Hoosier Soldiers share poultry knowledge in Khowst

KHOWST PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

02.02.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. John Zumer 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – “There’s more than corn in Indiana,” according to an old Indiana Department of Tourism slogan.

The saying is certainly true, but continuing along that same Hoosier agricultural legacy, a group of citizen-soldiers from Indiana is now sharing their modern agricultural knowledge and experience with their Afghan counterparts.

Members of the Indiana National Guard’s 3-19th Agricultural Development Team have spent the last several months of their deployment assisting Afghan farmers in improving agricultural practices. The 60 National Guardsmen comprising the ADT are presently supporting the Fort Knox, Ky., - based 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division’s Task Force Duke.

Skills and education among the ADT members include forestry, engineering, general farming, pest management, horticulture, marketing and education. A mission to Combat Outpost Terezayi, Feb. 2, saw members of the ADT facilitating a local class on poultry, an important component of the Afghan agricultural economy.

According to one 3-19 Guardsman, it was time and resources very well spent.

“There is a lack of understanding here on nutrition and vaccinations for poultry and other livestock,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Samuel Rance, rangeland manager for the 3-19 and a native of Rensselaer, Ind. He helped coordinate the ADT poultry mission, which had larger goals of nurturing greater health management, vaccinations and production techniques in the poultry field.

The 3-19 ADT soldiers brought more than their agricultural knowledge and experience to the poultry training location, however. Fifty chickens, very much alive and kicking, and purchased beforehand through Afghan contractors, accompanied the Soldiers on the ride from Forward Operating Base Salerno.


Five chickens each were given to the farmers as an incentive to attend the training. Farmers spent a morning in the classroom listening to Haji Mohammed, the Afghan agricultural agent for the Terezayi area. In all, there are 18 agricultural agents spread across Khowst province, operating under the authority of the Afghan Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, said Rance.

A $200,000 grant from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, which allows local U.S. military commanders to devote funds to needed projects, helped to fund the classroom instruction at Terezayi. Remaining funds will be used for similar projects designed to get more poultry knowledge into the hands of area farmers. Follow-up missions will chart progress that is made in the interim.

Metrics for success, more commonly known as benchmarks, previously hadn’t been established properly, said Rance. Areas that will be now be focused upon largely involve safer, efficient and modern poultry management techniques.

“The farmers will learn that it’s important to keep accurate records on how many chickens were still alive, sick, eaten, sold, or stolen,” Rance said.

All the training is designed to provide background knowledge for a five-day seminar to be held later this winter at Khowst University. The seminar goal is to train 100 people in many of the same poultry techniques being discussed at Terezayi, with 20 people receiving the training each day.

The 3-19 will also be facilitating future training in compost and forestry techniques. Earlier projects included the building of a greenhouse at the Afghan National Army’s COP Parsa, located near the U.S. Army’s Camp Clark, which allows for controlled horticulture experiments.

U.S. Army Sgt. Brandon Reese, also a native of Rensselaer, Ind., and an infantryman attached to 3-19, has farming experience back home. While many of the agriculture techniques taken for granted in the states are just being learned in Afghanistan, he’s comforted to know that the common goal of helping others help themselves is universal across the miles and cultures.

“It’s nice to know we’re helping. Our main goal is to put an Afghan face to the training, where they can conduct the training on their own without our support,” said Reese.

• Date Taken: 02.02.2011
• Date Posted: 02.03.2011 00:09
• Story ID: 64693
• Location: KHOWST PROVINCE, AF