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Agribusiness development teams

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Georgia Department of Defense
Georgia Department of Defense

Agribusiness development teams (ADTs) are part of the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan to improve confidence in the central government and stop violence. The Georgia National Guard has committed to providing ADTs for three years starting in 2011 to help Afghan farmers modernize practices through education and sustainable agriculture projects. The goal is to promote self-sustainability and economic growth through passing knowledge between generations, as an alternative to supporting the Taliban.

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Agribusiness Development Teams Agribusiness development teams (ADTs) are part of the counterinsurgency strategy put forth by the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The ISAF was formed to put a stop to the violence in Afghanistan and improve the Afghan peoples confidence in their central government. The Georgia National Guard has made a three-year commitment to provide ADTs in Afghanistan. The first of these deployed for southeastern Afghanistan in the spring of 2011. In preparation for that deployment, the involved Georgia Guardsmen have used the new language lab at Clay National Guard center to improve their understanding of the Pashto and Dari languages used in the region. The ADTs have also tapped the University of Georgia for additional agriculture instruction from the staff of UGAs College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Afghanistan may be a high-tech battlefield, but its agriculture practices are like those of America during the 1900s, or in some cases the 1800s. And the farmers there are woefully poor even by Afghanistans standards. The job of the ADTs is to help the Afghans change their practices through education, mentorship and easy-to-train, easy-to-sustain crop, livestock, water and land management projects that fit their culture and their environment. Afghans who learn these straightforward practices can pass them on to their fellow farmers, especially those of the next generation. In this way, they move ever closer to self-sustainment and the revitalization of a local and national agricultural economy. While Americas agricultural initiative in Afghanistan may be considered a noncombat mission, it is still dangerous. Keeping the Taliban at bay, let alone trying to force them to leave the teams area, will not be easy, especially in those places the Taliban calls home. But the ultimate goal is to get the Afghans accustomed to picking up shovels and seeds to solve their problems, instead of AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. (Word Count 304)

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Agribusiness development teams

  • 1. Agribusiness Development Teams Agribusiness development teams (ADTs) are part of the counterinsurgency strategy put forth by the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The ISAF was formed to put a stop to the violence in Afghanistan and improve the Afghan peoples confidence in their central government. The Georgia National Guard has made a three-year commitment to provide ADTs in Afghanistan. The first of these deployed for southeastern Afghanistan in the spring of 2011. In preparation for that deployment, the involved Georgia Guardsmen have used the new language lab at Clay National Guard center to improve their understanding of the Pashto and Dari languages used in the region. The ADTs have also tapped the University of Georgia for additional agriculture instruction from the staff of UGAs College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Afghanistan may be a high-tech battlefield, but its agriculture practices are like those of America during the 1900s, or in some cases the 1800s. And the farmers there are woefully poor even by Afghanistans standards. The job of the ADTs is to help the Afghans change their practices through education, mentorship and easy-to-train, easy-to-sustain crop, livestock, water and land management projects that fit their culture and their environment. Afghans who learn these straightforward practices can pass them on to their fellow farmers, especially those of the next generation. In this way, they move ever closer to self-sustainment and the revitalization of a local and national agricultural economy. While Americas agricultural initiative in Afghanistan may be considered a noncombat mission, it is still dangerous. Keeping the Taliban at bay, let alone trying to force them to leave the teams area, will not be easy, especially in those places the Taliban calls home. But the ultimate goal is to get the Afghans accustomed to picking up shovels and seeds to solve their problems, instead of AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. (Word Count 304)