fruit & nut production and marketing project...

FINAL REPORT

FRUIT & NUT PRODUCTION AND MARKETING PROJECT

Submitted by Subcontractor Roots of Peace to USAID Prime Contractor Development Alternatives, Inc.

Date of Submission: June 30, 2009

GSA Contract No. GS-10F-0359M Task Order No. 306-M-00-05-00515-00 Subcontract No. 2989 Subcontract Value $2,956,783 Period of Performance 1/1/ 2007 to 4/30/2009

Malik Wali of Nangarhar with his ADP-E apricot orchard Aug 2007

Roots of Peace Contacts: Gary Kuhn, Executive Director, Tel +415-596-9637, [email protected] Zach Lea, Country Director, +93 (0) 794-677-212, [email protected]

Afghanistan Alternative Development Program-East

(ADP/E)

This publication was produced for review by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) and USAID. It was prepared by Roots of Peace. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of DAI or USAID.

Final Report: ADP/E Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project Page i

Contents Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................................... iiExecutive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. iv1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Project Context ............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Project Objective and Approach ................................................................................................................... 21.2.1 Objective .................................................................................................................................................. 21.2.2 Approach .................................................................................................................................................. 2

1.3 Modifications to the Project Implementation Approach .............................................................................. 31.3.1 Targeted Orchard Size ............................................................................................................................. 31.3.2 Support for Intercrops ............................................................................................................................. 31.3.3 Support for Yellow Corn for Feed Mill ..................................................................................................... 3

2 Outcomes and Outputs ............................................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Strategic Results of the Project .................................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Outcomes of the Project ............................................................................................................................... 42.2.1 Establish 3,000ha of commercial fruit and nut orchards. ........................................................................ 42.2.2 Deliverables ............................................................................................................................................. 52.2.3 Capacity Building ...................................................................................................................................... 72.2.4 REVAMP ................................................................................................................................................... 8

3 Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................................................ 9

3.1 Afghan Nursery System ................................................................................................................................ 9

3.2 Support for New Orchards ............................................................................................................................ 9

3.3 Intercropping .............................................................................................................................................. 104 Challenges ................................................................................................................................................... 105 Annexes ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

5.1 Description of Manuals .............................................................................................................................. 115.1.1 Apple Production Manual ...................................................................................................................... 115.1.2 Fruit Orchard Manual ............................................................................................................................ 115.1.3 Vegetative Propagation Techniques ...................................................................................................... 115.1.4 Soil Testing ............................................................................................................................................. 115.1.5 Irrigation ................................................................................................................................................ 115.1.6 Marketing Agricultural Products ............................................................................................................ 115.1.7 Marketing and Business Development .................................................................................................. 11

5.2 Listing of Training Support Materials ......................................................................................................... 12

5.3 Data Annex ................................................................................................................................................. 14

5.4 Photo Annex ............................................................................................................................................... 17

Final Report: ADP/E Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project Page ii

Acronyms ADP/E Afghanistan Alternative Development Program-East ALP/E Alternative Livelihoods Program-Eastern Region ROP Roots of Peace USAID United States Agency for International Development REVAMP Regional Vegetable and Marketing Program

Final Report: ADP/E Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project Page iii

MAPS

Eastern Region of Afghanistan

Final Report: ADP/E Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project Page iv

Executive Summary Roots of Peace (ROP) successfully completed its contractual obligations and made significant contributions above and beyond its contractual obligations to the USAID/DAI/Alternative Development Program: East (ADP/E). The primary objective of ROP’s contract with the ADP/E was the establishment of 3,000ha of new, commercial fruit and nut orchards. ROP established 3,007ha of orchards. Note that public records at the time of the design of the ADP/E indicated that the Eastern Region held some 1,500ha of orchards. Thus, the DAI-ROP effort added new orchards equal to two times the number of pre-existing orchards. DAI Monitoring and Evaluation (M&S) determined that the rate of survival of the trees in ROP-assisted orchards was greater than 90% while that of another NGO operating in the area was less than 50%. The USAID/DAI/ROP orchard establishment project assisted 4,838 farmers scattered over 15 Districts of the three Eastern Region Provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman and Kunar. ROP assistance to the new orchard owners included follow-up visits and training to insure that the farmers understood and applied appropriate cultural techniques (irrigation, fertilization, intercrop control, tree training and pruning, etc.) to insure the development of productive orchards. However, ROP is concerned that unless a follow-up project provides continuing support to the new orchards, many of the trees, especially those planted at the end of the project in the Spring of 2009, will not survive because farmers will revert to traditional practices (irrigation, intercropping, pruning/training, pest control, fertilization) that prevent proper tree growth and productivity.

