PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marie K. Thompson
DATE: August 26, 2002
Rebuilding
Afghanistan’s Agriculture Sector—One Brick at a Time
 The
brick makers of Kabul have resumed their trade; in days past there
was no justifiable reason to make bricks.
But now with some semblance of hope restored for the future,
they again ply their trade. Likewise,
the “builders of agricultural development”—IFDC, other
international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations—are
busy at work. Their
“bricks” or building blocks of agricultural development include
the agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seed, and crop protection
products (CPPs); irrigation; credit, etc.
Some of these building blocks are being used to help
Afghanistan’s farmers and entrepreneurs restore a future of hope
where they can stand on their own feet.
The
farmers of Afghanistan have already seen the results of some of
these efforts. They have used the good seed and the fertilizer provided by
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). One farmer—Abdul Razaq—from the Shah Ka village, Bagram
district of the Parwan province, is eager to reveal his good news.
“I used high-yielding wheat seed distributed by ICARDA
(International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)
and the fertilizer distributed by IFDC for topdressing,” Razaq
says. “The result was
wonderful. The same
piece of land that had given us a yield of 60 seer/jerib (1/2 acre)
or 420 kg/jerib last year gave us a yield of 100 seer/jerib or 700
kg/jerib this year.” Many
of the farmers have realized a 70% increase in their yields and at
some places even more.
When
a farmer harvests his crop, he “pays” for the fertilizer that he
has used by giving a specific amount of his wheat harvest to the
local “shura” or town committee. The shura are people of good repute and popular with the
local people. After
selling this wheat, the shura plan to use the money that they have
accumulated for local development projects.
For example, one shura representative, Malik Sardar, of the
Laghmani village, Bagram district, Parwan province, says that his
shura is planning to use their funds for “construction of a bridge
in the village, in addition to two sub-canals.”
In farmer Razaq’s village, they are planning to “buy
‘medicine’ for gardens and crops—CPPs—and to construct
canals.”
The
sub-governor of Bagram, Kabir Ahmadi, knows that the project is
working well. “The money raised by this program will be used for
agricultural development projects at the village levels,” Ahmadi
says. “Today our
farmers have problems with powdery mildew and downy mildew diseases.
To help solve these problems, the shuras are buying crop protection
products for the farmers. This
is a great contribution of IFDC.”
The
shura representative Sardar has a keen understanding of the impact
of the IFDC project thus far: “After
the Taliban collapsed almost 80% of our population who had migrated
to the neighboring provinces returned home,” Sardar says.
“They did not have enough to drink or eat.
It was a blessing to have improved seed and fertilizer
together. Our people
are really thankful to IFDC and the international community.”
Farmer
Razaq is very forthright in his assessment of the project:
“We are thankful to IFDC,” Razaq says.
“It has really helped us feed our families.
May God help IFDC and bless it and its staff.”
Return
to What's New?
|
