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USAID-CHAMP Success StoryTwice the Yield with TrellisingAfghan farmers have been cultivating grapes for thousands of years in the plains just north of Kabul. Decades of conflict and turmoil have left their vineyards in bad shape—yields remain low and quality is poor. Grapes are the number one crop for Afghanistan in terms of number of farms, but the income produced is low. In 2004, Roots of Peace (ROP) with the financial support of USAID introduced trellising in Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Ghazni, and Logar. The program involves upgrading 6,550 vineyards with current best practices and vineyard trellising. Through the Commercial Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing Program (CHAMP), ROP is implementing the largest program to upgrade Afghan vineyards with trellising. Trellises are essentially a set of horizontal wires that support the structure of the vines. By lifting the vines up off the ground and providing supports for the vines to follow, farmers can produce more grapes at a much higher level of quality. Since the start of the program in Feb 1, 2010, the vineyards that have been trellised have experienced an increase in yields of 54% in the first year, and 107% in the second year. The average farmer in Afghanistan has a vineyard of 0.5 hectare. By working with CHAMP, these farmers will see their income grow from $2,772 to $5,737. CHAMP provides for subsidies for the trellis posts on the first 0.2 ha of a vineyard, and most farmers will pay half the cost of the trellis posts. The CHAMP subsidy amounts to about $650 for 0.2 ha. CHAMP will then install trellising in 6,550 vineyards at a subsidy cost of $4.3M. These subsidies will increase net income for these poor small-holder farmers by $7.8M per year. 
Farmers are moving towards more prosperous yields in Shamali, Afghanistan. 
An Afghan harvest of trellis grapes  Sanitary packaging of Afghan grapes in cold storage facility  Corrugated boxes packed for a refrigerated container for export markets
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