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Improved
wheat seed provided by the Consortium being unloaded
in Kabul. |
The FHCRAA was quick to realize
the imminent threat of famine in Afghanistan. Wheat is critical
to the Afghan diet, but farmers in the country had no seed
to plant in their fields. So, in late March and early April
2002, just in time for the spring planting season, the Consortium
procured 3500 tons of improved wheat seed and coordinated
transport and distribution with other agencies and Afghan
partners who knew where to find around 70,000 farm families
most in need. ICARDA also distributed paddy, mung bean, flax,
sesame, chickpea, lentil, and vetch to farmers.
More than
70,000
farm families
benefited from the
Consortium-provided
seed for the 2002
spring planting. |
The Consortium immediately began
to lay the plans for fall planting in September 2002. Instead
of simply shipping wheat seed from other countries as they
did in April, ICARDA staff provided training in seed production
and contracted Afghan farmers to produce their own seed for
fall distribution. A rigorous quality control program which
included field inspections, removal of off-type plants, post-harvest
treatment against disease, and proper packaging techniques
was implemented.
Farmers benefited from
internal investment, training, access to high quality seed,
and a reduced risk of importing pests. The seed cleaning and
distribution operations also provided a source of income for
Afghans living in the surrounding villages. More than 300
women were employed to clean the seed.
 |
H.
E. Mr Sayed Hussain Anwari (right), Minister of Agriculture,
Afghanistan, and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director
General of ICARDA, signed a comprehensive agreement
of collaboration when the Minister visited ICARDA in
July 2002. |
Seed
cleaning
provided a critical
source of cash
income for farm
families, particularly
war widows. |
Thanks to the fall 2002 FHCRAA
Wheat Seed Campaign, Afghan farmers produced nearly 5000 tons
of wheat seed which was subsequently distributed to 90,000
farmers in 11 provinces. This distribution of high-quality,
disease resistant wheat seed yielded more than 100,000 tons
in 2003. ICARDA also shipped 53 tons of foundation seed, including
seed of bread and durum wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and
vetch, to Afghanistan for on-station testing, large-scale
evaluation and pre-release multiplication in the fall of 2002.
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