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EU Flag European Community Selects Roots of Peace
for Perennial Horticulture Development Program

 
On May 1, 2007, the European Community (EC) awarded a multi-year contract to Roots of Peace to assist existing Afghan nurseries in becoming members of a nationwide system of commercial nurseries. Roots is Peace will provide training to a small group of these nurseries for the purpose of setting up an industry operated system to certify the quality of saplings produced. This contract will continue Roots of Peace two year involvement with Afghan almond farmers, traders, and processors. It will take place in Kabul, Ghorband, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar.

Roots of Peace will work with the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, along with almond farmers, processors and traders throughout the country to implement this program. Additionally, UC Davis, with its expertise in nursery systems and almond production, will provide technical and practical support for the implementation of this program. This latest project continues a successful relationship dating back to 2003 between Roots of Peace and UC Davis.

The project has two primary goals:

  • Almond merchants, producers and nurseries organize a national industrial organization for the promotion of the Afghan almond industry.
  • Almond merchants and producers plan and implement a program to train and certify nurseries for the production of saplings.

Afghanistan has many native varieties of almonds that need to be identified and catalogued. Roots of Peace will perform both these tasks as well as target certain commercial varieties that could be utilized on the market. With the varieties identified and catalogued, Roots of Peace will train the farmers to homogenize their trees to a single variety and protect their orchards from outside pests and viruses.