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HomeNewsTask Force Currahee, Afghan official discuss Paktika watershed program

Task Force Currahee, Afghan official discuss Paktika watershed program

Written by By U.S. Army Spc. Kimberly K. Menzies
Task Force Currahee Public Affairs

The CurraheesFort Campbell KY, 101st Airborne DivisionPaktika Province, Afghanistan – Staff members from Task Force Currahee received their first visit from Hami Dullha, Paktika Province’s director of the Department Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, April 9th at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

Task Force Currahee leaders and Hami Dullha discussed specifics of the provincial watershed program, Operation AGRI-MAX.

Hami Dullha, the Paktika Province’s director of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, discusses progress of the province’s watershed program with U.S. Army Maj. Stephen L. Battle, the civil affairs officer from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during his visit April 9th at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. (Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Kimberly K. Menzies, Task Force Currahee Public Affairs)
Hami Dullha, the Paktika Province’s director of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, discusses progress of the province’s watershed program with U.S. Army Maj. Stephen L. Battle, the civil affairs officer from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during his visit April 9th at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. (Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Kimberly K. Menzies, Task Force Currahee Public Affairs)

Though officially launched in January, this was the first time that Hami Dullha visited FOB Sharana and discussed the program with TF Currahee leadership.

“This meeting was very beneficial,” said Hami Dullha. “It was an excellent opportunity to be able to discuss the information about this program.

“We talked about check-dams,” he said. “These will be very beneficial for the agriculture in the area because it will provide better working water and keep the water from running away and taking the dirt.”

“Not only is this program beneficial to the local agriculture, it has many secondary benefits,” said U.S. Army Maj. Stephen L. Battle, the civil affairs officer from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and native of Rochester, NY.

All the individuals employed on the projects are locals, working as part of a work-for-cash incentive, said Battle. The program not only benefits the agriculture but also the local economy, he said.

Afghans prepare a river bed for check-dams as part of the provincial watershed restoration program in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Hami Dullha, Paktika Province’s director of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, discussed the purpose and plans for this program with Task Force Currahee staff members during his first visit to Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, April 9th. (Courtesy Photo)
Afghans prepare a river bed for check-dams as part of the provincial watershed restoration program in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Hami Dullha, Paktika Province’s director of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, discussed the purpose and plans for this program with Task Force Currahee staff members during his first visit to Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, April 9th. (Courtesy Photo)

The program has been underway at six different sites in several districts but this meeting will help move the program from district-level to provincial- level, said Battle. Following more meetings like this, the director of agriculture and those who work with him will have a fuller understanding of the program and be able to run the program completely on their own in the future.

Hami Dullha said his presence at the meeting left him more informed and better prepared to explain to the people of Paktika what the future will hold.

“When the people ask me questions about the program, I now can tell them what exactly is going on in our districts and what is planned,” said Hami Dullha.

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