CALL publishes ADT handbook
Courtesy story
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas (12/9/09) - The Center for Army Lessons Learned has just released CALL publication 10-10, Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT) in Afghanistan Handbook.
This handbook is a product of the National Guard Agribusiness Development Team coordination office with input from current and previously deployed ADTs.
Agriculture accounts for 45 percent of Afghanistan's gross domestic product and is the main source of income for the Afghan economy. Over 80 percent of the Afghan population is involved in farming, herding, or both.
However, decades of war, drought, and security challenges have devastated the country's agricultural sector, and the current level of U.S. government civilian support has been unable to keep pace with the tremendous need for assistance in this region.
Revitalizing Afghanistan's agricultural sector is critical to building the government's capacity and to stabilizing the country.
“Agriculture is the dominant factor in the Afghan economy, in food security, in livelihoods, sustainable resources, and national security,†said Mohammad Asif Rahimi, Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock. “Agriculture will determine whether Afghanistan will succeed or fail.â€
This handbook provides ADT lessons learned for Soldiers and leaders preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. The ADT program is an initiative of the National Guard Bureau and is designed to revitalize the agricultural sector of the Afghan economy by utilizing the farming skills of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen.
The ADTs partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. land grant colleges and universities, the Afghan national and provincial governments, Afghan farmers and Agriculture businesses, and non-governmental organizations.Â
The handbook is available on the CALL Website at http://call.army.mil. All handbooks fit into the cargo pocket of the Army combat uniform and contain hard-won information intended to assist Soldiers, leaders, and staff officers in preparing for combat.
Established by the Army in 1985, CALL has the mission to collect, analyze, disseminate, integrate, and archive the Army’s lessons learned. Although it is an Army organization, CALL customers include organizations in the joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational areas.
CALL has full-time analysts in the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) schools and centers, the combat training centers, and operational units in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United States. Their purpose is to enhance rapid information sharing and facilitate the integration of best practices and issue resolution across the Army.
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