3.3 Guiding Principles

From Crop Improvement to the Seed System: Looking Forward

The irrigated areas can be divided into groups by cropping system. In the higher elevations in the north, one crop per year is commonly produced. In the plains to the west and south, two crops are generally produced per year, and near Jalalabad, three crops can be grown. The single crop per year production area is in the greatest need of rehabilitation. While currently in wheat production, cropping alternatives include vegetables, fruit trees, corn, sesame, flax, cowpea, chickpea, rye, sunflower, and potato.

Wheat remains the most reasonable fall seeded crop in the two- and three-crop-per-year production areas. Alternative crops in the double-cropping system include melons, vegetables, annual forage legumes, rice, cotton, flax, sesame, mung bean and common bean. Corn is often intercropped with either mung bean or common bean in this area.

In the southeast, near Jalalabad, three crops per year can be grown. While wheat is the fall-seeded crop, it is often followed by sugarcane, vegetables, intercropped maize, cotton, rice, squash, food legumes, and potatoes. Due to its nearness to the Kabul airport and its economic productivity, this region of the country is best suited to investment in high value export products, including seed potatoes and vegetable and flower seed.

Rainfed production systems can most easily be defined by rainfall amount. Our group divided the rainfed production systems into areas receiving more than less than 250 mm; 250 to 300 mm; 300 to 350 mm; and more than 350 mm annual precipitation. In the driest zone, alternatives to wheat include barley, forages, triticale, Russian olive, almonds, and pistachios. In the 250 to 300 mm zone, these crops plus lentils, herbs, and cumin could be grown. The crops that could be added to the 300 to 350 mm zone include chickpeas, flax, and sesame. In the 350 and above zone, rapeseed, melons, apricots, peaches, pomegranates, mulberries, and potatoes could be added. Each of these crops could be viewed as a market crop, expanding farmer marketing opportunities. Farmers who collaborate with shepherds could market forages, barley, and triticale (either as grain and straw, or as hay). Market opportunities for the oilseeds will depend upon the development of oil crushing facilities. Fiber flax feeds into a diversified textile industry. Effective marketing of melons, fruits, nuts and potatoes will depend on investment in appropriate storage facilities and expansion of local and regional markets.

Infrastructure
Many constraints limit the rate at which agricultural economic productivity can be improved. Most farmers are illiterate, and farm level education systems, including extension services, are key to adoption of new production systems and technologies. Farm credit is likewise crucial to rural poverty alleviation. Farmers need access to appropriate farm machinery, ranging from power tillers to modern tractors and harvesters. A rental system for these is also possible. Perhaps more important is the development of storage and processing facilities for farm produce. Transport infrastructure is critical for marketing of perishable products, another reason for the obvious dominance of wheat, a relatively non?perishable grain. Improved access to fertilizer and improved seed, and transfer of weed and pest management technologies, including herbicides and pesticides needs dramatic improvement.

Marketing
A landlocked nation, Afghanistan suffers from the same export constraints as does much of West and Central Asia. Transport to external markets is slow and expensive, and perishable products cannot be managed with currently available technology. The food-processing sector (fruit drying, vegetable processing, and dairy industries) must be redeveloped as a precondition for income generation. For the effective development of the Afghan agricultural economy, food technology must be dramatically improved. Pre-revolution Afghanistan developed a reputation for high quality cotton production, and for high quality cotton products. The textile industry must be regenerated. Postharvest processing of Afghanistan's crops will add value, create employment opportunities, improve the local diet, and create the income flow that will alleviate rural poverty.

Rehabilitation of the environment is key to restoration of a productive agricultural system. Legislation must be enacted to protect rangelands and forests and to begin soil conservation. Much of the rangeland in Afghanistan has been destroyed by drought and overgrazing. An immediate, proactive effort to reseed the barren hillsides of Afghanistan is needed to alleviate erosion and improve water-holding capacity.

