Healthy, sustainable, and inclusive food systems are essential to achieving global development goals. For ending the world’s extreme poverty, Agricultural development is considered one of the most effective tools for promoting shared prosperity and feeding the poor. A well-developed agricultural system is pivotal to social progress because it brings employment opportunities and raises the income of households in rural areas. According to the world bank, Growth in the agricultural sector is two to four times more effective than other sectors in raising the incomes of the poorest. Therefore, to raise the standard of living in underdeveloped countries like Afghanistan, a solid agriculture system is necessary to maintain the Economic value chain.

FAO established a monitoring system to better gauge the effect of COVID-19 and other shocks on food supply and subsequently combated the food insecurity and malnutrition issues across Afghanistan. AACS Consulting was honored to work with the FAO and help the organization by providing data collection services. AACS consulting provided skilled enumerators who conducted in-person household interviews and key informant interviews across 20 provinces in Afghanistan.

This project came at a crucial time when the political environment of Afghanistan was rapidly changing; the conflict between armed groups and the incumbent government was intensifying as the armed groups were advancing to gain territories. In the mid of August, there was a regime change, and the data collection was utterly stalled as most of the program staff left the country. However, to catch up with the deadline, AACS Consulting hired new qualified personnel for the job. AACS Consulting worked day and night to collect data, analyze it, and present it meaningfully.