Major Objective Accomplishment Impact 3,000 ha new orchards 3,007 ha orchards 2.35X income in 4 years for 4,838 families

912,225 fruit and nut trees planted

$10.8M per year in increased income1

0.2% GDP increase $611 per farmer to increase income $2,107 per year2

Project payback in 2011

364% return on investment every year after 2013 4,838 new orchard farmers, 38,704 happy farm families members3

A significant amount of the land now under these new orchards was formerly used for poppy cultivation. Because the new orchards will provide significantly more income than poppy cultivation and because the shade produced by mature orchard trees will not allow poppy grown as an intercrop, it is expected that these areas will remain free of poppy. The predicted $10million increase in annual farm income due to the Project is approximately 3 times larger than the Project budget. Further, the three Directors of Agriculture in the three target provinces followed our work closely, allowed their staff to participate directly with us as co-workers, participated in our training programs and have praised the quality of our work in official letters to the Government of Afghanistan. Thus, ROP made a significant contribution to

1 Based upon comparison of wheat/corm versus average of all crops planted. Impace will be 4 years after planting, which will be between 2011 and 2013. 2 Same as above. 3 Assuming 2 adults and 6 children per family.

Final Report: ADP/E Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project Page v

the overall USAID objective of the ADP/E, namely, “to provide an approach designed to strengthen the Afghan Government’s capacity to address the problem of illicit poppy cultivation and to promote improved economic opportunities and diverse regional economic growth.” ROP contributions above and beyond its funded, contractual obligations include the technical assistance it provided to DAI in support of the DAI REVAMP which provided vegetable and grain crop production inputs to the farmers who established orchards. The vegetable and grain production took place as an intercrop in the newly established orchards and demonstrated how farmers could produce income one the orchard land until the newly planted trees can be relied on for income. Upon request by DAI, ROP staff trained DAI staff, Afghan government extension agents and farmers on vegetable and grain production techniques, assisted DAI staff to distribute the vegetable and grain crop inputs, and assisted DAI staff to organize and to facilitate the marketing of the vegetable and grain crops. 59 extension agents and 2,200 farmers received training via ROP’s participation in the REVAMP. For these training programs, ROP staff developed specialized training materials, covering such subjects as, vegetable production in general, onion production in particular, vegetable seedling transplantation, irrigation, compost making and use, corn production, soil fertility management, and other topics.

Final Report: ADP/E Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project Page 1 of 23

1 Introduction This is the final report of the Fruit & Nut Production and Marketing Project, implemented by Roots of Peace (ROP) under subcontract to Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI). The project was a component of the Afghanistan Alternative Development Program-East (ADP/E) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DAI was the prime contractor for the (ADP/E). The ADP/E began life as the Alternative Livelihoods Program-Eastern Region (ALP/E). USAID modified the ALP/E and changed its name to the ADP/E. The contractual essentials are:

GSA Contract No. GS-10F-0359M Task Order No. 306-M-00-05-00515-00 Subcontract No. 2989 Subcontract Value $2,956,783 Period of Performance 1/1/ 2007 to 4/30/2009

1.1 Project Context The geographical focus of this project is the Eastern Region of Afghanistan which includes four provinces: Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Nuristan. The capital and major commercial center of the Eastern Region is Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province. Commerce in Jalalabad is somewhat over-shadowed by traders from Peshawar, Pakistan who have superior trade and value-add facilities.

Seventy percent of the region is classified as rangeland and rocky outcrop. Rainfed agricultural land is relatively insignificant at around 15,000ha in total, highlighting the importance of irrigation for the agricultural sector. The area of orchards is stated at 1,548 ha, the majority of which is in Nangarhar province. NOTE: ROP added 3,007ha of orchards; so, increased the area in orchards by nearly 200%. There are three main growing regions: Jalalabad irrigated areas, alluvial areas at the base of the mountains to the south, and the southern mountain range.

Orchards in the Eastern Region are dominated by small, poorly managed plots with several kinds of trees. Basic cultural methods are lacking in most cases due to lack of knowledge and in many cases simply due to lack of interest. A farmer with fifteen trees of six different tree crops has little incentive to become proficient with any one of the crops. But with the small, specialized orchards established by this project, that incentive to become proficient is increased and farmers have become serious about managing their orchards for profit.

The population data show the relative importance of Nangarhar province in the region: it has most of the population and most of the productive land. The average irrigated farm area per farm household was 1ha (FAO Land Atlas) in 1994, but with the increased population this figure will have been reduced.

Eastern Region Land Use:

Land area 2,573,700ha

Land use 766,154ha

Irrigated area 162,258ha

Rainfed land 14,617ha

Orchards 1,548ha

Forest 587,731ha

Irrigated area percentage 6%

Eastern Region Population:

Total population 1,694,480

Nangarhar province 1,007,000

Laghman province 285,680

Kunar province 298,100

Nuristan province 103,700


1.2 Project Objective and Approach

1.2.1 Objective The objective of this task order was to provide an approach designed to strengthen the Afghan Government’s capacity to address the problem of illicit poppy cultivation and to promote improved economic opportunities and diverse regional economic growth through a program in the Eastern Region which has been a major poppy production zone. Rural economic growth will also benefit regional development and contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The U.S./Afghan counter narcotics strategy depends on a successful alternative livelihoods programs to provide residents of Afghanistan hope for the future, for their families and children. The activities which Roots of Peace implemented were closely aligned with the prime task objectives and are included under the Alternative Livelihoods Program’s (later the program name was changed to Alternative Development Program) medium-term implementation strategy for perennial horticulture activities. The primary task assigned to ROP, around which all other activities revolved, was the establishment of 3,000ha of commercial fruit and nut orchards. The full set of Deliverables, associated with the overall objective and assigned to ROP, are given in the Accomplishment Section of the Report, under the subsection entitled: Deliverables. There the Deliverables and associated accomplishments are listed.

