Subscribe
PAKTIYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The ground at the Gardez Demonstration Farm is so dry and barren it is hard to believe that anything could grow there. The sun beats down mercilessly and the stubble from the last harvest crackles underfoot.
Despite the harsh conditions, Afghan farmers, under the guidance of agribusiness development teams and their local leaders, have managed to grow wheat, grapes, saffron and many different types of vegetables on this ground.
Much of their success can be attributed to the instruction and research that takes place at the farm not far from the city of Gardez.
U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Waylon Petsche, U.S. Army Sgt. Alex Peyton, and U.S. Army 1st Lt. James Small, all members of the Nebraska National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team, the Agricultural Section of the Paktiya Provincial Reconstruction Team, convoyed to the demo farm to conduct a quality assurance/quality control mission and meet with the head of agricultural services for Gardez.
The Tennessee National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team started the Gardez Demonstration Farm in 2008. The Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock bought the land, and coalition forces built most of the buildings and greenhouses.
According to Peyton, the team’s agricultural specialist, “the purpose of the demo farm is to instruct the people of Afghanistan on how to properly plant, grow and harvest corn, wheat and soybeans. It’s also a center for research and development.”
Petsche, a pest management specialist, added that the farm also serves as proving grounds for new seeds and planting techniques that are in different stages of development.
One of the more common methods of planting a field in Afghanistan is called “broadcasting.” The farmer either hand-spreads the seed or puts it in a device similar to a fertilizer distributor.
“This method is fine for wheat if the farmer plans on giving the product to his cattle or just using it as a cover crop,” said Peyton.
However, the problem lies in the fact that broadcast seed competes for space, water and nutrients, he added.
The ADT is trying to introduce a new technique called drilling in which each individual seed is planted at a certain depth with a measured distance in between. The crops are easier to irrigate this way and less seed it used.
“We want to show them how effective drilling is versus broadcasting, because it uses less seeds thereby saving the farmer money he pays to purchase soybean and wheat seeds,” said Petsche.
Another goal of the mission was to test the pH level of the soil to assess the need for additional nutrients to bring the balance of acid and base in the soil to a healthy level. A perfect balance would be a pH of 7. Higher numbers indicate the soil is more basic and a lower number would show a soil with to high of an acidic content.
“The soil sample we took today was very promising,” said Small, the ADT’s soil scientist. “The test showed the soil ph level right between 8.5 and 8 which is almost perfect.”
Even though the soil at the demo farm was at a manageable level, there was another problem that required the ADT’s attention. The soil in Gardez and throughout Afghanistan is traditionally shallow and very rocky. Root systems have difficulty getting the nutrients they need to grow since the soil has little if any organic matter.
A solution that the ADT has proposed involves taking the stubble left behind from previous harvests and turning over the soil with it, thus introducing the nutrients back into the soil.
The problem with this solution is that farmers use this stubble to feed their livestock. Their immediate needs outweigh their future needs.
“For your average Afghan farmer, day-to-day survival trumps the overall process of building up your future farming opportunities,” said Peyton.
Another issue that has plagued this demo farm and other commercial farms is lack of water. Currently, water is siphoned out of tanks into hoses that lie in between the rows of plants creating a drip irrigation system.
“This will work temporarily, but they need a well,” said Petsche. “Their progress here is limited because they don’t have a sustainable source of water.”
So the question remains, will the work that is being done here continue once this ADT leaves in the spring of 2013?
No one can tell; however, if the members of the ADT have their way it will. In fact they have a plan that could change the playing field.
Other provincial reconstruction teams have used the concept of the “master farmer” in the past, but never in the Paktiya province.
“The master farmer would be the expert in all things agriculture,” said Peyton. “He doesn’t exist yet, but it’s our goal to have one in place soon.”
The master farmer would be less of a political entity and more of a practical adviser and a means to pass down knowledge learned from generation to generation.
The ADT has worked tirelessly for months to educate and mentor the Afghan farmers and district leaders of Paktiya province. With the coalition drawdown in 2014, only time will tell if their efforts have made an impact, but the good news is that there is progress.
Under their guidance, the future of Afghanistan is brighter and the hard barren ground that covers the land will hopefully someday bear the necessary produce to feed the next generation of Afghanistan.
| Date Taken: | 09.03.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2012 11:48 |
| Story ID: | 94956 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 168 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Back to the basics: ADT assesses Afghan demonstration farm, by SGT Christopher Bonebrake, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
