AFGHANISTAN Q MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE SHARES

UNCLAS KABUL 000793


DEPT PASS FOR ARELLANO AND GREENE
DEPT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/RA, AND SCA/A
DEPT PASS AID/ASIA BUREAU
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DEPT PASS USTR FOR GERBER AND KLEIN
DEPT PASS TDA FOR STEIN AND GREENIP
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COMMERCE FOR DEES, CHOPPIN, AND FONOVICH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV EFIN ENRG ETRD ECON EAID AF FAS
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN Q MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE SHARES
IDEAS ON ASSISTANCE TO THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR

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SUMMARY
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1. DCM and USAID Deputy Mission Director met with the
Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
Muhammad Asif Rahimi on March 19, 2009 to discuss the
recent USG strategic review and the increased emphasis on
agriculture. The DCM highlighted the increased role for
agriculture in our counterinsurgency strategy (COIN),the
USG geographic focus on the south and east of the
country, and the underlying objectives to create jobs,
increase agriculture production and improve rural living
standards. To accomplish the USG strategy we will
continue to target our assistance in support of small
commercial farmers.


2. Minister Rahimi acknowledged the key to the
agriculture sector lies in dramatic improvements in
production for the small land holders in the south and
east of the country, most of whom now operate a combined
subsistence livestock and farming operation. He brings
extensive experience in working with this community from
his prior position as Director of CARE in the eastern
provinces of the country in the 90Qs and more recently as
a senior bureaucrat with the Ministry of Rural
Reconstruction and Development (MRRD) in charge of the
National Solidarity Program (NSP). The Minister
emphasized as his plan for the way forward the
Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD)
program (originally developed for the ANDS by MRRD and
the Minister when he was still part of MAIL) that
constitute one of the two parallel pillars of the ANDS
targeting agriculture and rural development, 1) CARD and
2) support to commercial agriculture.


3. The CARD concept, largely viewed as a state-led
effort, integrates production methodologies, inputs,
irrigation, infrastructure, and extension services into
district level programs reminiscent of the Qintegrated
rural developmentQ models of the 70Qs. Although in this
case Minister Rahimi emphasized an apparent merger of the
two pillars noting that the basic building block is the
privately-held small commercial farm. Based on continuing
research, the state should introduce new high value crop
alternatives such as pomegranates and saffron, two crops
currently supported by USAID that show impressive
potential. The state should also expand commercial
livestock and dairy operations. All of this will require
extensive improvements in infrastructure, including power
supply, roads, and irrigation.


4. Minister Rahimi described a model for private sector-
led agriculture where state intervention supports a
number of activities (horticulture, irrigation,
livestock, extension and research) through surveillance,
monitoring, and maintaining a basic emergency response
capacity. He cited the aggressive private network of
veterinary clinics that have been developed by USAID and
other donor partners. Located throughout the country,
these 400-plus clinics are instrumental in delivering
vaccination and animal husbandry services; the State role
in this network is to support them through an association
such as the Afghan Veterinary Association (also being
supported and strengthened by USAID). He further defined
his extension network as a means to provide business
development services and links to rural micro-financing
to the small private landholders. He indicated there are
upwards of 800 to 1,000 existing extension staff within
the Ministry in need of fast-track training in the new
model.


5. Minister Rahimi was very appreciative of the
continuing USAID support to his Ministry in training
staff in financial controls, procurement, human
resources, and a policy unit Q but it is not enough.
This mentoring and on-the-job training is crucial but is
a necessary long term solution, but does not provide the
rapid impact needed immediately. He is requesting
immediate assistance through an Qoffice in a boxQ where
the team would carry out the work at the same time they
were conducting the training. His Ministry has far too
many objectives to accomplish quickly to wait for MAIL
civil servants to be trained and become capable to do the
work. As an example, he cited the work currently
underway in the Land Management department to develop
long-term leasing plans for part of the millions of acres
held by the government. USAID has one key advisor in the
unit but the Minister was desperate to assign more staff,
both expat and Afghans, to complete the work already in
progress.


6. Comment. The Ministry has its work cut out for it if
it is to address the needs of the predominantly
subsistence farming community. Minister Rahimi brings a
new sense of dynamism to the plodding nature of this
over-staffed Ministry. Although he views the state as a
provider of services of first choice, there are several
key areas, such as new sense of the importance of
activities that ultimately support the private sector,
where we have shared objectives and will continue our
dialogue of effective change management.

WOOD