1.2.2 Approach The core of the project was focused on establishing commercial orchards in Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman. ROP/DAI defined commercial to be (1) motivated farmers willing to invest time and money in a new orchard, and (2) farmers willing to devote a minimum of 3 jeribs (0.6ha) to new orchards of a single crop. The team recruited farmers by offering a subsidized purchase of the tree saplings, comprehensive training, orchard layout and start-up assistance and, for many, participation in the DAI REVAMP program. The farmers who participated with our program were not the casual farmer with multiple tree crops. These were serious farmers focused on developing commercial orchards. Beyond the ROP policy relating to contributions by Project participants, ROP’s implementation approach can be described and summarized via the following five categories:

1. Support and involvement of local government o Partnership with 3 province and 16 district agriculture directorates, involving them in

the project through: Technical Working Group (at MAIL offices) meetings and report obligations on

regular base Reports to National level ministries of Agriculture and Economy (Department of

NGOs) Use of government extension agents in the project implementation Input support to the directorates (equipment, tools, other financial resources)

2. Support to community development

o Organization of farmer’s groups o Regular meetings between farmer’s groups, merchants and extension agents to

establish priorities, production and marketing plans

3. Intervene in the input supply chain


o Develop 3,000ha commercial perennial fruit production o Support development of local nurseries rather than produce saplings in Project

managed nurseries o Diversify production through high market value crops o Motivate commitment through the sharing of input supply cost (80% RoP and 20%

farmer)

4. Intervene in the output supply chain o Trainings for extension agents o Training for farmer’s groups o Production of manuals and brochures o Introduction of improved varieties

5. Link farmers to markets o Implementation of market strategies creating access to the markets o Facilitation of meetings between merchants and farmer’s groups o Training for farmer’s groups o Production of marketing manuals and brochures

1.3 Modifications to the Project Implementation Approach

1.3.1 Targeted Orchard Size Originally, this Fruit and Nut Marketing Project was designed for commercial-size farms, which was defined as orchards greater than 20 hectares in size. Although this concept fit well under western conditions, the current high population density, the war, and the current high value of farmland created a substantially different situation in the Eastern Region of Afghanistan. Typical farm size was 0.5 to 1.0ha. Most, relatively large-scale landlords are not farming but renting their land to small holder farmers. Medium size farms are practically non-existent and the rest of the farms belong to the small holder category. Therefore, DAI agreed with ROP that the logical choice was to work with farmers who own or rent farmland of 3 jeribs (0.6Ha) or more in size.

1.3.2 Support for Intercrops DAI and ROP quickly realized that the Project design lacked adequate support for intercrops in the newly established orchards. Intercrops provide income for the farmer and support the farmer’s willingness to care for the growing trees during the period from orchard establishment until the trees are producing and an adequate income. Accordingly, DAI and ROP decided to include the new orchard owners in DAI’s REVAMP project. The REVAMP program was integrated into the Fruit and Nut Marketing Project as an additional component without a Project Contract Modification and without additional funding. 100% of the REVAMP participants were also participating in the ROP Project.

1.3.3 Support for Yellow Corn for Feed Mill ADP/E included a poultry production/marketing component. A new feed mill was developed to provide the feed for the poultry farms. DAI asked ROP staff to assist them produce some of the yellow corn and mung bean requirements of the feed mill. This was done by having ROP extension staff locate a number of farmers interested in growing yellow corn and /or mung bean, then distributing seed and fertilizer provided by DAI to the farmers. Farmers were given production technical advice and linked with the

grain buyer. ROP was asked to participate in this program only in year 2008.


2 Outcomes and Outputs

2.1 Strategic Results of the Project The objective “to provide an approach designed to strengthen the Afghan Government’s capacity to address the problem of illicit poppy cultivation and to promote improved economic opportunities and diverse regional economic growth through a program in the Eastern Region” has been achieved. The approach was to demonstrate to farmers and to government officials how fruit and vegetable extension programs can provide the economic incentive for farmers to produce and market licit crops rather than illicit opium. The economic incentive was shown in the higher revenues and gross margins that can be earned with fruit and vegetable crops as opposed to illicit poppy cultivation. Average revenue from fruit and nut crops is predicted to be 1.7 to 4.6 times higher than revenue from poppy cultivation. See Tables A & B in Data Annex for details. The Government of Afghanistan’s capacity to implement this approach was developed through on-the-job training to Government extension agents and through the participation of higher level government officials’ in training events and through their monitoring of Project activities and results. Assuming that the increased income is only 2 times that of poppy, 3,000ha will result in increased annual income valued at more than $10million. This compares favorably with the Project budget of $2.9million.

