|
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
INSIDE DEVELOPMENT
In this section:
U.S. Drug Chief Sees Progress Against Poppy in
Afghanistan
Public Must Understand Aid, Tobias Tells InterAction
Leaders of Indonesia’s Largest Muslim
NGO Visit USAID
Agency-Sponsored Volunteers Assist Response
to Avian Flu Threat
Malawi Aid Team Awarded for Video Teaching Cotton
Productioni
Starbucks Brings Top-Priced Rwandan Coffee to
Eager U.S. Customers
New Road Bypasses Dangerous Ferry in Indonesia
U.S. Drug Chief Sees Progress Against Poppy in Afghanistan
By Phillip Kurata
Washington File Staff Writer
Afghan authorities are succeeding in reducing opium poppy
cultivation, according to the director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy, John Walters.
Briefing reporters in Washington April 10 after a visit
to Afghanistan the previous week, Walters said that he saw
“enormous progress” in Afghanistan’s effort
to eradicate opium poppy production since 2004 when he made
his first visit to the country.
The most impressive progress occurred in the eastern province
of Nangahar, traditionally one of the prime poppy growing
areas of the country, he said. In 2005, the area under poppy
cultivation dropped by nearly 50 percent nationwide, but the
figure for Nangahar province was a decline of 90 percent,
he said.
The United States estimates that 207,600 hectares were under
opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2004, and the figure
dropped to 107,000 hectares in 2005, according to one of Walters’
aides. The amount of opium produced did not show a corresponding
steep drop, however: 4,950 metric tons in 2004 and 4,475 metric
tons in 2005, according to the Walters’ aide.
The United Nations reports that 2.3 million people, 10 percent
of the Afghan population, were involved in opium cultivation
in 2004; in the following year, the number of opium cultivators
fell to 2 million, or 8.7 percent of the population.
To mitigate the hardships caused by eradication of poppy
plants, USAID has been working with farmers in the region
through alternative livelihood projects. Cash-for-work programs
provide immediate income for families who suddenly find themselves
deprived of income from poppy cultivation.
One major project is the Marja irrigation drain cleaning
in central Helmand, which is aimed at improving agricultural
productivity. This project has resulted in 47,000 hectares
of farmland receiving increased access to water.
Walters said that the Afghan government, supported by its
allies, has no illusions that it can substitute opium poppy
with an equally valuable crop.
“That’s not what we’re doing as a combined
effort in Afghanistan. We’re really doing rural development.
We’re bringing roads, electricity, micro-credit. We’re
trying to give people who have been chained to the land in
a variety of ways, including by poppy cultivation, a future,”
he said.
Walters said that the opium trade remains the last large
threat to Afghanistan, after the Taliban and al-Qaida have
been driven from power and the warlords largely have been
disarmed.
The Afghan government in March launched an aggressive campaign
in southern Helmand province, which was the heart of the Taliban
power in the 1990s, to eradicate poppy cultivation after an
unsuccessful attempt at eradication in 2005.
A new governor of Helmand, appointed by Afghan President
Hamid Karzai, has taken the lead in dispatching local and
provincial teams of eradicators, armed with tractors, to destroy
poppy fields while Afghan army units protect the eradicators
from the Taliban.
Walters said the entrenched interests in the poppy trade
are higher up, and the Karzai government has established a
national court to investigate, prosecute, and try people suspected
of involvement in the drug trade, which, according to United
Nations estimates, accounted for more than 50 percent of Afghanistan’s
gross domestic product in 2005.
This court has special accommodations to assure the security
of investigators, prosecutors, and judges as they pursue traffickers,
Walters said. The personnel involved in this operation are
being trained by experts from Norway, the United Kingdom,
Germany, and Italy, he said.
Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
USAID staff contributed to this report. Please see
related article on page 1 of the April FrontLines.
