Darwaish and Sons through PATTA and Solve Agri Pak, benefitting and empowering her and other women farmers.
USAID PATTA will continue to create lucrative entrepreneurial opportunities for women through the development of linkages with agricultural technology businesses so that agriculture is more vibrant and inclusive in GB. The Activity centers on women as change agents and is creating opportunities for their equal access to resources and facilitating business development linkages, so they are not left behind by the benefits of agricultural business expansion. PATTA’s targeted assistance and customized technical support to agricultural technologies enterprises and women-led businesses will not only improve their competitiveness but also support technology promotion and farmers’ adoption of innovative management practices.
