Sunday, February 14, 2010

Fighting the War in Afghanistan with Fruit


Joining a growing movement toward resuscitating Afghanistan from the ground up, the Italian Provincial Reconstruction donated 240,000 cherry, almond, apricot and pear trees to Herat Province's department of agriculture.

Italy's gift echoes the sentiments of other groups who are pinning hopes for the Afghan economy's growth on fruit....

Philanthropists such as Britain's James Brett...who launched his drink "Pomegreat" in the U.K. six years ago, (are) hoping fruit will boost Afghan agriculture. Pomegranates are a traditional Afghan fruit. Brett founded the POM354 foundation in 2007 to encourage pomegranate production and export. So far his organization has planted more than 400,0000 trees.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has also been involved with pomegranates, funding sapling nurseries and a factory that produces pomegranate juice grown by 50,000 Afghan farmers.

...read more here.