2.2 Outcomes of the Project

2.2.1 Establish 3,000ha of commercial fruit and nut orchards. The primary task of establishing 3,000ha of commercial fruit and/or nut orchards was accomplished. ROP also established 10 demonstration orchards in each of the three target provinces. Tables in the Data Annex provide details on the locations of the orchards, the perennial horticultural crops planted, number of trees and the areas planted. The table just above provides a summary of the 3,007ha hectares of fruit orchards established. Note that the work extended to 15 districts in three provinces. In Nangarhar Province 3,153 farmers established 1,966 hectares of orchard (65%), in Laghman Province 330 farmers established 206 hectares (7%) and in Kunar Province 1,355 farmers planted fruit trees on 835 hectares of farmland (28%). Of the total 926,830 saplings distributed to the farmers, 871,830 were purchased from 17 local nurseries, 3 of them owned and managed by women. 55,000 citrus saplings, distributed via the Project, were imported from the USA. Because citrus saplings certified to be tolerant/resistant to the tristeza virus were not available in country and because the FAO had recommended that no citrus saplings be

SN Province District No. ofFarmers

Area inHectares

1 Nangarhar Behsud 454 264.122 Nangarhar Batikot 473 280.253 Nangarhar Shin war 484 261.344 Nangarhar Kot 195 125.425 Nangarhar Kuz Kunar 223 134.536 Nangarhar Kama 466 306.077 Nangarhar Surkhrod 858 593.948 Laghman Mehtarlam 107 69.029 Laghman Qarghae 223 136.9310 Kunar Khas Kunar 512 264.1311 Kunar Asmar 274 220.3612 Kunar Dangam 100 73.8613 Kunar Asadabad 156 98.5214 Kunar Shigal 205 116.1815 Kunar Narang 108 62.28

4,838 3,006.95Grand total


imported from Pakistan due to the wide-spread existence of citrus tristeza virus in Pakistan, DAI agreed to allow ROP to procure citrus saplings from certified nurseries in the United States that could provide saplings certified to be tolerant/resistant to the tristeza virus. The 55,000 imported citrus saplings have Washington Navel and Olinda Valencia grafted on Citrange Carrizo, Citrange Troyer, and Volckamariana rootstock. The saplings were imported in boxes of 100 saplings packaged in a flexible tube called ‘liners’. See photo in Annex. When the saplings arrived in Jalalabad, they are transplanted into a greenhouse for a two-month period of recuperation and growth before being planted in the farmer’s orchards.

2.2.2 Deliverables The following table provides a summary statement of the project’s accomplishments vis-`a-vis its Deliverables. No. Deliverable Accomplishments 1 3,000 hectares of new orchards

planted primarily to Pomegranate, Citrus and Stone Fruit

Established 3,007ha of commercial orchards. In addition, ROP (at the request of DAI) established 10 demonstration orchards, one jerib each, in each of the three provinces. The majority of the trees planted were apricot, almond, or citrus. See Data Annex for location and other details of the orchards established.

2 Business plans for commercial orchards established by the project.

A business plan for a commercial orange orchard was developed for a local cooperative. See Doaba Agriculture Cooperative Citrus Orchards Development: Business Plan on the ROP webpage: www.rootsofpeace.org.

3 Comprehensive marketing strategy for the output from the 3,000 hectares of new orchards.

Per agreement with DAI, ROP ceded the responsibility for developing a comprehensive marketing strategy for the future output of fruit from the newly planted orchards to the DAI Fruit Marketing Program and worked to ensure orchard owners participating in the ROP program were linked to the DAI-FMP. The DAI-FMP worked with fruit grower associations, providing packaging materials and facilitated fruit marketing activities for the whole region. During the project implementation period RoP performed a series of market and feasibility studies. A total of 9 survey studies and business plans were produced to support marketing activities. Additionally, the extension staff organized a total of 120 meetings with the 56 farmers groups for the purpose to enhance their knowledge and skills about marketing and sales and linking them to the DAI-FMP.


No. Deliverable Accomplishments 4 Evidence of trade arrangements

between project beneficiaries and wholesalers, exporters and/or processors.

At harvest time ROP facilitated buyer/seller meetings between farmer groups and merchants. From 40 of these kinds of meetings 30 resulted in a successful sales agreement. For example, our Quarterly Report of June 2007 reports the following. • We have 5 written contracts signed in February by

merchant and farmers. • We have 1 written watermelon production contract which

has signed in May by merchant and farmer group. • We have 1 written watermelon production contract which

has signed in June by merchant and farmer groups. We have two written 2 okra contracts signed by local merchant of Asmar and Dagam districts of Kunar province and farmers. But the contract was not a formal contract because the merchant did not have any pad and stamp only they have signed a paper. During 2008, nine written contracts were implemented between farmers and merchants, some of them included over 100 farmers (RoP-ALP/E project review-June 2008) Additionally, ROP assisted farmers develop 28 yellow maize contracts between nine district project beneficiaries and Sabawoon feed mill and six onion production and marketing contracts.

5 Three production manuals describing the entire technology package for each crop; from out-planting to harvest, post harvest handling, grading and packaging.

