“THE AFGHAN BOOM” FROM POPPIES TO POTATOES
Roots of Peace celebrates success in Bamyan, Afghanistan—
constructing more than 1,000 modern potato storage facilities
July 4, 2011—Bamyan, Afghanistan—As Americans celebrate their political independence this 4th of July Holiday weekend with barbecue, French fries, potato salad and potato chips, Roots of Peace will be celebrating the financial independence achieved by one thousand Afghan potato farmers, in the mountainous province of Bamyan. Since 2008 these farmers have constructed over 1,000 modern potato storage facilities, increasing the productivity and market value of this important agricultural crop. The modern sub-terrain storage facilities’ ideal and stable temperature during subzero winter months allow farmers to properly store the potatoes while potato prices increase a predictable 50% above the prices available at harvest time.
This Afghan “potato boom” and the chance to earn higher income by storing potatoes in these 1,000 storage facilities was facilitated by the investment and technical assistance of the Rural Business Support Program (RBSP). The Rural Business Support Program is a government of Afghanistan program funded by the Government of Japan through the Asian Development Bank. Roots of Peace works to assist the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock in the implementation of the program. The innovative program was designed to increase Afghan farmers’ incomes and improve livelihoods.
The opportunity to invest in modern storage facilities, and to increase both crop productivity and the acreage under potato cultivation has induced many Bamyan farmers to participate in this “uplift” program. These kinds of economic uplift opportunities with legitimate crops have the potential to lure Afghan farmers away from the traditional “crop of last resort”—opium poppies. The financial independence and economic stability thus provided also makes Afghan civilians less sympathetic to fanatical ideologies. About 3,000 more storage facilities are now needed to store half of the 200,000 metric tons of potatoes produced by about 20,000 Bamyan farmers. In the past three years Bamyan’s 50 million dollar potato industry has significantly increased in value and productivity due to new and improved storage methods, which allow for off-season marketing of quality stored potatoes. The RBSP has convinced many farmers to produce more seed potatoes to sell to farmers in warmer provinces, where seed potatoes are more difficult to produce disease free. Bamyan is transitioning to becoming a major seed potato supplier.
The Roots of Peace model to Demine~Replant~Rebuild™ is a powerful remedy to the conditions that often breed violence and desperate measures.
Roots of Peace is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of landmines, replanting of crops, and rebuilding of communities in war-torn regions of the world.
For further information, please visit www.rootsofpeace.org.
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”The Afghan Boom“ From Poppies to Potatoes.
His Excellency, The Japanese Ambassador Rechero Takachi, and Her Excellency,
The Bamyan Governor, Dr. Habibi Soraybi, Roots of Peace International
Program Director, Dr. Ken Neils, and Mr. Alem Alemi, ROP-DTL, visiting
RBSP/MAIL/ROP potato storages in Bamyan-June 22, 2011
His Excellency, The Japanese Ambassador Rechero Takachi, and Her Excellency,
The Bamyan Governor, Dr. Habibi Soraybi, Roots of Peace International
Program Director, Dr. Ken Neils, and Mr. Alem Alemi, ROP-DTL, visiting
RBSP/MAIL/ROP potato storages in Bamyan-June 22, 2011
Afghan Potato Farmers in Bamyan, Afghanistan working with RBSP/MAIL/ROP Program.
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