ICARDA
Boosts Seed Cleaning Facilities in Afghanistan
Within the framework of the Future Harvest Consortium
to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan, ICARDA supplied
53 tons of foundation seed from its Tel Hadya research
station, Syria.
Quality seed is essential for restarting agriculture,
creating the foundations for economic growth and peace.
Seventy-five genotypes of bread and durum wheat, barley,
lentil, chickpea and forage legumes—all tested for
their adaptation to specific growing conditions in Afghanistan—will
be sown during the 2002/2003 cropping season. In preparation
for harvest of the seed in 2003, ICARDA has provided six
small-scale seed-cleaning units. The units were designed
by ICARDA and manufactured by Darbas Company based in
Kamishly, Syria.
“These units, with a capacity of processing 300 kilograms
of seeds per hour, are ideal for cleaning and treating
seeds from small production plots,” says Adel El-Beltagy,
Director General, ICARDA. “They are easily towed
by a tractor, allowing us to cover larger areas and thereby
increase the effectiveness of the overall effort.”
The units have been checked, tested and demonstrated to
users in Afghanistan. Five more mobile seed cleaning units
with similar specifications, but higher capacity (1 t/hr)
are under construction and will be sent to Afghanistan
soon. The Consortium is supported by the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID).
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