Friday, Januaray 21

Today we continued with project planning for the rest of the year, with emphasis being placed on future training sessions for the farmers and agro-input dealers that are working with the USAID Productive Agriculture Project here in Tajikistan.  In the coming months, the staff will be wearing multiple hats:

• Conducting a voucher program that will provide partial payment for seed, fertilizer and crop protection products for the participating crops.  In order to receive a voucher, the farmers must have participated in the training programs and the field days at one of the project demonstration plots.
• Implementing demonstration plots/feeding trials in three regions of the country (North, Central - near the capital city and the South) for the project supported crops and beef fattening project.
• Conducting training sessions for the farmers and agro-input dealers in the three regions of the country.  Next year, the farmers who participate in these training and field days will be eligible to participate in the voucher program.

At the end of the day, John and I were invited to the home of the staff member of the current project, who I had hired in 2005 for the other IFDC project.  I was surprised to meet his younger brother, who also worked in the office of our previous project, but with the organization that actually had the contract with USAID.  In three months previously, I was only invited to one home here in Tajikistan. So I told John, we were very honored to be invited into a home at this early stage. I know I will have that opportunity again before I leave.  Now for the cultural difference - we saw none of the women in the family - they were in a separate room preparing the food that was brought into the room we were meeting in by our host's son.  As we were leaving, I aske our host to thank his wife for the nice table.  This is the response I received "my woman only has one job - to take care of me, my son and my quests".  Although the meal was very simple, there was plenty of good eating and good fellowship had by all.