Banks & Bullets

Our project is funded through the World Bank, and we are currently hosting a review mission of bank staff and consultants. This is a very important visit as it is not only looking at our performance so far, but also assessing the project for an extension beyond December this year.

We took a team of 10 or so Bank representatives to the field for 5 days of activities. This was extremely useful, and not only showed them what we have achieved but also gave them an insight into the challenges the project staff face trying to get improved management practices out to more than 30,000 farming households! I think the whole team enjoyed the trip and came back with some positive messages. One great story came from an NGO we work with who told of the success of some of the female farmer groups. Women have few opportunities to socialise outside the family, but meeting to discuss horticulture and farming practices has given women in remote villages the opportunity to meet and interact in ways they could not previously manage. This has had two major impacts, firstly cooperation and help between women has increased markedly (an example was sharing produce when one family was in trouble due to flood damage in their garden). A second impact reported to us was improvements in their family and home life, as they now brought home ideas and knowledge on how to improve household income - a major change for many of them.

This trip was not all good news though. The car I was travelling in was shot at by a military convoy when they felt we were too close to them (we weren't!!). It was only a warning shot, and no harm was done, but it reminds me that perhaps calling Afghanistan a 'post-conflict' country may be a little premature!