Kabul, Afghanistan – All around the world, farmers lose money because of produce lost during harvest season, which also results in less food on the market. At the same time, as youth increasingly move to cities, fewer youth are interested and involved in the agricultural sector. In Afghanistan, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the participation of young men and women, especially agriculture students, to become involved in the agricultural sector and to harness the ingenuity that youth bring to addressing the problems facing the agricultural sector and constraints for its growth in Afghanistan.

With that in mind, USAID hosted the launch of the Young Innovators in Agriculture Competition, an activity aimed at engaging Afghan youth to help tackle the problem of post-harvest losses in high value crops. The event took place at the Kabul headquarters of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training - Authority (TVET-A), with the participation of student representatives from the Agriculture and Veterinary Institute (AVI).

Over the next four months, teams of male and female students from across the country will undergo intensive training and will receive coaching to produce prototypes of their innovative solutions to this problem. In August, they will pitch their solutions to representatives of agribusinesses, financial institutions and development organizations.

“The Young Innovators in Agriculture Competition is engaging agriculture students to apply their ingenuity to develop ways to overcome the problem of post-harvest losses in high value crops,” said USAID Mission Director Peter Natiello. “We will continue to support young Afghan entrepreneurs in agriculture and provide them with the tools to be part of innovative solution of agriculture and improve their lives.”

USAID’s agriculture projects operate throughout the country, with project offices in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, and Kandahar. USAID supports sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, in line with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock's National Comprehensive Agricultural Development Priority Program.

With almost $19 billion spent on development programs in Afghanistan since 2002, USAID provides the largest bilateral civilian assistance program to Afghanistan. USAID partners with the government and people of Afghanistan to ensure economic growth led by the country’s private sector, to establish a democratic and capable state governed by the rule of law, and to provide basic health and education services for all Afghans.

• Press Release - USAID Launches Young Innovators in Agriculture Competition (Dari)