Fatema Alizada is a small milk producer in Aliabad village near Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital city of northern Balkh province. She was not always able to sell all of the milk she produced on the local market and this meant her income was not stable.

Fatema didn't know how to establish links with buyers in Mazar-e-Sharif nor could she afford the costs to ship her milk.

Fortunately, Fatema and her fellow female milk producers from Aliabad village participated in a business linkage workshop orga-nized by USAID in Mazar-e-Sharif.

In addition to training these women in how to improve their productivity and establish links to larger markets, the workshop introduced 47 women milk producers to relevant businesses seeking access to more producers, notably Balkh Dairy Compa-ny. These women producers signed a business agreement with Balkh Dairy Company for a period of 3-6 months to sell 106,650 liters of fresh milk valued at over $30,000.

Fatema's income increased after she started to sell her milk to Balkh Dairy. She can now afford to feed her children and put them through school. She plans to expand her production as she is now linked with a major buyer, Balkh Dairy. "I produce 18 liters of fresh milk a day," said Fatema. "Previously, I had to sell it at a low price in my village as I wasn't linked with buyers in the city."

This boosted the sales of women milk producers and increased their incomes and helped improve the local economy. This is how USAID supports dairy value chain actors to grow, to access new markets, and to generate jobs for local Afghans.