OSU helps Oklahoma National Guard gear up for Afghanistan mission

The Oklahoma National Guard contacted OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in December 2008, looking for technical assistance to prepare guard members to meet responsibilities related to “nation building.”

“Our primary mission will be to help villagers improve their agricultural skills,” said Col. Mike Chase. “Our agri-business team is composed of three elements: headquarters, agricultural subject-matter experts and a security force. We built our ag team based on the mission analysis and availability of people.”

Chase feels the agricultural team is well-balanced, able to draw upon practical experience and formal education in the animal and plant fields.

“We have a veterinarian, a young woman who has poultry production experience, someone whose family owns and operates a horticultural nursery, and a number of individuals who have a broad general background, including a vocational agriculture teacher and some who are graduate students in agriculture at OSU,” he said.

Agriculture accounts for about 45 percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product and employs about 69 percent of the country’s workforce. However, there is a shortage of food, with 45 percent to 55 percent of children 5 years of age or younger suffering from malnutrition. Only one in every eight acres in Afghanistan can be cultivated.

Col. Mike Chase (middle, gesturing) of the Oklahoma National Guard addresses members of the guard's agricultural team during intensive subject-matter training, while David Henneberry of OSU's International Programs in Agriculture (rear right) looks on. (Photo by Donald Stotts)

A major challenge faced by the U.S. military in helping Afghanistan to fight insurgents is the lack of infrastructure and its effect on improving the quality of life for Afghanistan’s largely agrarian society. That is where the division is able to lend valuable expertise.

“Our state and federally mandated land-grant mission is to help improve the quality of life for individuals and communities across Oklahoma and beyond,” said David Henneberry, the division’s director of International Programs in Agriculture. “Our faculty and staff have extensive experience in doing just that, be it locally, statewide, regionally, nationally or internationally.”

The one-week, all-day, everyday training program began on Sunday, May 31, and concludes on Sunday, June 7. The intensive training includes both in-class presentations and hands-on activities, all taking place at various locations on OSU’s Stillwater campus.

Two Day One sessions were led by Mike Schnelle of the department of horticulture and landscape architecture, the first on greenhouse production of vegetables and ornamentals and the second on integrated crop management techniques. Guard members also learned about forestry management plans and efforts to stop deforestation from Sandra Rodriguez of the division’s International Programs in Agriculture.

Future sessions will range from the basics of low-tech irrigation and grain storage to food-animal management and agri-business practices, to water supply infrastructure development, invasive plant species, and many others.

“Many faculty from across the division are involved in this week’s training effort, and are enthusiastic about doing what they can to help the Oklahoma National Guard succeed in their very important mission,” Henneberry said. “We even have Greg Hannaford, a beekeeper from Tulsa, coming in to do a workshop.”

Chase had nothing but praise for OSU, citing the division’s willingness to share expertise, not only in terms of the latest agricultural practices and procedures, but also about what it takes to enact meaningful change in other countries.

“One of the more informative parts of today’s presentations was how to be aware of the role local cultures play in teaching agricultural practices in a foreign country,” he said. “In the province to which we are going, we’ll be making sure to find out and incorporate what the local population feels is important to their success.”

On Monday, the guard members will delve into the operational practices of successful farmer’s markets, small-flock poultry practices, learn the basics of proper grain storage, gain an increased awareness about diseases that affect wheat production and receive practical examples of induced innovation as an economic development tool. They will also interact with members of the National Institute for Microbial Forensics and Food and Agricultural Biosecurity, headquartered at OSU and administered by division faculty.

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REPORTER/MEDIA CONTACT:
Donald Stotts
Communications Specialist
Agricultural Communications Services
143 Agriculture North
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078-0001
Phone: 405-744-4079
Fax: 405-744-5739
E-Mail: donald.stotts@okstate.edu

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