ROP produced seven manuals: 1. Vegetative Propagation Techniques 2. Soil testing 3. Irrigation 4. Apple production 5. Fruit orchards 6. Marketing and Business Development 7. Marketing Agricultural Products

These manuals are available from the ROP Webpage: www.rootsofpeace.org

http://www.rootsofpeace.org/�


No. Deliverable Accomplishments 6 Six or more government extension

workers trained through on-the-job experiences to provide appropriate technical assistance to the fruit industry.

At project initiation, eight government agents regularly participated in all ROP extension activities, receiving training and putting that training to work as extension agents, providing training to farmers under the guidance of ROP staff. Due to the agents’ lack of time to devote to the ADP/E, the number of agents was reduced to 2. Additionally, 40 government agents participated in ROP group training sessions. See table “Capacity Building-Group Trainings” in report Section on Capacity Building. The MAIL Provincial Directors of Agriculture regularly monitored ROP activities in the field.

7 Six or more farmer associations designed to assist farmers gain i) access to modern crop production technologies, ii) collective marketing, iii) value adding through grading and packaging, and iv) promoting policy change.

ROP organized 59 farmer groups and, in total, worked with 86 farmers’ groups, providing training on improved production technologies and marketing techniques.

8 20-25 locally-owned private-sector nurseries receive training and guidance, strengthening their ability to produce saplings, lay-out and install orchards and provide technical assistance to farmers.

Seven nurseries in Eastern Afghanistan and 11 nurseries in Central Afghanistan produced saplings for the ROP ADP/E project and received training on sapling production and packaging techniques. See list of Partner Nurseries in Data Annex.

9 Project monitoring and evaluation system established in accordance with USAID regulations and ALP/E’s standard operating procedures.

ROP conducted M&E in collaboration with and under the guidance of DAI-ADP/E M&E staff. Data on farmer participation in trainings and in production activities was collected and is shown in the DATA ANNEX. GIS coordinates were collected and reported for all orchards established. ROP filed bi-weekly, quarterly and annuals reports with DAI.

The table of Deliverables and related accomplishments is a succinct method of communicating our contractual obligations and related accomplishments; however, it does not allow much room for elaboration/discussion and for describing accomplishments that were not included in the original set of Deliverables. This is the purpose of the following section of the report.

2.2.3 Capacity Building The Deliverables relating to capacity building focused on training of extension agents (Training of Trainers or TOT); but, required little in the way of actually getting the training out to the farmers. ROP set up an effective extension system that succeeded in finding and training the 4,838 farmers who established fruit and nut orchards with assistance from the Project. Note that 2,200 of these farmers also participated in the DAI vegetable production project (REVAMP) and a separate DAI yellow corn production project. Note that the farmers who established orchards in 2009 did not participate in the vegetable production project (REVAMP) due to lack of funding from DAI. In conducting these successful extension education programs, ROP staff:


• Met with the farmers on a routine basis at their farms to provide personal advice on orchard and vegetable production, following-up to help farmer implement the cultural practices that assured the trees and vegetables were developing properly. These individual visits are not included in the “group training” numbers shown in the table below.

• Organized group meetings to provide training on specific subjects. ROP staff developed 22 PowerPoint presentations, brochures or “hand-outs” to support the topics being discussed. The topics covered included, soil testing, irrigation, vegetable production, etc. Please see the table in Section 5.1 which provides titles and more detail relative to these materials. These brochures have been given to the MAIL for their use. Additionally, the brochures will be publicized on ROP’s webpage for use by other programs in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

CAPACITY BUILDING – GROUP TRAINING

N/S Subject Number of

Farmers DAI-RoP Agents

Government Agents

1 Vegetable Production 2,200 59 13 2 Soil and Irrigation management 0 15 25 3 Yellow Maize production 1,980 60 0 4 Irrigation management 0 55 0 5 Marketing 0 10 0 6 Orchard management and marketing 2,344 14 2

Total number of trainings 6,524 213 40

2.2.4 REVAMP The Regional Vegetable and Marketing Program (REVAMP) was a separate program implemented by DAI as a component of the ADP/E. As indicated above, DAI and ROP decided to include participants from the Fruit and Nut Production and Marketing Project as a means of assisting the farmers establishing orchards to continue to produce income from their orchards while the newly planted trees grow to maturity. This program required a major increase in ROP staff time and commitment, without a corresponding increase in Project funding from USAID-DAI. The REVAMP assisted the new orchard owners to produce vegetable intercrops on the land between the rows of planted trees. The program provided seeds and fertilizer to the farmers at no cost. The input was sufficient for 0.2 Hectare area per farmer. The technology design allowed to the farmer to manage up to 2 seasons of vegetable production and 1 season of grain production. A summary of the program’s production results is:

• A total of 13 different vegetable species were produced on a total 1,467 hectares. • Two types of grain crops (yellow corn and mung bean) were produced on 607 hectares. Yellow

corn area was 587ha. Mung bean area was 20ha. • The total distributed input was 7,335 packages of vegetable seeds, 29.9 MT grain seeds and

1,110.6 MT of fertilizer. • 59 extension agents and 2,200 farmers received training via the REVAMP. • Note that the farmers who established orchards in 2009 were not included in the REVAMP. • The table below provides some details of the production.


