Biweekly Report: January 16-31, 2011 Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives—North, East and West (IDEA-NEW)

The program targets instability/insurgency locales and buffer zones to curb narco-trafficking, increase job creation, strengthen Afghan leadership, and promote economic growth. Activities focus on community-identified needs through Community Constructed Infrastructure (CCI) projects, which foster trust and infuse communities with cash and income. IDEA-NEW then builds upon those gains to maintain long-term focus on sustainable growth in the agriculture and rural development sectors. The program is predominantly centered in the Eastern Region but also addresses interrelated issues of instability and economic development in select areas of the country's Northern, Northeastern, and Western Regions. Major emphasis is on job creation, agricultural sales, and capacity building. IDEA-NEW provides support and linkages to overall US government counter-insurgency (COIN) priorities through local-level agricultural and private sector development, and by engaging local government to respond to the needs of its constituencies in these sectors. Since July 2009, IDEA-NEW has created a total of 3,124 labor-intensive rural jobs and employed 26,596 local community members on CCI projects. IDEA-NEW has paid USD 4.75 million in wages to over 26,595 people on CCI projects to date. The program has completed 112 CCI projects in its areas of operation, including roads, irrigation, and micro-hydro power, and was actively working on 35 more as of January 31, 2011. IDEA-NEW has also assisted entrepreneurs to start more than 1,751 rural enterprises for men and women throughout the program. IDEA-NEW has established more than 250 commercial and small-sized resource farms used as training grounds, where farmers are trained in collaboration with MAIL on modern crop techniques like raised beds and staggered planting. Some 270,551 people have been trained on these farms and through other agriculture- and livestock training programs. A total of 5,851 hectares of cropland have been brought under irrigation in IDEA-NEW targeted areas. The project has multiplied two MAIL-certified varieties of mung-bean for distribution to more than 15,000 farmers. More than 30,000 farmers in the Eastern Region have participated in voucher distribution programs for improved vegetable varieties. Thirteen thousand farmers participating in this program from spring 2010 increased their revenues over 2009 by more than $3.4 million collectively. More than 8 million kgs of onions have been exported to Pakistan by Afghan traders for export revenues of USD 2.8 million. Additionally, 1,597,919 livestock are under increased management/care as a result of IDEA-NEW interventions, including deworming and other activities in close concert with local paravets. IDEA-NEW partners with local government and stakeholders to implement its activities. The program works closely with provincial- and district-level governments and within local communities, capitalizing on the successes of previous USAID projects in the area. In its second year of operations in the East, IDEA-NEW is undertaking work in 39 of the region's 50 districts. The program's activities are implemented by three partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), ACDI/VOCA, and Mercy Corps. DAI works in the East and West, ACDI/VOCA in the North, and Mercy Corps in the Northeast.