Module 11 - Afghanistan: Supporting Food Security by Establishing Village-Based Seed Enterprises

More than two decades of war and a prolonged drought resulted in serious economic decline and had brought agricultural production to a standstill in Afghanistan by 2002. Formal institutions had collapsed, infrastructure was devastated, and skilled human resources were virtually nil. There was thus an urgent need to improve food security and rural livelihoods by raising agricultural production and productivity. Most farmers were using seed they had saved themselves, but their varieties were obsolete and had limited productivity. To boost production, quality seed of improved, locally adapted varieties was required immediately. The formal seed sector did not function, however. The private sector had no interest in entering the seed market. The challenge was to devise a quick approach to meeting small-scale farmers’ need for seed.

Project Objectives and Description

In 2002, ICARDA led the rehabilitation of agriculture in Afghanistan as part of the Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan (FHCRAA), a USAID-supported initiative. A needs assessment of seed systems and crop improvement was carried out to ensure proper targeting of interventions and develop a vision for agriculture in Afghanistan. A total of 8,500 tons of improved wheat seed (imported and locally multiplied) was distributed to farmers for grain production, and 53 tons of breeding lines and foundation seed of different crops were provided for testing and evaluation. Five research stations were rehabilitated, farm equipment provided, and a weather station established. Today, regular research continues, and research stations are evaluating a suite of varieties and crops for release in Afghanistan.

To strengthen the national seed system in Afghanistan, ICARDA has assisted in the preparation of an up-to-date seed policy, and it has rehabilitated two principal and three statellite seed testing stations. Regular seed testing is done to ensure the quality of seed marketed to farmers. Because the human resource base was seriously depleted during the war, the FHCRAA carried out a major capacity building effort, training staff in areas as diverse as seed production and radio broadcasting.

Based on the work of the FHCRAA, in November 2003, ICARDA and its partners, with financial support from USAID, initiated the Village-Based Seed Enterprise (VBSE) program. Over the course of three years, 21 VBSEs were established in Ghazni, Helmand, Kunduz, Nangarhar and Parwan Provinces. The enterprises currently produce and market more than 2,000 tons of wheat seed, 650 tons of rice seed, 425 tons of mung bean seed, and 350 tons of potato seed to farmers, NGOs, and other. Each VBSE, on average, produces more than 100 tons of wheat seed, thus attaining the project’s performance target.