By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The country of Afghanistan is in desperate need of help and the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) wants to lend a hand.

In an effort to help create a stable, democratic and economically-viable Afghanistan, the FAS sent 50 agricultural experts to Afghanistan. The group left for Afghanistan last week.

“Whether their expertise is in forestry, soil and water conservation, food safety, agricultural extension and policy or veterinary services, these volunteers are contributing their specialized skills to help farmers, citizens and national and provincial government leaders of Afghanistan rebuild knowledge, institutional capacity and livelihoods,” said John Brewer, acting administrator for FAS.

Jose Sanchez, an agricultural program specialist out of the FAS office in Columbus, Ohio is among those volunteering to serve a 13-month assignment to help rebuild that country’s agricultural sector. Sanchez will serve as a USDA agricultural expert while in Afghanistan.

“Volunteers like Jose are contributing their specialized skills to help farmers rebuild,” Brewer said. “With an agricultural economy, the country can prosper and thrive, and create political and social stability.”

Sanchez and others there now will help install windmills to pump water for irrigation and livestock, train veterinarians to detect and treat parasites, rehabilitate a university’s agricultural research laboratory, stabilize eroded river banks and irrigation canals, develop post-harvest storage facilities and refurbish degraded orchards.

Roughly only 15 percent of Afghanistan’s land is suitable for farming, most of that in valleys. Only six percent of the land is actually cultivated and at least two-thirds of this farmland requires irrigation.

Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley, corn and rice. Cotton is another important and widely cultivated crop. Fruits such as apricots, cherries, figs, mulberries and pomegranates are among Afghanistan’s most important exports.

Livestock of sheep and lambs is nearly as important as crops to Afghanistan’s economy. On the down side, Afghanistan is a major supplier in the international drug trade, being the second-largest producer of opium. Afghanistan also produces significant quantities of hashish.

In 2003, three USDA employees were among the first civilians to bring technical expertise as agriculture experts to that country. Since 2003, USDA has deployed 90 people for medium- and long-range assignments in Afghanistan, providing $229 million in food aid to the country. FAS expects the total number of agricultural staff in Afghanistan to be 64 by early 2010.

FAS has a global network of agricultural economists, marketing experts, negotiators, counselors, trade officers and other specialists at work at any given time in more than 90 countries that help support U.S. agricultural interests. In this way the FAS can help improve foreign market access for U.S. products, help build new markets and improve the position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace.

FAS programs help U.S. exporters develop and maintain markets for hundreds of food and agricultural products, from bulk commodities to brand name items.