Public Must Understand Aid, Tobias Tells InterAction
 |
| Administrator Randall Tobias |
Administrator Randall Tobias recently addressed the annual
meeting of InterAction, where he called on leaders of hundreds
of nonprofit organizations that carry out much of USAID’s
development and relief projects to help tell the American
people about the foreign aid program’s benefits to people
around the world.
“I’m not sure people know about foreign aid—we
need to tell the story of why it is in their best interest,”
Tobias said. “We need more broadly based public understanding.”
Asked about the consequences of closer State-USAID ties
since he was appointed both head of USAID and director of
foreign assistance at State, Tobias said he had learned while
head of the U.S. AIDS program that “good people leave
their uniform at the door” and pitch together regardless
of which agency they work under.
However, he noted to the chiefs of major nongovernmental
groups such as CARE, Save the Children, and Catholic Relief
Services that “USAID is the crown jewel of our efforts
in addressing these issues” of international development
and relief.
He also said that with his dual-hatted position as Director
of U.S. foreign assistance and Administrator of USAID, “I
have a seat at the table.”
Foreign aid is now “at the absolute center of what
the U.S. government is trying to do,” he said.
He cautioned that there is a need for a clear strategy so
that “what we spend” matches “what we think
it ought to be.”
“I’ll ask what it is we want to get done in each
country where we give foreign assistance,” he said.
“Foreign assistance is now an issue of common concern
across the U.S. government, the goal of which is to help create
a world of democratic, well-governed states that can meet
the needs of their citizens and conduct themselves responsibly
in the international system,” he told the InterAction
meeting at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel April 10.
Leaders of Indonesia’s Largest Muslim NGO Visit USAID
 |
|
Muhammadiyah staff help clean up a school in Banda
Aceh following the December 2004 tsunami.
Ben Barber, USAID
|
The leaders of Indonesia’s Muhammadiyah—the world’s
largest moderate Muslim social group with 28 million members—came
to Washington in April to celebrate more than three decades
of working together with USAID on projects that range from
healthcare to tsunami relief.
The group runs more than 500 health facilities and 17,000
schools and universities.
When the tsunami hit Aceh Province in Western Sumatra, it
was Muhammadiyah that quickly organized young men and women
into cleanup teams who hauled away tons of mud and other debris
from schools and public buildings.
Team members wore blue T-shirts bearing the name Muhammadiyah
and the logo of USAID, which paid for the work.
Leaders of Muhammadiyah and its autonomous sister organization
Asiyiyah met with officials of USAID and the Bloomberg School
of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, groups with
which Muhammadiyah and Asiyiyah (M/A) have worked in the past.
USAID’s work with M/A started 30 years ago with healthcare.
Agency staffers credit Muhammadiyah with laying a strong foundation
on which to build family planning in Indonesia, and the efforts
are now considered among the most successful in the developing
world. USAID is graduating family planning assistance to Indonesia
in September 2006, and the mission there credits in large
Muhammadiyah’s grassroots efforts for the success of
the program. M/A continues to work closely with USAID in other
health programs, including maternal and child health services,
infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and
general quality-of-care issues.
USAID and Muhammadiyah started democracy and governance
work together about 20 years ago, and the group is now promoting
democratic reform in Indonesia, including organizing election
and voter education campaigns that led to the country’s
first democratically elected president in 2004. Current projects
with USAID include education and economic development.
“These are only stepping stones,” said Dr. Sudibyo
Markus, the chairman of Muhammadiyah. “Our objective
is a civil society.”
 |
|
Muhammadiyah midwife provides quality reproductive
health counseling to a client using a USAID/World Health
Organization flipchart.
Nurfina Bachtiar
|
Mark Ward, deputy administrator in the Bureau for Asia and
the Near East, added that “Muhammadiyah is the best evidence
I have seen in a long time of the extraordinary value of using
indigenous organizations to carry out our work.”
“A grant to Muhammadiyah makes our more-and-more constrained
program dollars go so much further because they know what
works and doesn’t work at the local level in Indonesia,
and they know how to mobilize the most effective change agents
of all—the Imams,” he said.
