Arkansas ADT, DAIL staff hold first agriculture seminar in ShinKay

By Air Force Lt. Col. Keith Moore
Arkansas National Guard

Master Sgt. Paul Fair, left, and Sgt. David Hafer, both members of the Arkansas Agriculture Development Team, examine a herd of sheep during a village follow up visit to the ShinKay Agriculture Education Seminar July 29, 2010. The team visited several villages in the ShinKay District to see how participating farmers had employed the information they learned during the three-day event. (Photo by Lt. Col. Keith Moore, Arkansas National Guard)
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SHINKAY DISTRICT, ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan (8/2/10) -- Last week marked an important milestone as the Arkansas Agriculture Development Team (ADT) partnered with the director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) and the Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) of ShinKay to hold the first agriculture education seminar at the district center here.

The agriculture seminar was significant since the Zabul Provincial Council elevated agriculture to the highest priority for provincial development in May of this year.

This three-day seminar is a shining example of the Afghan government’s capabilities as the program was taught by an Afghan plant science specialist, an Afghan forestry management specialist and an Afghan para-veterinarian from the provincial agriculture department. The program provided farmers with information on prevalent plant and animal diseases, treatments and improved farming practices.

The seminar, which was free to farmers pre-registering with the district agriculture agent, saw 28 ShinKay area farmers gather together to learn valuable farming tips.

"This agriculture seminar is probably the most important aspect of our mission here in Zabul Province," said Col. Stephen Redman, commander of the Arkansas ADT. "The road to peace and prosperity is paved with education."

The curriculum for the three-day seminar consisted of blocks of instruction on fruit tree pruning and insect control; plant disease identification and spraying methods; irrigation practices; animal disease identification; herd health management; vaccination administering; parasite control measures and timeframes for effective treatments.

"It was very important for the seminar to be provided here and taught by Afghan agriculture specialists," said Abdull Qadeem, district chief for ShinKay. "This way farmers and village elders can see that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and particularly their Zabul Province government, is capable of reaching out to provide such services to its people."

Security for the seminar was very tight, as insurgents had made several threats in the days prior to the event. However, elements of the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, along with Coalition Force elements from the 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment, the Special Forces ODA of ShinKay and the Arkansas ADT security force team set up layered checkpoints and identification reviews for all participants to ensure the safety of the farmers and the seminar. All three days proceeded without incident.

"This seminar was a really big deal for the farmers here in the ShinKay valley. They all seemed very excited to be part of this first training event. They came each day, despite the security threats and the headache of the layered security.

And to everyone's surprise, they have asked us to consider coming back to teach specific farming improvements on a seasonal basis at least three times per year," said 1st Lt. Addison Taylor, production officer for the Arkansas ADT.

One aspect the ADT had not counted on in the seminar but was very pleased to see was the participation of many young farmers.

"This curriculum was a little more advanced than the youth program we are proposing to launch in the schools, but it was good to see that these young men realize the value of specialized education and training opportunities such as this," said Sgt. David Hafer, an agronomy specialist with the ADT. "Their participation here will help spread the word to other young men in the area, and when we return in a few months there will most likely be more young farmers in the group."

The educational seminar culminated with participants receiving a small package of farming tools and animal vaccines to put the things they learned into practice on their own farms.

On the day following the seminar the team of Arkansas specialists visited several area villages in the ShinKay valley for a personal follow up to see how the information from the seminar would affect farmer's plans for their farms and answer any questions. In just one day following the seminar one farmer had already vaccinated his herd of over 50 goats and had used his new herbicide sprayer to treat his entire orchard of almond and fig trees.

"One of our margins of success was based off of the number of farmers that attended the seminar. Seeing them actually practicing what they learned for the betterment of their own farms and families...there is no question that our agriculture education program is on the right track to provide benefits to Afghan farmers all across the province," said Redman.

The ADT has a full schedule as additional seminars are already planned in the Mizan, Qalat, Surri, and Tarnak wa Jaldek districts of the province over the next several months.

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