Inception Workshop for Development of E-Agriculture Strategy for Afghanistan

Kabul 25-28 November 2017 – The FAO, Capacity Development and Institutional Strengthening CDIS Output-2 in coordination with UTF project for the first time successfully conducted an “Inception workshop on E-Agriculture Strategy”, for the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). Both from Kabul and also from the provinces subject matter experts were invited to this workshop. The workshop resource parsons were FAO international consultants. In the beginning of the workshop the resource persons provided some background information about the E-Agriculture strategies of other countries and then provided some guiding presentations how to work together toward development of the E-Agriculture Strategy for Afghanistan. In the afternoon the workshop participants were divided in six groups. In each group there were experts from different agriculture fields and technical staffs of information and communication technology. In the group work, participants reviewed modified and edited Afghanistan agriculture sector priorities and challenges. The workshop continued for four days, on the last day of the workshop once the priorities and challenges were identified the participants also worked on some possible ICT solutions. 

At the end of the workshop, all of the work done by groups was collected by resource persons. The resource persons will compile the information and based on the collected information the initial draft of the E-Agriculture strategy will be prepared. Once the first draft of the strategy is ready, it will be shared again with the participants to review, modified and further develop it.  

International Ag-Fair 2017: A Good Forum for Exchange of Agriculture Technology

                                       The Project CTA visiting the different stalls

Kabul, 20 October 2017: The irrigation projects of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), namely, the Project for Capacity Development Irrigation Directorate of MAIL (GCP/AFG/078/JCA) and the Project for Enhancing Agriculture Production through Irrigation System Improvement and Strengthening Institutional Capacity (OSRO/AFG/0502/JCA) actively participated in the International Ag-Fair 2017 held in Badam Bagh Research Farm, Kabul for three days from 18^th to 20^th October 2017. The best of Afghanistan’s agriculture produces as well as appropriate agricultural technologies and knowledge products were presented during the course of the event. New ideas and advanced practices were exchanged in areas such as agricultural production, irrigation, high-quality seeds production, plant protection, animal health, food preservation, and quality standards and certification. The event served as a meeting point for agricultural producers, traders as well as professionals working in the field of agriculture. It also served as a forum for farmers to seek advice from experts in technical matters of their concern.

During the Ag-Fair, the teams from the two projects established their own stalls. They displayed equipment and knowledge products related to irrigation. A number of irrigation related informational and education videos were also displayed to the visitors. Irrigation related tools such as soil sampler, rain gauge, tensiometer, soil pH Meter, soil compaction tester, etc. were displayed in order for visitor to see and understand the function of these devices and to understand where and how they can be used. The OSRO 502 team also displayed the deliverable of the project, especially the component on virus-free potato seed.

The team also distributed different irrigation manuals published by the projects. The manuals were distributed to the irrigation sector employee, university students and other stakeholders who have interest in the field of irrigation. About 450 of these manuals were distributed to the employees of ARIA, ICARDA, CRDA, HCDP, CARD, MAIL, ANHDO, Kabul University, USAID, RADP North, MRRD, Agriculture Institutes, Kabul Municipality, farmers, irrigation associations, ACF, CLAP, NAASC and many other organizations. Some famers who visited the stall requested the project team for trainings on high efficiency irrigation systems like drips and sprinkles.

Training on Operation and Maintenance of Irrigation Canals

 

Kabul, 16 October 2017 – The Capacity Development for Irrigation Directorate Project (CDIS Output 2) FAO project successfully conducted training on “Operation and Maintenance of Irrigation Canals” for the farmers of Shahidullah Irrigation Scheme which is one of the pilot schemes under the project. 25 farmers, mainly the members of the Irrigation Associations (IA) from the schemes participated in the training.

The main objective of the training was to provide an opportunity to the farmers and IA members of Shahidullah Irrigation Scheme to understand the basic techniques of operation and maintenance of irrigation canals. The selected topics from the manual developed by CDIS project on “Operation and Maintenance of Irrigation Systems” was explained in detail to the farmers. The participants were also taken to the Shahidullah Canal and useful tips were provided to them on different aspects of operation and maintenance of irrigation canals. This training is one of the series of trainings proposed for capacity development of IAs in Afghanistan. Hard copies of the O&M manual were also distributed to the participants for their future reference.

The Government of Afghanistan has been promoting the establishment and strengthening of IAs since many years using its own resources and through the financial assistance of donor projects. The main purpose of establishing IAs is to manage, operate and maintain an irrigation schemes efficiently with the following objectives:

·         To operate the irrigation schemes in an efficient manner ensuring equitable water allocation at head, middle and tail sections of the canal while considering the seasonal and supply variation of water in the canal.

·         To maintain the irrigation scheme properly after handover to IA by timely repairing the irrigation infrastructures along the course of the canal.

From this, it is quite evident skills and knowledge gaps in management, operation and maintenance results in ineffective performance of an irrigation schemes. Currently, most of the IAs established in Afghanistan are unable to effectively manage, operate and maintain irrigation schemes due to insufficient and poor knowledge and are not equipped with modern tools to carry out these activities. Hence, O&M trainings for farmers such as this one conducted by CDIS for Shahidullah Irrigation Scheme needs to be given continuity and expanded to other schemes. 

The 23^rd ICID Congress in Mexico

October 8-14, 2014 - The Capacity Development and Institutional Strengthening (CDIS) Output-2 project main objectives is to support the government staff and help them in the process of capacity development in the field of irrigation. In this concern, the project has been ensuring participation of the government counterparts in trainings / workshop / conferences, both in-country and aboard.

The 23rd International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage was organized from 8-14 October 2017 and hosted in Mexico City, Mexico. The main theme of the Congress is ‘Modernizing Irrigation and Drainage for a New Green Revolution’. The congress aim was to address two questions of: (i) Water Productivity: Revisiting the concepts in light of water, energy and food nexus; and (ii) State of knowledge of irrigation techniques and practicalities within given socio-economic settings. ICID provides a unique platform for multi-stakeholder for sharing and learning by engaging in issues of interest at global level and gathers a wide range of experts from various fields to discuss important issues highlighted.

The objective of the congress is to bring together all the stakeholders involved in irrigation and drainage and allied sectors which alone can meet the growing food demand and address poverty, in times of changing climate and depleting freshwater resources and is key to the rural transformation. The forum addresses the various multidisciplinary perspectives that encompasses agriculture water management for rural transformation and includes irrigation, drainage, flood management, drought, land reclamation, climate and environment disciplines.

With the technical and financial support of CDIS Output-2 project of FAO, Afghanistan has also recently initiated the process for taking membership of ICID. Moreover, the irrigation professionals have responded to the call for papers from ICID and the following two papers have even been presented during the event:

1.     “Water, Food and Energy Nexus: Experiences from Afghanistan” by Deputy Minister Fahimullah Ziaee, Masoom Hamdard and Suman Sijapati

2.     “Sustainable On-farm Irrigation Systems in Afghanistan: Current Challenges and Future Needs” by Mohammad Asif and Najmuddin Najam

In this context, teams led by some high-level delegate participated from Afghanistan in the ICID 2017 event. The participation of the team was funded by FAO Afghanistan under the CDIS Output-2 project.