This document discusses food insecurity in protracted crisis countries like Afghanistan. It notes that Afghanistan experiences conflict, post-conflict, and protracted crisis issues, providing opportunities to address challenges in other countries. Improving food security requires a multi-stakeholder partnership approach including governments, communities, farmers, and research institutions. Capacity development is also important over short, medium, and long terms at individual, institutional, and community levels through training, follow-up support, and enabling environments. Next steps include following outcomes from a workshop on cooperation between protracted crisis countries, initiating a pilot project on capacity development using multi-stakeholder partnerships.

1. Food Insecurity in Protracted
Crises, and identifying practical
next steps
Dr. Javed Rizvi
Country Program Manager
Afghanistan Program
ICARDA

2. Commonalities?
The causes of conflicts in PC and 2 PC
countries vary but include mainly historical
ethnic animosity, internal political
subjugation, international political alliances,
governance issues, economic disparities, non-
enabaling policies, and control of resources –
Kigali movement, September, 2012

3. Afghanistan qualifies all in one as
conflict, post-conflict and
protracted crisis country
Offers a unique opportunity to
understand and tackle the challenges
in other 2 PC countries
Experiences and success stories
can be out scaled to other 2PC
countries

4. Timeline of Conflict

6. Crisis response
Resilience building

7. • Based on climatic conditions (mainly rains)
country IMPORTS 0.5 – 1.0 million Mt food
• Malnutrition is high, specially among children,
women and elderly (about 40 %)
• Forage / fodder is in acute short supply
adversely affecting the livestock production
• In most areas, farming is one crop/ year

8. Improving Food Security: A multi-
stakeholder partnership approach
• Local, provincial & national
Governments ( if resent)
• Local community leaders
• Formal and informal village
councils
• Farmer enterprises
• Community based
organizations
• Regional friendly countries
and science forum
• IRCs, CGIAR centers
• Not only food but both food
and nutritional security
Farmer participatory
selection & catalyzed
adoption

9. Reduced Yield gaps
Wheat

10. WHY
Poor adoption?
• Poor extension
services
• Lack of knowledge –
low interest
• Un-availability of
seeds of new varieties
• Poor linkages
between Research &
development programs

11. Accelerated adoption of newly released
mung bean varieties in Afghanistan
0 40
3000
0.15
3.5
80
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
2008 2009 2010
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Hectare
Seed (Mt)
Donor
Developmental
Agency
VBSE
NARS

12. Village Based Seed Enterprise: 35 established in 8 provinces
IFAD will be funding additional 12more in three provinces
Village Based Seed Enterprise: Producing more than 30 % of
the certified seed produced in the country

13. Enhancing income: Increasing access to food
Goat management & feeding in Afghanistan
• More than 1500 women received goats
• Dairy hygiene and processing improved skills and incomes of at
least 1500 women
• 3 times higher benefits by supplemental feeding of goats
• 2 times benefit through improved feeding during fattening
• 3 times increase in kid survival due to vaccinations
• Improved family income leading to higher access to food

14. Increased participation of women & youth

15. Off-farm income : Increased access to food

16. Types of
training
Number of
Trainings
Researchers,
extension workers;
Farmers trained
Male Female Total
In-country 30 611 3683 4294
Abroad 23 70 04 74
Field days 13 1033 20 1053
Grand total 66 1714 3707 5421
CAPAPCITY DEVELOPMENT (2011-2012)

17. CAPAITY DEVELOPMENT

18. • Individual: ST?, MT, LT
– Post training support
– Enabling environment
– Internships, sabbatical, seconding of staff
• Institutional: ST, MT, LT
– Retention of trained staff
– Sustainable movement
– Embedding Regional Mentors “ongoing hand-on-
training”
– Full utilization of training opportunities
– Diversification of funding base
– Client driven CD approach

19. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
• Farmer and farming community : ST/ MT
– Regular follow ups hand on trainings
– Audio visual aids, not only printed material
• Work continuity when staff attends
training
– Training opportunities linked with appointing
local/ regional retired scientists to fill the gap
– This will addresses work continuity, and
mentoring others on technical and resource
mobilization issues

20. Next step----
• Follow up on 4 outcomes of Kigali workshop
• Outcome 1: A Consultative Learning Platform
for cooperation between “Protracted Crisis
Countries” (PCC) in Africa and Asia
• Two tier approach on crisis response and
resilience building
• Initiation of a pilot project/ program on CD
based on a multi-stakeholder partnership
(local, regional, international)