Reflections and Opportunities for Afghanistan

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Reflections and Opportunities for Afghanistan

• Alice Pell, CIIFAD/ Animal Science
• Ian Merwin, Horticulture
• Peter Hobbs, Crops and Soils
• Emily Levitt, Nutrition

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Mazar-e- Sharif
Kholm
Feroze Nakhsee
Pol-e Khomri
Shomali Pass
Guldara
Kabul
Lowgar
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• Some Afghanistan Facts
• Population 2002 20.6 million
• 2003 28.7 million
• Muslim with 84 Sunni 15 Shia
• Average life expectancy 47 years
• 65-70 over age 15 cant read or write
• Average farm size 2 hectares
• Top exports are opium, fruits, nuts, carpets,
  wool cotton, hides/pelts and gems

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Afghanistan

• 20 of children die before age 5
• 2nd highest maternal mortality in the world
• 80 live in rural areas
• 30 years of war
• Many refugees (internal and external)
• 80 of worlds poppy supply
• 2200/acre compared to 220 for wheat
• 20 decrease this year

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Education - 30 Year Time Warp

• Old lecture notes
• 700 books for 800 students in library
• 5 computers
• No laboratories in veterinary school

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Infrastructure
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War
5 to lay a mine, 1000 to remove 200,000 people
maimed or killed, 40,000 animals Transition from
war to peace economy
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Food Insecurity
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Environmental Problems
Afghan Soil after plowing
Water
100-400 mm rain/year
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Livestock
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Land Use in Afghanistan

• 5.1 intensively farmed (irrigation)
• 7 rain-fed agricultural land
• 41 urban, rocky or barren (no ag. use)
• Forest 2
• 45 rangeland (animal pasture)

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Livestock Contributions

• In 1970s, 25 of export income from animals
• Milk and meat (balanced a.a. profile)
• Traction (plowing and transportation
• Savings
• Manure for fuel and fertilizer

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Forages
For 5 kg milk production, need 5050
strawalfalfa ratio (10 of crop land in improved
forages)
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Livestock Challenges

• Forage quality and quantity
• Winter feed supply
• Overgrazing/rangeland management
• Dairy production processing
• Veterinary services
• Marketing
• Inefficient water use

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Reflections Opportunities from a Cornell trip
to Afghanistan Human Nutrition

• Emily J. Levitt, PhD Student
• Program in International Nutrition
• November 30, 2005

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• Overview
• Nutrition situation
• Current activities
• Opportunities for Cornell involvement

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• Historical insights on nutrition in Afghanistan
• 60 of ag. exports were dried fruit nuts
• Military created power bar for soldiers
• Regionally Afghans seen as tall, strong people

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• Post-war public nutrition challenges
• year-round food security
• micronutrient deficiency disorders (esp. anemia)
  
• nutrition awareness and related skills

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Malnutrition data from 2004 survey

• Chronic malnutrition 54 children growth
  stunted (U5)
• Iodine deficiency 72 children, 75 women
• Anemia 38 children, 25 women n-preg,
• 7 men
• Vitamin A deficiency 10.2 children, 2.4 women
  n-preg
• Vitamin C deficiency 10 seasonally in some
  regions

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Intergenerational cycle of malnutrition
Child growth failure
Low adolescent weight and height
Low birth weight infant
Small adult woman

• 1600/100,000 women die in childbirth (almost 2)
• Chief causes include obstructed labor and anemia

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• Health nutrition
• promotion
• Community (CHW, schools)
• clinics
• Disease management
• Growth monitoring
• nutrition counseling
• Agriculture extension

Current activities

• Supplementation
• Vit C air drops
• Vit A through health services
• Fe-folate to pregnant women

• Fortification
• Salt iodization
• Flour Fe, Zn, B-vits.

