Agriculture and Provincial Reconstruction Teams

The U.S. government states that agriculture is its most important non-security priority in Afghanistan and emphasizes the importance of agricultural development in Afghanistan's long-term stabilization and reconstruction. The extent to which USDA advisors serving on PRTs contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan's agricultural sector is examined through analysis of agricultural advisors' final reports. These reports indicate that early operational challenges are improving and advisors increasingly promote project sustainability, suggesting a possible maturation of the USDA advisors' role on the PRT. Overall, USDA advisors are achieving their objectives of building the capacity of local officials and are moving toward better project sustainability. However, advisors' ability to conduct projects is still significantly hindered by a lack of USDA-specific funding. Also, because advisors cite only project implementation-based data, insufficient information is provided to permit evaluation of PRT agricultural projects or to demonstrate community impact. Creation of a simple monitoring and evaluation system would permit USDA advisors to demonstrate project outcomes and show progress toward reconstruction of Afghanistan's agricultural sector.