A 7,500-mile partnership Missouri farmers and researchers support their National Guard colleagues in Afghanistan
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Despite recent progress, Afghanistan remains a poor country. Its agriculture industry, which employs 80 percent of all working Afghanis, hasn't changed much in centuries. It is a nation that can't feed itself without foreign aid.
(Media-Newswire.com) - COLUMBIA, Mo. - Despite recent progress, Afghanistan remains a poor country. Its agriculture industry, which employs 80 percent of all working Afghanis, hasn't changed much in centuries. It is a nation that can't feed itself without foreign aid.
To help change this, a pilot program called the Agribusiness Development Team ( ADT ) has been created. The effort is being led by Missouri National Guard members, many of whom are graduates of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
The ADT effort is jointly coordinated by the U.S. Army, the Army National Guard, the Missouri National Guard, the University of Missouri, Lincoln University, the College of the Ozarks and the Missouri Farm Bureau. Soldiers in the field work directly with farmers while agriculture experts back in Missouri provide technical and research support.
"The Agribusiness Development Team is a novel partnership between the Missouri National Guard, retired military, farmers and universities to facilitate and educate Afghanis in the rebuilding of their agriculture economy," said Maj. Gen. King Sidwell, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard. "Missouri is the leader for this concept, which, if successful, will serve as a model for partnerships in other states."
"Afghanistan has seen so much war and devastation. They need help creating every aspect of an agricultural economy," said Sgt. Maj. James Schulte, operations and training coordinator and one of the leaders in this project. "The United States military has been very active in helping rebuild Afghanistan through schools, bridges and clinics, but this is the first time we are specifically targeting agriculture."
The ADT will initially work to improve irrigation systems and techniques for fertilizing, planting, harvesting, marketing and storing crops. The teams not only advise Afghan farmers but also coordinate with universities and provincial ministries.
The first ADT team deployed to the Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan in Sept. 2007. In February a larger team of 50 Show-Me State guardsmen arrived in Jalalabad, an important center of commerce. In June they arrived in Ghazni, a key agricultural area.
ADT members bring personal ties and relationships that allow them to leverage the assets and expertise of MU and Lincoln universities and Cooperative Extension services within their home state.
"The ADT is a great approach to rebuilding the agricultural economy in war-torn Afghanistan," said Marc Linit, CAFNR associate dean for research and extension. "Faculty in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources already have assisted the team by training members in the basics of soil testing, plant disease identification and crop fertilization. This is a wonderful way for our faculty to use their expertise for the benefit of Afghan agriculture."
"While deployed we will be looking for Afghan solutions for Afghan challenges," said Maj. Doug Dunlap, ADT executive officer. "Everything that works for Missouri farmers may not necessarily be a solution for Afghan farmers, but we can certainly help them with some technical and infrastructure assistance."
Dunlap has a diverse background in agriculture, a quality he needs to accomplish his mission. He earned an agricultural economics degree from MU, has a family farm and agribusiness background, and worked several years in agricultural finance.
"The average Afghan farmer probably hasn't changed much in a couple hundred years," Dunlap said of the farmers who grow a variety of crops in tiny fields along the Kabul River. "They're very dependent on manual labor. Tractors are rare. Open ditches carry water for irrigation. Livestock is slaughtered on a dirt lot with no sanitation. Lack of cold storage means farmers are unable to hold on to crops and sell them when prices might be better."
That lack of cold storage and electricity are major problems to both farmers and the national economy. The nation's cattle are slaughtered within a few weeks. The sudden glut on the market drives prices to rock bottom. Then beef becomes scarce again and prices skyrocket.
The same thing happens with row crops. Much of the crop rots in the field, Dunlap said, because there is no market beyond local villagers and across the nearby border with Pakistan.
These are some of the problems the ADT program was created to eliminate. Simple fixes can be a boost to the local economy, which Dunlap said could be the exit strategy for the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has other problems that dog the team's efforts. Afghanis, particularly in rural areas, are ravaged by bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria and rabies. The estimated life expectancy in the country is among the worst on Earth at 44.21 years. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care and jobs.
The country also suffers from limited natural fresh water resources, inadequate supplies of potable water, soil degradation, overgrazing, deforestation, desertification and high levels of air and water pollution.
Roughly 45 percent of the country's gross domestic product comes from agriculture, Dunlap said.
Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, Army National Guard director, said that the Missouri ADT's successes indicate the concept is sound and noted that another state is being prepped to enter another province.
Mizzou students and graduates pose in front of the Spin Ghar Mountain range near Jalalabad, Afghanistan. They are part of the first Agribusiness Development Team deployed to support the Army's Provincial Reconstruction Teams. Pictured from left to right are: Sgt. Curtis Brandt, agricultural systems management; Spc. Nathan Briscoe, agricultural education; Sgt. Larry Godsey, MS agricultural economics 1996; Capt. Mike Seek, BS plant science 1999; Spc. Jason Holderieath, BS agribusiness management 2006; Sgt. Wade Gauldin, BS agricultural economics 2007; Maj. Doug Dunlap, BS agricultural economics 1993; and Sgt. Van Malter, BS animal science 2007.
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