A few days ago I attended a lecture given by a senior USAID official (I missed the name). It was mostly a “here’s what my organization does” speech, but the guy had some real pearls. I was glad I went, and humbled by my ignorance of my role here. From my notes:
Don’t ever give away free stuff. Providing free seed to farmers puts a seed salesman out of business and creates an insurgent.
Don’t ever invest in state-owned industry. A government at this level of maturity has no desire to privatize industries that have any value to them.
Don’t ever donate unmaintainable infrastructure. What’s the point of that new forty-classroom school if they can’t keep the electricity on?
Don’t ever open new wells to unknown waters. Water is a scarce resource, so Afghans always ask us for new wells. Without proper hydrology surveys, though, you can end up pumping too-salty or arsenic-laced water, sterilizing acres of fields or thousands of people, respectively.
Afghan cashmere, saffron, grapes/raisins, and especially pomegranates are among the best in the world.
Any aid project that does not create jobs or sales is a waste of time. Be careful though: Sales without jobs is exploitation. Jobs without sales is communism.
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