ICARDA Caravan 18/19

Timely Seed Supply Averts Starvation in Afghanistan

In late 2001 and early 2002, the world worried over the threat of starvation in Afghanistan because of lack of seeds for growing food crops. Emergency relief was needed, and fast. Famine was averted with timely shipments of quality seed, and the relief effort quickly evolved into a broad-based program aimed at delivering food self-sufficiency.

Improved wheat seed provided by the Consortium being unloaded in Kabul.

Emergency Wheat Seed Distribution
April 2002
Afghan farmers needed wheat seed for spring planting from mid-April to the beginning of May. Time was running out, but through determined effort a total of 3500 tonnes of improved wheat seed was delivered by 10 April to anxious farmers through NGOs and village shurahs (community leadership).

Wheat is the most important crop in Afghanistan, covering 80–85% of the arable land, or about 4 to 8 million hectares annually. The average Afghan consumes half a kilogram of wheat daily. The seed selected by ICARDA scientists was ensured to be high yielding and adapted to the agroecology of Afghanistan. The seed was procured in Pakistan and transported by the United Nations World Food Programme via Peshawar and Kabul to NGOs in the provinces. Over 70,000 farm families in the provinces of Badakhshan, Bamyan, Ghazni, Lowgar, Kapisa, Parwan, Wardak, and Uruzgan received seed. This remarkable result was achieved through the diligence of Afghan partners who worked around the clock and knew where to find those families most in need. The World Food Program, a United Nations (UN) agency, arranged the transport of seed to Kabul, and the Food and

Over 70,000 farm families benefited from the Consortium-provided seed for spring 2002 planting.

Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN–along with non-governmental organizations (NGOS) and local authorities–helped distribute the seed. NGO participants included the International Medica Corps, Helping Afghan Farmers Organization (HAFO), Agricultural Development of Afghanistan (ADA), International Mercy Corps (IMC), SOLIDARITES, FOCUS, and ACTED.

September 2002
During the spring distribution, planning began for the fall 2002 wheat seed campaign. The Future Harvest Consortium addressed food security in Afghanistan by combining relief with research and development.

Seed cleaning provided a critical source of cash income for farm families, particularly war widows.

Instead of shipping in wheat seed from other countries, ICARDA staff provided training in seed production and contracted Afghan farmers to produce the seed for the fall distribution. A rigorous program to ensure quality was put in place, which included field inspections, removal of off-type plants, post-harvest treatment against disease, and proper packaging. Farmers benefited from internal investment, training, access to high quality seed, and a reduced risk of importing unwanted pests.

To remove chaff, weed seeds and other impurities, the seed was cleaned manually, using methods that go back thousands of years. The wheat was hand sifted, then shoveled into the air. The sifting removed the chaff and the wind blew away the smaller and lighter weed seeds. The seed was then treated against pests and pathogens.

Foundation wheat seed production at ICARDA’s main research station for distribution to Afghanistan farmers.

The seed cleaning facilities were essential sources of income for Afghans living in surrounding villages. Over 300 female heads-of-household were employed in the cleaning and distribution process, which injected over one million dollars into the Afghan economy.

Farmers collected seed from local seed distribution outlets.

The fall 2002 Future Harvest Consortium wheat seed campaign distributed nearly 5000 tonnes of improved wheat seed to more than 90,000 farmers in 11 provinces. This distribution of high quality, disease resistant wheat seed yielded upwards of 100,000 tonnes in 2003.

The 2002 short-term emergency measures were just the first step in developing sustainable agricultural production systems in Afghanistan. As part of the Consortium’s activities, many varieties of wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, and vetch have been provided for evaluation and multiplication in cooperation with farmers. Included were Afghan landraces that had been safeguarded in ICARDA’s genebank. These varieties and landraces will provide farmers with a broader range of production options far into the future.