FAO: Solar Cookers Help Protect Afghanistan’s Pastures

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says the use of solar cookers can reduce rural families’ dependence on firewood and shrubs and help protect Afghanistan’s pastures.

According to the organization, 468 families in Badghis, Bamyan, Ghazni, Kunar and Paktia provinces have so far received solar cookers. FAO says reducing the use of firewood and shrubs can decrease the need to collect these materials from natural areas and help prevent the destruction of vegetation.

Bamyan is among the provinces where pastures are economically important to livestock-raising and farming families. However, overgrazing and the cutting of shrubs have damaged these areas in recent years. According to FAO, more than 77,190 hectares of pasture in Bamyan have been restored through the project since 2018.

Pasture protection, rotational grazing, and the cultivation of alfalfa and some local forage species are among the methods being used to restore these areas.

FAO says the programme is not only aimed at protecting the environment. It also seeks to strengthen the incomes and livelihoods of livestock-raising families, support rural women and increase communities’ ability to cope with climate change.

Overall, the project aims to reduce the use of traditional fuels, lower household costs and ease pressure on Afghanistan’s natural resources and pastures.