 Afghanistan
Following the conflict of 2002, IFDC helped the
war-torn country of Afghanistan resurrect its critical
agricultural sector. The project arranged for the
purchase, donation, and delivery of fertilizer on an
emergency basis. The funds were used to supply
vouchers to 198,160 farmers so they could obtain
fertilizer from dealers, who purchased it on a
commercial basis. The objective of the work in
Afghanistan was to help the farmers rejuvenate their
country’s agriculture and to lay the groundwork for a
market-friendly and private sector system to supply
fertilizer and other agricultural inputs. The project
coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture,
International Center for Agricultural Research in the
Dry Areas (ICARDA) on seed supply, and with
nongovernmental organizations that worked in the main
agricultural regions. Training was provided on the
management and use of fertilizers, and field trials
were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of
properly applied fertilizers.
Since
January 2004 we have been participating in a new
project, “Rebuilding of Agricultural Markets of
Afghanistan Program,” (RAMP) by providing dealer
development expertise. Key accomplishments by IFDC are
as follows:
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Regional coordinators have visited approximately
1,000 agricultural inputs dealers in 8 provinces.
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Dealer
training material covering fertilizers, seed and
agro-chemicals have been prepared and translated
into Dari and Pushtu.
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Eight
agricultural inputs dealer training programs were
held in five provinces, where 364 agricultural
inputs dealers participated.
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Information on international fertilizer prices is
maintained regularly; a system is being developed to
distribute these prices to the key players.
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