The Soviet Union occupied her southern neighbor Afghanistan on Thursday,
December 27, 1979. Soon after the occupation, significant impacts were felt on
agriculture and other sectors of the economy. Agriculture was affected in many ways
from the integrity of irrigation systems to the cultivation of opium poppies. Agricultural
extension, as the main department within the Ministry of Agriculture, was severely
affected in terms of programs, organization, personnel, budget, methods, relations with
farmers, and transfer of improved technologies.
This study was designed to assess the impacts of the occupation and identify
recommendations for the future development of the system. A survey design was used.
Sixty-two Afghans with detailed knowledge about the Soviet occupation and agriculture
participated in the study. The survey included 34 mostly open-ended questions,
covering three areas: demographic characteristics of respondents, impacts of the
occupation, and prospects for the future of the Agricultural Extension System of
Afghanistan.
The majority of participants were highly educated and lived in North America after
departing Afghanistan. The results also showed that during the occupation many
participants were assigned to passive positions or lost their jobs. The occupation affected
the attitudes of the farmers, reduced the cultivation of agricultural land, destroyed the
infrastructure for delivering agricultural services, altered the types of crops grown and
reduced the number of people working in agriculture. Millions of landmines remain a
serious threat to those who return to farming.
Recommendations are made for the Government, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of
Higher and Vocational Education, Agricultural Extension System, Non-governmental
Organizations (NGOs), and International Aid Agencies.
Agricultural extension rehabilitation should be given high priority to meet the
emerging challenges of increasing agricultural production by adopting modern
technology, generating suitable marketing channels for surplus agricultural products,
providing equal development and working opportunities for Afghan women, protecting
natural resources, utilizing professional returnees, and replacing poppy cultivation with
regular food crops. Perceptual and structural obstacles may militate against providing
proper support for agricultural development in Afghanistan. The overall reconstruction
and development of the Afghan Agricultural Extension System is a prerequisite for the
future development of the Afghan agriculture sector. Establishing a stable Afghan
government and support from the international coalition are essential to rebuilding this
important sector of the economy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/13579 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Wesa, Tooryalai |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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