As the very first project to sit under our Climate Change pillar, we launched ‘She Leads in Food Security’ in early 2023 to enhance the food security and economic status of IDPs, refugees and returnees in Sinjar district.
The project focuses on climate-smart agriculture and income-generating initiatives, as well as large-scale awareness around issues relating to nutrition, food wastage, food preservation and environmental issues.
To launch the project, we trained 10 female community Food Security Ambassadors, whose role is to raise women’s knowledge of food security. They subsequently trained 400 women and youths at our in-camp centres. This was followed by business training for 200 women and 50 men, using the Gender and Entrepreneurship Together (GET Ahead) program, which aims to remove the many barriers women face in starting businesses.
Food security is of increasing concern in Iraq and Kurdistan due to multiple socio and economic challenges – including the pandemic and associated job loss, plus the impact of the Ukraine conflict which has caused steep food price rises. Not only that, but lower than usual seasonal rainfall, rising temperatures and failing crops have all worsened the plight of the most vulnerable when it comes to food supply. In fact, the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview for Iraq stated that more than 82% of IDPs in camps are vulnerable to food insecurity.
The grave situation last year saw the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) issue a joint statement which urged: "Food is the path towards peace and as such, serious action must be taken immediately by the Government of Iraq and the International community to adopt climate smart food systems and long-term resilience building in order to ensure that Iraq and its people are able to navigate these testing times.”
As well as serving as a response to this urgent call for action, we are keen for She Leads in Food Security and similar projects in future to harness the huge agricultural potential of Kurdistan – which is commonly known as the Middle East's food basket.
The project is being provided in partnership with CARE Iraq, and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).