Project Description

Expected impact of the project is to ensured that no Afghan suffers from hunger and every Afghan is well nourished at all times. As the government committed to support and promote food and nutrition security is underpinned by Articles 13 and 14 of the Afghanistan constitution and evidenced by the development of facilitating national policies, strategies and programmes. National Technical Secretariat of the High-Level Food Security and Nutrition Steering Committee will be established, enabled and operationalized.

 To enable the National Technical Secretariat of the High-Level Food Security and Nutrition Steering Committee (FSNSC) to effectively track progress of the multi-sectorial food and nutrition security framework and progress on food and nutrition security and thus create accountability within the key Government Ministries and relevant Agencies for achieving food and nutrition security results.

This project provides support for the establishment of the Secretariat for 2 years in accordance with the agreed framework

Duration: 01 April 2018 - 30 March 2020
Donor: UNICEF and WFP
Code: UNJP/AFG/094/MUL

Description: Soil users/practitioner (agriculturist, farmers, policy makers, etc.) need soil resource information to measure proper agronomic practices and improve the soil condition to be able to get the desired agricultural productivity. To date, there is very limited data on Afghanistan soils resources and has not been mapped yet to meet agricultural development needs. Soil surveys have been performed as isolated and ad-hock actions for different purposes, producing incoherent soil data due to lack of systematic approach and standardized soil survey methods.

To bridge this gap, FAO Technical Cooperation Project (TCP/AFG/3601) of “Soil Information System of Afghanistan” was initiated in March 2016 to assist Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock to establish soil information system (SIS) in Afghanistan. Its focus is the development of Afghanistan soil information systems with the following capabilities: 1) produce and update soil data and maps in Afghanistan, 2) avail to the public and raise public awareness on the existence of and how to use the soil data of Afghanistan in improving agricultural productivity and environmental conservation, 3) support Afghanistan institutions and personnel in the soil departments to produce and maintain updated soil information, 4) advise soil users on appropriate investments for agricultural development in Afghanistan, and 5) maintain an online soil information repository for Afghanistan.

The project conduct soil survey and analysis in nine provinces of Afghansitan such as Kabul, Herat, Nangarhar, Bamyan, Khost, Kandahar, Balkh, Nimroz and Takhar with total of above 2 million hectares arable land, selected mostly based on agro ecological zoning and major variation in soil properties. The project will analyse around 8,000 soil samples in the soil laboratories during the project implementation period.

Among above mentioned provinces field survey of 5 provinces have completed and their collected soil samples are under the process of further soil laboratory analysis. The field soil survey and laboratory analysis of 4 other provinces are in the progress that will be ended in August 2018. 

Duration: 16 March 2016 - 31 December 2018
Donor: FAO CORE FUND
Code: TCP/AFG/3601

Description: The Dairy Industry Development project is focusing on this field of investing in milk collection, processing and marketing through formation of primary – and secondary cooperatives federated in Kabul Milk Union. It aims at reaching out to about 3,000 House Holds, while the activities are geared towards strengthening the National Capacity in dairy processing and marketing at field, district and provincial level.

Secondly, towards expanding the network of primary – and secondary milk collection coops whereby ensuring that female voice will be heard as well as contributing to MAIL’s efforts to regulate the dairy sector (Dairy policy and strategy). Through creation of innovation funds, women in particular are provided with opportunities to invest in different aspects of dairy cattle rearing, home milk processing, forage and fodder production, etc. Specific investments in enterprise development should ultimately lead to the development of a vibrant and dynamic Afghan Dairy Industry in the three regional provinces; at least 3,000 HHs will supply milk to 30 milk collection centers and in turn these will serve the Kabul Dairy Plant whose capacity will increase to 30 MT/day and be equipped to produce at least 7 different dairy products. It is expected that access to the milk market will significantly boost milk production.

Duration: 01 May 2014 - 30 April 2020
Donor: Government of Afghanistan/IFAD
Code: UTF/AFG/080/AFG

Description: The Building resilience and self-reliance of livestock keepers by improving control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and other Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) is an animal health complex project (with six different components) which are implementing in close coordination with the General Directorate for Animal Health and Livestock of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

The project structure comprises of 6 main components as below:

Component-A: Building self-alertness of Kuchi pastoral communities;

Component-B: strengthening surveillance and diagnostic capability and capacity for FMD and PPR to ensure early identification of suspected cases and timely and reliable test results;

Component-C: strengthening the overall surveillance system and response mechanisms;

Component-D: Increasing Community and livestock owners self-alertness for disease early warning;

Component-E: implementing preventive and emergency vaccination programmes against FMD and PPR; 

Component-F: strengthening the collaboration with neighbouring countries for coordinated control efforts;

The project aims at assisting Afghanistan, at central, province, and community level, in strengthening food security through an improved on-farm livestock healthcare system. This will boost the resilience of livelihoods of livestock farmers to animal disease threats, and will contribute to the National Strategies and Priorities for Afghanistan. The project is expected to provide a framework within which progressive control of FMD and PPR in Afghanistan can be effectively implemented.

