Prof. Manish N. RaizadaInternational Relations Officer

Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph

Partnership between the Faculty of Agriculture

at Kandahar University, CIDA and the

University of Guelph, Canada

Overall Objective Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Background•Agriculture is required both for food and is the major source of income in rural areas.•Will need a profitable alternative to opium from poppies•Understanding soil nutrients helps to determine which cropscan be grown (for food, feed, fuel, income) and fertilizer requirements.

Overall ObjectiveTrain and build capacity in soil science, testing and analysiswithin the Faculty of Agriculture at Kandahar University

Specific Objective 1 Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Objective. Design a soil science testing building, select andpurchase equipment needed to do fundamental soil testing in agriculture.

Progress: •Building at Kandahar University is ¾ complete. •In middle of procuring $260,000 US in equipment and lab supplies:--pH, conductivity, particle size, nutrients, atomic absorption spectrometer, trace elements, permeators for water drainage, etc.--chose equipment models that are low-tech, reliable, will not requirededicated technicians to operate•Negotiating with Canadian military to ship the equipment to Afghanistan in March, 2011.

Specific Objective 2 Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Objective. Train scientists at Kandahar University to set up and use the equipment.

Progress: •For safety reasons, 3 Guelph faculty along with 9 scientists from Kandahar will all fly to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in India for training in March 2011•4 weeks of lectures and practical training sessions in TNAU labs•all teaching materials are new, customized

Specific Objective 3 Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Objective. Guelph will host a study tour of senior Afghanscientists/administrators to demonstrate “what a soil sciencedepartment” should like like in terms of research and classroomteaching.

Progress: •Visas are being arranged, scheduled for Spring 2011•Being arranged by WUSC

Challenges Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

•After equipment ordered, Afghan partners discovered unopened boxes of soil testing equipment donated by aninternational aid agency!!•Afghan and Guelph faculty met in Dubai to re-evaluateequipment list and Guelph faculty could hear first hand“really” what was needed and what was not needed•disposal of lab chemicals is a challenge•18 month delay in signing contracts•travel Visas are a problem•language translation is a problem: English will be used fortraining materials•not clear what level of expertise currently exists in Kandaharand this has been difficult to ascertain

Funding Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)•paying for building•paying for equipment•paying for training

Challenge: CIDA needs all work completed by March 2011

History Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

AgriTeam, a private international aid grant consulting firm,along with WUSC, approached Guelph as they were creatinga proposal for CIDA.

AgriTeam/WUSC approached Guelph specifically to develop a soil science equipment/training proposal.

Future Funding: Plan A

Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

1. Many Kandahar University faculty do not have PhDs so they looking for a partner to upgrade their training.

 2. Kandahar University would like to establish a long term relationship with Guelph for training such as a 1-year “sandwich” program.

Future Funding Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Problems:1. Majority of population is rural2. Foreign curriculum/ideas can end up destroying local agriculture (e.g. Africa)3. A focus on “academic training” rather than practical technical training benefits few, not many (e.g. India) and canbe highly disconnected from local needs.4. Female literacy in rural areas <10%, yet women are key toLifting society out of poverty.

Solution:Need to focus on developing the female rural economy….add $300-$500 in income per family………..

Future Funding: Plan B Partnership in

AgricultureUniversity of GuelphKandahar University

CIDAObjective (cost $250,000, helps 1/2 million people)To build a profit-driven (self-sustaining), ~institution-independent, female rural economy appropriate for an unstable nation:

Step 1: Hire 100 local staff knowledgeable in agriculture , each to survey 200 local farmers including women/elderly to discover grassroots needs, indigenous knowledge (20,000 families surveyed). Use this information to build local curriculum.Step 2: During survey, identify local entrepreneurs, needs/ideas.

Step 3: Develop customized $10 commercial Sustainable Agriculture Kits (SAKs), targeted to women initially in India (www.SAKGlobal.org):(1) 100 packets of improved, disease-free seeds (for food, to create

fertilizers, to replace pesticides, for animal feed, for biodiesel, for wood cooking fuel, for medicines)

(2) low cost technologies (grain storage bags, food processing, etc.)(3) picture book of best practices for illiterate (female) farmers (indigenous +

scientific)

Step 4: Recruit entrepreneurs/extension officers to sell kits on commission similar to stalls selling cigarettes/Pepsi/cell phone cards in poor nations.

Result: 1 kit helps 10 people, 50,000 kits helps ½ million people. Only purchase kit once.

Goal of each kit is to add $300-$500 per year to families.

Future Funding: Plan CPartnership in

AgricultureUniversity of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Objective (Cost $20 million over 5 years)To build a rural-urban trade economy reminiscent of early 1900s USA/Canada.

Step 1. Hire 1000 agricultural extension officers, potentially linked and trained by Faculties of Agriculture. Focus on practical technical training.Step 2. Do extensive farmer surveys, including elderly and women to determine grassroots needs (are any being done currently?). Use this to build local curriculum.Step 3. During survey, find rural entrepreneurs and survey their needs/ideas.Step 4. Hire/subsidize 1000 farm merchants to create/supply rural general stores to sell improved seeds, fertilizers, cheap agricultural tools, etc. They travel to cities.Step 5. Pair each extension officer with each rural merchant.Step 6. Hire/subsidize 50 procurement merchants in the cities:--to procure agricultural products and have some manufactured in cities--to survey urban merchants for what they need grown/raised from the countrysideStep 7. Make limited capital available to facilitate consignments of goods (and possibly microfinance).

Result: establishment of a reciprocal procurement rural-urban economic system.

Contact Information

Partnership in Agriculture

University of GuelphKandahar University

CIDA

Professor Bev HaleAssociate Dean, Ontario Agriculture College, University of Guelphbhale@uoguelph.ca

Professor Manish RaizadaInternational Relations Officer, Dept of Plant Agricultureraizada@uoguelph.ca1-519-824-4120 x 53396