I C A R D A    N e w s

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
For more information contact: Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
 
5 May 2005
Protected Agriculture Expands in Afghanistan
As part of its efforts to improve livelihoods through cash crop production, the Protected Agriculture Project in Afghanistan (RAMP Job # 9) organized a variety of training courses, completed the greenhouse construction material manufacturing workshop, and built 20 greenhouses in farmers’ fields in March 2005. A four-day training course on greenhouse manufacturing, installation, and preparation, and Integrated Production and Protection Management (IPPM) was conducted at the Protected Agriculture Center (PAC) in Kabul. This was followed by on-the-job training courses in the five target provinces of Parwan, Ghazni, Kunduz, Helmand, and Nangarhar.
Dr Magdy Wadid, ICARDA Consultant, demonstrating the preparation of growing media to the participants at PAC.
The training course was inaugurated by H.E. Mr Mohamed Sharif, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food, Afghanistan. Dr Abdul Qahar Samin from Chemonics and various other stakeholders attended the opening session. The course included lectures and practical sessions by Dr Ahmed Moustafa, Protected Agriculture Principal Investigator, ICARDA; Dr Magdy Wadid, ICARDA Consultant; Eng. Arash Nejatian, ICARDA; Eng. Abdul Fattah Tarsha, ICARDA; and Eng. Tareq Ouda, ICARDA Consultant. The courses at Parwan and Ghazni were conducted by ICARDA scientists and consultants, while those in the other three provinces (Kunduz, Nangarhar, and Helmand) were handled by the trainers who were previously taught at the PAC. The courses attracted 40 growers, extension agents, researchers, and representatives of NGOs. In addition to these courses, 10 local technicians were trained on GH manufacturing in early March at the PAC. Mr Ismail Shukri and Mr Abdul Wahab Kabani from ICARDA conducted the course which focused on ways to manage the manufacturing workshop and start the production process.

The project established 10 new GHs in farmers’ fields. Growers and their neighbors participated in all the steps to establish the GHs and planting and the process was treated as a hands-on learning session. All the greenhouses were equipped with the drip irrigation system and planted with high-value crops such as cucumber, tomato, and pepper. ICARDA scientists and consultants will provide technical backstopping and necessary advisory service to the farmers during the growing season.

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 countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.
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