[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 587

[Garry & Anne Krischock]

1190: Soybeans changing Herat 
Posted by: "Sunil K Zachariah" sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk   sunilkzach 
Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:57 am (PST) 
Soybeans changing Herat 

By Vukoni Lupa-Lasaga
Rotary International News 

The one-year-old Rotary Club of Herat in southwestern Afghanistan 
hit the ground running with an agricultural project that has the 
immediate potential of benefiting tens of thousands and eventually 
transforming the local economy. 

Sadiq Tawfiq, the club's immediate past president, is the driving 
force behind the effort aimed at reducing malnutrition among women 
and children and helping the country's farmers become more 
competitive in the international market. 

Donating his own money and time to start the initiative, Tawfiq has 
enlisted the support of the agriculture ministry and U.S.-based 
nonprofit organization Nutrition and Education International (NEI) 
in a bid to introduce soybeans as a new food and cash crop. 

The lead agency in a major effort to reduce the alarming rates of 
malnutrition-related maternal and infant deaths in Afghanistan, NEI 
currently contributes the bulk of funding and technical support for 
the Rotary project. 

In April, nutrition scientists and soybean experts from NEI and the 
University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University in the 
United States provided training to 80 farmers and government 
agronomists at a Rotary-club cosponsored workshop. The club provided 
a cash allowance, awarded certificates of attendance, and 
distributed soybean seeds from a 15-ton consignment procured from 
neighboring Pakistan to the farmers who attended the training. 

"The training is essential since soybeans are a new crop in 
Afghanistan and this is the first time many farmers are seeing 
soybeans," says Tawfiq, who lived in the United States for 26 years 
before returning home to help rebuild the country. 

The club also has a plan, now in an advanced stage, to establish 
soybean processing plants in Herat. In addition to creating a market 
for the farmers participating in the club's project, the factories 
will produce soy flour and soy milk that will help reduce 
malnutrition. 

"Soybeans are good for much more than just milk," says Tawfiq. "They 
are much like peanuts in their versatility. They can be used to 
synthesize over 70 different products. We hope Afghan businessmen 
will see the profit potential and help fund the enterprise."

Once the soybean project is in full gear, the club will consider 
extending its benefits to provide alternative sources of revenue to 
farmers in the poppy-growing regions of Afghanistan. 

Tawfiq trained as an educator, and not surprisingly, during his term 
as charter president, the Herat Rotary club started off with 
sponsoring a project that provides vocational training to 200 young 
men and women. Behind the effort lies a bigger vision: establishing 
an institute where students will learn about the best of Afghan 
civilization and Western technology. 

"My biggest dream is coming true,"he notes. "When I thought of 
returning to Afghanistan, I decided that the best thing to take back 
to my country is the gift of Rotary. It is the perfect gift that 
keeps on giving."

Howard Chang, of RI Media Relations, contributed to this report.

Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://rotary9640.org/pipermail/d9640general_rotary9640.org/attachments/20060723/d10c12fe/attachment.htm