In Afghanistan and many other countries that have experienced prolonged military struggles, landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) pervade swaths of arable land, hampering the development of local agricultural economies and causing injury or death to innocent farmers and children who unwittingly trigger the devices. The nonprofit organization Roots of Peace (ROP) seeks to address this dilemma through a demine-replant-rebuild strategy that converts “mines to vines”. Together with public and private partners, ROP facilitates mine and munitions clearing operations, restores previously inaccessible farmland to productivity, and implements programs that allow rural communities to achieve food security and economic self-sufficiency.
Since its inception in 1997, ROP has collaborated with demining agencies to remove approximately 1 million landmines and UXOs in countries around the world. However, demining is only the first step in rejuvenating agrarian communities in post-conflict regions. ROP follows up mine removal with programs that provide people in rural areas with the resources to begin planting profitable crops and building a sustainable foundation for the local economy. By helping farmers to adopt improved cultivation techniques and obtain distribution for their products on foreign markets, ROP empowers them with the means for continued independent growth. With programs active or completed in nations ranging from Angola to Vietnam, ROP has assisted more than 1 million farmers to plant over 5 million nut and fruit trees, along with the export to international markets of more than $18 million in agricultural produce.
Roots of Peace in Afghanistan
When ROP first entered Afghanistan in 2003, landmines remaining from the Soviet-Afghan War and the mid-90s Afghan Civil War caused up to 50 incidental detonations each week and more than 33% of all refugee fatalities. Over 80% of the population in Afghanistan depends on agriculture for income, but the presence of dangerous munitions and the displacement of large numbers of people as a result of decades of war had left much of the country’s fertile land fallow for years. ROP has since facilitated the clearance of hundreds of thousands of mines in several provinces, followed by comprehensive support for the restoration of agricultural activity in these areas.
In Afghanistan, ROP currently maintains a staff of 240 employees, 88% of whom are Afghan nationals. The ROP team provides essential resources, such as seeds and fertilizer, and it trains Afghan farmers to combine traditional cultivation practices with innovative cotemporary methods that can greatly boost harvest yields.
Many Afghan farmers helped by ROP have achieved a two- to three-fold rise in their annual income. In 2014 alone, ROP projects in Afghanistan enabled the creation of 5,908 jobs, as well as an increase in fruit exports that generated sales surpassing $6 million. Bolstered by such gains, farmers have been able to plan for the future of their communities and invest in opportunities ranging from education for their children to the expansion of their business ventures.
CHAMP Helps Afghan Farmers Grow High-Value Crops
With the goal of reducing poverty in rural Afghanistan, ROP began implementation of the Commercial Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing Program (CHAMP) in 2010. A four-year project partially supported by USAID, CHAMP sought to help farmers in 17 provinces to transition away from the cultivation of wheat and other low-value, annual crops, and increase the production and quality of six high-value, perennial crops: almonds, grapes, melons, apricots, apples, and pomegranates. In collaboration with 19,000 Afghan farmers, CHAMP planted fields with over 2.8 million fruit tree saplings and grapevine cuttings. Altogether, the program converted 6,030 hectares of land to commercial orchards and vineyards, which has increased the average farmer’s income by 300%.
In order to address concerns that conventional Afghan fruit and nut farming methods do not generate a yield sufficient to meet continuous global demand — including the standards for size and appearance required by international markets — CHAMP also provided farmers with training in best agricultural practices. The program prepared growers for market-driven cultivation, set up over 870 Farmer Field Schools, and taught improved irrigation, pest control, and fertilization techniques to more than 92,000 farmers. Additionally, CHAMP helped grape producers move away from the traditional practice of growing grapes on the ground by introducing trellising systems on more than 500 hectares of vineyards. By exposing grapes to greater sunlight, less moisture, and fewer pests, trellises have allowed Afghan grape farmers to grow higher-quality grapes at double the yield, resulting in elevated prices for their produce and substantially higher incomes.
Growing Global Trade for Afghan Agribusiness
CHAMP also incorporated a value-oriented marketing and agribusiness development strategy targeted at strengthening connections between local growers and traders, while expanding traders’ access to buyers on the global food marketplace. Placing an emphasis on increasing farmer and merchant profits through quality improvement, CHAMP built close to 200 raisin-drying and cold storage facilities that enable the production and preservation of export-grade produce and its distribution according to market demand cycles. Through the introduction of plastic containers and carton boxes, CHAMP helped traders protect fruit from damage and meet global packaging standards.
Promotional trade and business campaigns facilitated by CHAMP focused on high-value domestic markets, traditional export partners, and unconventional export regions. In Dubai and New Delhi, CHAMP operates trade offices that secure proper remuneration for Afghan traders and support the growth of export relations with India and the United Arab Emirates. Over the course of the program, such initiatives helped Afghan farmers and merchants to sell over 50,000 metric tons of fruit and nuts, with 13,500 metric tons exported around the world to countries including India, Pakistan, UAE, Russia, and Canada. Along with increasing trade and raising profits for farmers and merchants, CHAMP’s focus on development at all stages in the agribusiness chain created full-time exporting jobs and produce handling positions for over 6,000 Afghan workers.