Afghanistan: Basir Sowida, Entrepreneur

Basir Sowida is a chicken farmer in Afghanistan. In 2012  he made one of his dreams come true; he’s been running his own farm in Mazar-e Sharif ever since. In 2018 he was also appointed as the head of Balkh poultry union and was able to expand his business from production to service provision and input supplying business. He has established an activate poultry disease diagnosis laboratory and initiates provincial vertical and horizontal network meetings.

Since 2015, He has been supported in his endeavours by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, which is working in Afghanistan on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). GIZ provides training on technological and organisational matters to farmers like Sowida, as well as to traders and producers, and teaches them how to run a business. Among other things, the training aims to improve the quality of agricultural produce. And the idea is for those raw goods to go on to be processed within Afghanistan too. Not only does that generate jobs, but processed goods bring in more money. 

How has your life changed?

Before I started the chicken farm I studied economics. After I completed my studies, the Taliban came to Mazar-e Sharif; that’s why I went away, to Europe. I spent seven years in England. While I was there, I worked in the poultry industry and learned a lot. But I wanted to come back to Afghanistan. I can apply everything I learned while I was in Europe in my own country too.

What does your work as a chicken farmer mean to you?

Working with my friends on the chicken farm makes me happy. I’ve turned my dream into a reality. We’ve broken new ground with GIZ and it’s very encouraging. 

How do you support others?

When I came back to Afghanistan I was absolutely fixed on the idea of setting up my own business. I wanted to earn money for myself but also to provide others with work. I started out with two employees and told friends and acquaintances that they should go start their own businesses, and they took my advice. They began small, with just 100 chickens, and over time they’ve built up flocks of between 4,000 and 5,000 chickens.

What are your biggest challenges and how do you tackle them?

Unfortunately, there are quite a few problems to occupy us here in Afghanistan. The numbers of people wanting to buy our poultry are still too low – we really need to promote it more. Having said that, there’s already been a marked improvement. Until a few years ago, people thought that white meat, like chicken, was dangerous and they’d only eat red meat. There’s still work to be done in our chicken sheds too. Our advantage is the fact that we are organised as a cooperative and work together every day. And we’re holding our own on the market.