AKDN | Agriculture and Food Security

Our main pillars include:

• community-led development, where AKDN supports locally-driven goals;


• agricultural assistance, which works with farmers to improve yields;


• enterprise development and employable skills, which supplements villagers’ farm-based incomes;


• natural resource management, which includes equitable water use and restoration of degraded land;


• financial inclusion, which helps smooth erratic incomes; and


• the creation of rural infrastructure that improves the quality of life, such as bridges, drinking water systems and irrigation canals.

Now in their sixth decade, these programmes are also addressing the emerging challenges of rapidly changing demography, climate change and unpredictable geopolitical circumstances.

The Aga Khan Foundation: Boosting agricultural yields in food-scarce areas

Agriculture remains the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 28 percent of today’s global population. Small farms worldwide provide up to 80 percent of food consumed in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, 820 million people worldwide still lack regular access to adequate amounts of food. The changing climate is impacting many farmers.

Boosting agricultural yields in food-scarce areas is at the centre of the Aga Khan Foundation’s (AKF) activities. We aim to provide enduring solutions to chronic or emerging issues. For example, we are mindful of gender equity throughout our activities. It is estimated that eliminating the gender gap would lower the number of undernourished people in the world by 150 million.

Regenerative and Nutrition-Sensitive Food Systems

Our integrated agriculture, livestock and forestry interventions help to improve food security. We provide technical assistance to farmers and others, encouraging regenerative, carbon-neutral and organic farming, household production of inputs, self-reliance, high-quality food production and improved processing and storage. We also support targeted household-level nutrition and food education.

Agricultural Livelihoods and Market Integration

With a focus on including women and youth, and on equitable resource management, we strengthen the capacity of farming communities to build sustainable and resilient livelihoods. We use community structures such as savings groups and farmers’ associations to support financial literacy, economic inclusion and market integration for value chain development.

Enabling Rural Infrastructure

We help communities to establish and maintain critical infrastructure for transport, irrigation, processing and storage.

Research at the University of Central Asia

The Institution of Public Policy and Administration contributes to sound policy and administration in the region. Its research includes topics such as enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the livestock and dairy sector.

Researchers at the Mountain Societies Research Institute study complex earth surface and environmental processes, sharing their knowledge with mountain stakeholders. Projects have included wild fruit species conservation, the identification of drought-surviving beans, sustainable forest use and water resource management.