Establishment of energy supplies to replace wood for cooking is key to stopping the deforestation of Afghanistan. Due to the energy crisis in Afghanistan, both forests and orchards have been consumed for cooking and for winter heating. Afghanistan has large reserves of natural gas and coal, and these reserves should be immediately mobilized for use by the rural poor.

The public institutions involved in agricultural research in Afghanistan include MOAL, The University of Kabul and its sister institutes in five cities across Afghanistan, the vocational colleges of Afghanistan, Afghanistan Polytechnic College, and the Agricultural High Schools of Afghanistan. The faculty of the Agricultural Colleges of Afghanistan collaborates in research with MOAL. Retraining of faculty in the Ministry and the universities might best be done locally, with contracted education providers. All faculties need training in computer technologies, from word processing to database management to basic Internet communications. The University of Kabul trained a large cadre of extension agents in the 1960s and 1970s. Reestablishing this program is essential to rural agricultural development.

Establishment of a broad?based crop variety evaluation program is the first step in diversification of Afghanistan's farm economy. Each of the CGIAR centers involved in improvement of crops appropriate for Afghanistan farmers will contribute nurseries of materials. With the rehabilitation of the research center in Kabul, the Afghan varietal testing system can take an initial step toward identification of germplasm needed by Afghan farmers. Seed could then be shipped into Kabul, planted in trials at the Kabul research farm for seed increase, then distributed for on?farm evaluation or research center evaluation.

Adapted germplasm of many crops not served by CGIAR centers will need to be accessed from the public and private sectors of developed and developing countries. Flax, sesame, cotton, sugarcane, and vegetables are included in this group. The horticultural crops, including pistachios, pomegranates, apricots, almonds, figs, and grapes, will need to be collected and increased locally using standard methods. This is an obvious opportunity for development of public/private sector partnerships. Potatoes, likewise provide an excellent opportunity for private sector development. Virus-free seed potato production is a high value industry, demanding small laboratories capable of sterile propagation of meristem cuttings and tuber production. In India, smallholders have `basement laboratories' devoted to propagation of potatoes provided by certified potato seed laboratories. This technology can be readily distributed to progressive farmers, and provide farm families with an introduction to modern science and technology. Access to farm credit is a necessary precursor to innovative developments in the agricultural sector.

Institution Responsibilities for Redevelopment
The main institute for agricultural redevelopment (through providing services for crop production) will be MOAL. Expertise is available in the Afghanistan system, but capabilities should be enhanced. The MOAL institutions that could provide services to the crop sector, as well as the processing and added-value sector, include the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA), the Department of Agricultural Extension, Farmers Cooperative Department, Forestry Department, and the plant protection department. Marketing and Credit is important and is handled by the Farmer Cooperative Department and the AgBank.

AgBank, Afghanistan Chemical and Fertilizer Company, and the Afghan Seed Company are all potentially valuable partners in the restoration of agriculture in Afghanistan. These private companies, chartered by the government of Afghanistan, historically served several important roles in procurement of credit and the inputs needed to make the rural economy function.

The following is needed:
1. Reestablishment of the Afghanistan Gene Bank. This is needed to hold the landrace accessions of crops, vegetables, and fruits that will be used as the base material for Afghan agricultural production system.
2. Reestablishment of the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan.
3. Redevelopment of the Agricultural Extension Department
4. Reestablishment of Research Centers. This is required for seed introduction and initial testing, and for providing the base for extension education, cropping systems research, development of the horticultural industry, and initial seed production.
5. Refurbishment of the Afghan Seed Company. This is required for seed multiplication and distribution.
6. Establishment of communications capabilities: a satellite uplink should be provided for ARIA for full Internet access

Human capacity-building is essential. And, as each research center is refurbished, a research center manager must be trained to ensure that the center functions efficiently. Skills in need of upgrading include mechanics, field plot design, and basic computer literacy.

An on-site course in computer literacy should be provided to the entire staff of ARIA. Donors should be sought to provide the hardware (computers, printers, server, and network). Fellowship and scholarship programs should be provided to ARIA and university faculty to upgrade their skills. Two individuals should be trained in agricultural economy policy development.

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