VZCZCXRO2206
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #3721/01 3230457
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 190457Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3300
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003721 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
USFOR-A FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID PGOV AF
SUBJECT: AGRICULTURE IN PANJSHIR:  FERTILE GROUND FOR U.S. 
PROGRAMS 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Small family farming is the staple of 
Panjshir Province's economy, making it a high priority for 
the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), as well as for 
Governor Bahlol Bahji, who declared 2009 to be the &Year of 
Agriculture in Panjshir.8  Local farmers make good use of 
the valley's limited arable land, but lack modern techniques 
and equipment, quality seeds and fertilizer, and the 
resources to convert wheat and corn fields to higher-value 
orchards.  PRT activities aim to address these deficiencies, 
and to increase jobs and income in a manner that builds trust 
in Afghan institutions.  Further development of Panjshir,s 
agricultural sector will demonstrate what is possible when 
Afghans take firm responsibility for their own security.  End 
summary. 
 
Expanding Jobs and Income through Increased Yields 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (U) The economy of Panjshir province rests almost entirely 
on small family farms.  Family farmers make good use of the 
arable land wedged between the arid mountains of the Hindu 
Kush, growing mainly wheat and corn but also potatoes, apples 
and mulberries, as well as some oil seed, walnuts, cherries, 
alfalfa and clover.  Livestock and poultry are also 
important.  Long renowned for its mulberries, Panjshir lost 
many of its orchards during the anti-Soviet resistance, when 
irrigation canals were destroyed.  Scavenging for fuel has 
also led to deforestation.  Today, most of Panjshir,s 
farmers continue to work small plots of land, seeding by hand 
and using the same oxen-driven plows as previous generations. 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Agriculture is a high priority for PRT Panjshir. 
Programs are led by Panjshir,s USDA representative together 
with RC-East,s Agricultural Development Team (ADT), with 
support from USAID and PRT Civil Affairs.  Our main 
objective, consistent with the overall U.S. Assistance 
Strategy for Afghanistan, is to expand jobs and income 
through increased yields,  linkages between farmers and 
markets,  irrigation, and conversion to higher-value crops. 
Some of the PRT,s most successful projects are those focused 
on women.  All activities are closely aligned with the PRT,s 
governance goals, ensuring that U.S. assistance leads not 
only to provincial development but also increases Afghans, 
confidence in their own government. 
 
New Crops 
--------- 
 
¶4. (U) The PRT has been working since 2008 to assist 
interested farmers in converting their wheat and corn fields 
to higher income fruit orchards, especially apple, apricot, 
almond, cherry and walnut.  In separate projects over the 
last two years, the PRT has supported the planting of more 
than 100,000 fruit and nut trees in dozens of villages across 
the valley.  In addition, the PRT has helped establish thirty 
different woodlots with 150,000 fast-growing poplar and 
willow trees, for fuel and construction.  Most recently, the 
PRT funded training for 25 women in the planting, production 
and marketing of high-value saffron.  Other potential new 
crops such as soybeans, red beans and sorghum are being 
tested through the PRT,s experimental farm. 
 
¶5. (U) Analysis by the USDA in 2008 revealed that wheat 
yields in Panjshir are far less than their potential.  Wheat 
stocks throughout the valley are typically re-used, becoming 
old and mixed with weeds and rye, and have little resistance 
to pests and disease.  Fields are over-watered by farmers 
using flood-irrigation.  To address these problems, the PRT 
has established a demonstration farm, and is conducting 
winter wheat trials to demonstrate the benefits of improved 
water management, seed varieties, and fertilizer placement. 
Earlier this year, USAID funded the distribution of 14,000 
bags of fertilizer to Panjshiri farmers at far-below-market 
cost through private sector dealers.  In October and 
November, more than 8,000 additional farmers received winter 
wheat seed and fertilizer through the same USAID program. 
Unfortunately, the PRT has not yet had the resources to 
undertake significant irrigation projects in the valley, 
though the impact could be significant given the scarcity of 
arable land (arable land in Afghanistan being defined as land 
under irrigation). 
 
Agribusiness 
------------ 
 
¶6. (U) PRT-funded road improvements throughout the valley 
have improved the infrastructure for local farmers to move 
 
KABUL 00003721  002 OF 002 
 
 
their goods to market.  Agribusiness is growing slowly.  The 
PRT, with a combination of the Commander's Emergency Response 
Program (CERP) and USAID funding, has provided training to 
100 women in six districts in the production and preservation 
of jams, juices and jellies, along with marketing and basic 
literacy skills.  In addition, the PRT has provided more than 
1,000 farmers with bee boxes for honey production.  These 
programs have been enormously popular, and the products are 
reaching the shelves of Panjshir,s conex shops. 
Cooperatives are also springing up for the first time in 
connection with U.S. seed and fertilizer programs, and cool 
storage facilities. 
 
Governance 
---------- 
 
¶7. (U) The PRT aligns its agriculture programs with support 
for good governance and Afghan ownership.  Governor Bahlol 
has been a strong supporter of farmers in the province, 
declaring 2009 to be the &Year of Agriculture in Panjshir.8 
 At the Governor's behest, a large portion of Panjshir,s 
2008 Good Performance Initiative (GPI) funds from State/INL 
were spent on tractors, threshers, greenhouses, orchards and 
canals.  USDA representative works hand-in-glove with Line 
Director Hashatullah Enayat, an energetic non-Panjshiri who 
receives solid support from the Ministry of Agriculture, 
Irrigation, and Land's Horticulture and Livestock Program 
(HLP).  USDA Rep is mentoring Enayat to turn first to his 
ministry rather than the PRT, and to coordinate more 
effectively with his fellow Line Directors to prepare 
decisions by the Provincial Development Council. 
 
Other Partners 
-------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Panjshir does not attract the same level of donor 
attention as other, more troubled, provinces.  However, both 
Japan and France have made significant contributions to 
agriculture in the valley.  Japan initiated Panjshir,s first 
women's poultry project in 2008, providing chickens, chicken 
coops, and training to 600 women in three districts.  Japan 
has also provided horticulture training and saplings to some 
300 farmers.  France, for its part, contributed 41 metric 
tons of improved winter wheat seed last year, and now has 
plans for a fish farm.  French distribution of free wheat 
seed in some areas, however, threatens to undermine private 
sector seed dealers who say they may stop stocking wheat seed 
in the future if there are more large-scale give-always of 
seed to their regular customers.  One significant U.S.-funded 
NGO program is the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan's 
establishment of privately-owned veterinary field units in 
each of Panjshir,s districts, currently operating on a 
fee-for-service basis. 
 
¶9. (U) Comment:  The &Year of Agriculture in Panjshir8 has 
witnessed continued modest development of agriculture in the 
valley, with support from the U.S. and other international 
donors.  In a province where insurgent activity is 
negligible, U.S. assistance in this sector is not a means of 
separating insurgents from the general population, but 
instead showcases what is possible when Afghans take 
responsibility for their own security.  Continued U.S. 
assistance on agriculture is important for economic 
development in the valley, U.S. partnership with the people 
of Panjshir, and strengthening local trust in Afghan 
institutions.  End Comment. 
EIKENBERRY