Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Duration: 2014-2019
Region: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Country: Afghanistan
Solutions: Economic Growth
Farmers and agribusinesses in northern Afghanistan are well-positioned to capitalize on the country’s growing economy and expanding ties to the global community. In recent years, Mazar-e-Sharif has become a trading hub for agricultural products, in part because of its proximity to Central Asia. Buildings are springing up across the city as companies set up shop, and a newly functioning railway between Mazar-e-Sharif and the Uzbekistan border has unlocked vast trading opportunities with Central and Southern Asia. In Kunduz and Badakhshan provinces, new bridges across the Amu River have also opened trade with Tajikistan.
Despite these prospects, farmers and agribusinesses in northern Afghanistan faced a range of challenges to improve farm productivity and increase agribusiness profitability. The lack of reliable irrigation, use of low-yielding seeds, widespread absence of fertilizer and pesticide, poor cultivation and post-harvest techniques, shortage of appropriate technologies, and underutilization of female labor all contributed to weak productivity. The Regional Agricultural Development Program–North (RADP-North), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), facilitated investments and works to improve the productivity and profitability of select agricultural value chains, increasing the food and economic security of rural Afghans.
Through partnerships with USAID, Afghan Government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) and the Directorate of Women’s Affairs (DOWA), and myriad development projects focused on stability, infrastructure, and agriculture, RADP-North leveraged investments in agricultural value chains to optimize cost-effectiveness and incorporate lessons learned.
RADP-North worked in the provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Balkh, Jawzjan, Kunduz, and Samangan, home to 5 million people.
Two-wheel tractor reaping demonstration in Balkh district.
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