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• Capacity building within the Ministry of Public
  Health other institutional partners
• Support to national (n4) provincial (n32)
  nutrition officers
• Foundation nutrition course
• Situation analysis for child nutrition program
  development

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Opportunities for Cornell involvement

• Improving food security, rural livelihoods
• Food system planning (link nutrition
  agriculture)
• Home gardens, winter gardens, food preservation,
  livelihoods support,
• Increasing fruit vegetable consumption
• Tackling preventing micronutrient deficiency
  disorders
• Iron deficiency anemia, zinc presumed
  deficient, vitamin A, vitamin C deficiencies
• Improving nutrition awareness and related skills
• Infant young child feeding, caring practices
• Household nutrition practices (preparation,
  balanced diet, preservation etc.)
• Pre-service in-service training programs for
  health, agriculture and related professionals

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Hort production statistics
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Subsistence vs. Cash Crops
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Fruit Growing in Afghanistan

• Historically was a main export sector
• Extensive but small scale plantings
• Intercropping is very common
• Main crop is often not the tree fruit
• Low yields and poor quality fruit
• Local varieties and seedling trees

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Raisin Table Grapes

• No wine-grapes grown
• Good seedless raisin grapes
• Unique jui trellis systems
• Two systems of raisin prodn
• Post-harvest damage
• Pest problems

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Major Advantages

• Excellent climate for many types of fruit
• Manageable pest complex
• Good water quality
• Good soils for growing orchard/vineyard crops
• Close to major markets (India, Russia, Europe)
• Local Ag-labor force available at low cost

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Major Limitations

• Lack of pest management info and equipment
• No fruit storage or processing facilities
• Lack of info on fruit crops training, pruning,
  irrigation
• No info on soil and crop nutritional status
• Obsolete varieties may not be exportable
• Universities ill-equipped for teaching, extension
  or applied research

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Strategies for Cornell Support

• Get info to growers and students via the WWWeb
• Provide short-courses and on-farm demos
• Help to retrain and equip extensionists faculty
• Improve varietal mix and production systems

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Increased Productivity and Profitability of
Wheat-based Cropping Systems to Reduce Reliance
on Opium Poppy in Northern Afghanistan (RALF02-05)
Visited as a consultant to the JDA Project in
Mazar-e-Sharif

• Joint Development Associates (JDA)
• Aga Khan Foundation (AKF)
• International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
  (CIMMYT)
• Cornell University
• Balkh Savings Credit Union (BSCU)

Jan. 2005 Jan. 2007
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• Wheat in Afghanistan
• Major staple cereal eaten as naan
• 1978 base year 1/3rd Rainfed today
• more as more rangeland being used for crops
• 1t/ha rainfed 3t/ha irrigated average 1.9 t/ha
• Mostly spring varieties but also winter and SxW
• Plant October/November but 10 plant Spring
• Harvest April through June
• Straw as valuable as grain for animal feed and
  as a component in adobe house plaster.

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Wheat Naan
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Other traditional wheat management
Threshing
Hand Harvest
Sowing
Cleaning seed
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Traditional Land Preparation
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Tractor Land Preparation
Moldboard Plow
Cultivator
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Often poor soil structure after first tillage
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Wheat bhusa (straw after threshing)
Some crop residue and animal manure needs to be
returned to the soil to help with nutrient
cycling and physical and biological soil health
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Improved Fodders
Reduced and Zero-tillage
Available equipment Repair Spares Training
Animals
Solar
manure
Tillage
Tractors mechanization
Fuel
Fossil fuel
Soil
Trees
residues
Crop yield
Possible interventions
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Example of Solar cookers
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Mechanization

• Chinese tractors
• Two-wheel
• Small 4-wheel
• Multiple use of this power source
• Use for reduced and Zero-tillage

Local workshops
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Small 2-wheel tractors
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Strip-till seeding
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0-tillage -- with 0-till drill
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Broadcast sown field wheat
Strip-till sown wheat
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Irrigation water is a key to sustainable
production
10,000 ha damaged irrigation scheme
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Improved irrigation systems needed
But also need improve utilization of rain water
by improving infiltration of water through better
soil management. This would reduce wind and water
erosion.
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Plants and Animals and People
Crop Residues
Trees
Crops
Animals
Manure
Soil
Pasture
People (food or income)
Fuel
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Rainbow Revolution
Energy
Health/Nutrition
Livestock
Soil
Water
Crops
EDUCATION and CAPACITY BUILDING
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Tashakor
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Food Insecurity
Lack of education
Pests
Infrastructure
Drought/ overgrazing
War
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Green Revolution
Crops