Supporting vulnerable disaster affected and agriculture dependent families in Balkh and Badakhshan to address food security needs and to reengage in agricultural livelihoods. ACTED's proposed action will effectively support core humanitarian activities by addressing the food security needs of vulnerable natural disaster affected and agricultural dependent people and ensuring households’ ability to reengage in food production in Balkh and Badakhshan provinces. Specifically, the action will target the districts of Khulm, Shortepa, Chemtal, Mazar-e-Sharif and Nahr-e-Shahi (the entire livelihood vulnerable caseload identified by FSAC in Bakh province), and Teshkan, Shuhada and Darayem districts in Badakhshan. These populations have lost both critical productive time and all or the majority of their productive assets due to flooding in spring 2016. The distribution of agriculture kits will therefore target households who have lost all or the majority of their productive assets and are experiencing distress associated with limited food production and availability, and who report that they will miss the upcoming winter planting season. By providing wheat seeds and fertiliser to 1,000 households (710 in Badakhshan and 290 in Balkh), the action will rebuild households’ production capacity and curb food insecurity and negative coping mechanisms. With the increased production of wheat, vulnerable households will gradually shift away from depending on food aid and/or engaging in negative coping mechanisms, and toward meeting immediate food needs with their own production. Furthermore, wheat production will provide an income source with which households can purchase other food and NFIs from the market. In addition, ACTED will provide a one-month, cluster-recommended basic food basket in the form of cash to 300 households in Balkh— 57% of households who have been affected by natural disaster in the past 6 months and who have a relatively low income and have reported not having had enough food and/or money to buy food in the past 7 days. This applied percentage is based on ACTED assessment findings. ACTED will only provide cash for food to these most vulnerable households as FSAC highlighted a gap in food assistance in Balkh but not in Badakhshan. This assistance will fill 60.5% of the gap in emergency food assistance in Balkh, 58.5% of the livelihood support gap in Balkh, and 31.6% of the livelihood support gap in Badakhshan (according to FSAC information for August 2016 that highlights total number of beneficiaries reached by food and livelihood assistance). 

Beneficiaries will be identified through door to door verification in the first month of the Project, and based on estimated numbers of eligible households identified during a rapid food security and livelihood needs assessment conducted by ACTED in August 2016 of a random sample of natural disaster affected households in Balkh province. Statistically significant findings from the Balkh needs assessment coupled with data from FSAC is used to inform the design of the overall action. 

Distributions of agricultural kits, which include wheat seeds, and DAP and urea fertilizers, will be conducted in October and/or November, depending on beneficiaries' geographical location, to facilitate planting during the upcoming wheat planting season (September-November). At distribution sites, ACTED will also conduct sensitisation sessions that will include information on proper agricultural techniques. In most cases, men are present during distributions, while women are in charge of cooking in the home therefore, specific sensitisation sessions will be held door to door with women by ACTED’s female monitors or community mobilisers. ACTED will follow up one month after each distribution and conduct a post-distribution monitoring survey of a sample of Project beneficiaries. ACTED will also introduce a complaints mechanism (hotline) to ensure that beneficiaries can report any issues they encounter with the Project, and so that ACTED can address these concerns as quickly as possible.