PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marie K. Thompson
DATE: August 29, 2002
Training
of Afghan Farmers and Agricultural Inputs Dealers, an Integral Part
of IFDC Project
 In
furthering its goal to help Afghanistan rebuild its agriculture
sector, IFDC is already undertaking an integral part of that
assistance—training of agricultural inputs dealers and farmers of
that country.
“Basic
training workshops for inputs dealers were undertaken during July in
Charikar and Jalalabad,” says Ross Everson, Administration and
Logistics Manager for the IFDC Afghanistan project.
“The first workshop was in Charikar and was inaugurated by
the Deputy Minister of the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture and
Livestock—Mustafa Jawad. Twenty-five inputs dealers from Parwan
and Kapisa attended the workshop, along with the Heads of
Agriculture for these two provinces and extension workers.”
According
to the workshop evaluation questionnaire, all participants greatly
appreciated the workshop. Suggestions
were received that this workshop should also be extended to farmers.
“Another
successful workshop was conducted in Jalalabad, where 44 dealers
from Nangahar and Kunar attended,” Everson says. “The President
of Agriculture of Nangahar province inaugurated the workshop.
This workshop provided an opportunity to meet the largest
inputs dealers in Afghanistan and to exchange views. Dealers
expressed concern with the customs tax, the Afghanistan Fertilizer
Company levy, and the deteriorating road between Kabul and Jalalabad.”
The
workshops concentrated on the following topics: (1) explanation of
the different types of fertilizers available in Afghanistan;
(2) use of fertilizer with different crops, fruit trees and
vegetables; (3) marketing basics; and (4) good storage and handling
practices for fertilizer.
The
trainers used several instructional methods in transferring the
information. For example, they made presentations using slides in
Dari and Pushtu, depending on the prevailing language in the area;
fact sheets on fertilizer use for different crops, fruit trees and
vegetables; Fertilizer Manual for Dealers; and a large reference
chart showing the types of fertilizer, the time, and method for
applying fertilizer on different crops.
IFDC
plans to present similar workshops in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif,
Kandahar, and Herat. IFDC staff will hold at least two workshops in
each region before the end of the year, and farmers will be included
in some of these sessions.
Return
to What's New?
|
