Afghan farmers need all the help they can get to rebuild agriculture in this war and drought devastated land.  The distribution of wheat seed and fertilizer has already drastically improved crop yields over the 2001 harvest, but much remains to be done.  Malnourishment still plagues the Afghan population and the agricultural infrastructure is in ruins.

The Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan is distributing over $1,300,000 in project grants targeting key areas identified by needs assessments conducted within Afghanistan.  Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and led by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the grants will draw on the scientific expertise of organizations around the world.
 

Some of the immediate barriers to rebuilding agriculture include the adequate supply of improved crop seed of a wide variety of crops, the need for training for Afghan farmers in new techniques and varieties and the devastating 4 years of drought.  Afghan farmers are struggling with infestations of insects and the lack of forage for what remains of their livestock.  Over the past year, the Future Harvest Consortium distributed approximately 5,000 metric tons of improved wheat to thousands of Afghan farmers and dramatically increased crop yields in 2002.  While wheat is the most important staple in the Afghan diet, crop diversity is necessary for addressing malnutrition and reestablishing cash crops for local use as well as export. 

Satellite remote sensing and GIS technology will be utilized by Michigan State University to produce comprehensive rangeland information to assist farmers in managing their rangelands for better forage production.  Maps will be provided to farmers along with training on how to interpret and use the information.  Specifically, the objective of this project is to develop and produce a suite of rangeland information products to assist ranchers and rangeland managers in the region to efficiently manage their ranges for both enhanced forage production. Landsat and MODIS images and existing GIS to produce grass cover, height, and total forage amount in grass-dominant rangelands in Afghan. These products will be delivered both in map format and on CDs. We hope to collaborate with the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture and NGOs to train the local rangeland managers on the interpretation of these products.  As a pilot project, this proposal will be a demonstration of the satellite technology for sustainable rangeland management decision support. For more information about this particular project, please contact Dr. Jiaguo Qi at Michigan State University at qi@msu.edu.

For more information about other projects and rebuilding of Afghanistan’s agricultural economy, please contact:

The Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan is a multi-partner effort led by the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  More information on the Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan can be found at: www.futureharvest.org or contact s.varma@cgiar.org.

The mission of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. For more information visit: www.icarda.org.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a government agency providing U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years. For more information visit: www.USAID.gov.