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In this desert, water is life. This man’s survival depends on it.
And so do the lives of most of the one million people living in the hot and dusty province of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.
For farmers in this largely agricultural province, water lies at the heart of their livelihoods.
Without it, they cannot grow their crops. Without crops, there is no economy, and without a sustainable economy, families are pushed into poverty.
This is the Arghandab River. It runs through the north of Kandahar province.
In the 1950s, the United States built a dam on this river, along with a network of canals that irrigated an abundance of crops such as melons, wheat, grapes and pomegranates.
Years of war and neglect, however, have left the dam and its irrigation system working at a much-reduced capacity.
Combined with a crippling drought, this has left thousands of farmers with very few resources to feed their families and bring food to the markets.
Bismillah, a farmer in Kandahar, has felt the effects first hand.
He buys fuel at high cost to operate his own irrigation machinery to water his crops. When the time comes to collect his yield, the return on investment is minimal.
This year it cost 1000 to 1500 Afghanis (approx. $35 CAD) to water my lands; I don’t have my own turbine. I get water from the wells of others.
In a country where the average daily income is just over $1, this is a lot of money.
Abdullah Mama, a farmer in Kandahar province, feels that repairing the Dahla Dam holds promise for farmers and the people of Kandahar.
When Canadians finish this job, everything will improve.
When we heard about the work, we thanked them. We are very grateful for this act.
The effect that lack of water has on the lives of Kandaharis is no more evident than when it comes to food.
An assessment done by the World Food Programme in 2007 found that nearly 16 million people
more than half of Afghanistan’s population, were not getting enough food to live healthy and active lives.
Soaring food prices since 2008 combined with insecurity have further exacerbated the situation, making the outlook seem grim at times.
But there is hope.
With support from Canada, the World Food Programme is delivering food to Afghan families in need.
These are families that have been affected by drought and conflict, people who have been forced off their land, and refugees who have returned to their home country.
Meanwhile, back in Kandahar province, Canada is committed to long-term development by helping the Government of Afghanistan rehabilitate the Dahla Dam and its irrigation system.
This project will boost agricultural production and create thousands of seasonal jobs for Kandaharis living in the region,
turning the Arghandab Valley into a productive agricultural area once more.
In addition to improving Kandahar’s irrigation system, Canada is also investing in animal husbandry.
Kandaharis have raised goats and poultry for centuries, but drought, conflict, and lack of resources have made it difficult for families to feed themselves, let alone their animals.
Through the Kandahar Local Initiatives Program, a number of Kandaharis are trained in dairy and community-based poultry production,
and they learn how to market their products locally to supplement household income.
This is Lalai Mama, another farmer in Kandahar province.
He says that more training in professional farming will also help boost production and sustainable living.
Farmers need to learn modern agricultural techniques, in any way possible.
New techniques, he says, will increase crop yields and improve the province’s economy.
This is why Canada is investing in the rehabilitation of the famous Tarnak farms, a dry zone area southeast of Kandahar City.
Once an agricultural hub for the South, this place later became a training ground for insurgents.
Through this new program, however, farmers will be using the land to learn new farming techniques and grow crops instead.
Working with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education,
Canada is planning to help build the Kandahar Regional Agriculture and Rural Development Institute.
This institute will provide training in new agricultural techniques, plant production, animal husbandry, business and marketing, and rural development for up to 1,000 students per year.
At a time when there have never been so many hungry people in the world,
At a time when there have never been so many hungry people in the world,
bringing new opportunities to the Afghan people is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty and helping a people become self-sufficient.
The Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Mohammad Asef Rahimi, summarizes it nicely:
Investing in agriculture is basically building the future of Afghanistan.