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: www.icarda.cgiar.org
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
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| Participants after building the first greenhouse in Kabul. |
The team established a new Protected Agriculture Center (PAC) at the Badam Bagh Research Station in Kabul. The center will carry out research in protected agriculture and serve as a hub for demonstration, training, and technical support for growers, extension agents, agricultural engineers and NGO personnel. Tomato, sweet pepper, and cucumber nurseries were established and four green houses with appropriate irrigation and fertigation systems were installed at the center. Cucumbers were directly planted in one of the green houses, and tomato and sweet pepper will be transplanted after the seedlings reach the appropriate size.
The technical group from ICARDA also built green houses in a farmer’s field to start spreading this technology to nearby provinces. After visiting eight sites, the team decided to install single span (9m x 30m) green houses at two sites. Neighboring farmers were also involved in all the steps of the installation as a part of the training efforts. The structures were completed and the green houses will be covered by plastic just before transplanting the crops. PAC staff will provide the farmers with technical support. The goal for the first year of this project is to install five green houses in farmers’ fields with the farmers providing the land, water, and labor, and the project providing the green house material and all the necessary equipment as well as training and technical support.
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| Mr Mirdad Panjshiri (center), Advisor to the Minister of MAAH; Dr Ahmed Moustafa (left), Regional Coordinator, ICARDA-APRP and PA Specialist; and Dr Nasrat Wassimi, Executive Manager, ICARDA-Afghanistan opened the training course. |
Training in Protected Agriculture
ICARDA staff also conducted two training courses on ‘Green House Installation and Preparation for Cash Crop Production,’ at the newly established PAC. The first course was designed to train the trainers. More than 20 participants from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (MAAH) and NGOs attended. Mr Mirdad Panjshiri, Advisor to the Minister of MAAH, Dr Ahmed Moustafa, Regional Coordinator, APRP, and Dr Nasrat Wassimi, Executive Manager, ICARDA/ Afghanistan, inaugurated the course. In his opening address, Mr Panjshiri stressed the importance of Protected Agriculture (PA) in revitalizing the export sector in Afghanistan and appreciated ICARDA’s efforts. Dr Ahmed Moustafa thanked MAAH and USAID/RAMP for the opportunity to introduce PA in Afghanistan, which will allow the nation to produce high-value, year-round cash crops in marginal lands and water-deficit areas. Dr Wassimi welcomed the participants and described the project.
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| Participants at the first Training Course. |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.cgiar.org)
serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil,
and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management
of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep
and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central
and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for the
improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage legumes
and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of the natural
resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.
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.