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: www.icarda.org
28 June 2007
                             Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Inaugurates
Mint Laboratory in Afghanistan
H.E. Mohammad Sharif, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan, inaugurated the Herbal Distillate Training-cum-Production Laboratory, established jointly by ICARDA and Kabul University.
As part of its continuing efforts to build national capacity in Afghanistan, ICARDA has established a Herbal-Distillate Training-cum-Production Laboratory at the Faculty of Agriculture, Kabul University. The laboratory was inaugurated on 7 June by H.E. Mohammad Sharif, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. "The mint project is one of ICARDA's most successful activities in Afghanistan," said the Minister. "It started by testing and introducing high-yielding varieties and associated agronomic practices, developed simple technologies for value addition, and enabled farmers to produce and market the first herbal medicine in the post-conflict period." He appealed to the donor community to consider funding for up-scaling the project.
A similar facility was inaugurated at the premises of Women's Association for Learning Business Skills in Kabul, which works with ICARDA, to train women in new technologies. The meeting was attended by a host of dignitaries: the Deputy Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Rehabilitation and Development; senior officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Kabul university; representatives of the United Nations Organization for Drug Control, DFID, Purdue University, FAO, other international organizations and NGOs; a large number of students and faculty members of Kabul University; project beneficiaries from Helmand, Kabul and Nangarhar provinces; and the media.
Members of the Women's Association being trained in the use of distillation equipment, by Mr Muzaffar Athar, National Coordinator of the mint project.

Ms Habiba Mirzad, President of the Association, commended ICARDA's efforts to introduce this cottage industry based on herbal extracts, which would not only provide new economic opportunities but also help alleviate health problems in rural communities with inadequate or no access to doctors or pharmacies.

These activities are funded by DFID's Research on Alternative Livelihood Fund (RALF). The aim is to promote mint-water production as an income-generating activity, using low-cost technology introduced by the project. These facilities will provide training to would-be producers. The project is also working with micro-finance institutions to support mint entrepreneurs.
  

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.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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