Afghan Vet Helped the School in Samangan to Better Agricultural Production

Since 2013, PIN has been piloting a group of school farms, which exposes students to the mechanics of agriculture business as well as bringing additional income for schools. In May 2014, People in Need conducted an experience sharing workshop for the three school business teams currently supported by the Agricultural Education Programme. “During the two day workshop it became clear that Samangan faced problems, as the school was without a veterinarian. Chickens falling ill is one of the major obstacles of running a poultry farm in Afghanistan, as veterinarians are hard to come by,” says PIN Education Programme Support Officer Pia Jensen.

Over 400 kilometers south-east in the province of Ningarhar, Surkhrood AHS is a school which has developed rapidly in the last year. They were initially supported by People in Need to set up a complex environment for practical agricultural education for the students, including construction of a greenhouse and experimental demo plots. And they have something that Samangan does not.

Cure for Samangan school

Dr. Islamuddin of Surkhrood AHS is an experienced veterinarian currently providing support to the school’s poultry and rabbit farms. He also teaches veterinarian related subjects in the school. He learned that his colleagues in the North of Afghanistan were in need of help and offered his expertise. People in Need facilitated a two day trip to Samangan and Baghlan for Surkhrood AHS director, Dr. Islamuddin and PIN’s own agricultural business expert.

Samangan AVI received training in veterinarian practices for 30 students in class, 12 -14 during morning classes and in the afternoon Dr. Islamuddin sat with the business team to go through production procedures and possible pitfalls. Samangan AVI recently finished their first production under the new school director of more than 700 broiler chickens and the production was a great success.

The director of Samangan AVI Mohammad Farhad knows that it takes practice: “This is our first production and we still have things to adjust. During the experience sharing workshop we discussed how to bring down running costs and cut other expenses. This will be our focus for the next production”.

Afghanistan and agricultural education

Afghanistan is a largely agricultural country. 80% of the Afghan workforce are employed in the agricultural sector, which also generates 2/3 of gross national product. However, decades of conflict prevented long-term investment, conserving centuries-old agricultural practices to this day, leaving farmers with primitive equipment and virtually no income from their produce. To bring Afghan agriculture up to speed with the rest of the world, the government established dozens agricultural high schools, in an effort to train a new generation of progressive agronomists, who will gradually develop the sector. But Afghan schools are just as stuck as Afghan farms: they lack resources, trained teachers, and capable management – and students often learn very little.