3 Lessons Learned

3.1 Afghan Nursery System The Afghan government’s Master Plan for the Development of Agriculture recognizes that a major constraint to the development of it horticultural industry is the lack of high-quality saplings for the establishment of commercial orchards. Farmers currently do not have confidence that the trees they buy are appropriate for fruit production in Eastern Afghanistan. Citrus saplings produced in Pakistan may not be tolerant to the citrus tristeza virus which reduces the affected trees’ productivity and can shorten the productive life of affected citrus trees to less than five years. The FAO had recommended that no citrus saplings be imported from Pakistan due to the wide-spread existence of citrus tristeza virus in Pakistan. Additionally, private sector nurseries hesitate to produce large quantities of saplings required to rapidly and significantly expand the productive base (private sector orchards) of the industry because the nurseries are not willing to risk producing saplings that they cannot sell. Thus, to develop a large area of fruit orchard in the minimum amount of time requires government action to stimulate the production of the large number of sapling trees required. The most effective approach, which also encourages the development of a private sector tree nursery industry, is to purchase the saplings from private sector nurseries and provide training and support to insure that best nursery practices are learned and used. This was the approach recommend by ROP and used in this project.

3.2 Support for New Orchards Follow-up support to farmers who establish new orchards is necessary to insure the survival of the trees. This support must be provided for 1-2 years. Otherwise, farmers tend not to give proper care to their

trees to promote reasonable growth. Without follow-up extension advice, farmers tend to

1 Nangarhar Jalalabad 1.0 0.0 1.02 Nangarhar Behsud 193.2 64.6 257.83 Nangarhar Batikot 227.6 61.4 289.04 Nangarhar Shin war 192.4 69.4 261.85 Nangarhar Kot 88.4 38.4 126.86 Nangarhar Kuz Kunar 95.6 26.4 122.07 Nangarhar Kama 160.0 42.6 202.68 Nangarhar Surkhrod 428.7 126.4 555.19 Laghman Mehtarlam 50.2 16.0 66.210 Laghman Qarghae 75.6 22.0 97.611 Kunar Khas Kunar 141.8 79.4 221.212 Kunar Asmar 55.4 0.0 55.413 Kunar Dangam 32.0 0.0 32.014 Kunar Asadabad 99.6 32.0 131.615 Kunar Shigal 57.0 17.4 74.416 Kunar Narang 44.8 11.4 56.2

1943.3 607.4 2550.7

Total

Vegetable and grain production

Total Vegetable in

Ha

Total Grain in Ha

SN Province District

Total


plant intercrops too close to the trees because this is the traditional practice. Additionally, they tend to apply irrigation at times that are most appropriate for the intercrop (such as wheat); but, not appropriate for the trees.

ROP is very concerned that a major portion of the 1,389ha of orchards planted in 2009, at the end of the project, will not survive unless a follow-on project provides the extension training required to support the trees from planting through years 2 and 3 of growth. As of June 2009, the team from IDEA-NEW in Jalalabad plans to provide this support.

3.3 Intercropping A program, such as the DAI-REVAMP, which provides support for intercrops while the trees are maturing, is very helpful in assuring the survival of the trees, because extension agents, visiting the orchards to assist with the intercrop, can provide advice on the care of the trees. The fact that DAI did not extend the REVAMP to the farmers who planting orchards in 2009 will likely be a negative factor influencing the survival of the trees. The type of intercropping crop had a direct impact on the success of the new orchards. A majority of the tree failures took place where the inter-crop was wheat. ROP has established as standard protocol for new orchard inter-cropping, the sole use of vegetable seed and no wheat. Farmers may elect to plant wheat with their own purchased seed and fertilizer, but any subsidies for inter-cropping is focused on vegetables.

4 Challenges An important and challenging component of our approach to this development project implementation was our requirement that participants make a cash payment toward the cost of the saplings they receive through the Project. Roots of Peace feels strongly that the requirement for the farmers contribution ensures active participation and care of the new orchards. Additionally, the cash contribution is a self-selection process that tends to select farmers with serious intentions to follow advice and to make the interventions succeed. Copy-cat adoption of the training that we are giving occurs more rapidly among other farmers and among other development programs because our programs succeed at a higher rate than similar programs that require no cash investment from the farmers. The challenge of this approach is that it can make our work more difficult if other projects do not follow similar policies. In the current case, another orchard development project was handing out saplings, as well as, tools, fertilizer and other agricultural inputs free of charge to farmers in this Project’s target areas of operation. Farmers were rightfully reluctant to participate in this Project when they could obtain similar inputs from the other project for free. It took some time (and slowed the Project implementation) before farmers began “self-selecting” in numbers to participate in this Project. The combination of the more restrictive self-selection process and the actual implementation appeared to make a significant difference in at least one measure of project success: planted tree survival rates. A mid-term evaluation by DAI, showed that the survival rate of trees on ROP-assisted plantations was over 90% while less than 50% on plantations assisted by the other orchard project focused on more casual farmers.


