In a televised speech delivered at the US Military Academy in West Point, NY, President Barack Obama made the following statement with regards to the Afghanistan mission, “"We will ... focus our assistance in areas – such as agriculture – that can make an immediate impact in the lives of the Afghan people [.]”’As Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill reports for the National Guard Bureau that agriculture development has been part of the National Guard’s mission as eight National Guard Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT) “are currently on the ground in Afghanistan, and more are preparing to deploy,” according to the Guard.
The administration has long argued that one of the keys to success in Afghanistan is giving the country back to the people, and one part of this process is helping the Afghan population develop legal agriculture products in this largely rural country. Self-sufficiency in supplying food to a nation’s people can go a long way towards convincing the Afghan population and the world community that the country is starting to become self-reliant.
According to Sgt. Greenhill’s story, the National Guard ADTs “partner with land grant colleges, state farm bureaus and federal departments to help Afghans improve agricultural practices.” Army Col. Martin. A. Leppert oversees the program and notes that agriculture employs 70 percent of the Afghan citizenry and is responsible for the majority of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product. The program was started by the Missouri National Guard in 2007.
The chief of the National Guard Bureau, Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley stated, ‘"Nowhere does today's 21st century Minuteman embody the Citizen-Soldier promise better. . . We send Guardsmen, whose skills and livelihood are earned in agribusiness in the United States, to this war-torn country to help better its farming industry."’
Among two of the accomplishments between the Afghans and Guard working together is the development of a sanitary meat-processing facility that is powered by renewable energy sources, and there are current efforts to teach Afghans how to build wind turbines for power.
The ADT concept was developed in Central America, and in Afghanistan it is being further developed by Combined Joint Task Force-82, the National Guard Bureau and the US Embassy in Afghanistan “to meet essential Afghan development requirements,” says Col. Leppert.
It is clear that the administration is convinced that success in Afghanistan does include development success in the nation’s economy, and this includes agriculture to a great extent. And the National Guard is answering the call.
To read the National Guard Bureau story click here.
Posted: 12/03/09
