Following is the text of the USDA background report:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agriculture Service
January 29, 2002

BACKGROUNDER

USDA Contributes to Relief and Reconstruction in Afghanistan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will donate $45 million in food and funding to support relief and recovery efforts in Afghanistan in fiscal 2002. This donation is part of the recently announced first-year U.S. commitment to assist in rebuilding Afghanistan.

The USDA donation will support a variety of projects, including food for education, road and bridge building, agricultural recovery, health and nutrition programs, construction of schools and hospitals, wheat milling and bread baking. Many of the projects will focus on expanding employment opportunities, especially for women, and increasing access to basic education.

As schools reopen, women will be reemployed as teachers, and meals will be provided to both students and teachers. Agricultural projects include the repair of irrigation systems, reforestation and anti-erosion works, and alternatives for poppy growers.

The food commodities will be provided under USDA's Section 416(b) donation program. The projects will be conducted by the UN World Food Program and private voluntary organizations that understand the situation in Afghanistan.

The relief and recovery effort is part of the continuing U.S. commitment to the Afghan people. On Jan. 21, 2002, at the International Conference for Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, the United States pledged $297 million as the initial U.S. contribution in an international, multi-year, multi-billion-dollar effort to assist in rebuilding Afghanistan.

This pledge, which includes the USDA donation, is in addition to previously announced U.S. humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan:

Between FY 1999 and 2001, the United States provided more than 570,000 metric tons of food assistance to the Afghan people, most of it wheat, in addition to other humanitarian assistance. Over 80 percent of the total commodity tonnage was provided under USDA donation programs. The new donation will bring the total value of USDA donations to Afghanistan since FY 1999 to nearly $220 million. U.S. food aid has helped avert widespread famine in a country where millions of people suffer from three years of severe drought and large-scale dislocations.

In assisting Afghanistan, USDA works closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of State and other agencies.

More info about foreign assistance programs operated by USDA is available at http://www.fas.usda.gov/