After Afghan, Pakistani farmers to get help

Heidi Kühn, head of the Roots of Peace organisation which helped remove landmines and enhance agriculture in Afghanistan, is now looking to help people across the Durand Line in Pakistan.

She said this during a virtual launch of her book, Breaking Ground. The book was launched in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT).

PILDAT President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said that the book narrates the fascinating story of the creation, struggle and success of Kühn’s organization over three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa - to remove landmines and rehabilitate the demined land.

The positive results allowed local farmers to plant vines, fruit trees and cash crops, and connected local farmers to international markets, he said.

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Her most successful work was in the Shomali Plains north of Kabul where she partnered with UNDP and the University of California to help locals grow fresh grapes and produce raisins on land which previously used to be a minefield. With funding from USAID. Roots of Peace restored the agricultural land in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan and helped boost the yield of fruits such as grapes, pomegranate, nuts, figs, apricots, and apples.

Ambassador Mohammed Sadiq, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that the timing of the book launch is very interesting given it is so close to the inaugural session of the Intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, Qatar.

“We are hopeful that at this inaugural session of Intra-Afghan negotiations, people of Afghanistan and their stakeholders will be able to decide on an agenda for future talks,” Sadiq hoped.

He added that while serving in Afghanistan, he had personally seen the impacts of Kühn’s work.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2020.