ASET

achieving socio-economic stability of returnees, host community and IDPs in iraq

iraq

September 2020- August 2022

aset project video

about

In partnership with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), AVSI Iraq implements the project “ASET: Achieving Socio-economic Stability of Returnees, Host Community and IDPs” in the Nineveh and Duhok governorates of Iraq.

the goal

The project’s goal is to enhance the socio-economic resilience of vulnerable returnees, IDPs, and the host community in Nineveh and Duhok governorates.

Challenges

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) face challenges in accessing employment, protection, and social cohesion. Thus, AVSI will continue to support the communities in Nineveh and Duhok governorates to ensure the sustainability of their livelihoods while building capacity.

response

The new project responds to the current situation and needs of the population. The prolonged protests that started in October 2019, the geopolitical instability, the recent influx of Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), and the COVID-19 pandemic have added pressure to an already vulnerable community and further exacerbated the region’s limited public resources.

In its first-year implementation, AVSI will continue to support the Association of Farmers, Livestock owners, and Technicians (AFLT) in its capacity to provide access to credit and services to farmers. AVSI established the AFLT during the implementation of the first PRM project.

AVSI will help the local community restore their capacity to provide agricultural and breeding services, focusing on the value chains of sheep breeding, mushrooms, flower and ornamental plants in Duhok, and poultry, cows, olives, and honey in Nineveh. The project will target women as potential earners. It will also provide gender-sensitive life skills training to farmers and their families.

Designed through extensive consultation with local actors in Qaraqosh, including hundreds of farming families, the project will reach returnees, host community, and IDPs.

Activities

Nineveh Governorate

Technical training on the following sectors: cow breeding, beekeeping, irrigation system, business training, and life skills training.
Reactivation of agricultural and animal production business

Improve existing irrigation systems
Restoring public gardens
Awareness campaign
Legal support to the Association of Farmers, Livestock Owners and Technicians (AFLT)

Duhok Governorate

Training activities: life skills training, training on flower and ornamental plant production, production of substrate, business training,
Greenhouse production of flowers and ornamental plants
Producing mushroom substrate
Restoring of public gardens

beneficiaries

AVSI Iraq will reach returnees, host community and IDPs (Direct: 3,708 Returnees, 5,047 IDPs, and 1,545 Host; Indirect: 20,000 individuals)

Results

- 752 (104%) project participants attended gender-sensitive life skills training
- 745 project participants demonstrated acquisition of life skills, surpassing the target by 29 percentage points.
- 6,079 people accessed the restored community gardens, exceeding the target by 21.6 percentage points.
  - 655 farmers received business development support/training
  - 100 farmers received support in the irrigation system.
  - 1,581 farmers received technical and financial training and 89% (1,412) of the farmers increased their technical and financial knowledge by at least 20%
  - 296 farmers received services from AFLT, and 178 farmers participated in the profit-sharing system of the AFLT, surpassing the target by 18 percentage points. The AFLT’s goal is to support all the activities related to agricultural productions and environmental resources management among the group of selected beneficiaries and stimulates active and reactivated producers to unify their efforts in an informal network of producers to secure a higher profit margin and a higher negotiation power (mushrooms, flowers, and sheep).
  - 80.2% of farmers reported increased income and 88% reported that their income was sufficient to meet their basic needs.
  - 395 direct and indirect jobs were created.

success stories (Partner social media campaign)

See the stories from our social media collaboration with AVSI Middle East, State PRM, and US Embassy. Follow us to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more stories and other exciting collaborations!