PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class John Ruden cautiously descends the stairs of a cool storage facility as members of his security team provide over watch, Aug. 13, 2012.

In the cool darkness of the underground structure, which resembles a basement, he ensures that the temperature is sufficient and the space is clean and well-kept.

Ruden, a food security specialist with Nebraska Agribusiness Development Team 3, the Agricultural Section for the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team, and U.S. Army Sgt. Rachel Ramsey, a forestry specialist, also a member of ADT 3, are here to conduct a quality assurance/quality control mission to assess the effectiveness of the cool storage and meet with the agricultural extension agent as well as the Ahmad Abad District governor.

Cool storage is not a new concept in Afghanistan. Before the Russians and the Taliban came into the picture, Afghan farmers stored their produce in facilities similar to this structure.

“Prior to the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was above and beyond what it is now,” Ruden said. “All those fathers who died in combat, their knowledge died with them. The Taliban took them back even further by taking away their roads, education and most of their infrastructure.”

The knowledge lost is significant because most of the Afghan population is still illiterate. Information is passed down by word of mouth and not much is written down. Most information comes from the Mullah, or village leader. Even though he may not know the correct answer to a question, he may just make up an answer that is wrong, said Ramsey.

“It’s a pride thing, they don’t want to say, ‘I don’t know,’” she added.

This particular cool storage facility and others like it were built by agribusiness development teams in the past, using U.S. dollars to keep crops fresh after they were harvested. Construction of this structure was completed, March 8, 2012.

This structure and many like it across Afghanistan are allowing the local population to preserve their food, which is helping to provide them better nutrition throughout the year. This is critical because historically Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate under the age of five and highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Much of this can be attributed to malnutrition.

The need to preserve produce stems from the survival mode mindset that many Afghans adopt, said Ramsey. They have plenty of food, but they have no way to preserve it. Instead of feeding their children, they sell their harvest for next to nothing.

The concept of cool storage is simple. A hole is dug into the ground and walls are constructed of stone masonry. The roof is a combination of plastic sheeting and dirt. There are two chimneys, similar to a stovepipe on a wood stove, that release hot air through the roof. Baffles on top of the chimneys regulate airflow. The end product is a cross between a root cellar and a cooler that requires no electricity to operate. This idea goes hand-in-hand with the theme of rebuilding Afghanistan to the point where they can take the reigns once coalition forces leave. The produce is stored in plastic bins that are then stacked on each other to utilize the space inside.

The list of storable items is comprehensive including apples, potatoes, spinach, pears, onions, tomatoes and even apricots.

Ruden had some concerns with the structure when he first came out to this facility.

“We identified some minor issues, like the cleanliness of the space to keep the produce from getting contaminated,” said Ruden. “Also the baffles were not regulating the temperature properly.”

Despite these problems, ADT 3 considers this cool storage facility a success. This is due primarily to the fact that only one tribe uses it, Ruden said. Other cool storages have failed in the past, because multiple tribes used them simultaneously leading to conflict including theft of product.

“In America, we’re all individuals but here it’s reversed. Here society revolves around the tribe,” he added.

The success of the cool storage is one of the many signs that the district of Ahmad Abad is doing well, but they still have a long way to go.

“Their leadership goes above and beyond to identify the problems within their community and solve those problems internally,” said Ruden.

The reconstruction of Ahmad Abad has been successful because they have an irrigation system and their leadership does its job, he said.

After conducting the QA/QC on the cool storage, Ruden and Ramsey participated in a key leader engagement with the district’s officials including the district governor and the police chief. This is what the Afghans call a shura or a gathering of established leaders within the tribe.

“If your neighbor is grazing his cattle on your crops, you go to the shura and they will hear both sides and make a decision,” Ramsey said. “Traditionally, everyone respects that verdict.”

The main topic of the KLE was transition. With the pending withdrawal of coalition forces in 2014, ADT 3 wanted to discuss what the leadership was doing to prepare for the continued growth and sustainment of their infrastructure.

This assumption of responsibility in the agricultural sector falls on the shoulders of Khial Mohammad, the agricultural extension agent for Ahmad Abad. His primary role is to educate Afghans on farming and supervise them as they implement the techniques.

“We need to start backing off and letting the AEA identify the agricultural needs of his people,” said Ruden.

Ihsanul Haq Akbars, the district governor, told the AEA during the meeting that it was the responsibility of the AEA to take control and start supervising his people and making sure they were doing their job.

“That was refreshing to hear the district governor stepping up and taking a leadership role and saying, ‘you know what, that’s what you should be doing,’” Ramsey said.

With respect to future projects and agricultural developments, the future looks promising.

“The apple orchards outside the compound where the meeting took place looked really good,” said Ramsey. “And the garden they planted looks better than the demonstration farm we built to show them how it’s done.”

“They want their projects done, but with their input on how it’s done, which is great,” Ruden said.

“I think they legitimately want to do right by their community,” Ramsey added.

ADT 3 will be handing off their projects to the next PRT in March 2013, but there is much to be done in the meantime.

“I think there is progress, but it’s slow progress,” said Ruden. “My fear is that when we leave, the terrorist and criminal groups will take back over. These people have to be strong and say, ‘these are bad guys and I don’t want them here anymore.’”

Even with this ever-present threat, the cool storage facility and the plethora of other projects ADT 3 is supervising will allow the people of Paktya province to sustain themselves without the help of outside forces.

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