The project objectives are twofold: i) to improve productivity of livestock (Kuchi nomad livestock herders and sedentary livestock herders)  by strengthening disease surveillance, prevention, control and awareness that while specifically targeting FMD and PPR will be combined with other diseases; and ii) to support the country’s progression to the stage 2 of the PCP-FMD.

Duration: 14 October 2014 - 30 November 2020
Donor: Government of Japn
Code: OSRO/AFG/402/JPN

Description: The Technical Assistance to the Implementation of the Food and Nutrition Security Strategy in Afghanistan project is implemented in collaboration with Policy and Planning Directorate to address Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) policy issues, strengthen FSN Governance and coordinate at national and local levels, develop capacity of MAIL/PAILs and DAILs staff to plan, implement and monitor FSN related projects on nutrition sensitive agriculture, women mainstreaming to FSN, drought resilient, value chain, agriculture diversity, food safety and establish and strengthen FSN M&E system at national and provincial levels.

The project is designed to contribute the Afghanistan Food Security and Nutrition Agenda (AFSeN), adopted by the Government in 2013, a comprehensive and cross-sectoral policy and strategic framework for food security and nutrition (FSN) was established, yet, to become operational, AFSeN needs to be broken down into sector strategies and programmes. Since the majority of vulnerable and food insecure people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and livestock as their main source of livelihood, this forms a challenge for MAIL to act upon. It is a three years project focusing on building technical capacities and providing policy assistance and demand-based advisory support services for the effective implementation of the MAIL’s FSN strategy in alignment with AFSeN.

The overall goal of the project is to improve food and nutrition security situation resulting from the implementation of a range of FSN related interventions as set out in MAIL's FSN Strategy. The project is planned to develop a decentralised planning and reporting system, develop FSN M&E system as well as review MAIL FSN policies and guidelines.

Duration: 01 April 2017- 31 March 2020

Donor: Germany/BMEL

Code: GCP/AFG/091/GER

Description: The project seeks to protect and restore agriculture and livestock based livelihoods of 20,000 worst affected, and already vulnerable, low income and food insecure farmer households located in the natural disaster and conflict affected provinces of Hilmand, Urozgan, Zabul, Nangarhar, Kunar, Ghor, Badghis, Balkh, Saripul, Kunduz and through provision of agriculture and livestock protection inputs including certified wheat seed, fertilizers, concentrated animal feed, vaccines, de-wormers and technical trainings. The inputs and services provided will protect and restore agriculture and livestock based livelihoods. The project aims to extend the productive period of livestock and farming activities of the target population into the dry season when the hunger gap is most severe. This will eventually help in preventing the deterioration of the food and nutrition insecurity. Protecting animals against diseases and improving their feeding status can increase the Animal Source Food (ASF) available to children and pregnant women, which can increase ASF of consumption, hence their dietary intake, and nutritional status. Research has proved that healthy animals produce 60 per cent more milk and meat than sick animals.

This project will implement the following activities:                                              

(i)     Procurement, quality control, delivery and distribution of quality agriculture inputs (certified wheat seeds, DAP and Urea fertilizer) to resume autumn plantation:

(ii)    Procurement, quality control, delivery and distribution of quality livestock protection inputs, (concentrated animal feed and de-wormers) to increase winter season milk production of families through enhancing improved animal husbandry practices;

(iii) Procurement, quality control, delivery and distribution of equipment and supplies to enhance MAIL’s locust and sunpest control capacity in Ghor and Badghis provinces, complemented by technical trainings of trainers (ToT) to MAIL’s and other Service Providers’ staff on locust and sunpest control;

These activities will be complemented by rapid technical trainings to MAIL’s and other Service Providers' staff on best practices on wheat crop production and livestock husbandry. FAO and partners will also provide continuous technical assistance to farmers and herders to enable them to optimize the use of distributed inputs, minimize crops and livestock production cost thus maximizing the impact of the project.

