Rewards: Faculty of Agriculture Farm Day 2008

Thursday, 26 June 2008 marked the inaugural Kabul University Faculty of Agriculture Farm Field Day. In preparation for the event, all of the student groups labored in their plots, removing weeds & harvesting crops, and Zia, pictured below, plowed the larger uncultivated areas with the fandangled Chinese 2-wheeled tractor (what many of refer to as a roto-tiller). Meanwhile, Joern and Hussain arranged for invitations to be sent, the venue to be mowed, the refreshments to be lined up, and all participants briefed on what was expected of them & what they could expect.

The day before the event, a colorful tent was erected, a stage and podium puzzled together, and over 250 chairs were set out. During much of the year, Kabul receives gale-force winds, causing us to be concerned about what we would find in the morning. And yet, we were hoping for some breeze to cool the suited crowd gathered on this 90 degree day.

By 8:30 am, a sizeable crowd of students, professors, and some honorary guests had gathered under the red & gold canopy away a time of the requiste speeches before they could dig into the cookies & tea.

Not too surprising was the scarcity of women at the event. One courageous student was asked to MC the morning's speeches. Her addresses were interspersed with agricultural poetry. This sounds quite odd to the American mind, but it is actually a common practice in this agrarian land, for agricultural activities to be touched by the Bacchus-like muse. This dear soul performed exceedingly well, and many of the students were sparked into jealousy, tormenting her with one of her mis-pronounced words. Ah, life in a male-dominant society. Women must be tough skinned or melt under the chastisement & abandonment.

After speeches by the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture, the Senior Advisor to the Minister Ramin of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, & Livestock(http://www.agriculture.gov.af/english/English.htm), and other noted dignitaries, Joern thanked everyone for participating, and expressed what has gone into making this farm functional. After which, the festivities begun.

Attendees were encouraged to tour the 10 hectare (20 acre) farm, being enticed to make the rounds by booths serving fresh lemonade and locally produced melons. What a refreshment they were, as the sun grew hot and mouths dry.

Leading the tour was the Minister Ramin, pictured below in the cool season vegetable plot talking with a number of students. The entourage of nearly everyone else followed closely, hoping to get into the action. The student groups were eager to have the Minister and other leaders in Afghan Agriculture tour their plots. However, they were not so fully prepared for the Minister's difficult questions --Opps!


The presence of agricultural leaders was quite thrilling for the students, as it also offered an opportunity for them to field their burning questions --- as well as get in a little photo-op!

The day was a success. We trust that the enthusiasm will carry over into the coming years, resulting in annual field days. In a nation where test-scores determine the disciplines students will enter, there are innumerable occasions in which students enter agriculture for the sole purpose of getting a degree, and don't have more than cursory interest. The Farm Field Day serves as an opportunity to see what agriculture looks like, and hear about where agricultural training can take them. May God make something profound come out of this effort!