It was hard to believe I was in strife-torn Afghanistan when the Deputy Minister I was interviewing in his well-defended Kabul office said he was overcome with optimism. But Afghanistan threw many surprises at us during a two-week mission by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to three provinces to examine efforts to get the country’s most important sector—agriculture—on track again.


Here are a few of those surprises:
Although a conservative male-dominated society, we saw throngs of young girls going to school in even the smallest villages we visited, often followed by their teachers, dressed in the encompassing burka.
Supposedly country people, simply participating in a European Union (EU)-funded project to set up small seed companies, could speak at length about such business concepts as quality control systems, product diversification and marketing. One company director in a dusty, remote compound even spoke of how much he was budgeting for television advertising!

In seemingly lost corners of the central highlands with poor roads, few vehicles and no electricity, mobile phone connectivity was excellent. In fact, Afghanistan has three wireless telecommunications companies.
Unlike in some war-traumatized countries where certain subjects are taboo, Afghans, from farmers to government officials, were ready to talk about the Soviet occupation and the Taliban years. Although women are definitely kept in the shadows, those employed by the FAO seed project and therefore out of the home with the families’ approval were eager to tell their stories as well.

“We are 91-per cent self-sufficient in food this year; we have had good rain and snow and are getting greater yields”, the optimistic Deputy Minister, Mohammad Sharif, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock told me in his office. “We are very optimistic—only our pockets are empty.” The international community is doing something about this. Supported by many donors, FAO bolsters the Agriculture Ministry with 400 project staff working across all sectors. The projects, with collective budgets of $17 million a year, cover poppy substitution, irrigation rehabilitation, seed industry development, milk production, sugar industry rehabilitation, market information systems, food security and nutrition, and bird flu prevention.



Along with land and water, seed is the basis of agriculture—one of the “vital organs”, as Mr Sharif put it. Any country, even the poorest, must have an efficient seed sector. The National Seed Laboratory compound on the outskirts of Kabul used to be the physical hub of Afghanistan’s seed sector. In 1993, looters swarmed over the compound, stealing lab equipment, ripping out window frames and electrical wiring, and wrecking machinery.

The European Union has “adopted” the Afghan seed sector and committed €16 million (2003-2011) to an innovative programme to privatize seed production and marketing while building the State’s capacity to regulate the industry. In Kabul that means, among other things, new equipment for the National Seed Laboratory, where workers next door are pouring concrete for a small building for the new National Seed Secretariat, one of the reborn industry’s regulatory bodies. Laboratory technicians speak in hushed tones as if in a mosque and everything is spotless. The brilliant mountain sun streams through the windows. Hope is definitely in the air.



A nine-hour drive along rutted gravel roads is the Bamyan District, a wide fertile valley in the spectacular central highlands.


Snow high on surrounding mountains slowly melts into the river that feeds irrigation canals. The mission stays in an agricultural station completely rebuilt by international aid, which is now the district home of the FAO-EU seed project. During the war, when the Government had abandoned the station, locals brought in trucks and helped themselves to all the topsoil in the adjacent trial field, leaving big holes. The project even had to fill in the holes!


Farmer Abdul Hamid, who has a wife and nine daughters, recalls how many people fled his village and surrounding areas as invading Soviet troops fought with Mujahideen militants from 1979, and when the Taliban were in power between 1996 and 2001. He also talks about a new high-yielding variety of wheat that FAO brought to the district. “These wars are dangerous, of course, and have caused many killings, injuries and other problems. The Taliban destroyed our home, which had been my grandfather’s house for many years. I had to build this one from wood and stones with my brothers.” He added: “During those days few vehicles passed through here to transport crops, so I had to walk 15 kilometres to the market to sell wheat or buy food and fuel. I wanted to try something new as I needed to grow more wheat. The latest harvest brought me 1,600 kilograms of wheat compared with 1,000 kg before, and there was less loss through disease. I am happy with the results; when the war was here, we didn’t have new opportunities like these.”


Since women are still largely invisible in Afghanistan, I would like to quote Fariha Azimi, who we were able to interview and who works as a lab helper in the Seed Test Laboratory in Herat: “I plant the seeds in boxes, water them and help collect them once grown. I started off cleaning and helping around the laboratory, but my colleagues helped train me, so now I know about growing and checking the seeds. I am glad I have new skills as they will help me earn money. I have five children; my husband works for the Government, but I need to work too so we have enough money. Otherwise things would be difficult.” She continued: “I have never heard anyone complain about me being a woman who works, but I don’t think everyone agrees with it. My family have never opposed it, but I think neighbours and others may disapprove. It can be difficult for women in this country, and it got a lot worse during the Taliban years—it was much stricter.”

The FAO-EU project has set up eight small seed companies around the country to act as models for the eventual full privatization of seed production and marketing. According to this development script, the Government’s role would be to bring new high-yielding, disease-tolerant varieties of wheat, potatoes and other crops into the country, hold field trials to see how they do in local conditions and multiply the best varieties.



Small companies would take the resulting foundation seed and, using contract growers, produce thousands of tonnes of seeds needed by farmers. In 2006, the eight pilot companies produced 4,000 tonnes of seeds, almost all of which were sold.
We also spoke to the directors and shareholders of four of the eight newly established seed enterprises. Many were very impressive indeed. The project technical advisor, Sam Kugbei, told me that “Afghans are entrepreneurial; they will take risks”. In Afghanistan, a country beset by enemies from within and without, the word “risk” becomes an altogether more ominous word.



Meet Sayed Abdul Qader, a teacher, farmer and Director of the Sheikh Maruf Karukhi Private Seed Company, located 35 km east of Herat in the village of Karukh. When the word got around that FAO would provide an industrial seed cleaning machine (worth $70,000) and building materials for a business premise if a local group would provide capital and labour, 60 people came to an information meeting. “Sixty local people wanted to know more and had money to invest”, Mr. Qader recalled. “But only nine became shareholders in the end. Some who decided not to join only wanted short-term gains, while others were afraid of losing their money. I believe that there is entrepreneurship in our national character, although mostly in the cities. In the end, we nine shareholders invested $11,500 in the company and built the warehouse and compound you see here”, Mr. Qader said. “The other 51 who didn’t come regret it now. They are jealous when they see that when we started we only had a bicycle and now we have two cars, a tractor, buildings,and trucks coming and going loading seed.” The Sheikh Maruf Karukhi Private Seed Company made $41,000 profit in 2004-2005 and $51,000 profit the following season, he said—so far, so good.

When we drive out to view experimental fields of a new variety of tomatoes, a line the company wants to expand into, the landscape is as dry and harsh as the moon. Then, the Land Cruiser crests a hill and a beautiful irrigated green valley is suddenly visible. One of the company shareholders invites us for tea in his compound, where he grows pomegranate, walnut, plum and grapes. His roses give off a bouquet as strong as the most fragrant perfume.


Although we did not see any poppy fields in our travels, Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium, the raw material for heroin. Perhaps the last word can go to Deputy Minister Sharif: “Farmers are interested in growing licit crops. Opium cultivation is against our religion and is the enemy of humanity. We should improve alternative crops and farmers will grow them.”