Day 4: The Ride 'Home'
This day will end with a reminder of just how dangerous Afghanistan can be. But for now, the beautiful spring morning finds our delegation at Herat University, where we are meeting with the president of the university and the dean of the agricultural college.
Enrollment in the agricultural college has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years as young people have come to understand the critical role that farming plays in Afghanistan’s economy. To meet the growing demand, the university began construction of a large building specifically for the agriculture college a few years ago. But they ran out of money and for now the building remains an unfinished shell.
The dean informs us that the college’s curriculum was last updated in 1980 and that the country is still using questionable soil sample data produced by the Soviets during their occupation in the 1980s. It’s good to see that interest in farming is high. But it is a little discouraging to see what these eager young students have to work with.
From the university, we travel to a rural farming village where we meet with elders who treat us like dignitaries. Here, farmers no longer grow poppies. Instead, they grow saffron, one of the most expensive spices in the world.
One of the farmers is asked if he makes as much money selling saffron at the market as he did selling poppies to the Taliban. He tells us in Arabic that he makes more money with saffron and adds, "And now our children don’t get hooked on drugs." When his words are translated to English for our delegation, there is a collective "wow" to be heard.
The saffron bulbs have been donated to these farmers. And unlike poppies, which must be planted by seed every year, saffron bulbs are perennials. They can be split. This means that farmers who divide their bulbs each year will increase their yields as the years go by.
In this same village, we meet more women who have learned to make new agricultural products from surplus crops. They are making pickles, jams, jelly and tomato paste that will help improve the local economy and increase family incomes in this village.
There are several young men in the courtyards of this village. Some are tending to small gardens, while others appear to be hanging around in curiosity about our visit. Video-journalist Eric Crowley has a nice way with these children. He encourages them to hold his camera and look through the lens. It is a happy scene.
Unfortunately, it’s time to go. Last night, in an exciting and spontaneous dinner conversation, the governor of Herat Province told us that scientists and professors from Herat University would meet with us today at their research farm. That’s where we are headed right now. But frankly, we will miss the warm, friendly people whom we just met in this tiny village. You can see the progress they have made and sense their enthusiasm for the future.
This is a relatively safe region by Afghan standards, but we are still in a war zone and our security detail has been keeping a watchful eye on everything around us. Here, we enjoy an unfiltered glimpse of the real day-to-day life in rural Afghanistan. The people we meet and talk to are genuine and seem to enjoy our presence. But what about the people who stare at us from a distance? Are they happy we’re here too? We’ll never really know for sure. But we’re about to meet some of these people close up.
On the crowded streets of Kabul, we’ve not been allowed to stop or step out of our armored vehicles. But here in Herat, our security team has arranged for a brief visit to a busy Herat marketplace.
Finally, we are out of the relative safety of our armored vehicles and in the middle of everything. The security team is dispersed all around us in the crowd as colorful three-wheeled taxis, bicycles and motorbikes whiz by in every direction. The sidewalks are packed with shoppers who stumble upon our odd-looking group as they go about their daily business. Howard G. Buffett and Eric Crowley are taking pictures and video as fast as they possibly can. We’ll only be here for a few minutes – not a minute to waste.
One of the shopkeepers is staring at us. He seems skeptical. But looks are deceiving. He walks out from his storefront and hands a member of our delegation one of the cotton scarves that he sells. Then he smiles. Here, in the middle of Afghanistan, this man who has so little has given us what little he has, as a symbol of friendship. It is a moment that none of us will ever forget.
Before we know it, we are scooped back into our convoy and headed away from this colorful place. Herat University’s research farm is at least an hour from here, and we cannot be late to meet the scientists and professors who have changed their schedules for us today.
Upon arrival at the farm, Howard G. Buffett, Kip Tom and the team from Texas A&M’s Borlaug Institute get right down to business. The governor of Herat has assembled Afghanistan’s brightest agricultural minds for this hastily called meeting. If there’s a good solution to keeping regional crops healthy during Herat’s three-month-long period of sustained winds, the "pivot" irrigation system that Howard proposes may be it.
Yet, among these brilliant minds, there is consensus that the scientific solution is only half of the equation for success in dealing with this annual problem. It is agreed that a cooperative model for sharing such an expensive tool must be developed – a model that incorporates strong business incentives where individual producers are not merely given this new irrigation system but earn it, and therefore have a stake in how it is used and maintained over many years. The team from Borlaug agrees to come up with a prototype plan that will address these individual incentives.
We leave the research farm and the assembled agricultural dignitaries feeling excited about the prospects for this development. But we’re also sober about the hard work that needs to be done just to conduct a test of Howard’s theory about "pivot" irrigation in this region. There is a healthy dose of realism about this work – both on our delegation’s part and Herat University’s part. Nonetheless, it is exciting and we are anxious to check back with this group a few months from now.