11 Oct 2012

AFGHANISTAN / STABILIZING RURAL COMMUNITIES

The UN is assisting thousands of dairy farmers to form cooperatives that are not only helping them earn more money, but also are uniting and stabilizing the communities they live in. IFAD

Posted at: October 11, 2012 1:27 pm

Duration: 02:24

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: AFGHANISTAN / STABILIZING RURAL COMMUNITIES
TRT:  2.24
SOURCE: IFAD
RESTRICTIONS: NONE  
LANGUAGE: PASHTU / DARI / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 24 – 27 SEPTEMBER 2012 JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN

shotlist:

1.	Wide shot, Afghan National Army members on parade ground
2.	Med shot, Afghan National Army on parade ground
3.	Med shot, Afghan National Army on parade ground
4.	Tilt down, farmer brushing cow
5.	Med shot, farmer brushing cow
6.	Close up, cow eating
7.	Med shot, farmer
8.	Pan right, from cooperative sign to cooperative members talking
9.	SOUNDBITE (Pashtu) Malik Ahmed, Chairman Charmesra Cooperative:
"We meet once a week when possible, otherwise every two weeks. We discuss any issues and find solutions. Through these meetings, the hearts come together and when the hearts come together, there's no place for a bad person and the security comes by itself."
10.	Wide shot, men walking into building
11.	Close shot dairy union sign
12.	Pan right, construction site
13.	Med shot, man working on construction site
14.	SOUNDBITE (English) Asadullah Battar, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
"This establishment of union and construction of the dairy plant will directly affect and have impact on the security situation. This is because, if you create jobs for them, if they have jobs and they earn money, so no need for fighting."
15.	Wide shot, woman teaching class
16.	Med shot, women in class
17.	SOUNDBITE (Dari) Sharifa Sarwar, Female Trainer:
"Economically, women have gained a better position among their families and community and on a social level. When they sell the milk, they get the income because they do all the work. Socially they are also empowered. Before they were not allowed to leave their homes, but now they can easily walk around."
18.	Med shot, woman milking cow
19.	Close up, woman's face
20.	Close up, cow being milked
 
STORYLINE:

As foreign troupes get set to leave Afghanistan and Afghans prepare for the responsibility of securing their own country, an unexpected kind of peace-building is taking place in rural villages in the Behsued district of Nangahar Province near the Pakistan border.

Here, thousands of dairy farmers have formed into cooperatives that are not only helping them earn more money, but are also helping to unite and stabilize the communities they live in. 
 
Malik Ahmed is a dairy farmer, based in an Afghan village not far from the Pakistan border. Insurgent groups operate around these parts.  Two years ago however, Malik worked to set up a local dairy cooperative which, he says, has helped unite and in turn, stabilize his community. 
 
SOUNDBITE (Pashtu) Malik Ahmed, Chairman Charmesra Cooperative:
"We meet once a week when possible, otherwise every two weeks. We discuss any issues and find solutions. Through these meetings, the hearts come together and when the hearts come together, there's no place for a bad person and the security comes by itself."
 
The Charmesra cooperative is one of fourteen in the eastern province of Nangahar. They fall under the umbrella of the Khatiz Dairy Union, based in Jalalabad city. The union and cooperatives were created with assistance from the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). IFAD has funded a new milk processing plant which is expected to process twice the amount of milk of the plant in Kabul. At a time when Afghans are starting to take responsibility for their own security, investments like this are crucial.
 
SOUNDBITE (English) Asadullah Battar, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
"This establishment of union and construction of the dairy plant will directly affect and have impact on the security situation. This is because, if you create jobs for them, if they have jobs and they earn money, so no need for fighting."
 
Surprisingly, many women are cooperative members. In such a conservative country where most women remain in their homes, dairy farming is one of the few jobs their husbands permit them to do. The dairy union sends female trainers into the field to hold classes. They discuss hygiene awareness, how to improve milk yields and other issues.  
 
SOUNDBITE (Dari) Sharifa Sarwar, Female Trainer:
"Economically, women have gained a better position among their families and community and on a social level. When they sell the milk, they get the income because they do all the work. Socially they are also empowered. Before they were not allowed to leave their homes, but now they can easily walk around."
 
A reminder of the Soviet era, in the past, cooperatives were always frowned upon and treated with suspicion. But now they're gaining in popularity.

Jorge Rodríguez
UNifeed 
United Nations Television
(212) 963 -3300

Filed under AFGHANISTAN IFAD.