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FARAH, Afghanistan — Members of the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team traveled to Bakwa in a joint convoy with the Afghan national police and met with District Gov. Hodgi Labujohn and Shura leaders to discuss irrigation projects and agriculture aid for the district, Feb. 15, Farah province, Afghanistan.
The key to the irrigation projects, and to the future of Bakwa farming itself, will be the 40-50 meter deep water wells the PRT is going to sponsor in coordination with Labujohn and the Marines at Combat Outpost Bakwa.
"There is good ground here," said Labujohn, "but it is sitting idle due to lack of water."
Based on the results of an already completed ground water study, the PRT will hire local Bakwa contractors to build new wells in each village once every member of the village has signed an agreement guaranteeing equal access to the water.
"We're not just subcontracting these well projects out," said Darren Richardson to local farmers who gathered for a Shura in the Bakwa District Center. Richardson is the U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor for the Farah PRT. "Our representatives will work with the contractors in Bakwa to actually construct these wells and they will provide on the job training in order to share new techniques to help them build better wells on their own in the future."
The Shura leaders in each village will be charged with ensuring the wells are properly maintained, that everyone has free access to their respective well, and that no water taken from any well will be used to grow poppy.
To further aid the farmers in Bakwa, the provincial government and the staff at the Farah City Agricultural Institute have reserved three slots for three Bakwa farmers to attend a week long course designed to teach farmers across the province innovative farming techniques.
"Once the course is complete, the representatives from each district will return to their villages and spread what they have learned," said Hekmatullah Nazari, an Association for Rural Development representative who accompanied the PRT on the trip. "This is the best case scenario. It's no longer just foreigners teaching Afghans new techniques; now we are able to teach each other."
| Date Taken: | 02.15.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2010 06:20 |
| Story ID: | 45669 |
| Location: | BAKWA DISTRICT |
| Web Views: | 314 |
| Downloads: | 242 |
This work, Bakwa to build its own wells and agriculture capacity, by 2nd Lt. Karl Wiest, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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