Improving the lives of Afghanistan’s rural communities

Overview

Results

The team

Related information

So what's the problem?

The people of Afghanistan have had a difficult time over the last few decades. Political instability and a weak economy, coupled with times of drought, have led to isolated rural areas falling into poverty. 80% of Afghanistan’s population are dependant on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihood. Many families have reverted to subsistence farming and it is common for the males to supplement their family’s income with seasonal labouring. These conditions have also seen farmers turning to the illegal cultivation of opium poppies. During the past few years the new Afghanistan Government has worked with the Aga Khan Development Network to address these problems and start rebuilding the economy. However, despite some good progress, there are still areas that need attention.

Farmers are using outdated farming tools and methods, with no research and development to help them improve their outputs. In addition access to markets needs to be rebuilt. There is also concern over the misuse of pesticides, poorly informed farmers have been using fertilisers and pesticides in high doses in a quick-fix attempt to increase profits. Outdated and dangerous chemicals have also been circulated and farmers are often unaware of their damaging side-effects.

What is this project doing?

The Aga Khan Development Network has brought in CABI to help change the agricultural system by using modern knowledge and technology. New varieties of crops that are less susceptible to pests and disease will be introduced. This, coupled with safe and sustainable crop protection techniques, will help decrease the amount of pesticides used. Techniques to improve soil quality, reduce soil erosion and to use water and energy more efficiently will also be taught. It is important that the new system is sustainable, this means that people from the local agricultural community will play an active role in teaching and overseeing the new techniques allowing benefits to extend beyond the length of the project. Classes will be given in various rural communities; attending farmers will be encouraged to contribute their own knowledge and opinions to help develop the new techniques to suit them and the local environmental conditions. The ability to sell the produce will be improved by re-establishing links to the market place.

Results so far

During the first year of the project CABI has begun by setting up projects in Badakhshan and Takhar. These areas have a history based on food production and so are known as Afghanistan’s bread basket, between them they have a variety of climatic conditions. The focus will be on fruit orchards and vegetable gardens. Fruit is a valuable export crop, whilst vegetables are a vital to the diets of these rural communities. It is common for men to work with the fruit orchards and women to take care of the kitchen gardens.

Surveys of local farms are being carried out. How farmers are currently growing crops is being looked at and any factors that limit production are being addressed. It was found that many of the farmers with fruit orchards thought that pruning their trees would lessen yields rather than increase them. The surveys are also helping to understand more about the pests and diseases and their natural enemies, labs have been opened in the two project areas to help with identification and learn more about their ecology and biology. Breeding of natural enemies has already begun with the aim of producing one million individuals per day, it is hoped that they can be used to control the pests and diseases and in doing so help to reduce the use of pesticides.

One of the first steps was to select the members of the local farming community to be trained to teach farmers how to develop their skills and knowledge. By employing local people to help with the project CABI are able to reach deeper into the community. 10 individuals were selected in Takhar and 14 in Badakhshan. These trainees learned about all aspects of crop husbandry, soil health, crop protection, fresh water management and field to market systems.

The next step is to spread the knowledge. This is done by running classes for farmers and the curriculum for grapes, apples, peach and pomegranate has already been drawn up using the local language, Dari. The surveys of the local farms have been useful for tailoring the farmers’ classes to take into consideration problems specific to each region and climate - management of water resources is a good example of a problem which occurs in many of the villages, but the solution will depend on local waterways, geography and climate.

To aid in the teaching of farmers CABI have set up model farms in the two regions. At one of these farms the owner has seen his output of apples increase dramatically. Previously, he could expect a yield of 300kg in a reasonable year, but with the new techniques brought in by CABI 7000kg return was achieved, an inspiring turnaround! The initial targets are to try to train 1000 farmers, but CABI staff are confident that they can reach twice this number.

Project reports

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