Your Excellency, Dr. Fareeda Momand, Minister of Higher Education; Dr. Hamayoon, Kandahar Provincial Governor; Mr. Hakimi, Chancellor of the Afghanistan National Agriculture Science and Technology University; Distinguished Colleagues; Ladies and Gentlemen:

Greetings from Kabul! I am Tamra Halmrast-Sanchez, Acting Mission Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Afghanistan.  My sincerely apologies for not being able to join you today. I welcome each of you to this signing event for the partnership between USAID and the Afghanistan National Agriculture Science and Technology University (ANASTU).

USAID sees inclusive and sustainable economic growth for rural Afghanistan as a top priority of our work. Currently we have three programs working in the southern provinces of Afghanistan: the Regional Agriculture Development Program South (RADP-South) and the Commercial Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing Project (CHAMP) and the Kandahar Food Zone (KFZ). These programs work specifically to improve productivity in wheat, high-value crops like grapes, fruits, and vegetables, and livestock.

This agreement that we have signed today is a perfect example of what is needed to ensure sustainable development in this country. Bringing together different agencies and stakeholders under a common goal is how a strong foundation is built. A strong diversified agricultural economy will continue to be a pivotal part of the transformation leading Afghanistan into the future,

After decades of conflict, together we seek to set a solid foundation for the future, and ensure that those that are trained to become farmers and agribusiness leaders, are also trained to be responsive to the market, and understand the private sector.

At the University, this partnership is bringing together a theoretical curriculum with a practical demonstration farm, and setting the stage for the University to be a training center for students, farmers, and other private sector stakeholders.  Through this collaboration, ANASTU’s growing student body, and the enhanced resources provided to ANASTU by the Ministry of Higher Education, will disseminate best practices in agriculture, promote private sector interaction, and expand access to agricultural education in a sustainable manner.

In addition, USAID will work with ANASTU to adopt agricultural radio programming that we have been disseminating throughout the region for the last two years. These radio programs are built on tested messages that are pertinent to Afghan communities.  Through these interactive radio shows, farmers learn about the differences in fertilizers, how to better manage their businesses, and, for example, discuss best practices in production, and household nutrition. There is no better place, than at ANASTU, to take these programs into the future, and develop new messages and platforms for farmers to exchange ideas and experience.

I appreciate your time and efforts for putting together this activity. Your support and collaboration will increase the impact of the development work USAID does in Afghanistan. I look forward to our continued partnership. Thank you very much!