Duration: 10/10/2017 to 30/06/2018
Donor: UNOCHA
Code: OSRO/AFG/702/CHA 

Description: IRDP is nationwide large project across the entire country of Afghanistan funded by the World Bank and implemented through Project Coordination Unit (PCU) under the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) with the Technical Assistance of FAO.

Started in June 15, 2011 as a follow-on project of Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP), the initial project cost was 148.7 million USD including the cost of FAO technical assistance with USD 27.724 million and the closing date is December 31, 2017. After its successful implementation, World Bank and ARTF decided to restructure IRDP with the additional financing of US$70 million in June 2016 with an extension of the closing date to December 31, 2020 with the revised FAO TA cost of 32, 494,453. The TA cost was further revised to US$ 34,704,076 after the contract amendment-2.  The project implementation is being carried out through Project Coordination Unit (PCU) under the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) through six regional offices throughout the country with Technical assistance of FAO.

The project has following four components as below. Targets and achievements of various components as of end February are as below.

A Rehabilitation of Irrigation Systems and River Bank Protection:

A1: Rehabilitation of Irrigation Systems:

Under sub-component A.1, the project envisaged to rehabilitate 229 irrigation schemes rehabilitation covering 215,000 ha benefitting 385,000 household’s beneficiaries. Against the target, the project has already achieved rehabilitation of 174 irrigation schemes covering 180,600 ha of the irrigated area benefitting 373,120 beneficiary households. 

A2: Critical River Bank Erosion Protection:

Under sub-component A.2, the project envisages the formulation of national policy and guidelines on river bank protection, Construction of the River bank protection works in a length of 26.3 kms in order to preserve about 20,000 ha of arable land. Against the target set forth for this sub-component, draft policy and guidelines for the river bank protection has already been submitted to Supreme Council of Land and Water (SCoLW) for approval. Similarly, 5.67 kms of the river bank protection works has already been completed protecting about 12,860 ha of arable land.

Component B:  Support for Dam Development, Operation and Maintenance: 

This component has been divided into three different sub-components and under each of the sub-components, following activities have been envisaged by the project. 

B1: Preparation studies for a few dams identified under the original project in the Northern River Basin: Under this sub-component, prefeasibility studies of 22 dams and feasibility study of six dams in the northern river basin is already completed.

B2: Support for dam safety works: Under this sub-component, Dam safety works minor repair for Qargha Dam in 2 packages are ongoing, design and proposal preparation for Darunta Dam started.

B3: Institutional strengthening of the Dam Unit of MEW: Under this sub-component, Preparation of Dam safety guideline, training on Dam Safety O&M and Institutional Strengthening of the Dam Unit in MEW continued.

Component C: Water Resources Management and Development:

C1: Improvement of Hydro-Met services and WRM. Under this sub-component,127 Hydrological stations, 26 Meteorological stations ,30 Snow survey stations installed and 31 guard rooms for hydrological stations and 10 for the snow survey stations completed. Hydrological yearbook covering new data up to 2017 water year from installed or rehabilitated stations prepared and provided to users on demand.

C2: Support for legal and Institutional Framework for WRM and River Basin Planning. Under this sub-component, TORs for the development of legal and Institutional Framework for WRM and River Basin Planning has already been carried out and the contract for the same will be awarded to international consulting firm. 

Component D:

Project Management and Capacity Building: This is the ongoing activities of the project. Following four sub-components have been envisaged under this component.

D1: Continued support for the six Regional Offices (including physical construction of small office buildings)

D2: Office equipment and vehicles essential to carry out project implementation 

D3: Incremental operating costs

D4: Technical assistance for project implementation in general

Achievement under this component as of end February has been establishment of online digital library/information gateways, IRDP website and Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) which can be accessed through irdp-mew.af/mew-infogate.af . Similarly, on the job and overseas training and TA support by FAO will be continued till end June 2019. 

Period: June 2011 to December 2020Donor: Government of AfghanistanCode: UTF/AFG/070/AFG

Objective: to support integrated, community-based approaches to sustainable land and forest management in Afghanistan for promoting biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and rangeland productivity

Focal areas: Biodiversity Conservation, Land Degradation, Climate Change Mitigation, Sustainable Forest Management