5 Annexes

5.1 Description of Manuals Following are short description of the manuals produced by ROP staff for the ADP/E. These manuals may be read or downloaded from the ROP Webpage: www.rootsofpeace.org.

5.1.1 Apple Production Manual • Number of pages: 45 • Topics covered: Scientific classification, Morphology, Soil preparation, Orchard layout, tree

planting, fertilization, pest and disease management, irrigation, pruning and training, harvest, apple varieties, references.

5.1.2 Fruit Orchard Manual • Number of pages: 89 • Topics covered: Pomology, Site preparation, Orchard layout, Planting fruit trees, Orchard

management, fertilization, pest and disease management, irrigation, pruning and training, harvest, references.

5.1.3 Vegetative Propagation Techniques • Number of pages: 38 • Topics covered: Fruit Plant And Tree Propagation Categories, Rooting, Layering, Bud grafting (T-

budding, Inverted T-budding, Chip budding, Whip Grafting, Clef Grafting, Bark Grafting, Green Grafting), Care of Grafted and Budded Plants, Reference.

5.1.4 Soil Testing • Number of pages: 99 • Topics covered: Soil Profile, Soil Properties, Soil Testing Procedure, Testing Soil Physical And

Chemical Properties, Recommendations For Managing Soils With Different Physical Structures, Recommendations For Managing Soil Nutrient Content, Reference.

5.1.5 Irrigation • Number of pages: 120 • Topics covered: Water Source, Irrigation Water Need, Irrigation System, Irrigation Methods,

Irrigation System Management, Irrigation Schedule, Water Quality,

5.1.6 Marketing Agricultural Products • Number of pages: 32 • Topics Covered: Market Basics, Product Selection, Target Markets, Product Decision, Value

Chains.

5.1.7 Marketing and Business Development • Number of pages: 159 • Topics covered: Marketing (market model, product, context of the market, power of marketing,

communication system on the market), Business Management (theory, ratio analysis, profit analysis, production analysis, etc.), Business Development (business plan, market study, business costs, financial statements, capital budgeting, financial and economic evaluation), Credit.



5.2 Listing of Training Support Materials This listing describes the publicity materials, brochures, power point presentations, and other training materials developed by ROP staff. These materials are available on the ROP Webpage: www.rootsofpeace.org. BROCHURES AND PRESENTATIONS

N/S Title Type Pages English Pashto

1 Publicity for USAID-DAI- ROP-ADP/E Billboard 1 X X

2 Publicity for USAID-DAI- ROP-ADP/E Calendar 1 X X

3 Publicity for USAID-DAI- ROP-ADP/E Leaflet 1 X X

4 Publicity for USAID-DAI- ROP-ADP/E PowerPoint 6 X 5 Organic Matter and Compost PowerPoint 18 X 6 Compost Making PowerPoint 8 X X

7 Citrus Photos: Important Afghan varieties PowerPoint 4 X 8 Nutrient Deficiency in Apricot PowerPoint 2 X 9 Irrigation Training 1 PowerPoint 26 X 10 Irrigation Training 2 PowerPoint 25 X 11 Marketing and Business Training PowerPoint 71 X 12 SOIL TESTING SHORT COURSE X 13 Agenda for short course text 2 X 14 Understanding Soil Testing 1 PowerPoint 3 X 15 Understanding Soil Testing 2 PowerPoint 2 X 16 Laboratory test book, Physical Properties text 12 X 17 Laboratory test book, Chemical Properties text 12 X 18 Soil test result form text 1 X 19 Guide for Soil Test Interpretation text 12 X 20 Understanding Soil Development PowerPoint 12 X 21 Almond Varieties in Afghanistan text 6 X 22 Apple Varieties in Afghanistan text 13 X 23 VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 24 Vegetable: Nursery Establishment PowerPoint 9 X X

25 Vegetable: Insects & Pests (Jain Irrigation Systems) PowerPoint 8 X

26 Vegetable: Diseases of Cole Crops (Jain Irrigation Systems) PowerPoint 26 X

27 Vegetable: Contract Farming (Jain Irrigation Systems) PowerPoint 28 X

28 Vegetable: Design and Layout of Farm PowerPoint 12 X 29 Vegetable: Diseases and Pests of Onion PowerPoint 15 X



30 Vegetable: Diseases of Potato (Jain Irrigation Systems) PowerPoint 60 X

31 Vegetable: Diseases of Tomato (Jain Irrigation Systems) PowerPoint 43 X

32 Vegetable: Seedling Production in Nursery Bed PowerPoint 18 X 33 Vegetable: Transplanting Seedlings from

Nursery Bed PowerPoint 11 X

34 Vegetable: Transplanting Seedlings from Nursery (good & wrong) PowerPoint 3 X

35 Vegetable: Maize Production 1 PowerPoint 10 X

Publicity Materials

Calendar

Leaflet

Billboards


5.3 Data Annex This Annex shows the Summary Tables A and B mentioned in the text. The Annex also shows summary spreadsheets and samples of supporting sub-spreadsheets of data that provide the details of project implementation. These spreadsheets are available on the ROP Webpage: www.rootsofpeace.org/resources.

