Afghanistan
SARAI Soy Value-Chain Project Sows Opportunity in Afghanistan
WISHH’s work in Afghanistan literally took root through the U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded Soybeans for Agricultural Renewal In Afghanistan Initiative (SARAI). Activities over the three years of the project cover:
- Road and irrigation construction
- Soy production for 9000 subsistence farmers
- Microfinance loans
- Direct distribution of soy flour to pregnant and lactating women and their families
- Technical assistance on use of soybean meal in feed rations
- Increased demand for soy-fortified traditional naan bread
Joining WISHH on the USDA Food for Progress project are: CBI Global; SALT International; PARSA, and Shelter for Life International.
Download complete brochure detailing the SARAI Project
Soy Processing Plant Creates New Market, Food and Feed
WISHH and SALT International worked with the Afghan bakery company to open Afghanistan’s first soy processing facility. Afghan men are now trained to operate the soybean extruder that can crush the soybeans to make valuable soybean meal as well as vegetable oil.
WISHH and SALT International worked with the Afghan bakery company to open Afghanistan’s first soy processing facility. Afghan men are now trained to operate the soybean extruder that can crush the soybeans to make valuable soybean meal as well as vegetable oil.
New SARAI Soybean Processing Center Has Capacity to Process 5000 Metric Tons of Soybeans Each Year
The Processor Can Make
> Soy Flour for Human Food
> Soy Meal for Poultry and Livestock
> Crude Soybean Oil
Local Foods & Feed from the Processor
> 10-20 percent soy flour for inclusion in foods, like naan bread
> protein-rich soy meal for poultry and livestock
> cooking oil (made with further refining)
Afghanistan Farmers Produce Their First Commercial Soybean Crop
 Some farmers had oxen to pull equipment for land preparation, but much of the work was done by hand. Many farmers were planting each soybean seed one finger at a time until WISHH staff helped them develop a handheld “planting stick” that allowed them to plant multiple seeds. |
 Many Afghans had never seen a soybean crop prior to their successful completion through the SARAI project in 2011. |
 Jamila, a mother of six, was one of 91 women participating in the SARAI project’s first crop. She planted approximately one-half acre of soybeans in 2011. Jamila joined the project when she learned about the value of soy for her family’s diet. |
 Through the SARAI project, Shelter for Life International trained Afghan farmers on all the steps of soybean production, ranging from irrigation and land preparation to fertilization to harvest. In 2011, 1000 Afghan men and women grew soybeans on approximately 500 acres of total land. |
 The Afghan farmers harvested their soybeans with hand tools. They turned them by hand to dry in the sun. When the pods began to dry, the farmers threshed them with pitchforks and sticks. |
 Women and men received payment for their soybeans, which created a new source of income for them. The SARAI project integrated the commercial payments to the rural farmers with the new soy processing plant in a larger village that was ready to use the soybeans for human food, livestock feed as well as vegetable oil. |
Soy Nutrition for 5000 Mothers
 American Soybean Association, WISHH and state soybean leaders from Virginia, North Carolina and Illinois joined USDA FAS Associate Administrator Janet Nuzum and a Cargill representative for the loading of 3,525 50-pound bags of soy flour shipped from the Port of Virginia. USDA purchased the soy flour from Cargill as part of its cooperative agreement with WISHH under the USDA Food for Progress Program. The SARAI project distributed this high-protein soy to 5,000 Afghan women who also received training on its use. |
 Donkeys carried the soy flour the final miles into the province of Badakshan after it crossed the Atlantic by ship and was then transported by trucks in Afghanistan. The Afghan women sent their children ahead to meet the donkey caravan so the children could keep village dogs from scaring the donkeys carrying the soy. |
 Afghan women registered for their soy flour that helped their families that face some of the world’s worst malnutrition rates. Each of the 5000 women received four bags of soy flour, totaling 16 kilograms or about 35 pounds. |
 SARAI project partner PARSA trained the women to prepare their flour for use in their local foods, such as the naan flat bread, that many families eat three meals a day.  Shown from left, Rasoul Naseeb of the Naseeb Group that owns the oilseed processing plant, U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service Agriculture Minister Counselor Quintin Gray, WISHH Executive Director Jim Hershey, and USDA Senior Representative at the U.S. Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif Steve Berk at the manufacturing facility. The plant produces low-fat soy flour, soybean meal and crude soybean oil. A key link in the soy value chain, the plant is the buyer for Afghanistan's first commercial crops of soybeans, which are grown by subsistence Afghan farmers. |
FY 2010-2013 SARAI Timeline Highlights
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WISHH’s work in Afghanistan has taken root through the U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded Soybeans for Agricultural Renewal In Afghanistan Initiative (SARAI). View U.S. Army Colonel Doug Rose, a Missouri soybean farmer on tour of duty in Afghanistan, describe the value of SARAI, how he worked with WISHH and what it’s like to farm in Afghanistan.
