Solar-powered greenhouses enable Afghan women to grow food, income and hope

Author: Ann-Marie Wilcock

For seven years after her husband died, Noorhaya*, 45, toiled under the harsh sun in Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan, trying to grow enough vegetables to feed her three children. Each year, the heat and insects destroyed most of her crops.

“No matter how hard we worked, we could not grow enough to improve our situation,” Noorhaya* said. “Life has been full of challenges. We live in a simple mud house and most days we depended on basic food like wheat, peas and beans.”

Around 170 kilometres away in neighbouring Helmand Province, Khadija* faced similar struggles. A mother of eight, she and her extended family relied on farming to survive in a region where temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius and water is increasingly scarce.

“Most of the year, Helmand suffers from drought and farmers struggle with serious water shortages,” she explains. “As the population has grown, water has to be shared among more people, making agriculture even harder for families like ours who depend on farming.”

Today, a UN Women project is giving Noorhaya*, Khadija* and 64 other women across Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz Provinces the chance to earn livelihoods and feed their families through climate-smart vegetable production. Through a local partner, and with funding from the Government of Japan, UN Women is establishing solar-powered greenhouses in southern Afghanistan, where communities are increasingly affected by drought, extreme heat and climate-related shocks.

More than 20 greenhouses equipped with solar-powered irrigation systems and water-efficient technologies now enable year-round vegetable production despite limited water and extreme temperatures.

Women farmers receive technical and business training, including on greenhouse management, irrigation, crop production and business literacy.

Noorhaya* was assigned a greenhouse, seeds and tools, six solar panels, a water tank and a machine to extract water more easily from a well.

“We started growing cucumbers to sell in the market – the income allows us to buy flour, oil, vegetables and other daily necessities,” she said. “Now we can grow vegetables three to four times a year, keeping some for our family and selling the rest. This greenhouse allowed us to continue farming, despite the challenging climate, and helped improve our family’s economic situation.”

Khadija* was able to start growing tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants in her greenhouse.

“This changed our lives,” she said. “Now, we have access to fresh vegetables almost every day. We eat more nutritious food and can already see the difference in our family’s health. Before, we often had to borrow food and household supplies because we did not have enough income. Now, we are hopeful that our lives will continue to improve.”

A third woman selected to receive a greenhouse under the project, Nasima*, 38, just completed her training and is about to plant her first vegetables, in Helmand Province.

“This greenhouse is very important to me – it gives me hope that we will not always have to depend on borrowing money,” she said. “For the first time, I have something of my own to manage and grow. I wake up every day with hope, taking care of the soil and preparing for the crops that will soon grow…It is not just a project – it is a chance for a better life, for our children, and for us.”

Communities across Afghanistan face growing climate risks that threaten livelihoods and increase the risk of displacement, in a country where 21.9 million people already need humanitarian assistance.

Expanding climate-smart livelihood opportunities such as solar-powered greenhouses can help women adapt to these challenges, strengthen household food security and generate sustainable income for their families, while building more resilient communities.

* Names changed to protect identities.