The group’s most recent high-profile work was in the
aftermath of the tsunami. M/A was in Aceh within 24 hours
of the natural disaster with 10 medical teams and 2,000 volunteers.
The group received USAID funding to provide immediate health
services to survivors and to follow up with recovering projects,
such as cash-for-work programs, building reconstruction, and
assistance to small businesses.
The tsunami also gave M/A an opening to bring conflict resolution
to Aceh, where fighting between the Free Aceh Movement and
the Indonesian government had been going on since 1976. The
two sides called a cease fire after the tsunami.
In the tsunami, 235,000 died or were declared missing in
Aceh, making it the hardest hit area of the natural disaster.
M/A’s work in Aceh raised the group profile, said Dr.
Markus, but also gave them an opportunity to spread their
civil society message into the contentious region. Muhammadiyah
is also doing this formally, instituting civic education in
its universities and high schools. The M/A delegation said
they’d like to spread those lessons to elementary schools
as well.
Building a civil society and instituting democratic reforms
requires building “social cohesiveness” from the
bottom up, Dr. Markus said. “If we set up the building,
we must set up a strong foundation, strong pillars,”
he added.
He said he is cautious but optimistic about the prospects
for democracy to take hold in his country, home to the world’s
largest Muslim population. One spark, he said, could set off
tense situations in some regions.
M/A are also facing internal challenges as their missions
expand. “In so many ways, the issues are developing more
quickly than we can cope [with],” he said.
He said he’d like to bring M/A’s organization
development up to speed with its humanitarian and development
activities by, for example, boosting branding and improving
their use of technology. USAID is likely to assist with this.
In certain operational aspects of their work, he joked, “we’re
still living in the stone age.”
The visiting group also included Dr. Atikah M. Zaki, who
heads the Central Board of Asiyiyah; Dr. Daricha Yasin, a
health advisor to Asiyiyah’s board; and Dr. Moetmainnah
Prihadi, vice president of health and community welfare for
Muhammadiyah.
Agency-Sponsored Volunteers Assist Response to Avian Flu
Threat
 |
|
Elizabeth Krushinskie is the Farmer-to-Farmer program’s
first volunteer to use her expertise against avian influenza.
|
USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer (FtF) program has dispatched
the first American agricultural professional to help fight
avian influenza (AI) in developing countries.
Elizabeth Krushinskie, an adjunct assistant professor at
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
and vice president for Food Safety and Production Programs
at the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, went to Armenia last
November 2005 to perform a threat assessment.
As a volunteer, she joined highly skilled and paid scientists,
doctors, government leaders, and humanitarian workers who
have for months been working on containing AI as it rushes
across Asia, Africa, and now Europe.
“Dr. Krushinskie’s experience as the first USAID-funded
AI expert to work in the field has really helped us define
what we need to do in response to avian influenza,” said
Jim Yazman, a livestock specialist and member of USAID’s
Avian Influenza Working Group. “She has been instrumental
in pointing out that avian vaccination programs might do more
harm than good since they would hide the symptoms, not eliminate
the disease.”
Krushinskie helped conduct a rapid assessment of Armenia’s
agricultural procedures and the country’s preparedness
for detecting, diagnosing, and containing AI. She also helped
train staff at the Ministry of Agriculture in laboratory diagnosis
and testing protocols.
In addition, she helped procure sample collection equipment
and supplies and personal protective equipment. She helped
develop training and educational materials, and she delivered
educational presentations to the agriculture ministry’s
staff.
“My experiences working in several former Soviet Union
countries with the Farmer-to-Farmer program has been both
rewarding and heartbreaking,” said Krushinskie, who also
worked in Ukraine. “I had no idea what terrible economic
conditions the people in these countries have been facing
since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, especially
as it relates to agriculture and food production.”
“Helping people improve the safety and availability
of poultry meat has been some of the most satisfying and compelling
work I have ever done,” she added.
FtF is one of several programs USAID manages worldwide to
stem the spread of avian flu.
