Commitment notes for Afghanistan Agriculture Conference and Afghan delegation visits in the Netherlands

The Hague, 23 June 2011

Noted and evaluated by Arash Kargar, MSc

Preamble
On 23 June 2011, the first Afghanistan Agriculture Conference in the Netherlands was initiated by H.E. Mr. E. Turabaz, President of the Netherlands Afghanistan Business Council and Honorary Consul General of Afghanistan in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The conference was organized, by the Netherlands Afghanistan Business Council (NAfBC), Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) and Dutch Private Sector Development Office (PSDO), in close cooperation with the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) and Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA) as well as the Embassy of The Netherlands in Kabul and the Embassy of I.R. of Afghanistan in The Hague.

The purpose of the conference was to initiate tangible and concrete activities for the development of Afghan agriculture sector and evaluate on how to integrate the contribution of the Dutch and Afghan governments in order to achieve the above mentioned purpose. Hence, the conference aimed to attract Dutch and European companies to invest and to do business in Afghanistan.

The conference was reinforced by a preliminary process of matchmaking,

initiated by the

PSDO in Afghanistan. The PSDO works closely with the NAfBC, MAIL, ASIA, ACCI and EPAA. The Afghanistan agriculture conference was enriched with the presence of H.E. Minister Rahimi, H.E. Enayatullah Nabiel Afghanistan Ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Dutch government representatives, an Afghan delegation composite of AISA, ACCI, EPAA and Dutch and Afghan entrepreneurs.

This commitment note has been prepared in order to capture the main results and conclusion of this conference and other meetings with the individual institutes and organizations. Hence, this commitment note will be also used as the basic document to monitor and follow up implementation of these commitments and objectives set by the Afghan and Dutch representatives during this visit.

A:

Agriculture policy and general requests and commitments

1. The Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, H.E. Minister Rahimi mentioned that agriculture has been set as one of the priority sectors in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). H.E. reaffirmed the importance of the sector and pledged to provide in this regard an investor-friendly environment as far as possible. 2. On the other side the Dutch government pointed the Afghan agriculture sector as the main priority for the Netherlands. The Dutch government representatives promised to enhance their activities and expand their programs to support realization of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). 3. H.E. Minister Rahimi emphasized that investment is needed for several 100-hectare agricultural parks and free-zones, provided by the Afghanistan government. The ministry of agriculture has currently multi-million-dollar pledges to build self-contained, agricultural value-chains in the rural districts. 4. H.E. Minister Rahimi requested the Dutch investors and government to transfer the agrotechnology Know How to Afghanistan in the areas of consumer market demand analysis, water management and irrigation and other relevant agro-fields. 5. The Netherlands has extensive experience and knowledge in the agriculture sector and utilizes modern technology. The Dutch government has expressed its willingness to share the knowledge and contribute to the agriculture development of Afghanistan. 6. H.E. the ambassador of Afghanistan, Mr. Nabiel invited the Netherlands government to partake and contribute in the development process of Agriculture, Livestock, Water management and Irrigation sectors in Afghanistan, as it is in line with the ANDS. Apart from this the Ambassador stressed on the continuous cooperation between both countries in technical and educational fields.

7. H.E. Mr. Nabiel expressed his full support and commitment in strengthening of business
relations between Afghanistan and the Netherlands. 8. The Dutch government highly encourages the (Dutch) businesses and entrepreneurs to explore agricultural opportunities provided by Afghanistan and to have mutual cooperation with the Afghan businesses. In this regard the matchmaking facilities and Private Sector Investment (PSI) very much recommended for both parties. 9. H.E Delawari, Minister Advisor to President Karzai and President of Afghanistan Investment Support Agency urged on encouraging at least 5 Dutch companies in the area of agriculture to have Joint Ventures with Afghan businesses. While, the Governments of both the countries would facilitate the process.

B:

Agriculture education and water management

1. H.E. Minister Rahimi expressed his appreciation for the efforts made so far by the Dutch government and Wageningen University towards establishing an International Agriculture Institute in Kabul. H.E. reaffirmed MAIL commitment to allocate 62 Hectare of land for launching the project. 2. Also the Dutch government remained highly committed to the agriculture education and establishing the International Agriculture Institute in Kabul. 3. H.E. Minister Rahimi stressed on the importance of a close link between agriculture and water management, and accentuated for collaboration and information sharing between the Wageningen University and institutions that are engaged in training in the area of water management and irrigation and curriculum development. 4. The Dutch government has already provided Post Graduate and Doctoral Scholarships in the fields of agriculture and water management to the Afghan students and stayed committed to continue providing such opportunities in the future. 5. H.E. Mr. Nabiel emphasized that the Dutch government has so far contributed to the water management and irrigation sectors in Afghanistan by training engineers at the Utrecht Institute and by providing scholarships and other capacity programs. Hence, the H.E emphasized on the need and continuation of such training by the Dutch educational institutions and UNESCO - IHE in the future, including conflict resolution and international laws and principles in relation to the transboundary water. 6. An already UNESCO-IHE drafted water sector capacity development proposal for Afghanistan was discussed with the H.E Minister Rahimi, which received his endorsement. This proposal was already shared with H.E Ambassador Nabiel, Prof. Szllsi-Nagy and Mr. de Schutter of the UNESCO-IHE. The same was forwarded by the Afghanistan Embassy to the relevant Afghan authorities for action.

