Afghan project produces food, empowers women - Interview with Ann Gordon

As published online in the Portico, University of Guelph

Ann GordonAnn Gordon, M.Sc. ’07, leads a project for the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) that is designed to help women in Afghanistan provide food for their families and generate extra income from the production of horticultural goods. Self-sufficiency and self-reliance for these women also helps their communities in the region north of Kabul.

In partnership with the Afghan Women’s Business Council (AWBC), MEDA mobilizes communities and links women into the horticultural value chain through innovative models, training techniques, improved market access and support for kitchen-garden crops. Approaches such as women’s extension services, women-to-women sales agents and farmer field schools are key elements in the project.

Gordon looks for opportunities for the women and their families to increase their farming incomes. By using simple farming techniques, such as applying fertilizers and using cold storage, Afghan women are increasing the yields of six targeted crops: potatoes, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and grapes. Currently, more than 2,300 women in 18 communities are learning valuable skills and making money to improve not only their lives, but the lives of people around them.

In addition, Gordon helps the women connect with private-sector partners, obtain micro-financing and develop markets. The project is fostering economic empowerment for women in Afghanistan. It is estimated that more than 15,000 people will eventually benefit from this MEDA program, which also teaches women how to read and write. Around 95 per cent of Afghan women are illiterate.

Gordon, who worked previously for Ontario’s Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program, was hired as a senior project manager with MEDA after completing her Guelph master’s in rural extension studies. As a U of G student, she received two scholarships funded by the OAC Alumni Foundation, as well as the Nuffield Canada Farming Scholarship.
Working in Afghanistan, a war-torn Muslim country where women are traditionally homebound and marginalized, has forced Gordon to adjust her way of thinking. Besides dressing according to local customs, she says MEDA staff must be cautious and diplomatic in the way they approach male community leaders in regions where the projects operate. They must balance gaining the confidence of the women they hope to empower with teaching them new entrepreneurial skills. MEDA staff also face daily security threats in the form of roadside bombs and suicide attacks by the Taliban.

Gordon admits the project is a challenge. When asked if she is afraid when she travels within Afghanistan, she responds: “One must always be cautious and trust the locals to help avoid situations of danger. In each village, there is a support structure that helps to provide security for the project leaders.”

Although the project is slated to end in 2011, Gordon is enthusiastic about its outcomes. “While the program aims to improve economic conditions, it is also raising the standard of living and self-respect for Afghan women. It is a success already, and we are optimistic that it will be extended and eventually will become self-sustaining, run entirely by the women.”

Gordon acknowledges there have been some failures along with the successes, but says the overall project is being recognized by the donor community and Afghanistan’s agriculture ministry as being the kind of ground-breaking project the country needs to help it proceed into the 21st century.

Story by Richard Buck, ADA ’76