Zindejan, Herat Province — 18 June 2025 —The Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) Herat Programme Coordination Office have completed an intensive field school that is already transforming the harvest outlook for western Afghanistan. Over four days, from 15 to 18 June, 150 smallholder wheat farmers gathered in Zindejan which also stuck by the earthquake in October 2023 to master modern machinery and learn best-practice techniques that keep every precious kernel in the food chain and every high-quality seed ready for the seasons ahead.
This latest training builds on last year’s project, “Advancing Wheat Cultivation for Sustainable Development in West Afghanistan,” which supplied improved seed and fertiliser to 300 growers and introduced a suite of reapers, tractor-mounted harvesters, threshers and grain-cleaning units. Associate Professor Dr Ramin Nazarian and an instructor team combined clear classroom guidance with tailored field demonstrations, ensuring that farmers could operate, maintain and fine-tune equipment in local soil and climate conditions. The course also devoted special sessions to seed-saving science—showing participants how to identify the top ten per cent of grain, sun-cure it to optimal moisture and store it securely for the next planting season.
The impact is already measurable. Farmers who once threshed by hand now report yields of 450–500 kilograms per jareb (approximately 0.2 hectares), a leap of about 30 per cent over last year’s pre-training averages. Local farmer Muhammed Aminullah spoke for many when he said, “I never imagined a machine could finish in three hours what used to take us three days. The time we saved went straight into preparing extra land, and my late brother’s children will now reap a harvest we once thought impossible. May Allah reward everyone who made this possible.”
IOFS Humanitarian Affairs Officer Emre Yüksek placed the achievement in a wider context, noting that “what we witness today in Herat—and increasingly in provinces such as Logar—proves that sustained, well-coordinated partnership delivers real results on the ground. Together we are feeding communities today while laying the foundations for a climate-resilient, self-reliant agricultural sector.”
The workshop is a flagship activity of the Afghanistan Food Security Programme (AFSP), launched by IOFS after the 17th Extraordinary OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad in December 2021. By pairing life-saving food assistance with life-changing livelihood projects, AFSP channels the solidarity of the 57 Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation into practical action. Reducing post-harvest losses—which can otherwise exceed 15–20 per cent—and promoting on-farm seed saving directly advance the OIC-wide food-security agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Looking ahead, IOFS will deepen cooperation with TİKA and a growing network of international and local partners to scale up climate-smart agriculture, research exchange and farmer-led training. Follow-up activiites planned for October 2025, and other value chains for alternative livelihoods for poppy cultivation and other cash crops for consideration early next year. Today’s success in Zindejan is a vivid reminder that practical solidarity—translated into concrete field-level action—remains the strongest asset in building resilient, sustainable food systems for every citizen of the OIC.
