Improved Lands Bringing Better Harvesting

The wide spread inconsistency of Afghanistan’s agricultural lands is a significant cause of low yields and poor harvest quality since the soil surface has a major impact on the germination, stand and yield of crops. With limited access to information and technologies, Afghan farmers are often unaware of the best means to level their lands and to effectively reduce water needs; this directly limits the efficiency and profitability of their lands; which is subsequently hindering the efforts of the wider farming communities to establish for themselves long term, sustainable livelihoods.

 The CNFA AFSA program, in cooperation with the FSCAA, is introducing a number of new Land Laser Leveling (LLL) machines across the FSC network, the first of which has been established and operational in Logar province, approximately 60 km south of Kabul. Provincial farmers primarily grow wheat and maize, and a number of vegetables and fruits such as grape, apple, apricot and almonds on lands that can reach up to 40 Jeribs. These large farming operations, however, are minimal and the majority of provincial farmers have less than one jerib which must produce enough crops to not only provide food for the families living there, but also provide a surplus that can be sold for cash profits at the market. Maximizing the yield from the available lands is critical to these provincial farming communities. However, due to drought, unevenness of lands, and shortage of irrigation water farming communities find that maximizing yields remains a costly and difficult activity.

Eid Mohammad, a farmer in Logar province has spent more than 80,000 Afs (USD $1,600) per Jerib every year for the leveling of his land through traditional methods. Eid Mohammad told AFSA staff that “in the past years we used the simple blade of plough and that was very basic and that couldn’t solve our leveling problems.” Due to the unevenness of his lands he has had to use a great deal of water to keep his crops irrigated; which was both costly and ineffective. At the time that he learned of  the Logar Farm Service Center, Eid Mohammad knew little about modern land leveling techniques. Through a comprehensive free training program offered at the FSC, he has been facilitated with the latest information in Land Laser Leveling systems, the significant benefits of its use, and its long term agricultural impact. Upon the completion of his training, he requested the FSC to level his lands to cultivate wheat. Mr. Mohammad’s fields are now flourishing. With the use of this modern technology, Eid Mohammad and the other farmers of Logar province will not have to level their lands again for up to 10 years, saving them a great deal of money. He has planted a new and improved wheat seed which he was able to purchase from the FSC. Furthermore, he irrigates his crops with just the right quantity of water which isless than half the water he used in previous years.

When asked what the biggest difference the FSC had made to his farming, Eid Mohammad replied quite simply “now my produce is almost doubled then before!  …at any time we have access to their extension services where we can learn to use the latest methods and new technologies, and the advantages of modern agricultural activities over traditional, so I’d say that has the biggest change for us”.