COIMBATORE: The Afghan nationals who are on deputation from the department of agriculture are at TNAU to pursue their post-graduation. They are mostly in their 30's and hail from a country with a history of volatile political and social conditions. They are pleased with the hospitality of the city and the quality education it has to offer.
The Afghan students go back home to visit their families once every year. They decided to pursue their education in the city after some agricultural officials had attended training programmes at the varsity. "I was in Coimbatore a few years ago to attend a training programme. Impressed with the city and the education it has to offer, I decided to pursue my masters degree here," says 44-year-old Mohammad Isheq who works with the department of pathology at Kabul and is pursuing his final year MSc in Agronomy at TNAU.
Back home, it is difficult for them to visit farmers at their fields. Wahid Ullah Izy, a 34-year-old man who works in the department of plant pathology at Kandahar Province says that they usually train the farmers who visit their centres, rather than have the officials visit their homes.
"We see a great number of farmers who are trained in the scientific and modern concepts of farming in India. Technology has reached the masses. We would like to do the same back home," he said. There is a substantial number of people who depend on farming in Afghanistan and training them to use modern technologies is a challenge, he added.
Agricultural products such as green grams, dry fruits, apples, and even onions are exported from Afghanistan to many countries including India. Students are learning how to cultivate sugarcane and maize.
These students say that they are happy with the experience. "Initially, food was a problem. Now, we bake our own bread and make chappatis which are thicker than what is made here," said Abdul Bari, a 40-year-old who is a second year student of MSc Plant Pathology. The other students include Abdullah Mutmaien, a first year MSc Agricultural Economics student, Emal Wafa, pursuing his MSc first year in horticulture and Syed Ahmed Shah who is in his second year MSc Entomology.
The Afghan students go back home to visit their families once every year. They decided to pursue their education in the city after some agricultural officials had attended training programmes at the varsity. "I was in Coimbatore a few years ago to attend a training programme. Impressed with the city and the education it has to offer, I decided to pursue my masters degree here," says 44-year-old Mohammad Isheq who works with the department of pathology at Kabul and is pursuing his final year MSc in Agronomy at TNAU.
Back home, it is difficult for them to visit farmers at their fields. Wahid Ullah Izy, a 34-year-old man who works in the department of plant pathology at Kandahar Province says that they usually train the farmers who visit their centres, rather than have the officials visit their homes.
"We see a great number of farmers who are trained in the scientific and modern concepts of farming in India. Technology has reached the masses. We would like to do the same back home," he said. There is a substantial number of people who depend on farming in Afghanistan and training them to use modern technologies is a challenge, he added.
Agricultural products such as green grams, dry fruits, apples, and even onions are exported from Afghanistan to many countries including India. Students are learning how to cultivate sugarcane and maize.
These students say that they are happy with the experience. "Initially, food was a problem. Now, we bake our own bread and make chappatis which are thicker than what is made here," said Abdul Bari, a 40-year-old who is a second year student of MSc Plant Pathology. The other students include Abdullah Mutmaien, a first year MSc Agricultural Economics student, Emal Wafa, pursuing his MSc first year in horticulture and Syed Ahmed Shah who is in his second year MSc Entomology.
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