On December 2, USAID celebrated the successful completion of its horticulture and forestation technical training program in Kunar. The project, implemented in nine districts, provided agricultural training for 875 Afghans in orchard establishment, nurseries, woodlots, and natural resource management. USAID reached out to the entire community through its program, ultimately training farmers, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock staff, school principals, religious elders, and 25 female nursery managers.
As a result, 757 jeribs of orchards and 72 jeribs of woodlots were planted and 25 family-run nurseries were registered with the Nurseries Association. Participants also learned better techniques for planting crops and orchards including apricot, pomegranate, almond, eggplant, persimmon, apple, walnut, and mung bean. At the closing ceremony, Provincial Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) Muhsal Khan thanked USAID for its support and said, “By learning this skill, [the farmers] will be able to maintain their gardens and our MAIL staff will be able to technically monitor the project sites in the future.”