Only a month after the end of Operation Moshtarak, newly appointed Marja District Governor Hajji Zaher has already held the first in a series of meetings with local elders on USAID’s Afghanistan Vouchers for Increased Production in Agriculture (AVIPA) Plus program to explain the benefits and responsibilities that come with it.  At the first meeting, the District Governor gave the elders the good news that USAID will soon deliver 4,000 mobile water pumps.  The pumps will help farmers irrigate their fields using water from existing canals.  Additionally, USAID will distribute agricultural machinery to the district and will organize cash-for-work canal cleaning activities to provide licit employment opportunities. 

The first meeting set a precedent for future cooperation by encouraging community participation and government guidance – the base on which AVIPA’s interventions in agriculture rest.  The program promotes cooperation between farmers and government representatives, using agriculture to stabilize conflict-ridden areas of Afghanistan. 

The effort is already bearing fruit.  “We are happy with the government.  We need these pumps to increase irrigation capacity.  The District Governor is asking us to take responsibility for this process,” said one of the elders.  Another elder commented, “Providing employment, seed, and fertilizer is the right way to start.”