The program identifies and addresses the drivers of poppy cultivation in seven targeted districts of Kandahar Province (Arghistan, Maiwand, Panjwayi, Takhta Pul, Shawali Kot, Zharai, and Kandahar City). The work includes improving community infrastructure, strengthening alternative livelihoods and supporting small businesses. KFZ also builds the capacity of the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) to provide alternative livelihoods.

ALTERNATIVE  LIVELIHOODS  The project examines the root causes of poppy cultivation

in the region, and attempts to strengthen and diversify

licit rural livelihoods while providing opportunities for

behavior change through job training.

Alternative  livelihood  initiatives  include:  

›❯ Establishment of green houses in 7 districts

›❯ Pre and post-harvest and marketing training in 7 districts

›❯ Solar drying for fruits and vegetables in 5 districts

›❯ Vegetable production and processing jobs for women in 5 districts

›❯ Vocational mechanical maintenance in 6 districts

›❯ Vocational training in masonry in 3 districts

International Relief & Development

The Kandahar Food Zone program (KFZ)

 

CAPACITY  BUILDING    To grow this effort, IRD also conducted capacity building trainings for MCN staff and its

partners in the area of CBPSA-PC, Gender, GIS and Legal framework (Strategy and Policy).

›❯ 15 capacity building trainings conducted ›❯ 266 government officials trained ›❯ 64 days of training provided

IRD also conducted 44 Community-Based Planning to Support Alternatives of Poppy

Cultivation sessions to allow community members to discuss their needs and grievances.

INFRASTRUCTURE    To improve agricultural infrastructure, IRD rehabilitated 11 irrigation canals in the Panjwai

and Zhari districts of Kandahar province, a total of 143.6 km of canal reaching 19,093 hectares

of agricultural land. These improvements will benefit over 20,000 households and over

228,000 beneficiaries. In addition, the rehabilitation projects provide 1,200 local jobs.

DATA  SHARING  AND  PROCESSING    The final aspect of KFZ is Shamal, a central IT system that captures and processes

informational needs to for program staff and donors through the following functional modules:

›❯ Geographic  Information  System    &  Associated  Application  

›❯ Document  Management  ›❯ Project  Management  ›❯ Reporting  Dashboards  ›❯ Data  Management  Engine  ›❯ Field  Data  Collection  and    

Training  Resource  Portal  

These modules will allow for interaction with

varied datasets in a collaborative environment

with USAID, MCN and other donors and partners.

International Relief & Development