Potatoes are an important addition to the improved crop varieties being developed in Afghanistan by the International Potato Centre (CIP) in partnership with the Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan. They provide improved nutrition for mothers and children as well as higher incomes and new markets for cash-starved Afghan farmers.

By training farmers in the production of virus-free potato seed, yields are drastically increased Farmers improve their operations and income by either producing virus-free seed for sale to other farmers or by purchasing the improved seed.

Controlling aphids is an important component of potato production training. Aphids carry viruses from plant to plant enabling diseases like potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) and mosaic virus in becoming epidemic.

Production of virus-free potatoes demands aphid control and integrated disease management (IDM). It is also effective to grow potatoes as a spring crop in high mountain valleys where aphids are few and to use those potatoes as the fall planting material for the lowland farmers.

The training in aphid monitoring will provide a useful assessment of aphid populations at different seasons and in other regions. This data will be included in future reports. The goal is to identify appropriate planting seasons and locations for potato cropping in other regions of Afghanistan.

After assessing the potato production systems that existed in Afghanistan, project coordinators invited 134 participants from Kabul University, NGOs, FAO, ICARDA and regional farmers for training in potato seed production. Courses were held in Kabul and Jalalabad. Farmers also received field training on the visual identification of major potato diseases and off-type plant identification and control. Twenty-four trained farmers in the Jalalabad district were selected to multiply three varieties of potato imported from Pakistan and India: Desiree (10 metric tons), Cardinal (10mt) and Kufri Chandramukhi (2mt).

Since 3 - 5% of the imported Desiree and Cardinal varieties were infected with PLRV and mosaic virus, the Kufri Chandramukhi imported from the Techni-Tuber multinational seed company performed best. Due to unusual weather patterns in Jalalabad, the multiplication crops were hit twice by frost. Nearly 7.5 acres of the seed crop was ruined. Up until the frosts, the crop stand was obviously improved and farmers were delighted. Despite the weather, nearly 30 metric tons of quality seed was produced. Introducing a fall planting of potato will enable farmers to produce two crops annually, or rotate their potato plantings with wheat. The autumn potato planting will also reduce field preparation and fertilizer costs for the spring planting.

Following recommended water management practices to retain optimal moisture levels and moving the planting dates up to the second week of September will allow farmers to avoid similar losses in 2003. Other trainings were planned for Bamyan and Maidan and farmers identified to participate. However, due to security warnings, these trainings have been temporarily postponed.

The seed testing laboratories being built by USAID and FHCRAA are invaluable components to the creation of a commercialized seed potato industry. Future Harvest staff members are working with farmers to develop a certification process that will be recognized by seed potato purchasers nationwide.

This will enable the creation of new markets associated with the production and sale of guaranteed virus-free seed and build farmer confidence in yield and health. In observing the difficulties in obtaining disease-free seed for this project, Afghan potato producers can position themselves as future providers of quality seed for the export market. As a high-yield cash crop for smallholding farmers, the CIP potato program represents a significant improvement in Afghanistan's agricultural future.

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

The Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan is a multi-partner effort led by the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). More information on the Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan can be found at: www.futureharvest.org

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the government agency providing U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years (www.usaid.gov)

The International Potato Center (CIP) (www.cipotato.org)