The grapes of Afghanistan. Where is the vino, babe? I love a man with a beard and a turban. Hubba-hubba. The Afghans need to 'sex up' their economy and put their children's future first!
These folks are not having fun and the reason for that is the Taliban. Barbers anyone?
It is called "status." What kind of goats to you raise? These are Angora Goats and their wool is used for Angora sweaters. Now, in my opinion, a goat is a goat is a goat and they all eat and drink about the same food and water. The question is do Afghan farmers want to continue subsistence farming or do they want to export 'high end' sweaters to Fifth Avenue?
Hello?
A United States Army soldier and a Marine searched the home and compound of an Afghan farmer in Khan Neshin. American officials are debating whether cracking down on the drug trade will anger farmers dependent on it for their livelihood.
This is more than a little silly and why there needs to be a REFORMER elected in Afghanistan in the Presidential Runoff Elections.
By allowing the current 'dysfunctional' drug economy to exist there are several things that are going to make this war difficult and hideous.
1. The USA should not be intimidated into being a drug warlord and throw in the society.
2. The Afghan people do not want to live under Taliban oppression.
3. The Afghan people are in the circumstances they are now because of the Taliban. They oppressed democracy and economic reform and the people of Afghanistan are only allowed to have an economy that services al Qaeda while causing problems in Advanced Societies.
4. The poppy fields have to go!
Only a very small share of Afghanistan's land (about 15 percent), (click here) mostly in scattered valleys, is suitable for farming; about 6 percent of the land is actually cultivated. At least two-thirds of this farmland requires irrigation. Water is drawn from springs and rivers and is distributed through surface ditches and through underground channels, or tunnels, which are excavated and maintained by a series of vertical shafts. Such a tunnel is known as a karez or qanat. In 1987 about 26,600 sq km (10,300 sq mi) of farmland were irrigated.
Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley, corn, and rice. Cotton is another important and widely cultivated crop. Fruit and nuts are among Afghanistan's most important exports. Afghanistan is noted for its unusually sweet grapes and melons, grown mostly in the southwest, north of the Hindu Kush, and in the fertile regions around Herat. Raisins are also an important export. Other important fruits are apricots, cherries, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates....
Texas' soldier-farmers seek to remake Afghan farming (click here)
Monday, August 25, 2009
By Chris Vaughn
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
In uniform, they look like any other soldier.
But the heart of Lt. Col. Stan Poe’s unit of Texas National Guard troops is radically different than most combat outfits in Afghanistan, answering to the sounds of agriculture and the sight of crops.
Soldier-farmers, one might call them.
The Texas soldiers, agricultural experts who come from Aledo to Weslaco, are on the forefront of a new National Guard initiative to bring Afghan farming out of the 19th century, in a place where decades of war have destroyed infrastructure, wrecked government capabilities and provided a favorable environment for illicit poppy production....
Summary (click here)
Agriculture’s share of total economic activity – as measured by gross domestic
product (GDP) – is significant in seven countries located in Central and South Asia:
Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Its share ranges from about one fifth in Tajikistan to more than one half in
Afghanistan. Those employed in the agricultural sector account for a large portion
of the entire labor force in all seven countries. Agricultural workers account for
almost one-third of all employment in Iran; in Afghanistan, farmers and related
workers represent more than two-thirds of the labor force.
Large desert regions and extreme mountainous terrain limit the amount of arable
land in most of these countries. Irrigation systems are vital in most countries in
directing limited water supplies to agricultural producing areas.
All seven countries are net food importers, meaning they do not produce enough
to cover all their food needs....
The Afghan government needs to build 'strengths' when it comes to economics. They have to develop a service economy and a manufacturing economy. Sheep, goats can provide wool for weaving, leading to clothing, draperies, etc. Therefore, there is an industry for designers and marketing. The problem is that the food for the animals will inhibit the ability to propagate that economy.
From there they need to develop craftsmen and craftswomen, build REAL homes, hospitals and schools, educate teachers, doctors and nurses and provide public services. They need to have a fire department so their homes are made of something more than stone and plaster and they need to develop 'central plumbing' and find water sources along with sewage treatment.
A change in 'quality of life of these people' will develop an economy that is servicable through taxes from wages, no different than the USA economy. Police, trash removal and a transportation department that provides for tourism. Conservation and park quality viewing. Don't tell me it doesn't exist in Afghanistan because there are plenty of incredible vistas,
So.
The next President needs to set 'standards' for the people to live by and they need to organize themselves around a mayor and council and not the strength of warlords that can kill them if they are not obedient.
I mean honestly !
The President of the United States just signed a bill sending gobs of money to 'rehabilitate' Afghanistan. That includes drug treatment centers and monies to improve the infrastructure. THAT does not mean that the infrastructure is going to SEVICE al Qaeda. No. No. There is 'change' due the USA people in Afghanistan and we want it now!
