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P 310743Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8032
INFO USDA FAS WASHDC PRIORITY
AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
OSD WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS KABUL 000793 
 
 
DEPT PASS FOR ARELLANO AND GREENE 
DEPT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/RA, AND SCA/A 
DEPT PASS AID/ASIA BUREAU 
USDA FOR FAS OA/GSM/MILLER 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR GERBER AND KLEIN 
DEPT PASS TDA FOR STEIN AND GREENIP 
CENTCOM FOR CSTC-A, USFOR-A 
NSC FOR JWOOD 
OSD FOR SHIVERS 
COMMERCE FOR DEES, CHOPPIN, AND FONOVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV EFIN ENRG ETRD ECON EAID AF FAS
SUBJECT:  AFGHANISTAN Q MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE SHARES 
IDEAS ON ASSISTANCE TO THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  DCM and USAID Deputy Mission Director met with the 
Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) 
Muhammad Asif Rahimi on March 19, 2009 to discuss the 
recent USG strategic review and the increased emphasis on 
agriculture.  The DCM highlighted the increased role for 
agriculture in our counterinsurgency strategy (COIN), the 
USG geographic focus on the south and east of the 
country, and the underlying objectives to create jobs, 
increase agriculture production and improve rural living 
standards. To accomplish the USG strategy we will 
continue to target our assistance in support of small 
commercial farmers. 
 
¶2.  Minister Rahimi acknowledged the key to the 
agriculture sector lies in dramatic improvements in 
production for the small land holders in the south and 
east of the country, most of whom now operate a combined 
subsistence livestock and farming operation.  He brings 
extensive experience in working with this community from 
his prior position as Director of CARE in the eastern 
provinces of the country in the 90Qs and more recently as 
a senior bureaucrat with the Ministry of Rural 
Reconstruction and Development (MRRD) in charge of the 
National Solidarity Program (NSP).  The Minister 
emphasized as his plan for the way forward the 
Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) 
program (originally developed for the ANDS by MRRD and 
the Minister when he was still part of MAIL) that 
constitute one of the two parallel pillars of the ANDS 
targeting agriculture and rural development, 1) CARD and 
2) support to commercial agriculture. 
 
¶3.  The CARD concept, largely viewed as a state-led 
effort, integrates production methodologies, inputs, 
irrigation, infrastructure, and extension services into 
district level programs reminiscent of the Qintegrated 
rural developmentQ models of the 70Qs.  Although in this 
case Minister Rahimi emphasized an apparent merger of the 
two pillars noting that the basic building block is the 
privately-held small commercial farm. Based on continuing 
research, the state should introduce new high value crop 
alternatives such as pomegranates and saffron, two crops 
currently supported by USAID that show impressive 
potential.  The state should also expand commercial 
livestock and dairy operations.  All of this will require 
extensive improvements in infrastructure, including power 
supply, roads, and irrigation. 
 
¶4.  Minister Rahimi described a model for private sector- 
led agriculture where state intervention supports a 
number of activities (horticulture, irrigation, 
livestock, extension and research) through surveillance, 
monitoring, and maintaining a basic emergency response 
capacity.  He cited the aggressive private network of 
veterinary clinics that have been developed by USAID and 
other donor partners.  Located throughout the country, 
these 400-plus clinics are instrumental in delivering 
vaccination and animal husbandry services; the State role 
in this network is to support them through an association 
such as the Afghan Veterinary Association (also being 
supported and strengthened by USAID).  He further defined 
his extension network as a means to provide business 
development services and links to rural micro-financing 
to the small private landholders.  He indicated there are 
upwards of 800 to 1,000 existing extension staff within 
the Ministry in need of fast-track training in the new 
model. 
 
¶5.  Minister Rahimi was very appreciative of the 
continuing USAID support to his Ministry in training 
staff in financial controls, procurement, human 
resources, and a policy unit Q but it is not enough. 
This mentoring and on-the-job training is crucial but is 
a necessary long term solution, but does not provide the 
rapid impact needed immediately.  He is requesting 
immediate assistance through an Qoffice in a boxQ where 
the team would carry out the work at the same time they 
were conducting the training.  His Ministry has far too 
many objectives to accomplish quickly to wait for MAIL 
civil servants to be trained and become capable to do the 
work.  As an example, he cited the work currently 
underway in the Land Management department to develop 
long-term leasing plans for part of the millions of acres 
held by the government.  USAID has one key advisor in the 
unit but the Minister was desperate to assign more staff, 
both expat and Afghans, to complete the work already in 
progress. 
 
¶6.  Comment. The Ministry has its work cut out for it if 
it is to address the needs of the predominantly 
subsistence farming community.  Minister Rahimi brings a 
new sense of dynamism to the plodding nature of this 
over-staffed Ministry.  Although he views the state as a 
provider of services of first choice, there are several 
key areas, such as new sense of the importance of 
activities that ultimately support the private sector, 
where we have shared objectives and will continue our 
dialogue of effective change management. 
 
WOOD