Description: the proposed project is to support integrated, community-based approaches to sustainable land and forest management in Afghanistan for promoting biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and rangeland productivity. Furthermore, the proposed project will promote sustainable management of natural resources through a community based approach to SLM/SFM in Afghanistan, supporting conservation of the unique biodiversity of the country and enhancing climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. Capacity building for SLM/SFM at the national and local level will improve planning and coordination by government decision makers and local communities for managing the country’s rangeland and forest ecosystems. Adoption of a community based approach to implementing SLM/SFM will improve the sustainable use and management of ecosystem goods and services that underpin the livelihoods of local communities. Improved ecosystem management will reduce the risks posed by land degradation, desertification, deforestation and forest degradation. Furthermore, such activities will also increase resilience to climate change. The strengthened enabling environment brought about by the project outputs will inter alia: i) improve the governance of resources at the national and local level; ii) enhance support services and enable participatory, local-level planning; and iii) improve decision making for implementing SLM/SFM interventions. The proposed project objective will be achieved through four interlinked components and their respective outcomes, which are described below.

Project components:  

1. Capacity building at national, sub-national and district levels for SLM/SFM

2. Biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in forest landscapes.

3. Community-based rangeland management

4. Knowledge management and M&E

Duration: 2018-2023
Donor: GEF
Code: GCP /AFG/083/GFF 

Description: TCP-f research project focuses on strengthening agricultural research and collaborates with several institutions in Afghanistan. The main objective of the project is to develop research policy and strategy for Agriculture, Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) with short and long term research priorities. Another major activity is to develop implementation plans for both strategy and policy for ARIA.  These strategic documents will pave the way for a sustainable development that ARIA research could significantly contribute to improving livelihood of Afghanistan farmers.

The team is supported by national and international consultants. The activities include: MAIL strategic documents review, conducting a survey on current status research in the capital and provincial level. The survey included evaluation of current resources of ARIA, their challenges and their prospective, organizing consultative workshops and face to face meeting with a number of MAIL senior staff and management. The team has started its activity from November, 2017 and will submit the final documents in June, 2018. 

Duration: 1 Nov 2017- 30 Sept 2018
Donor: FAO
Code: TCP/AFG/3605/C4 

Description: Food and nutrition insecurity is a severe and widespread problem in Afghanistan. As per Afghanistan Living Condition Survey (ALCS) held in 2014, 33 percent of the population is food insecure, 12 percent is severely food insecure, and 40 percent of Afghan children under five years of age suffer from chronic under nutrition.

The Afghanistan Food Security and Nutrition Agenda (AFSeN), adopted by the Government in 2013, a comprehensive and cross-sectoral policy and strategic framework for food security and nutrition (FSN) was established. Yet, to become operational, AFSeN needs to be broken down into sector strategies and programmes. Since the majority of vulnerable and food insecure people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and livestock as their main source of livelihood, this forms a challenge for MAIL to act upon.

The “Technical Assistance to the implementation of the Food and Nutrition Security Strategy in Afghanistan” is a three-years project funded by the Government of German, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock with the technical assistance of FAO focusing on building technical capacities and providing policy assistance and demand-based advisory support services for the effective implementation of the MAIL’s FSN strategy in 15 districts of five provinces.

Goal: The overall goal of the project is to improve food and nutrition security situation resulting from the implementation of a range of FSN related interventions as set out in MAIL's FSN Strategy.

Project Outcome and Outputs

Outcome: Institutional capacities by MAIL, PAILs and DAILs to initiate, plan, implement, coordinate and monitor food and nutrition security related interventions are in place and operational.

Output 1: Strengthened competence and presence of MAIL in addressing and promoting FSN policy issues.

Output 2: Strengthened FSN governance and coordination structures at national and local level.

Output 3: Established and strengthened FSN M&E system at national, provincial and district level.

Output 4: Capacity of MAIL, PAIL and DAIL staff enhanced to plan, implement and monitor FSN interventions and to develop and introduce innovative approaches for improving household food security and nutrition.

Locations: The project targets 15 districts Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar, Herat and Bamyan provinces.

Partners: Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), Provincial Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (PAILs)/ District Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAILs), Community Interest Groups (CIGs), Farmers Field Schools, Farmers, UNICEF, WFP, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. 

Duration: 01 Apr 2017 - 31 Mar 2020
Donor: Germany/BMEL
Code: GCP /AFG/091/GER 

Description: The main goal of this project is to improve monitoring and analysis of agricultural production systems to support agricultural policies and food security in Afghanistan. Project results and lessons will be expanded at national level during the lifetime of the project and developed strategies will be beneficial for sustainability in the long run. Monitoring of agricultural production and productivity is expected to enhance food security as well as provide various livelihood opportunities to the farming community. The project will, therefore, directly contribute to the GOA’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, and will also contribute to the ongoing key priority areas outlined in the policies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), its policies, strategies and master plans. Ultimately, it will help increase peace and stability in Afghanistan through food security at different levels.  The project aims to act as a building block to address the issues related to the limitations within MAIL that include human capacity, resources available and the absorption capacity of MAIL. The response of the project is proportional and affected by these limitations.

