WASHINGTON, May 30, 2006-Agriculture Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner today praised the efforts of several USDA agencies and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for their work to provide food safety training to Afghanistan's dried fruit and nut industries.

"Afghanistan's horticulture sector has the potential to drive rural income growth," said Conner. "To see this potential come to fruition, Afghanistan needs effective regulations that meet international food safety standards. The food safety workshops we are conducting will give the Afghan dried fruit and nut industry the knowledge it needs to meet other countries' import requirements so they can participate in foreign exchange."

With financial support from USAID, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service worked in conjunction with the food science department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo recently to conduct a workshop in Kabul, Afghanistan, for Ministry of Agriculture officials. The workshop provided an overview of sanitary and phytosanitary policies, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Marketing Service helped to design the workshop. More workshops are planned in the future. These workshops are part of a larger collaborative effort between USDA and USAID to assist in the development of Afghanistan's agricultural sector.

For more information about this training, contact Philippe Chabot with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service at tel.: 202-690-2209, or e-mail philippe.chabot@fas.usda.gov