(MENAFN- Wadsam) The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) are set to conduct workshops across seven regions in Afghanistan. The workshops focus on orienting central and provincial governmental authorities on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and performing analyses in the field.
'We must consider the needs and wants of the Afghan farmers as they are crucially important for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),' said Haji Agha Lali Dastgir, the Deputy Governor of Kandahar province on 7 April 2018 in Kandahar.
In his speech to the workshop participants, Dastgir said that any support to the agriculture sector in Afghanistan would help with creating more employment opportunities and the majority of Afghans rely on agriculture directly or indirectly.
The workshop was conducted in Kandahar province from 7-8 April 2018 and attended by provincial officials from Kandahar, Uruzgan, Helmand and Zabul provinces.
AREU Director, Dr. Orzala Nemat said, 'The implementation of SDGs requires the active participation of Afghans at all levels. Whether it's the government, the UN, academia, civil society members, or the private sector, we all have an important role to play in Afghanistan's development efforts. These workshops are a valuable way to ensure that not only stakeholders in Kabul are involved, but all throughout Afghanistan.'
The overall objective of these workshops is to build capacity surrounding SDG indicators and identify development gaps. The project will also carry out mapping exercises on roles, responsibilities, and obligations of various Afghan stakeholders, as well as identify how their contributions can be measured based on the relevant SDG indicators, which are primarily related to agriculture and food security.
In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) and other ministries, FAO and AREU are working to pave the way to implement the SDGs in rural communities through policy advocacy, awareness raising, and data monitoring and generation.
The first workshop was conducted on 27th of March in Herat. Similar workshops will also be held in other Afghan provinces in the future.
AREU is an independent research institute based in Kabul that was established in 2002 by the assistance of the international community in Afghanistan. AREU achieves its mission by engaging with policy makers, civil society, researchers and academics to promote their use of AREU's research-based publications and its library, strengthening their research capacity and creating opportunities for analysis, reflection and debate.
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