VZCZCXRO9525
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5356/01 3080524
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 040524Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3922
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC PRIORITY 0081
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0202
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005356 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EB/FO and EB/TPP/ATT 
DEPT FOR SCA FRONT OFFICE (DAS GASTRIGHT) AND SCA/A 
DEPT PASS AID/ANE 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR HARTWICK, KLEIN, AND GERBER 
USDAFAS FOR LTROUBA 
USDOC FOR SHAMROCK AND DFONOVICH 
TREASURY FOR ABAUKOL 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON PGOV AF
SUBJECT:  ADDITIONAL USDA PRT ADVISORS CRITICAL FOR 
      AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION 
 
KABUL 00005356  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  This is an Action Message.  Please see para 7. 
 
¶2.  SUMMARY:  USDA PRT Advisors have made a dramatic impact on the 
agricultural economies of the provinces in which they work.  Their 
effect has been so positive that many PRT Commanders have requested 
that a USDA Advisor be added to their teams.  USAID has generously 
agreed to provide USD 2.5 million to fund the seven current USDA 
Advisors for the coming year.  More funds are needed to meet the 
demands of other PRTs for agricultural advisors.  With 80% of the 
workforce on the farm, growing the agricultural economy is the key 
to winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, and providing 
alternatives to poppy production.  We look to Washington agencies, 
especially USDA, to meet our need for more agricultural advisors for 
our PRTs.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. Since 2003, USDA has provided a small contingent of seven 
advisors on an annual basis to provide technical expertise to the 
Commanders of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in key 
developmental areas in Afghanistan. They are assigned to PRTs 
covering Nangarhar, Panjshir, Ghazni, Logar, Helmand, Paktiya, 
Zabul, Farah, and Parwan provinces.  These advisors have made 
critical contributions to our efforts, applying their respective, 
home agency skills to underdeveloped areas in need of such expertise 
as dryland agriculture, irrigation, soil and water conservation, 
flood mitigation, extension, training, and agricultural systems 
management, just to name a few.  The USDA Advisors specialize in 
developing and applying projects with funding provided by the 
military, which in turn provides positive results and direct 
assistance in relatively short time frames.  In an economy in which 
over 80% of the workforce is directly engaged in the agricultural 
sector, we cannot overstate the significance of USDA's contribution 
to the U.S. Mission here. 
 
¶4.  Using primarily the DOD Commanders' Emergency Response Program 
(CERP) and US AID's Quick Impact Projects (QIP) funding, USDA PRT 
advisors have developed and implemented a multitude of short term, 
but highly effective projects that have positively affected the 
lives of rural Afghans.   USDA assistance in the placement and 
construction of flood control/irrigation structures in Nangarhar and 
Panjshir provinces has saved many lives and much valuable farmland. 
 In Ghazni, Logar, Helmand, Zabul, and Paktiya Provinces, USDA 
guidance on retention dams and irrigation reservoir locations and 
construction provided much needed water to the agricultural 
community and to the public, thus permitting alternate crop 
selection and growing season extension for increased crop 
production.  USDA Advisors have led the way in applying their 
technical abilities in deep-well and windmill applications, 
producing water sources where none existed, thereby winning over the 
support of local communities and leaders.  Irrigation efficiency has 
increased tremendously in Parwan, Kapisa and Panjshir provinces, due 
to the recent introduction of soil moisture sensors, through the 
expertise and training of the USDA Advisor overseeing responsibility 
of those areas.  In Ghazni and Helmand provinces, USDA expertise has 
improved animal health through artificial insemination and improved 
rangeland grazing programs.  Construction of laboratories for soil 
analysis and seed storage is presently nearing completion in 
Nangahar.   On the public health front, Ag Advisors have initiated 
projects which quickly impact the health of the local communities 
throughout the country, such as aquifer recharge and canal cleanout, 
providing safe drinking water to thousands of local residents.  In 
Zabul and Ghazni, slaughter houses are now under construction to 
provide a safe, sanitary food source for local consumption. 
 
¶5. The U.S. military has warmly welcomed USDA participation in PRTs 
and has supported their Ag advisors generously with funding for 
projects.  Generals Eikenberry and Freakley have repeatedly stressed 
the importance of the contributions of the USDA PRT advisors in the 
field, and they have highlighted the need for additional USDA 
Advisors at PRTs throughout Afghanistan.  Regional Command PRT 
meetings consistently recognize the USDA advisors as priority 
 
KABUL 00005356  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
partners.  Many PRT Commanders have asked that a USDA Advisor be 
added to their teams, and Post presently maintains a wish list of 
possible future Advisor locations, should additional funding become 
available. 
 
¶6.  Funding of the USDA PRT Advisors has always depended on non-USDA 
sources.  USAID has been the primary source for this money, although 
other agencies have contributed.  Just recently, USAID offered $2.5 
million to keep the current number (seven) of USDA advisors in the 
field.  Given the demand for and successes of USDA's experts, we are 
looking to Washington agencies, including USDA itself, to step 
forward and provide the funding for additional USDA PRT Advisors in 
Afghanistan. 
 
¶7. COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST:  Afghanistan is an agricultural 
society; 80% of the workforce is on the farm.  The battle for the 
hearts of minds of the Afghan people and the struggle against poppy 
production begins and ends with a growing agricultural economy. 
USDA's PRT advisors have made a measurable and mission critical 
impact in those provinces in which they have worked.  But we need 
more funding and more people to broaden and deepen our impact on the 
agricultural economy.  We ask Washington agencies, and especially 
USDA, to identify additional funds to send us the agricultural 
experts we need to meet Mission goals. 
 
NEUMANN