Malawi Aid Team Awarded for Video Teaching Cotton Productioni
 |
|
USAID/Malawi was recognized with two high achievement
awards in the television commercial industry for DVDs
it produced teaching cotton farmers how to improve production.
USAID/Malawi
|
LILONGWE, Malawi—The USAID mission here was
recognized with two awards last year for creating “distinctive
and ingenious work” using digital video to promote development.
As the Oscars honor motion pictures, the Telly Awards honor
excellence in local, regional, and cable television commercials
in more than 200 categories. USAID/Malawi was awarded two
Tellys for its training DVDs, Jacto Blue and Introduction
to Agricultural Chemical Safety. The first, produced in the
national language of Chichewa, shows farmers how to assemble,
use, and maintain a commonly used backpack sprayer. The second,
produced in both Chichewa and English, shows a day in the
life of a man who surmounts the real-life challenges Malawi
farmers face with the safe use and distribution of agricultural
chemicals.
The USAID project “is using modern technology to bring
agriculture messages to rural farming communities throughout
Malawi in innovative ways,” said Richard Kimball, a private
sector growth advisor with the Malawi mission. “They
use local languages and the local tradition of storytelling
to educate and empower communities at the grassroots level.”
More than 20,000 people have seen the two films, which have
been screened at cotton companies during farmer training sessions.
The films are presented in rural areas using a rural projection
kit powered by a car battery that drives a small DVD player,
digital light projector, and set of speakers.
One viewer the films helped was Wema Sikisi, a 10th-grade
student who last year also became a cotton farmer. The first
born in a family of six, Sikisi began farming last year because
her mother could no longer cover her school fees—roughly
$45 per year.
“I learned that it is extremely important to wear protective
clothing while spraying,” she said, after seeing the
Introduction to Agricultural Chemical Safety film in November.
She immediately applied to her field what she learned from
the film. Her two three-quarter acre plots are now a contrast
between traditional and more modern cultivation methods, just
as she saw depicted in the film.
Sikisi’s willingness to innovate caught the eye of
one of the ginning company’s extension agents, who selected
her fields as demonstration plots. Over 30 farmers have visited
her plots to see the differences between planting the new
and old way. Sikisi is now one of the characters in In High
Cotton, a new video that USAID/Malawi is hoping will win a
Telly in the next round of awards.
Over 10,000 entries were received for last year’s award
from all around the world. Entries are judged against standards
established by top professional advertising and production
professionals.
Starbucks Brings Top-Priced Rwandan Coffee to Eager U.S.
Customers
 |
|
Jacqueline Schafer, USAID assistant administrator for
the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade;
Rwandan Ambassador Zac Nsenga; and Alfredo Nuno, a purchaser
for Starbucks, toast the success of Rwandan specialty
coffee at a ceremony April 11.
Harry Edwards, USAID
|
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Millions of coffee drikers worldwide and thousands of farmers
in Rwanda have been made happy, thanks to a partnership with
USAID that led giant U.S. coffee retailer Starbucks to market
the brand “Rwandan Blue Bourbon” in 5,000 of its
shops.
Executives from the Starbucks Company—whose 100,000
employees host 40 million customers a week in 10,800 outlets
worldwide—joined USAID officials at the Rwandan Embassy
in Washington on April 11 for a celebratory tasting of the
latest Starbucks “Black Apron Exclusive” specialty
coffee from Rwanda.
The coffee arrangement with Starbucks, for which sales began
in March, is a result of USAID working with Rwandan coffee
farmers to upgrade their planting and processing infrastructure.
Jacqueline Schafer, USAID assistant administrator for the
Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, told the
gathering, “We have spent $10 million in the past five
years to promote and develop the Rwandan coffee industry.”
“I am particularly pleased because this market-oriented
partnership has improved the livelihoods of 40,000 [Rwandan]
farmers by enabling them to sell a high-value crop,”
she added.
