OSU program will help Guardsmen improve farming techniques in Afghanistan
Soldiers to take ag training overseas
BY BRYAN DEAN
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Published: February 16, 2009
Col. Mike Chase’s next deployment will draw more on his experience raising cattle on his 80-acre property near Chandler than anything from the shooting range.
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OSU creates new approach
International Agricultural Programs at Oklahoma State University will prepare Oklahoma National Guardsmen for their mission to train Afghanistan’s farmers and ranchers. The school will alter a training program usually given for missionaries and others wishing to help develop agriculture in third-world countries, tailoring it to the challenges the Guard will face in Afghanistan, said David Henneberry, director of the International Agricultural Programs. In particular, the program will help soldiers who already have experience in agriculture understand the more primitive techniques and technologies used in Afghanistan. Henneberry said the training also will stress the importance of working with those who are already trying to improve things in the country. "We forget that they have institutions like universities and an agriculture ministry,” Henneberry said. "They have been thinking about these things themselves and making progress, and we need to partner with them and respect the work they’ve done in the past.”
International Agricultural Programs at Oklahoma State University will prepare Oklahoma National Guardsmen for their mission to train Afghanistan’s farmers and ranchers. The school will alter a training program usually given for missionaries and others wishing to help develop agriculture in third-world countries, tailoring it to the challenges the Guard will face in Afghanistan, said David Henneberry, director of the International Agricultural Programs. In particular, the program will help soldiers who already have experience in agriculture understand the more primitive techniques and technologies used in Afghanistan. Henneberry said the training also will stress the importance of working with those who are already trying to improve things in the country. "We forget that they have institutions like universities and an agriculture ministry,” Henneberry said. "They have been thinking about these things themselves and making progress, and we need to partner with them and respect the work they’ve done in the past.”
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No war for cucumbers
One of the unique challenges the U.S. military faces as it tries to fight insurgents in Afghanistan is a lack of infrastructure.
Afghanistan is a more agrarian society than Iraq, where oil wealth has funded communications networks, roads and other essential needs. Chase said agriculture accounts for about 45 percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product and employs about 80 percent.
"With Iraq’s oil situation, there are a lot of people willing to help bring that country on line,” Chase said. "With Afghanistan, I don’t think anyone could accuse the United States of going to war for their cucumbers.”
Unfortunately, Afghanistan has had a tumultuous history that stifled agricultural development over the past 30 years.
Afghanistan has become the world’s leading producer of opium because it is more lucrative than traditional crops.
Persuading Afghan farmers to grow wheat and other staples instead of opium is a primary goal of western military allies, said Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, the state’s adjutant general.
"This is something unique the Guard brings that the Army generally can’t bring,” Deering said. "We have soldiers with agricultural degrees and practical experience farming as their primary occupation.”
Guard units from several agriculturally inclined states already have deployed, and Oklahoma is the next to go.
Feeding themselves
Chase has put out the word for volunteers. The group will include a command staff along with a security detail.
"The core of it is really the agricultural team, which will be about 12 to 14 people with specialized experience in horticulture, livestock, small business and animal husbandry,” Chase said.
Volunteers so far include soldiers who have taught agriculture at the high school and college level.
"You are directly helping the people instead of just indirectly,” Chase said. "We’re helping a country feed themselves and take care of themselves.”
Related Topics:
U.S. Armed Forces Activities, U.S. National Guard Activities
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