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.cgiar.org
23 September 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Afghan Farmers Trained in Marketing Seed Potatoes
Participants and trainers at the Marketing Seed Potato training course in Parwan.
Potato is a staple food in many parts of Afghanistan. But the lack of a formal or informal seed system and quality seed limits the potential for area and yield increases. Development of an efficient seed production and marketing system is, therefore, extremely important. Farmers need to be trained in seed production and marketing, and developing links with domestic and international markets through various agencies involved in the trade of seed/ware potatoes.

In collaboration with ICARDA, the International Potato Center (CIP) organized specialized training courses on marketing seed potato for 52 participants in Ghazni and Parwan provinces, 17-24 August 2004. Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MOAL), various NGOs, extensionists, farmers' cooperatives, Development Works Canada, progressive seed potato farmers, and traders of seed/ware potatoes. Both courses were inaugurated by the Directors of Agriculture of the respective provinces. The courses were conducted as part of the "Clean Seed Production, Multiplication, and Marketing for Increased Potato Production in Afghanistan" project, which is funded by USAID’s Rebuilding Agricultural Markets Program (RAMP), and is jointly implemented by CIP and ICARDA.

Dr Mohinder Singh Kadian, Agronomist, CIP; Mr M.B.S. Sandhu, Executive Director, Graintec India Limited; and Mr Moeen ud Din Seraj of CIP-Afghanistan presented various mechanisms for developing intra- and inter-provincial linkages between seed and ware potato farmers. With good agro-management and an effective marketing system, the current yield of 16.8 tons/ha could be enhanced to 20 tons/ha, and the area under potato cultivation could be expanded from 14,000 ha to 18,000 ha by 2009. It is expected that the project will activate and strengthen a nationwide seed system, and help reach the targeted production of 54,000 tons of potato seeds by 2009.

CIP and ICARDA are working together to develop a sustainable potato seed system in Afghanistan to boost potato production as a viable domestic and export industry. The target would be achieved by training farmers and researchers in integrated crop and disease management to produce disease-free seed, post-harvest management, storage, and marketing technologies. The entire program is expected to be handed over to MOAL in the next two years.

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.
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