Speeches Shim
OVERVIEW
- Implementation period: August 2010 – February 2015
- Project budget: $150 million
The Capacity Building and Change Management Program-II (CBCMP-II) strengthened the human and institutional capacity of Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). It also worked to strengthen the linkages between MAIL and its Provincial Directorates (PAILs), and supported the PAILs to effectively deliver agricultural public services to farmers and herders. CBCMP-II directly addressed President Ghani's vision for achieving self-reliance through the use of a change management model that embeds Afghan change management specialists (CMS) to provide coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training to civil service counterparts. The project worked in key administrative and technical offices to modernize their systems and enhance the overall service delivery capability of the institutions.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Afghanistan country strategy includes the promotion of long-term agricultural development and alternative livelihoods for farmers that results in a sustainable, thriving agricultural economy" and contributes to the U.S. Government's stabilization and counter-narcotics policy goals. USAID launched the Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives for the North, East and West (IDEA-NEW) Program in March 2009. Its mission was to expand the licit agricultural economy in northern, eastern and western Afghanistan. Its activities supported agribusinesses at different points in each value chain to improve their market access, increase processing capacity, and catalyze investments in Afghanistan's agricultural sector. In the project’s final year, IDEA-NEW focused on intensive value chain development that promotes income generation and creating jobs in poppy-producing regions.
The non-governmental organization Digital Green conducted a one-year pilot project within the context of Afghanistan to refine the approach to agricultural extension that it had developed and successfully implemented in India and Ethiopia. Specifically, Digital Green engaged over 5,000 smallholder farmers across two provinces (Kabul , Nangrahar) in the development and dissemination of locally-produced videos on improved agronomic practices. The project, which augmented existing extension services, was designed to increase the participants’ knowledge of relevant value chains and the importance of adopting improved agronomic practices. The ultimate goal was to increase agricultural productivity.
The Kandahar Food Zone (KFZ) Program was a five-year USAID initiative to strengthen and diversify rural livelihoods away from illicit opium poppy cultivation in seven targeted districts of Kandahar. The program sought to provide the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with a successful model of alternative development, promoting licit alternatives to opium cultivation and increasing the legitimacy of the national and sub-national administrations.
AAEP II built the capacity of Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) in 27 provinces and 193 districts to deliver effective and sustainable extension services to Afghan farmers. The project’s objectives were to (i) improve rural household food security, (ii) enhance agriculture-based income generation, (iii) improve nutritional status of rural households, and (iv) enhance support for women in the agricultural sector. Activities were implemented through close partnerships with MAIL, provincial and district offices, local researchers and university faculty, farmers, and suppliers.
The Regional Agriculture Development Program (RADP) – West was a Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL)-led U. S. Agency for International development (USAID)-funded program designed to improve food and economic security for rural Afghans in certain districts in the western provinces of Herat, Farah, and Badghis. The program supported the ministry’s efforts to improve the productivity and profitability of targeted value chains, selected from wheat, high value crop (HVC), and Livestock sectors. The program supported initiatives to train and mentor farmers and agribusinesses in the use of appropriate technologies and agricultural practices, post-harvest and value-added processing, and strengthening linkages to domestic and international markets. The program also supported the ministry in efforts to adopt longer-term improvements in national agricultural policy and regulatory development. One component was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of market and regulatory constraints to further development of the wheat, high value crop and livestock sectors and to put forward recommendations for policy improvements to address these challenges.
OVERVIEW
- Implementation period: February 1, 2010 - December 30, 2016
- Project budget: $45,296,184
- The Government of Liberia (GoL) documented only one new confirmed EVD case between February 17 and 23—the lowest one-week total since June 2014.
- WHO has expressed concern that the downward trend in the number of new cases seen in January in Guinea and Sierra Leone has leveled off in recent weeks.
- Staple and cash crops are available in local markets in the EVD-affected countries; however, weak household purchasing power caused by EVD-related economic disruptions may lead to localized acute food insecurity in the coming months.
- The total number of deaths attributed to EVD in West Africa surpassed 9,300 in recent days, according to WHO.
- Health actors in Margibi County, Liberia, recently reported a confirmed case of EVD, marking the first case in the county since December and the first case outside of Montserrado County since January.
- On February 16, the Government of Liberia (GoL) reopened schools, and students attended classes for the first time since August. The GoL originally closed schools as a result of the sharp increase in EVD cases.
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