KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The agricultural experts of the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agri-Business Development Team met with Haji Mohasal Kahn, Kunar Province Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, and Kahn’s department heads at the governor’s compound in Asadabad Sept. 14.
ADT officials held the meeting to introduce the provincial agriculture leaders to their counterparts from Iowa and get a better sense for how best to quickly assist the provincial government in providing more robust agricultural services to its citizens.
Kahn opened the meeting, noting Afghanistan’s long armed struggle and affirmed the government’s commitment to improving the lives of its citizens.
“Afghanistan has been at war for more than 30 years. We want to put that behind us and develop Afghanistan to improve the lives of the people,” Kahn said. “The government will not let anyone who wants to destroy what we are building succeed.”
Army Col. Craig Bargfrede, the ADT’s commander, led the American delegation.
He made only one promise to the provincial agricultural officials. “We will not provide you with anything you tell us you do not need,” Bargfrede said. “We are listening to you.”
Many of those needs can be addressed by a well-run farmer’s cooperative, according to U.S. Army 1st Lt. Scott Shirk of Emmetsburg, Iowa, an agronomist with the 734th ADT. He pointed out that co-op governance will play an important role in whether the fledgling enterprise in Kunar succeeds in improving the productivity and income of its members.
“They have the co-op set up, but they don’t know the duties and responsibilities of its board members. They’re kind of ahead of themselves, because they already have 200 members,” Shirk said. “There’s a lot they could do with the co-op – buying fertilizers and seeds in bulk, saving transportation costs – but they need to figure out how its board is supposed to function first.”
Kunar agricultural officials then met with their ADT equivalents and discussed the needs of Kunar’s farmers and livestock producers. Haji Abdul Karim, general manager of the Kunar Farmers’ Cooperative, emphasized the needs are great.
“This was a very good meeting, and we want from the Americans the help they can provide our farmers with fertilizers and seeds,” Karim said. “We would also like to see poultry farms established and introduction of dairy cows for women.”