Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives for the North, East and West (IDEA-NEW) Monthly Report – September 2013

The program's mission is to support the stabilization and transition of Afghanistan by expanding the licit agricultural economy in the northern, eastern, and western regions of the country. IDEA-NEW focuses on activities that promote income generation and job creation through increased commercial agricultural opportunities for Afghan farmers in poppy-prone areas. The program strengthens farm to market linkages in economic development corridors in its three target regions and works to grow viable agribusinesses by facilitating connections between producers, traders, and buyers through market information activities and sales promotion. The program works closely with provincial- and district-level government and local communities to build strong relationships among local stakeholders. Three partners implement IDEA-NEW: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) programs in the East and West, ACDI/VOCA operates in the North, and Mercy Corps works in the Northeast. IDEA-NEW currently implements programming in seventeen provinces across Regional Commands-North, East, and West. In September 2013, IDEA-NEW's technical activities entered their last month, with implementation going strong and targets being met. Highlights from September activities included the budding of 30,000 saplings of apricot, almond, and pistachio, as well as 20,000 grape plants. These certified saplings and improved grape plants will be ready for distribution in spring 2014 and will cover 74 hectares of land in Badghis province. IDEA-NEW also made significant progress in the grape value chain, with 87% of the targeted 50 hectares of grape vineyards now being trellised. In field days on demonstration plots, 713 participants were trained in trellising and vineyard management techniques. In the Eastern region, 27,050 broiler chicks were sold by IDEA-NEW-supported poultry farms, generating 3,669,906 AFN ($64,384) in gross profits. In addition, more than 250 women participated in the "Advancing Afghan Women in Agriculture" conference in Kabul on September 24, with 25 women-owned companies represented, demonstrating their capabilities to key government and private sector representatives. IDEA-NEW's programming focuses around eight value chains: grapes, orchard crops, vegetables, poultry, wheat, silk, honey, and karakul. Monthly highlights in each of these areas are presented below. In the grape value chain, IDEA-NEW continues to demonstrate and encourage appropriate vineyard management through a variety of techniques. In September, the Kunduz technical team distributed 35 dusters (sulfur sprayers) to 35 beneficiaries in five districts, instructing them in how to use the dusters. IDEA-NEW monitoring visits in Badakhshan showed that vineyards were in good condition, with 30 farmers in Baharak, Jurm, Yaftal, Shuhada Kishem, and Argo districts preparing to begin spraying sulfur on their vines using the dusters distributed by IDEA-NEW. In Badakhshan, 32 vineyards were pruned by the end of September, with pruning of the remaining orchards scheduled for completion in October. One of the barriers to exporting raisins from Afghanistan, especially to Europe, is their high level of Ochratoxin. In September, IDEA-NEW donated Ochratoxin testing kits to the Afghan Raisin, Fruit & Vegetable Promotion Administration and trained employees from the Ministry of Economy and private sector partners in the proper use of the testing equipment. The program also donated 4,750 plastic mats for drying raisins to members of the Parwan Raisin Producers Cooperative (PRPC). IDEA-NEW's agriculture team conducted a number of field days on vineyard demonstration plots throughout the month. The project has established eight such vineyard demonstration plots in Faryab province, giving vineyard owners the opportunity to receive training in trellising, pruning, irrigation, vineyard management, and post-harvest handling. A total of 429 participants attended field days on these plots in September. Field days also included yield comparisons between demonstration plots and traditional grape vineyards. A total of 284 vineyard owners from the demonstration plots, commercial vineyard owners, and surrounding neighbors with traditional vineyards attended the field days, discussing topics such as grape harvesting, post-harvest handling, and post-harvest sulfur spraying. Data was simultaneously collected from vineyard demonstration plots and will be compared with traditional vineyards' harvests. The results of the yield comparisons will be reported in October. Grape trellising activities are successfully moving forward both in the Northern and Northeastern provinces. In the Northeast, trellis installation training has been provided to 105 farmers in Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, and Kunduz. In September, IDEA-NEW also distributed trellising tools and inputs to 10 farmers in Takhar