IDEA-NEW Quarterly Report—January–March 2014

The program's mission is to expand the licit agricultural economy in these regions, improve market access, increase processing capacity, and catalyze investments into Afghanistan's agricultural sector. IDEA-NEW's activities support agribusinesses at different points of each value chain, with a focus on intensive value chain development that promotes income generation and job creation in poppy-prone areas. The program's geographic coverage includes Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, Kabul, Kapisa, Panjshir, and Parwan provinces. In the second quarter of FY2014, IDEA-NEW technical staff visited commercial production farms and poultry farms, while the program continued working towards a March 1, 2014 end date. With the approval of a 12-month no-cost extension on February 17, IDEA-NEW ceased its closedown activities and began preparing for another year of implementation. The program's no-cost extension narrowed its geographic focus to the Eastern region and concentrated its activities on supporting input suppliers and food processors that operate in the grape, orchard crop, and vegetable value chains. IDEA-NEW released an expression of interest (EOI) to 500 agricultural input suppliers and agricultural food processors, soliciting interested and qualified candidates for inclusion into 2014 program activities. IDEA-NEW's value chain interventions include the grape, orchard crop, and vegetable value chains. In the grape value chain, no activity was reported in January. In the orchard crop value chain, certified citrus saplings grafted with Tristeza-resistant rootstock imported by IDEA-NEW continued to be in high demand throughout the Eastern region and in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand. The National Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP) expressed interest in buying saplings for spring 2014 planting, as did the Commercial Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing Program (CHAMP). In the vegetable value chain, IDEA-NEW-supported CPF farmers generated 510,200 AFN ($8,950) from the sale of 25,100 kilograms of broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, and red radishes at Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, and Kabul markets. In the poultry value chain, twenty-two broiler farms in Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, and Parwan provinces and Sarobi district of Kabul province added 24,300 day-old chicks and sold 39,874 in January. IDEA-NEW's quarterly report highlights the program's progress in supporting agribusinesses and promoting agricultural development in northern, eastern, and western Afghanistan. The program's activities have contributed to the expansion of the licit agricultural economy in these regions, improved market access, and increased processing capacity.