The project will address monitoring, observation, analysis, data storage, and development of value-added information products, promote sharing, and better inform agricultural decision-making. The national, provincial, and local staff will be trained on agriculture monitoring, analysis, data collection and land resources information management systems optimized by geospatial technology. The information management systems will benefit multiple sectors and will be developed in close collaboration with other development partners working on similar areas. Furthermore, the project will establish a modelling framework based on FAO Agro-Ecological Zoning and develop country-wide Land Resources Information Management System (LRIMS) to guide policy-makers in developing appropriate policies and plans and evaluate scenarios related to the Afghanistan.

Duration: 01 January 2017 – 31 December 2019
Donor: European Union, DCI
Code: GCP /AFG/087/EC 

Project Objective:      The overall project objective is to reduce GHG emissions by promoting community forestry, and removing barriers to sustainable biomass energy, while laying the groundwork for climate change mitigation in Afghanistan.

Project Description: Although Afghanistan is among the median countries in the world when it comes to GHG emissions, however, it is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, particularly in relation to vulnerability to droughts, floods, landslides and avalanches. UNFAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock with close coordination of other execution partners through financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are implementing a full-size climate mitigation project, titled “Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions through Community Forests and Sustainable Biomass Energy.” This three years project (2016 -2019) aims to reduce GHG emissions by promoting community forestry, and removing barriers to sustainable biomass energy, while laying the groundwork for climate change mitigation in Afghanistan.

Project components: 1. strengthening the national policy environment to support sustainable biomass energy systems (based on CBNRM), laying the groundwork for investment promotion and future access to carbon markets:

2. Developing community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) plans and establishing community forests in 2 project areas:

3. Promoting the demonstration and deployment of sustainable biomass energy systems, with a CBNRM approach:

4. Awareness raising and monitoring and evaluation: 

Duration: July 2016 - June 2019
Donor: GEF
Code: GCP /AFG/081/GFF

Description: Promoting Value Chains – Western Afghanistan (VC–West)  strengthens the capabilities of private enterprises to effectively link Afghan farmers to domestic and international markets, with the goal of promoting inclusive growth and job creation. The project will improve the wheat, high-value crops, and livestock value chains in the provinces of Badghis, Farah, Herat, and Nimroz. The project will also provide support to the Provincial Directorates of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (P/DAIL) in building their knowledge and skills in sustainable value chain development and management.

The project will strengthen the role of the private sector by increasing and improving the availability of quality inputs, introducing improved production and harvesting technologies and practices, and finding better markets and prices for agriculture products locally, regionally and globally.

Duration: 20 September 2017 - 19 September 2020
Donor: USAID
Code: GCP/AFG/089/USA

Description: The “Household Food and Livelihood Security and Support to the Development of an effective Extension System” is a four years project reflects the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) commitment to supporting and promoting food and nutrition security in underpinned by Article 13 and 14 of the Afghanistan constitution and evidenced by the development of facilitating national policies, agenda, strategies and programmes.

The overall goal of the HFLS project is to contribute to household food security and address malnutrition and deprivation in four districts of Bamyan province. The immediate objectives are: (i) to promote and enhance sustainable and resilient livelihoods among the most food insecure and vulnerable households; and (ii) to enhance institutional capacities and market linkages. These are achieved by;

• Improving the information base and coordination among institutions at district level for a more inclusive approach to household food security and capacity development at district level;
• providing capacity development and promotion of sustainable and resilient livelihoods through farmer field schools (FFS);
• building productive assets of the most vulnerable and resource-poor households;
• linking small-holders and livelihood groups to markets;
• capacity development of MAIL extension workers at district level to better deliver services;
• facilitating the roll out of MAIL extension strategy, which is an innovative and demand-driven extension system in the country with a focus on ‘farmers-first’. 

The HFLS approach is “to implement a model approach on how the government can facilitate and coordinate the needed support to vulnerable and food insecurity households through its decentralised institutions as well as directly targeting the most vulnerable and food insecure households in four districts of Bamyan province. 

The project targets at least 20% of households in four districts to promote and enhance sustainable and resilient livelihoods among the most food insecure and vulnerable households as well as promote institutional and market linkages by the end of the project.

