ICARDA News

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS
P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
Website: http://www.icarda.cgiar.org

Agriculture can be an engine for growth in Afghanistan, but farmers must first gain access to improved technologies. Now, with the refurbishment of its audio recording studio and installation of powerful digital recording and editing equipment, the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MOAL) is better able to provide farm families with the information they need to increase production and income and contribute to the country's recovery.
     The MOAL complex in Kabul was the site of fierce battles in the 1990s. Every building was damaged and emptied of anything of value. The once popular agricultural show produced by the Ministry struggled over the years to stay on the air, by sending written scripts and simple audio cassettes to Radio Afghanistan headquarters for production and broadcast.
     Thanks to the determination of MOAL staff members, and their partnership with the ICARDA-led, USAID-funded, Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan, the Ministry now has everything it needs to raise the quantity and quality of its radio programs for farmers. The Consortium's Agricultural Radio Project helped MOAL re-soundproof its studio and install modern digital recording and editing equipment. Included in the package was a mini-digital recorder for field interviews with farmers.
     The Project will also train 10 MOAL staff members in the use of personal computers, and five will be trained in advanced studio techniques, program format development, and use of digital audio editing software.
     Only about 30 percent of Afghans over the age of 15 can read, which makes communication through the printed word a real challange, especially in rural areas. On the positive side, Afghans are avid radio listeners, and radio reaches virtually the entire country.
     The new studio, which was opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Afghan Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, H.E. Mr Sayed Hussain Anwari, on 11 September 2003, is just part of the work of the Agricultural Radio Project. Already, the Project's weekly program, Sow Well, Reap Well, is well known by farmers, who can relate to wise old Baba Dehkan, a regular feature guest on the program, presented by Mr Enayat Safi. The program was developed in partnership with Internews, an international NGO, and is distributed on CD to radio stations throughout Afghanistan.
     In April 2003, some 14 reporters and producers from Radio Afghanistan's regional stations and MOAL staff took part in the Project's training and production workshop in Kabul. Participants were coached in developing topics of value to farmers and were then put face-to-face with knowledgeable agriculturalists able to answer their questions. Each participant's program was recorded and bundled with all the others, with catchy intro music, ready for broadcast at the participants' home stations.
     Through partnership between MOAL, Radio Afghanistan, and the Future Harvest Consortium, Afghan farm families are receiving more of the information they need to increase their agricultural production and incomes, and contribute to the recovery of their country.

ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission 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.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of 62 members and 16 Future Harvest Centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment

The Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan is a multi-partner effort led by the International Center for Agricultural Research in The 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

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