Kabul, Afghanistan – March 17, 2010 – The crumbling earthen walls of many of the abandoned houses on the Shomali Plain carry the spray paint tags of demining crews. This region, just north of Kabul, was historically one of the agricultural centers of Afghanistan; intense fighting over the past decades has changed it into a depopulated and dangerous area. Today, many of the people who fled have returned. However, after living for years as refugees in Pakistan, they have come home impoverished.

“The people could not support themselves. Many farmers left their arable land fallow because they didn’t have enough money to buy seed,” recalls Akhunzada, a farmer from the area.

Akhunzada, 62, is typical of the people inhabiting this wide, fertile valley between jutting, snow-blanketed mountains. His family has lived here for over 300 years. Throughout the war against the Soviets, he continued to live on the plain, but during Taliban rule, he and his entire family fled to Pakistan. The Talibs destroyed their villages, orchards and fields in their native Qarabagh, or translated literally, Black Garden.

Finally, after long years away, he returned to his five acres of land in Qarabagh. As the head of the household, seven family members depend on him to make a living from that land. Today, the Black Garden has changed to green.

A first time participant in USAID’s Afghanistan Vouchers for Increased Production in Agriculture (AVIPA) Plus, Akhunzada heard about the program this year through his village representative and decided to participate. “God willing, I will have a greater harvest with this wheat seed than with the local variety,” he says. “Before, we had nothing. We only had the local type of wheat seed, and some people didn’t even have that. Then AVIPA gave us high quality wheat seed and fertilizer, and it will help make life better. We’ll keep the best seed for next year’s planting and plant even more wheat.”

“We believe God will help us, but we also need the help of the Afghan government and support from programs like AVIPA Plus,” says Akhunzada with a wise smile.