Abstract

Traditional military pre-deployment training for the Zabul Agribusiness Development Team was supplemented with externally-led training specific to their assigned agriculture mission. A training plan was developed using Experiential Learning Theory. The Team fostered partnerships within academia, with an Amish community and with both a small technology firm and the nation’s largest agricultural cooperative to provide this training. Academic training at North Dakota State University included lessons on and hands-on experience with livestock, plants and the associated production considerations such as plant pathology, use of chemicals, soils, and bee-keeping. Faculty offering training focused on the environment and agriculture common to Zabul, the province to which the team would deploy. This training was supplemented by regional partners. Viticulture and tree crops, both common in Zabul Province, were covered in training offered by the Agricultural Development for Afghanistan Pre-Deployment Training Program in California where the soil and climate are similar to those found in Southeastern Afghanistan. To help the team adapt to differences in technology, lessons were sourced from an Amish Community and Adaptive Technologies, Inc. Cooperatives training was offered by CHS, Inc.