Kandahar Food Zone

The purpose of the USAID Kandahar Food Zone Program (KFZ) is to strengthen and diversify legal rural livelihoods in targeted districts by identifying and addressing the root causes and sources of instability that lead to opium poppy cultivation. This will be accomplished through stabilization and alternative livelihood activities that will encourage licit behavior on the part of targeted communities. KFZ is one component of a multi-agency and multi-sectoral effort to address opium poppy cultivation and processing in Kandahar Province. USAID’s KFZ efforts will complement additional efforts by the State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in the areas of counternarcotics public information, governor-led eradication, and drug demand reduction.There are two components to the KFZ program. The first component focuses on local level interventions to be implemented through a mechanism that identifies and addresses the drivers of poppy cultivation in targeted districts. This KFZ component will be achieved through a tailored package of interventions developed in close collaboration with affected communities and under the leadership of the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN). The second component will support capacity building within the Ministry to improve management of its Alternative Livelihood program, including policy development, stability assessment, program design, implementation, management, and monitoring and evaluation. The KFZ program is anticipated to support counter narcotics efforts in areas with high levels of poppy cultivation in Kandahar province. As with other short-term stabilization programs targeting contested areas, KFZ will emphasize both speed and flexibility in program mobilization and implementation to adapt to rapidly changing security environments. To optimize effectiveness, KFZ interventions will be carefully aligned with the poppy production timeline and the governor-led eradication program.