The project is designed to focus on agriculture and non-agriculture livelihood development, market linkages and capacity development of local institutions a more specifically to roll out the MAIL national extension strategy. To select vulnerable and food insecure households, the project conducted household census survey and facilitate to establish common interest groups (CIGs) with a view to improve economies of scale in production, marketing, and service demand among others.

Duration: 01 July 2017-30 June 2021
Donor: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Code: GCP-AFG-093-SWI

Description: the project has been implemented with close cooperation and partnership FAO with ARAZI and other partners the World Bank, and Government of Turkey in order to address strategic needs and priorities of land administration in Afghanistan.  The strategic document has successfully been developed and it was assured that the suggested methodologies meet the country administrative and land conditions and limitations. In line to the strategy objective a wide spread and extended research and data analysis have been conducted to highlight and suggest the Turkey successful lesson learnt land administration methodology which would be applicable in Afghanistan as well.

On February 15, 2018 an official ceremony with presence of H.E. Mr. President Ashraf Ghani, the Cabinet, Parliament Members and also high official representatives of International Organizations was hosted at the Presidential Palace presenting and discussing the Institutional Development Program (ILDP) for land administration system in Afghanistan.  The acknowledgment and honor awarded to the team for their innovative approach in regard to ILDP and strategy. The plan has been developed under technical lead of FAO and close guidance of ARAZI. FAO confirmed its’ continues technical support through the transformational change in land administration as well as agricultural development in the country as always.

Duration: April 2017-31 Dec 2018
Donor: FAO (100.0%)
Code: TCP/AFG/3603/C2

Description: the technical assistance to “Support to Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD)” project aims to improve the food security in terms of agriculture production and market development in the two districts of Karokh and Zindajan in Herat province.

The project contributes to the Government of Afghanistan’s National Priority Programme 2016-2025 (NPP 2) for comprehensive agriculture development which “fostering agricultural production and rural development through the provision of agriculture services and inputs adopting an “Extension system” mechanism.

The project established a coordination team within MAIL Extension Directorate who has coordinated project implementation activities at national and local levels. The project introduced an effective on-budget extension model for extensive service delivery which allocated some amount of the budget for Technical Assistance to FAO.

To reach the vulnerable and food insecure households, the project conducted household census survey (Approx. 25,696 HH surveyed in two districts) in first phase and extended the programme to two other districts in the start of 2018. The project formed farmers common interest groups and provided inputs e.g. seed, fertilizer, wheat, saffron corms, bee hives, pistachio/fig saplings, and agro machineries to farmers as well as trained farmers to address the specific needs of the farmers groups helped farmers to enhance their capacities in agriculture production, processing, marketing and value addition. In addition to that, the project linked farmers/CIGs with private sectors, producers and associations.

Duration: 10 Sep 2014 - 31 Dec 2019
Donor: Afghanistan
Code: UTF-AFG-083/AFG

Description: the Project for Enhancing Agriculture Production through Irrigation System Improvement and Strengthening Institutional Capacity has been designed mainly targeting at improved irrigation management. It also aims to enhance capacity in virus free potato seed production. The development objective of the project is to increase agricultural production and productivity in project target areas. The project’s outcome is improved irrigation services and functional tissue cultural laboratory for virus free potato seed production.

These higher-level project objectives are planned to be achieved through generation of the following three outputs: Output 1: Irrigation systems rehabilitated covering 9 000 ha in rice growing areas of Kunduz, Takhar and Baghlan provinces; Output 2: PMS Irrigation method disseminated and government staff and farmers trained on PMS approach through construction of training centre; and Output 3: Basic mechanisms and capacities for production of high quality virus free potato seeds are established

The project will directly benefit 9 000 farming families through increased rice production in the targeted provinces. It will train 120 of Government officials in PMS approach as wells familiarize the PMS methodology to larger community. Through establishing functional laboratory and training the 10 staffs in virus free potato seed production; this project will also contribute towards increasing potato production in the country. Including the secondary benefit and increased labour employment in agriculture sector, increased business opportunities for farm inputs and post-harvest activities, the project is expected to benefit about 224 200 families (1 569 400 persons) in the long run. By rehabilitating rice based irrigation systems, it will directly support JICA’s ongoing RIPA activities. Introduction of tissue culture technology for potato seed production and PMS methods for sustainable irrigation will have a long term and continuous ripple effect in both local and regional economy.

Duration: 01 Jan 2016 - 31 Dec 2018
Donor: Government of Japan/JICA
Code: OSRO/AFG/502/JCA