Project description

Title: Food Security, Regional Cooperation and Stability in Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Afghanistan
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)
Overall term: 2002 to 2009

Context

Many of Badakhshan’s valleys are cut off from the outside world for more than ten months of the year. It is the only province in Afghanistan that never came under Taliban control. Opium poppy cultivation has been and still is its chief financial source.
The administration and services of the government hardly extend beyond the limits of the provincial capital and the education and health systems are out of commission. The infrastructure, never robust, has been severely damaged. The political and economic collapse led to food insecurity for the population, whose average life expectancy is about 47 years.
Local warlords and clan chieftains exercise the state power monopoly.  The consequent formation of Mafia-like structures increasingly threatens the fragile reconstruction efforts in the province.

Objective

Self-organisation and self-help have improved the situation of marginalised population groups whose food security was under threat. In the regions in Badakhistan Province where social and economic stability was endangered, it is now in the process of restoration. A significant contribution to crisis prevention has strengthened civil society and governmental organisations at the municipal and regional level. This results indirectly in reducing the rivalry between the different ethnic groups in the region.

Approach

The GTZ project is an integral part of the National Development Framework and its derivative, the Afghan government’s National Solidarity Programme. The project provides advisory services, materials/equipment and local subsidies. These measures are primarily implemented through a subsidy agreement with the Aga Khan Foundation.
Community development councils are supported in order to motivate and strengthen self-organisation and self-help among the population.
The construction of wells, schools, health stations, training centres and other public facilities receives financial support, given commensurate local contributions.
Business Development Service Centres seek out income sources other than farming, develop business ideas and help business-starters with advice to overcome initial financial and economic barriers.
Cultivation of alternative foodstuffs is encouraged in order to improve sustainably the self-sufficiency of the population.

Results achieved so far

Initial measures have been introduced to reduce cultivation of the opium poppy, the trade in poppies and their processing into opium. Concurrently, alternatives to poppy cultivation are publicly discussed with the motto “Alternative Livelihoods Approach”.
Since the project began, the Afghan people’s economic situation has markedly improved. More wheat is being planted, yields have risen, and cattle breeding has increased. Community Development Councils (CDC) make important contributions to helping communities to recognise independently their development problems and potential, decide on appropriate measures and carry them out together. The Community Development Councils sustainably promote peaceful cooperation and contribute significantly to the non-violent solution of conflicts of interest in the villages.