Balochistan

 

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan with 44% of country’s total area and only 5 % of total population. The least developed province of Pakistan with severe electricity and water shortage. Strategically located sharing the western border with Afghanistan and Iran, the province has a long coastal line on Arabian Sea in the South.

Known as the fruit basket of Pakistan, Balochistan provides 90 % of grapes, cherries and almonds, 60% of peaches, pomegranates and apricots, and 70 % of country’s dates annually. Also producing  200,000 tons of fish yearly.

The project that brought me here is focused in Quetta, Chaman, and Gwadar regions of Balochistan helping fruit farmers and fishermen increase their productivity and decrease their post harvest losses through learning new techniques and establishing national and international market linkages. I will be helping with gender mainstreaming in the existing program model and designing a gender integration strategy for their new interventions.