Learning & Leadership › Women’s Academy › Entrepreneurship & Business › Agribusiness & Food Processing › Course Materials
Agriculture is a large part of the country’s economy, and products such as saffron, dried fruit, pine nuts and dairy have global value. This course covers the value chain, hygienic processing and storage, quality standards, packaging and access to markets.
Course page on the learning platform
Course details
| Level | Intermediate |
| Estimated duration | 12 hours of study and practice |
| Prerequisite | Preferably “From Idea to Business” |
| Language of instruction | Farsi-e-Dari (with key terms in English) |
| Fee | Free |
| Assessment | A quiz after each section and a final exam; pass mark 70%; certificate issued after Academy approval |
After this course you will be able to
- Analyse the value chain of an agricultural product
- Understand hygienic methods of processing and storage (drying, packaging)
- Comply with quality and food safety standards
- Design packaging and labels that meet market needs
- Identify local and export markets
Course outline
- From farm to customer
- Where value is added
- Examples
- Drying
- Storage
- Food hygiene and safety
- Grading
- Standards
- Documentation
- Suitable packaging
- Labels and information
- The product’s story
- Local markets
- Wholesale buyers
- First steps towards export
Week-by-week learning path
With about 30 to 45 minutes of study and practice a day, you will complete this course in 6 weeks:
| Week | Topic | Weekly output |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | The value chain | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 2 | Processing | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 3 | Quality | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 4 | Packaging and brand | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 5 | Markets | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 6 | Final project and final exam | Completed project and a score of 70% or higher |
Final project
An analysis of the value chain of a local product and a plan to add value to it: a hygienic processing method, quality criteria, a packaging and label design, and a sales plan for a specific market.
Project assessment criteria:
- Accuracy of the value chain analysis
- Compliance with food safety
- Fit of the packaging with the market
- Realism of the plan
Key terms
Value chain
Value addition
Processing
Food safety
Grading
Shelf life
Wholesale buyer
Export
Assessment and certificate
- After each section: a short quiz (70% recommended before moving on)
- Practical exercises in each lesson: for learning; send your questions via Questions
- End of course: final exam (pass mark 70%) and submission of the final project
- Digital certificate after review and approval by the Academy: Request a certificate
Teaching method
Each lesson includes learning objectives, explanations with real examples and images, key terms in Dari and English, common mistakes, a practical exercise, a self-test and a summary. In every lesson you can put questions to the instructor using the Questions button. The courses are impartial, free and open to all young people.
Get ready now
- Choose a local agricultural product for your project
- Sketch its chain from farm to market on paper
- Look at the World Health Organization’s guidance on food safety
Free, reliable resources
These resources were selected by the Academy team. Most of them are in English; you can also use the Translate option in Chrome to read them in other languages. Large files (books, exercise files, videos) will be placed in the Academy’s official Google Drive folder when the course goes live and linked from this page.
- International Labour Organization (ILO), resources on labour rights, employment and entrepreneurship
- World Health Organization (WHO), reliable and up-to-date health information
- OpenLearn – The Open University, hundreds of free short courses with a certificate of participation
- Coursera, courses from leading universities worldwide; most can be viewed free of charge (Audit)
Help and questions
Questions about this course: [email protected] · All courses: Online Learning Centre · Active course: Computer & Internet Basics
Women’s Academy, Afghanistan Youth Parliament · Free and open to all young people