As part of its five-year project, USAID helped Rwandan farmers
build and renovate coffee-washing stations, trained them in
“cupping and tasting” techniques, organized cooperatives,
furnished financing opportunities, and introduced them to
U.S. coffee retailers like Starbucks. (See related article
in April 2006 FrontLines.)
Alfredo Nuno, a green-coffee trader [purchaser] for Starbucks,
told the embassy gathering that Rwandan Blue Bourbon is a
“superior” product that naturally belongs with nine
others in the company’s Black Apron Exclusive category
of premium coffees.
Referring to the ethnic strife that led to the deaths of
800,000 Rwandans 12 years ago, Nuno said: “We look at
the future of Rwanda and see that it is bright. We are committed
to working with Rwandan producers … to establish a long-term
relationship” and expand their production into the international
market.
Rwandan Ambassador Zac Nsenga also touched on the 1994 tragedy
in his country, saying: “This morning’s celebration
is timely. It is happening at a time when we are in our 12th
genocide commemoration. Therefore, we are not only celebrating
a success story of a meaningful cooperation … but also
the dividends of reconciliation and stability in Rwanda.”
The government of Rwanda is “determined to create a
conducive business environment for this relationship to flourish”
and to continue a development strategy emphasizing public-private
sector partnerships, he added.
Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
New Road Bypasses Dangerous Ferry in Indonesia
 |
|
Indonesians anxiously cross the river on an old ferry.
Ferries were not used often, as people took a nearby
road. But for the past year, the road was closed because
of damage it suffered during the tsunami. USAID has
now helped repair and reopen it.
Jeff Borda, USAID/Indonesia
|
LAMNO, Aceh—The line to board the Lambeso River
ferry is crowded, and the four-car limit makes a long wait
under the Acehnese sun almost a certainty. Adul Puteh, a merchant
transporting goods from a traditional market in the north
to his store in Calang, stands in the shade. Patiently, he
passes time talking with other drivers and smoking kretek,
the pungent Indonesian clove cigarette.
“We have no choice,” says Pak Adul. “The
ferry is dangerous, but without transporting my goods, I cannot
feed my family.”
Pak Adul’s problem is about to be solved. In mid-April,
a temporary bypass for the national road will be officially
opened and the Lambeso River ferry rendered obsolete.
The bypass is part of USAID’s $245 million plan to
rebuild roads and bridges in the Western Sumatra province
of Aceh, where more than 200,000 died in the December 2004
tsunami.
The usual wait of one to four hours will be shortened to
a 20-minute journey; most important, the simple journey across
the Lambeso will again be safe.
The tsunami that hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India,
the Maldives, and Somalia ripped through Aceh and destroyed
much of the region’s infrastructure. Many bridges were
swept away along the 240 kilometer road from the provincial
capital Banda Aceh to the trading hub of Meulaboh.
The loss of the Lambeso River Bridge interrupted commerce
up and down the coast. To close this gap, a makeshift ferry
to cross the Lambeso was established.
The small, floating wooden barge is made of planks, many
rotting from exposure, that were tied, nailed, and wedged
together to form an improvised deck. The structure creaks
under the weight of trucks, cars, and people.
Men dangle from the side, and women carrying babies hang
on for their lives, as the barge makes its journey from bank
to bank. Fear of capsizing is on everyone’s mind. A truck
has already fallen off.
Teuku Umar, a local vendor, contemplates the crossing while
adjusting his intricately woven green, black, and gold topi,
the traditional head cover worn by men in Aceh. He said: “Inshallah
[God willing], the ferry will safely arrive. Catastrophe is
not in our hands, but finding a better way to cross is.”
USAID/Indonesia Mission Director William M. Frej said, “Reconstruction
of the Banda Aceh to Meulaboh Road is progressing. This is
a small, but important step forward. The road to Meulaboh
is long, and the challenges are many, but the U.S. project
will be completed in the anticipated three-year reconstruction
period.”
Jeff Borda with USAID/Indonesia contributed to this story.
Back to Top ^
|
