USAID supports poultry farming in Lashkar Gah
Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Thursday, June 12, 2008 - USAID efforts to establish a commercial poultry facility in Helmand Province hit a significant milestone with the successful transport of 5,000 day-old layer and broiler chicks to Lashkar Gah earlier this week.
'We are happy to support USAID efforts to provide alternatives to growing illicit crops,' said Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Menghal who was instrumental in facilitating the transport of the chicks to Helmand. 'Helmand Province needs sound economic initiatives such as this hatchery to create commercial opportunities for people in the south.'
The chicks were transported from the Netherlands to Afghanistan with the combined support of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bokkers Trading B.V. The chicks make up the first group of parent stock that will set the foundation for USAID-led efforts at establishing a privately owned and commercially viable poultry industry in Afghanistan's volatile south. Working closely with the private sector, the project seeks to increase local production of eggs and chicken meat for local consumption.
The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock and USAID are renovating a facility in Lashkar Gah with the capacity to produce over 30,000 broiler and layer chicks per month. A second, privately owned facility is being established in Lashkar Gah with capacity to produce 40,000 broilers per year.
USAID is also partnering with the Afghanistan Veterinary Association to produce feed through mini-mills to meet initial feed requirements. As the poultry industry expands, USAID will meet additional feed requirements with the establishment of privately-owned feed mills with production capacities of four metric tons per hour that can also be used for dairy, cattle, and sheep in the south.
This poultry venture is just one component of USAID's alternative development program, whose overall objective is to improve the licit income opportunities and well-being of thousands of southern rural families by integrating them into a growing regional economy. By providing licit income and employment opportunities, USAID will contribute to a gradual reduction of dependence on opium poppy in target areas throughout Helmand, Kandahar, and Uruzgan Provinces.
Contact
USAID Afghanistan
Great Masood Road
Kabul, Afghanistan
Tel 202.216.6288
KABULUSAIDINFORMATION@usaid.gov