Net Profit (Afs)Harvesting period

(months)1 jerib 1 Jerib 2 Jerib 3 Jerib 4 jerib 1 hectare

Wheat 8 10,478 210 419 629 838 1,048 Corn 3.5 6,608 132 264 396 529 661 Poppy 7 19,644 393 786 1,179 1,572 1,964 Wheat & Corn 12 17,086 342 683 1,025 1,367 1,709 Poppy & Corn 12 26,252 525 1,050 1,575 2,100 2,625

Net Profit (Afs)Harvesting period

(months)1 jerib 1 Jerib 2 Jerib 3 Jerib 4 jerib 1 hectare

Almond 12 90,772 1,815 3,631 5,446 7,262 9,077 Apricot 12 32,892 658 1,316 1,974 2,631 3,289 Pomegranate 12 52,622 1,052 2,105 3,157 4,210 5,262 Apple 12 44,653 893 1,786 2,679 3,572 4,465 Sweet Orange 12 43,790 876 1,752 2,627 3,503 4,379

1. Yield is calculated based on climatic conditions and soil type of eastern region.2. Price is calculated based on current year and Jalalabad wholesale market price.

Notes:

Summary Table A: Annual Net Profit of Cereals & Poppy

Summary Table B: Annual Net Profit of Nut & Fruit Orchards

Net profit (USD)

Net profit(USD)

Crop

Crop

http://www.rootsofpeace.org/resources�


The following tables provide a summary of the orchards established.


The following table provides a listing of the nurseries that provided saplings to the Project.

PARTNER NURSERIES N/S Name Location

Germplasm nurseries 1 Samsor Ban citrus rootstock nursery Laghman 2 Samsor Ban citrus rootstock nursery Kama 3 Sweet orange nursery Surkhrod 4 PHDP National Fruit Collection Jalalabad

Mother stock nurseries 1 Provincial Nursery Association Nangarhar 2 Provincial Nursery Association Laghman 3 Provincial Nursery Association Kunar

Supplier nurseries 1 Almond Nursery Grower Association Kunduz 2 IF HOPE Samar Khil 3 Zarghon Nursery Farm Surkhrod 4 Sadda Bahar Nursery Kunar 5 Hamisha Bahar Nursery Jalalabad. 6 Women Nursery Samar Khil 7 Sweet orange nursery Surkhrod 8 Tree Source LLC. USA, California 9 Rayees Nursery Kunar

10 Samsor Ban Kamawi Nursery Kama 11 Samsor Ban BillaNursery Laghman 12 Samsor Ban Qalae khanNursery Laghman 13 Samsor Gharzai Sarobi Nursery Sarobi,Kabul 14 Samsor Ban Pulcharkhi Nursery Pulcharkhi,Kabul 15 Samsor Ban Midan HawaeNursery Kabul 16 Individual Women Nurseries Surkhrod 17 Individual Women Nurseries Qarghae

Support to gender program 1 Women nursery Samar Khil 2 Individual Women Nurseries Surkhrod 3 Individual Women Nurseries Qarghae


5.4 Photo Annex This Annex shows selected photos of the activities of project implementation.

Fateh Abad Orchard Lay-Out Jan/2007

Sukhrod Planting saplings, Feb/2007

Samarkhil Pomegranate Cuttings Sprouting Apr/2007

Training Samarkhil Women on Pomegranate Cutting Prep and Planting Feb/2007


Kuzkunar farmer converting from wheat to apricot Mar/2007

2yr old Pomegranate orchard after wheat harvest

USAID official visit to apricot orchard, Sept 11, 2007

Shiwar District Pomegranate Farmer & Orchard 2008

Meeting with Farmers Mar/2007

Farmers with publicity Calandars May/2007


Besud District Apricot Orchard 2007

Batikot District Apricot Orchard 2008

Apricot Nursery April/2008

Apricot Nursery April/2008

Apricot Orchard April/2008

Orchard visit Dec/2008


Packing Almond Saplings in Kunduz for Shipment to Jalalabad Dec/2007

Packing Pomegranate Saplings in Kandahar for Shipment to Jalalabad Feb/2007

Irrigation Training Mar/2009

Irrigation Training Mar/2009

Orange saplings arriving from the USA Jan/2009

Planting orange sapling from USA in Afghanistan April/2009


MAIL Horticulture Director Adela Baktiary visit to project sites near Jalalabad

Min Economy, Director of NGO Dept, Sayed Hashim Bashirat visit to project sites near Jalalabad

Apricot orchard

Pomegranate orchard with onion intercrop

Making the sale! REVAMP onion program.

Farmers signing contract for corn with Sabawoon Feed Mill


Nursery field lay-out

Packaged saplings

Checking sapling growth with nursery man

Checking sapling growth with nursery man

Public awareness campaign

Public awareness campaign


Public awareness campaign=lots of tea

Meeting with the Ag. Director Laghman

Vegetable production training



Tree pruning training

fruit & nut production and marketing project...

Documents