In Pakistan, the climate crisis is pushing families like 41-year-old Seeta’s deeper into poverty. Seeta’s husband is a small-scale farmer, and the family rely on his harvest to get by. But frequent floods, intense heatwaves, and water scarcity are ruining crops, killing livestock, and putting livelihoods like theirs at risk.
Climate change has exhausted the soil. This makes it difficult for small-scale farmers to find the quality seeds or fertilisers they need to grow crops. Farmers use their harvests to feed their families, and if they have enough left over, they sell them at local markets.
How your support is making a difference
Tearfund has been working in Pakistan for more than 20 years, responding to disasters and helping people lift themselves out of poverty through long-term development. One of the ways we do this is through projects that help families grow food and earn a living while protecting God’s creation.
Seeta’s story
Seeta lives with her husband and children in Punjab, Pakistan. She despaired as her husband, Taria, struggled to feed their family. As a farmer, his income was irregular and insufficient, plunging them into constant financial worry.
Seeta felt trapped. Like many women in her community, she was excluded from training and from making financial decisions. Confined to her home, she had no way to earn money for the family. Her husband summed it up: ‘I used to work alone... I always thought there was no opportunity for women like Seeta.’
But Taria’s eyes were opened when he was introduced to Tearfund’s partner, Rural Education and Economic Development Society (REEDS). They work with local farmers, advising them on sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices. While being trained in cotton cultivation from REEDS, he asked whether they offered any opportunities for women, which led to Seeta taking part in hands-on training at a women-led nursery, growing fruit trees for food and animal feed.
Seeta learnt vital skills in seed selection, sapling care and how to set up a nursery. But the training provided her with more than just technical knowledge. It boosted her confidence to start her own nursery at home.
Planting seeds of hope
‘I now grow and sell tree plants every day,’ Seeta says. Six months on from her training, she grows and sells 10-15 saplings a day, earning a daily income of 450 to 675 Pakistani Rupees [£1.20-£1.80]. They now have enough to pay for their family’s needs.
