USAID-funded programmes train farmers

More than 300 young farmers in Laghman and Khost provinces have completed training programmes funded by the USAIDs Local Governance and Community Development initiative.

The training participants were taught agricultural skills to secure better jobs and produce better crops, the USAID said, adding similar programmes were planned for January.

In Khost, the USAID said in a press release, about 150 men and women from five districts graduated from training programmes that included topics ranging from pest management to marketing.

"The graduation of the farmers, ranging in age from 15 to 25, coincided with the opening of 25 new greenhouses that help the young graduates put what they learned into practice," it added.

Agriculture Director Eng. Said Rahman Ziarmal, speaking at the ceremony, hoped the greenhouses would allow Khost residents to grow and keep more of their food during the winter season.

Poor storage facilities typically force farmers to sell their produce to neighbouring Pakistan, which exports back vegetables and other food staples at marked-up prices.

In Laghman, the release said, some 200 young men completed another USAID-funded vocational training programme that matches skills for community needs and promises to bring employment to the province.

"These projects are important to the well-being and economic development of Afghanistan," said Rebecca Black, deputy mission director of USAID in Afghanistan. "They give the young adults the skills that not only would offer them hope but would ultimately sustain hope for their community."