December 8, 2011

Video: Afghanistan Pomegranate Farmers Connect to Juice Factory for Higher Incomes

Video of a joint effort of USAID, USDA and the Department of State to work with pomegranate farmers in Afghanistan to promote market linkages with smallholders, increase farmers’ incomes and strengthen the private sector.

Omaid Bahar, Ltd., Afghanistan’s first and only juice-concentrate factory, received key financial support from the Afghan Rural Finance Company (ARFC). ARFC is an Afghan-managed, nonbank financial company that serves small and medium-sized Afghan-owned enterprises to help expand private sector-led economic growth in the country.

Previously, pomegranates were sent to Pakistan to be turned into juice, which was returned to Afghanistan for internal consumption. Through ARFC, Omaid Bahar secured $4.3 million in long-term loan financing to construct its state-of-the-art fruit-processing, juice production and packaging facility. ARFC loan funds were used for the acquisition of the plant’s site, renovation of the buildings, and the purchase and installation of modern equipment.

Today, the factory purchases pomegranates, apples and other fruit grown by farmers in Afghanistan and produces ready-to-consume packaged juice drinks for domestic and international markets.

ARFC was founded by ACDI/VOCA in March 2007 as a nonbank financial institution registered as a limited liability company under the USAID-funded Agriculture, Rural Investment and Enterprise Strengthening Program (ARIES). In December 2009, ARFC became a standalone company with over $17 million in capital.