C:

MoUs signed
1. On 23 of June 2011, a MoU has been signed between Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) and Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA). The MoU clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of the parties. CBI provides export marketing and management support to exporters and with the purpose of increasing exports to the European Union (EU) market. The parties will be in regular contact and hold regular consultations. The decisions and tasks which are defined should be reported in a protocol and have to be approved by each participant. 2. On 23 of June 2011, a MoU has been signed between Dutch Employers Cooperation Program (DECP) and Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). The purpose of this MOU is to strengthen the capacity of the ACCI and cooperate in the areas of; advocacy and lobby and capacity, in-and external communication, provision of services, strengthening of the membership base and association management. Furthermore the parties have to work as effectively and efficiently as possible, to consult each other on a regular basis. 3. On 23 June 2011,a MoU has been signed between Afghan German Trading Company (AGT) a branch of Dawi Group operating in Germany, Red Gold Saffron (based in Kabul) and Avalon.

D:

Matchmaking evaluation
1. Tak Dana has a primary interest in developing a cumin processing and packaging plant. Based on the Match Making visit both Altrimex and Seed processing Holland BV will come up with a first calculation on the price for such a plant in the next week. 2. Nangarhar Dairy Farm wants to establish a dairy farm in Jalalabad. Both Agriprom and Schaap showed interest in being business partner in developing such a dairy farm. 3. Paghman fish farming and the Dutch company Eco fish decided that they will seriously look into the opportunity of setting up a fish farm in Kabul. 4. The Rumi group of companies has serious interest to construct and develop a processional feed mill with the support of the Dutch company Ottevanger based on the meeting they had. 5. Saddat Liquorice roots processing has been very satisfied with the different visit is currently in the process of deciding on the way forward with the Dutch companies met. 6. Sanzar Ayil ltd met different companies and several of them showed interest in setting up a flower company in Afghanistan together with him.

E:

Challenges for the investors

1. The Dutch businesses have shown their concerns regarding the security situation in Afghanistan. This issue is seen as major challenge which prevents the entrepreneurs doing business in Afghanistan. Also other factors such as corruption and weak infrastructure play an important role in this regard. 2. The Afghan delegation recognized the security matters and the concerns made by the Dutch businesses. However the delegation emphasized that the situation is not always the same as presented in the media and the businesses should not only judge the security matters through the media. It is recommended to visit the country and see the reality and progress made so far by the Afghan businesses and government. 3. The Afghan Government delegates pledged on behalf of their organizations to provide possible measures entrepreneurs. in order to ease and open business opportunities for foreign

F:

Lessons learned and opportunities for improvement

1. It is worth to mention that the Dutch and Afghan representatives very much appreciated the conference model used by the organizers. The public and private sector representatives will evaluate this model and seek the opportunities to incorporate in their conference agenda. 2. As a main objective of the conference; at least few number of potential Dutch business matches should have been well identified and explored for Afghan Businesses by NAfBC and EVD International. It is recommended to have sufficient time and focus prior to the conference in order to explore appropriate matches. 3. The Afghan entrepreneurs expressed their concerns in regard of availability of the information about the potential Dutch matchmaking partners. According to them insufficient information was available to study the Dutch businesses before meeting them. The evaluation committee has recommended to disseminate the profiles and background information about the Dutch businesses to the Afghan companies in the early stage of matchmaking. 4. Some of the Afghan entrepreneurs did not meet the Dutch consultants prior meeting the companies. A personal meeting with the consultants could have a positive effect on better understanding of the matchmaking process and the companies they visited. 5. It is recommended by the evaluation committee to involve the consultants in the early stage of matchmaking and even if needed train/inform the Afghan entrepreneurs in the area of Dutch business ethics. 6. The evaluation committee recommended to involve the PSDO in Afghanistan in the selection process of the consultants, because the PSDO has direct contact with the Afghan businesses and could make an adequate match between the consultants and Afghan entrepreneur.

7. The evaluation committee also recommended developing specific criteria for selecting the consultants in the matchmaking process of the Afghan companies. That reason has been given in the complexity of the Afghan context and business ethics.

G:

Action plan
d1-7: H.E Delawari emphasized that as soon as we have realized that Dutch entrepreneurs are intending to invest and do business in the fields of agriculture, and the business matches are explored during the conference, AISA would extend organizing such productive conferences and exhibitions in the future. The working group would be responsible to evaluate the matchmaking process and if needed organize further conferences as mentioned by H.E. Delawari. b6: The water management capacity development proposal has been approved by the Ministry of Foreign affairs and MAIL. It needs to be circulated to the other related ministries. MAIL will be responsible to take further action on the proposal. o The Netherlands Embassy in Kabul will be contacted by Afghan Ministry of Agriculture in order to invite UNESCO-IHE to build and work further on the existing need assessments (related to water management and irrigation). The MAIL will be

responsible to provide these assessments to the UNESCO-IHE. Based on the capacity needs UNESCO-IHE will work further on the mentioned proposal. o The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture will consult with potential donors for the funding of this project proposal approved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MAIL; UNESCO-IHE will assist with finding such donors if required and provide assistance to negotiations with these donor organizations. c1-2: As a result of two MoUs, signed between ACCI and DECP, and EPAA and CBI, a visit of the Dutch counter partners including PUM to Afghanistan has been planned. The visit aims at setting up further steps towards achieving the proposed goals in the signed MoUs. H.E. Mr.Turabaz, NAfBC and PSDO in Afghanistan will take the lead to coordinate and plan this visit.
1

H:

Working group
The Afghan delegation were delighted about the achievements made so far and emphasized the need of such initiatives in the future. Suggestion were made to establish a working group in the Netherlands as well as in Afghanistan to follow up such initiatives and monitor the results mentioned in this document. H.E. Mr. Turabaz, NAfBC and AISA will be responsible for setting such a working group.

Netherlands Senior Experts