core sector communique

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Announces $20 Million for Afghanistan

 

 

Washington - Recognizing the urgent need to create jobs in Afghanistan's agricultural sector to boost food production and draw insurgents off the battlefield, the United States announced January 12 a $20 million plan to support Afghanistan's agricultural economy.

 

"After decades of conflict, Afghanistan lacks many of the personnel and knowledge resources needed to deliver much-needed services to its people, more than 80 percent of whom rely on agriculture for wages and sustenance. Today's commitment with [Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock] will help Afghanistan's government build critical capacity at the local level in agricultural extension and expertise," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in Kabul, Afghanistan ( http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.retrievecontent/.c/6_2_1UH/.ce/7_2_5JM/.p/5_2_4TQ/.d/1/_th/J_2_9D/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?PC_7_2_5JM_contentid=2010/01/0008.xml&PC_7_2_5JM_parentnav=LATEST_RELEASES&PC_7_2_5JM_navid=NEWS_RELEASE ).

 

"The United States recognizes the importance of Afghanistan's agricultural economy in creating jobs, helping the nation achieve food self-sufficiency, and drawing insurgents off of the battlefield," Vilsack said.

 

Vilsack met with Asif Rahimi, Afghanistan's minister of agriculture, irrigation and livestock, to advise him of the availability of up to $20 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) if the Afghan agency establishes reconstruction goals aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, rebuilding agribusiness, improving irrigation, creating jobs and enhancing technologies. The funding, Vilsack said, is not guaranteed, and the ministry must continue to demonstrate its commitment to transparency.

 

"USDA experts will partner with Afghan ministry experts, local officials and entrepreneurs - partnerships critical to success," U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said. "We will also ensure that our efforts are aligned with the National Agricultural Development Framework outlined by Minister Rahimi, and also with Afghanistan's National Development Strategy."

 

While in Afghanistan, Vilsack traveled to Helmand province, in which more than half of the country's poppy crop is grown, to discuss efforts to educate and assist farmers in the province. In the last year, efforts have helped farmers move 33 percent of the province's hectares from poppy cultivation to legal crops.

 

In December 2009, President Obama outlined his strategy ( http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2009/December/20091201205642esnamfuak0.7319147.html ) to disrupt, dismantle and eventually defeat al-Qaida and prevent its return to either Afghanistan or Pakistan. Along with an infusion of troops was an increase in the number of civilian technical experts deployed to Afghanistan, including more than 50 USDA agricultural experts.

 

Since 2003, USDA has deployed 94 people for medium- and long-term assignments in Afghanistan and provided roughly $229 million in food aid to the country. Agricultural experts work with Afghans through a variety of activities meant to strengthen the capacity of the Afghan government, rebuild agricultural markets and improve management of natural resources. USDA projects have included installing windmills to pump water for irrigation and livestock, training veterinarians to detect and treat parasites, rehabilitating a university's agricultural research laboratory, stabilizing eroded river banks and irrigation canals, developing crop storage facilities, rehabilitating degraded orchards, mentoring provincial directors of agriculture to help them improve their services to farmers, and reforestation, according to the Agriculture Department.

 

USDA also manages programs that train Afghan agricultural officials and professionals in the United States. USDA-led programs such as the Cochran Fellowship Program, the Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program, and the Faculty Exchange Program have brought 50 Afghans to the United States since 2004 for specialized training lasting from two weeks to five months. These public- and private-sector policymakers, scientists and academics have upgraded their technical skills in a wide range of topics and then shared this knowledge with their students and colleagues in Afghanistan, according to the Agriculture Department.