The Foreign Service Journal, March 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2022 97 Cooperatives have a vital role in any effort to move away from poppy cultivation toward more diversified and productive agriculture in Afghanistan. They are the transmission belt for the specialized training USDA delivered in areas such as fertilizer management, animal husbandry, and plant and animal disease control to Kabul University’s colleges of agriculture and veterinary science around the country. COURTESYOFMARCGILKEY strategic plan that addressed broad areas of need in the agricultural sector. Many hoped to create export markets for specialty products—pomegranates, grapes, raisins and a plethora of dried fruit products—all of which were meant to be an alternative to poppy production. Looking for and evaluating alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers and villag- ers, I was repeatedly forced to acknowl- edge the stark realities of everyday life in Afghanistan. Electricity and running water were sporadic, and necessary supplies were difficult, if not impossible, to access. Seeds, root stock, fertilizers and animal vaccines were needed to revitalize the agriculture sector. e The arrival of summer brought several bombings of internet cafés in Kabul and a very quick tightening of security. Visits to the ministry became more complicated, though more important than ever. Amazing work at the PRTs continued: reforestation, soil conservation, poul- try production, microloans, irrigation, animal vaccinations and plant protec- tion. This team really showed what USDA could deliver. At meetings, a State colleague would introduce me as the “secret weapon,” always clarifying that USDA was nei- ther secret nor a weapon, but a known entity—think Green Revolution and Food for Peace—that was welcome at official and rural doorsteps around the world. It was a time of great hope in Afghanistan. As the year continued, I received my onward assignment to Mexico. I left Kabul in late 2005 with a feeling of confi- dence that a better day would dawn. My counterparts at the Ministry of Agricul- ture and the farmers I had met were all eager to embrace change, and our inter- ventions were making a difference. e One night, after I returned to Wash- ington in December 2005 to get my car for the drive to Mexico City, my boss called me. “We need you to pick some- thing up at Dulles airport for an event at the Embassy of Afghanistan,” he said. The menu for the planned event featured Afghan pomegranates and grapes, which required a special-use permit with the condition of 100 percent inspection and safeguarding. This meant I would drive my Ford Escort to Dulles, retrieve the small shipment from a Customs and Border Protection officer, inspect it thoroughly for bugs and diseases and, finally, drop it off at the embassy. Naively, I wore a suit, thinking I would be invited into the embassy event. I went to the back entrance as instructed and delivered the produce to the Ameri- can staff, who took the package and barely acknowledged me. As I returned to the parking lot, I saw the Afghan driv- ers and guards. Placing my right hand over my heart, I nodded to them. Instantly they smiled and returned the gesture. We drank hot kahwah (tea) out in the parking lot, and I regretted not keeping one pomegranate for further inspection. Loosening my tie, I could hear the distant chatter of the party and realized I was exactly where I belonged, where it was cold, crisp and quiet. e In the years since, as the U.S. inter- vention ground on under the banner of constantly changing goals and priorities, I have often been asked by people who never touched Afghanistan if I wasted my time there. Rather than respond with a yes or no, I would describe my experiences sharing knowledge and working with the Afghan people: giving lectures at the university, providing veterinary publications to aspiring veterinary students, planting trees, growing asparagus and drinking hundreds of cups of tea. n The author (front right) shares extension materials for improving crop protection and production with Afghan farmers, experts and officials at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. COURTESYOFMARCGILKEY