Applied Research-Development Project in Sherabad

Two graduate students and an adjunct professor from Cornell have been working with Joint Development Associates (JDA), an NGO based in Mazar-i-Sharif, and FAO in communities in Balkh province.

• Emily Levitt, a doctoral student in Nutritional Science, returned in March 2007 from 9 months in Afghanistan studying food security at the household level, identifying the seasonality of food insecurity and nutrient deficiencies. Her research is designed to help those developing nutrition programs better understand local food customs and to develop strategies to alleviate nutritional deficiencies by ensuring that farmers “grow what is needed.” She will give a seminar at Cornell on her research progress on April 25. (see Emily's research outline and excerpts from her Afghanistan diary)
  
  
• Kurt Waldman, a student in Applied Economics and Management, has been conducting his master's research on fodder production and economic trade-offs at the farm level in Afghanistan. One of the outcomes of this work will be a model to assist farmers in making land allocation decisions. (While on a visit to collect data during June/July 2007, he also conducted a market survey of timber in Kabul with GPFA, which is looking at the supply of various types of timber internally produced and imported, and help CRS with evaluating their dairy projects in Herat). (see also excerpts from Kurt's 2006 journal).
  
  
• Peter Hobbs has also been consulting with Joint Development Associates on alternatives to opium and introducing conservation agriculture to the war torn farmers of Afghanistan. Three sets of workshops on Conservation Agriculture were given in Pol-e-Khomri, Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif in October, 2005 and June, 2006 that has led to increased interest in more sustainable production systems although opium production has risen!

Capacity-building Efforts at Kabul and Balkh Universities

In conjunction with Purdue University, CIIFAD is working to improve the educational capacity of universities. Already, Cornell’s TEEAL (The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library) program is in use at Kabul University. In addition, faculty exchanges, graduate programs, curriculum development, teaching workshops, short courses, joint research projects and computer training are among the joint university-CIIFAD activities that are in the planning stages. Brendan O'Neill, a graduate student at Cornell, recently returned from Afghanistan, where he was a summer intern assisting with curriculum development together with Afghan Professors at Kabul Univeristy. (See Brendan's Afghanistan blog which has video clips, photos and stories about life in Kabul!) Alice Pell (director of CIIFAD) and Peter Hobbs (CSS) also traveled to Afghanistan during July to work on curriculum development at Kabul University as well as related efforts.

Faculty-exchange Initiative through the Borlaug Fellows Program

In September 2006, CIIFAD welcomed the first two Borlaug fellows from Afghanistan: Khusdil Maroof (animal science) and Hukumkhan Habibi (horticulture), lecturers with Nangarhar University. (A slide presentation on environmental problems in Afghanistan is available on the CIIFAD website). This program enables current faculty at Afghan universities to come to Cornell for 1-3 months to improve their teaching and research skills. It will also strengthen Cornell’s linkages with local universities.

Dr. Noor Mohammad Ayubi, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, Kabul University Kabul, visited Cornell March 25-April 23, 2007.

Agroforestry

CIIFAD is actively working on a USAID-funded agroforestry project in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Afghanistan (GPFA), a New York-based NGO with projects on the development of wood lots and fruit crops in Afghanistan. Professor Ian Merwin, whose expertise is in tree fruits, visited Afghanistan and consulted with local farmers in Logor, Pol-e-Khomri and Kholm, three GPFA-selected sites. He is interested in assembling materials for use in the field by extensionists or NGOs.  CIIFAD recently obtained USAID funding for a two-year project with GPFA on “Private and Community Forestry for Natural Resource Management: Sustainable Strategies for Village- and Farmer-Based Forestry Initiatives.” The three major objectives for this project are:

• Sustainable increases in tree cultivation by private woodlot owners, including increased familiarity with a range of varieties, their uses, and cultivation approaches;
• Increased profitability of woodlot businesses based on a market survey on tree and wood needs, business skill development and access to business-enabling mechanisms (credit, associations, services); and
• Enhanced community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) via dialogue, survey and demonstration of economic, environmental and social benefits derived from sustainable land use.

Peter Hobbs (Crop and Soil Sciences), listed as an extensionist with the project, conducted a 10 day workshop in Kabul during August 2006 for the 10 (2 women) GPFA extensionists on participatory approaches and communication skills needed to implement the project. The staff and now better prepared to identify key sites and farmers for accomplishing the objectives. The Ecoagriculture Working Group will join CIIFAD's agroforestry collaboration in Afghanistan in late 2007.

During summer 2007, Kurt Waldman will conducted a market survey of timber in Kabul with GPFA, which has a project to look at the supply of various types of timber internally produced and imported.

For more information on CIIFAD's Collaborative Afghanistan Initiative, contact: Alice Pell or Peter Hobbs