Rebuilding Agriculture and Food Security in Afghanistan

United States Department of Agriculture
Foreign Agricultural Service

You are here: Home / Trade Capacity Building and Development / Development Resources and Disaster Assistance / Rebuilding Agriculture and Food Security in Afghanistan

Rebuilding Agriculture and Food Security in Afghanistan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing technical assistance for the reconstruction of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector. USDA works in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. military, and the Afghan Government, as well as other organizations.
— More about Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan

U.S. Working To Rebuild Afghanistan's Agriculture
— Fact Sheet: USDA at Work for Agriculture in Afghanistan (January 2010)
— Detail Assignments in Afghanistan for USDA Employees
— Checking Animal Health in Ke Salah Village, Afghanistan (March 2009)
— Detail Assignments in Iraq or Afghanistan for qualified individuals outside USDA
— Jim Green, Stationed in Afghanistan, Sends Letter to NRCS Family (04/16/08)
— Latest news about the PRTs in Afghanistan (U.S. Embassy–Kabul Web site)

News About Afghan Agricultural Reconstruction
- USDA Employee Timothy Powers Volunteers To Help Rebuild Afghanistan’s Agricultural Sector (02/18/09)
- Schafer Recognizes Work of USDA Advisors Who Served in Afghanistan And Iraq (05/02/08)
- USDA Video of the recognition ceremony

Kapisa Crop Demonstration Project - Farmers planting soy beans (Parwan PRT)

Kapisa Crop Demonstration Project - Farmers planting soy beans (Parwan PRT)

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) —

Since 2003, USDA has deployed 57 people for medium- and long- term assignments in Afghanistan. Experts have come from a variety of USDA agencies including the Foreign Agricultural Service; the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the Food Safety Inspection Service; the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service; and the Cooperative State Research, Extension and Education Service. These experts help enable, support, and foster reconstruction of the agricultural sector, and help build the ability of the Afghan central government to support and provide services to the agricultural sector.

To effectively assist, train, and demonstrate techniques to Afghan farmers and agriculture officials, USDA PRT experts travel in the field as part of military units of 50-100 personnel with 2-3 civilian U.S. Government advisors. As members of a fully integrated U.S. government team, USDA agricultural experts have helped to install windmills to pump water for irrigation and livestock, trained veterinarians to detect and treat parasites, refurbished a university’s agricultural research laboratory, stabilized eroded river banks and irrigation canals, developed post-harvest storage facilities, established nurseries and reforested areas, rehabilitated degraded orchards, and mentored provincial directors of agriculture.

— Detail Assignments in Afghanistan for USDA Employees
— Detail Assignments in Iraq or Afghanistan for qualified individuals outside USDA

History of USDA PRT Agricultural Experts in Afghanistan
2003: Three USDA Agricultural Experts joined PRTs on six-month deployments
2004: 10 USDA Agricultural Experts joined PRTs on six-month deployments
2005: 10 Agricultural Experts deployed to PRTs on six-month deployments
         Two USDA Technical Advisors were deployed
2006: Eight USDA Agricultural Experts joined PRTs on nine-month deployments
         Two USDA Technical Advisors
2007: Eight USDA Agricultural Experts joined PRTs on nine-month deployments
         Two USDA Technical Advisors
2009: 11 USDA Agricultural Experts joined PRTs on 13-month deployments
         One USDA Technical Advisor was deployed

Dr. Mahmood Ramzan (FSIS) inspecting a chick in women’s project (Kandahar PRT)

Rebuilding Agricultural Markets and Conserving Biological Diversity — Under this USAID-funded program, USDA is providing technical assistance to USAID Afghanistan and the Government of Afghanistan in five critical areas: a) livestock health, b) sanitary-phytosanitary (SPS) issues, c) agricultural extension, d) conservation of biodiversity, and e) strengthening the Afghan Government’s capacity to manage and protect forests and rangelands, and watersheds. USDA provides assistance through the use of its technical specialists from various agencies within USDA as well as staff from the Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Other program activities include long-term advisors at Kabul University and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food, in-country technical assistance and training.

ACC workers in Qarga Dam Hills, Kabul area

Afghan Conservation Corps — In 2003, at the request of and with funding from the U.S. Department of State, USDA helped establish the Afghan Conservation Corps (ACC). The ACC’s aim is to be a massive, community-based employment program putting thousands of unemployed Afghans to work by growing and planting trees, fostering conservation of water, and controlling soil erosion. The ACC is a collaborative effort of the Afghan Government with operational and management support from the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) staff in Afghanistan. USDA has provided technical assistance to the ACC through a variety of training activities in areas of seed handling, nursery management, handling and planting of trees, soil and water conservation, and conservation education.

Technical specialists have been from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, agencies within USDA as well as from Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. USAID has also provided support for USDA’s work with the ACC.

Trade How-To's for U.S. Exporters
- Trade.gov: Afghanistan
- Afghanistan Procurement Directory
- U.S. Department of State: Afghanistan Travel Information

Country Analysis

U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics:
- U.S. Exports to Afghanistan (2003–2007)
- U.S. Trade (Imports, Exports and Trade Balance) with Afghanistan (1992–Present)
CIA Fact Book: Afghanistan
FAO: General Information about Afghanistan
U.S. Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration
- Afghanistan Country Analysis Brief
Library of Congress
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Afghanistan Weather Maps
National Technical Information Service Products (search)

Background on Foreign Policy With Afghanistan

White House (Rebuilding Afghanistan)
- White Paper of the Interagency Policy Group's Report on U.S. Policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan (03/27/09)

U.S. Department of State: Afghanistan
- U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan
- Afghanistan Country Report on Human Rights Practices (March 2008)

United Nations News Focus: Afghanistan

International Trade Administration

Partners in Humanitarian Assistance
- U.S. Agency for International Development: Assistance for Afghanistan (USAID)

Contact USDA About Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs)

See Rebuilding Agriculture and Food Security in Iraq

See the International Development Main Page