From the American People
Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives – North, East, West (IDEA-NEW) is a USAID project that began in March 2009, and is scheduled to be completed in March 2014. This project continues USAID’s efforts to provide agricultural incentives and economic alternatives for provinces in the East as well as the northern and western poppy-prone regions of the country.
USAID is supporting agriculture marketing, developing rural enterprise and infrastructure, managing watersheds, accessing finance and building national value-chains and trade for key regional products. USAID collaborates with national, provincial, and district-level officers of line ministries, as well as provincial governors and local leaders. USAID works closely with provincial reconstruction teams to coordinate and target activities, particularly in areas of USAID priority engagement. The objective of the IDEA-NEW program is intensive value chain development leading to increased incomes and employment in the agricultural sector. IDEA-NEW’s interventions boost agricultural productivity, thereby increasing incomes, jobs and stability in rural areas, including strategic Key Terrain Districts (KTD) and poppy-prone areas. Value chain development to increase licit incomes in poppy-prone areas is the priority for IDEA-NEW through the transition to 2014. IDEA-NEW local procurement practices support USAID’s Afghan First Policy by prioritizing local procurement and staffing, and working through line departments and private Afghan agribusiness firms.
Fact Sheet IDEA-NEW Jan 2013
6 March 2013 | Balkh, Afghanistan
Sima Behbodi started dairy farming four years ago with just one calf. Today, says the mother of seven, “I have eight cows and all produce...
28 February 2013 | Faryab, Afghanistan
For years, Habibullah, a potato farmer in Afghanistan’s northern province of Faryab, struggled to support his family. His land never yielded enough to pay for...
16 August 2012 | Badghis, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW Karim and Jamil installing re-bar. Karim and Jamil are graduates of the vocational training program organized by USAID’s Incentives Driving Economic...
9 August 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW Women weaving gabion in Pachir Wa Agam district More than two hundred women work in ten gabion weaving centers in Pachir...
5 August 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW BEFORE The Baghcha karez had completely collapsed as a result of periodic floods. Spring water was being absorbed into the ground close to...
15 July 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW A technician hard at work testing food samples The new high-tech food laboratory recently established in Jalalabad is a boon to...
4 April 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID’s assistance enabled ZRM, a local Afghan carpet weaving company, to complete a big order from a Canadian buyer.
16 February 2012 | Badakhshan, Afghanistan
For most farmers in Afghanistan, cash crops do not yield a high cash return, a problem compounded by the USAID/IDEA NEW ...
18 December 2011 | Badakhshan, Afghanistan
New roads often allow farmers to use vehicles in places previously only accessible by donkey. Produce arrives to the market in good shape, allowing farmers to sell it for a good price.
3 October 2011 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW A truck crosses the Mamand Bridge. After a strict ban on poppy cultivation was imposed, farmers in the Spinghar District of...
31 October 2010 | Tahkar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
USAID is helping Afghan farmers ensure that this season’s harvest is exceptionally abundant. Thanks to training provided by USAID’s Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives – North,...
15 March 2010 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan
Reforestation improves the environment and provides healthier spaces for Afghan citizens. USAID is helping to reforest the country with a variety of trees, including fruit...
31 January 2010 | Puli Khumri, Afghanistan
In Puli Khumri in Baghlan province, USAID recently held a training program to teach 120 local women to weave gabion baskets. Gabion baskets are made...
15 October 2009 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan
The U.S. Government is committed to creating economic opportunities for women, and building their skills so that they can support themselves and their families. Over...
15 September 2009 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan
In The News
19 December 2012 | Badghis, Afghanistan
USAID's IDEA-NEW The opening of a fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Qala-e-Naw Yesterday Badghis Provincial Governor, Mohammad Tahir Sabari,...
26 November 2012 | Badakhshan, Afghanistan
USAID / IDEA-NEW Inauguration and Handover Ceremony of Sakha Canal USAID hosted a ceremony marking the completion of the Sakha Canal rehabilitation in...
26 June 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW USAID funded the reconstruction of a 10-km long Kushkak Canal at Surkhrod district, Nangarhar At today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, Nangarhar Deputy Provincial...
9 April 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW Anisa Imran, Director of Nangarhar's Department of Women's Affairs hands out an award to a graduate of USAID-funded Business Training Course in Eastern...
29 March 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
U.S. Embassy Kabul Ready for Export: produce packaged at the Surkhrod Packing Facility The Surkhrod Packing facility, established and run by...
15 January 2012 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW Nangarhar Deputy Governor Mohammad Hanif Gardiwal opened USAID-funded Textile Exhibit in Jalalabad today. Textile factories from Nangarhar showcased their homemade...
4 October 2011 | Nangarhar, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW A participant of the training receives her certificate. At yesterday’s ceremony in Jalalabad, two hundred young women received certificates after completing...
21 September 2011 | Laghman, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW The Chairman of the Qarghaee's shura, established by USAID's Afghanistan Social Outreach Program (ASOP), talking to the media about the impact of the...
18 September 2011 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan
USAID/IDEA-NEW The new food testing laboratory in Jalalabad. A cutting-edge food-testing laboratory, the second of its kind in Afghanistan, was inaugurated...
17 July 2011 | Mehtarlam, Laghman
USAID/IDEA-NEW The Laghman Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, built with support from USAID, opened today in Mehtarlam, the provincial capital...
Last updated 16 May 2013
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