Waste Less To Feed More

Posted by Robert D. Hormats / February 15, 2013

In this photo taken Tuesday, May 1, 2012, Indian farmers and migrant laborers harvest wheat crop on the outskirts of Amritsar, India. [AP File Photo]

I recently spoke at the 13th annual Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi, India. My remarks focused largely on the importance of creating a good environment for investment in the agricultural sector. I emphasized the particular need to improve food supply chains that connect farmers to markets. Significant additional improvements in food supply chain infrastructure are needed to reduce post-harvest food losses, which are disturbingly high in many parts of the world.

Some important progress already has been made. The Government of India recently took steps to open India's multi-brand retail sector to encourage foreign direct investment. This investment is critical for India's overall economic growth prospects as well as the development of India's food storage and distribution industry. As Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explained, an organized and efficient… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

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Afghan Music Students Begin U.S. Tour

Posted by James B. Cunningham / February 05, 2013

Musicians with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music perform during the organization's winter gala in Kabul, Afghanistan, February 1, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Winter Academy Gala Concert of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). Students ranging in age from 10 to 20 played Chopin and Ravel, as well as Afghan traditional songs and collaborative fusion pieces.

In a historic tour that began February 3, 2013, ANIM students are traveling in the United States to perform at venues ranging from the world-famous Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center to the headquarters of the World Bank and Fordham High School for the Arts. Even more… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

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Support for Entrepreneurship and Women’s Empowerment Among U.S. Priorities in South and Central Asia

Posted by Robert O. Blake / January 13, 2013

Afghan women gather during the opening ceremony of the Sahar Gul net cafe, the first internet cafe for women, opened in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 8, 2012. [AP File Photo]

Rabia Mariam is a businesswoman who employs an all-women workforce to manufacture scarves and rugs from silk, cotton-silk blend, and wool in Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan. Working with the USAID IDEA-NEW program, she employs nearly 1,000 women -- many of them widows. Many of these Afghan women raise silkworms at home and boil cocoons, and go to weaving centers to weave the scarves and other handicrafts. Rabia's work is bringing economic opportunity and hope to Afghan women.

I had the privilege of meeting Rabia and learning about her work at the South Asia Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium, which was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh last month. The event exemplifies several of our bureau's highest priorities… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

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Fulbright Alum Helps Islamabad Street Kids Find a Better Future

Posted by Jennifer McAndrew / January 02, 2013

LettuceBee kids meet with Shelby Means of bluegrass band Della Mae in Islamabad, Pakistan, November 2012. [Photograph by Robert Raines, U.S. Embassy Islamabad/ Public Domain]

Jawaid is a four-year-old trash picker. He wants to be a tree when he grows up.

At least, that's what he tells his teacher during an art class sponsored by the LettuceBee Kids project in Islamabad, Pakistan.

"But you are not a tree," the teacher tells him. "If you don't like where you are, you can move."

That's the idea behind the LettuceBee initiative, which helps street kids like Jawaid move beyond a life of begging and trash picking, and re-integrate back into society through art, music, and mentorship.

The brainchild of Sarah Adeel, a Fulbright alumna and graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), the idea for LettuceBee Kids came about when she was in Pakistan in 2008 conducting research for her master's thesis on child welfare in South Asia.

"I was doing a comparative analysis between orphanages and foster-care… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

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