Sada-e Azadi

It is a cold, sunny day at the Agriculture Institute in Farah city. The students have their heads together, calculating mathematical averages.

Instructor Darren Richardson, an agriculture advisor from Farah’s US-led Provincial Reconstruction Team, is teaching the students how to design and set up a piece of ground for irrigation land levelling.

Every eye is riveted on the instructor at the front of the room. “Red numbers indicate dirt needs to be removed from a spot in the field. Black numbers show where some dirt must be added.” Richardon gestures to a chart taped to the blackboard as he talks.

Eighteen-year-old Nazir sits at the front of the class. He soon replaces Richardson at the blackboard, demonstrating his knowledge of the subject matter. “I feel good that we learned more about about our profession. Today I learned how to make the soil level. I didn’t know how to do that before,” Nazir said. He likes the practical aspect of the class, using the survey equipment and the reading rod to find the measurements.

The 27 all-male students in the class come from all over Farah province. Some have even travelled from Herat and Maidan Wardak provinces to attend Grade 13 at the prestigious institute. Most of the students plan to continue their studies at university-level upon graduation. They want to be agriculture engineers and agriculture experts. Abdul Razaq, 19, from Pusht Rod district, wants to join the Afghan National Army. He is not sure how he will combine his love of agriculture with his desire to serve his country, but he intends to find a way. “I will go wherever I am needed,” he said.

At the end of the class, Richardson donated the survey equipment to the school. There is a tripod, a levelling instrument, and a reading rod. There are also scores of pencils donated from friends in the US.

The Agriculture High School in Farah city is one of the country’s oldest and most successful agriculture schools. For more than three decades, agriculture experts have shared their knowledge with the youth of Farah province, and to those travelling from other provinces. This year the school expanded, adding junior college level courses to the curriculum. The Agriculture High School is now the Farah Agriculture, Veterinary Science Institute and High School. There are currently 233 students enrolled at the school in total.