The Helmand Valley project in Afghanistan

and predecessor agency projects (1949-79) - to settle new farmers on desert lands reclaimed by irrigation, is herein reviewed. Although often accounted a failure, the project did spur impressive growth in agricultural productivity and income. The amount of land under cultivation increased from 77,000 to 145,000 ha, 5,500 new families were settled in the valley, fertilizers and high-yield varieties were brought into widespread use, and double cropping increased dramatically. Average farm income increased by as much as ten times. By 1975, however, inadequate attention to drainage and salinization and failure to adequately train farmers in water management (as more settlers arrived and the project focus shifted from irrigation to integrated rural development) began to slow income increases. Long-time residents dealt with these problems better than did new settlers. Still, even in areas where salinity was severe, income remained well above pre-project levels. Nonetheless, the increased crop yields were not enough to significantly improve Afghanistan's export situation. Social services (some of which the United States was responsible for) failed to mitigate the negative impacts of severe salinization and waterlogging - impoverishment, illness, and outmigration. The project taught that: mixing export production and resettlement goals makes achievement of either unlikely; social services must be given high priority and integrated with other activities, but crop production gains must be consolidated before positive social impacts can be sustained; successful nomadic settlement programs must provide strong economic incentives, adequate social services, and effectively communicated agricultural information; and close integration of donor and host country activities and goals is essential. The success of A.I.D. activities in such a project depends on the success of the effort as a whole. Thus, provision must be made from the outset for all essential elements. Appendices include an analysis of four farm economic surveys conducted in the Valley between 1963 and 1978 and a 41-item bibliography (1955-1980).