A new Perennial Horticulture Centre in Herat now under construction will collect, classify and preserve the 143 varieties of grapes grown in Afghanistan, as well as other fruit trees, applying advanced research techniques to the improvement of breeding varieties. The table grapes from Afghanistan have spread all around the world, either for use directly, or as parents in breeding programmes in California and elsewhere. The most famous table grape, the Thompson Seedless (also named Sultana), almost certainly came from this part of the world. This heritage needs to be preserved and expanded in order to boost horticulture, a traditionally strong sector in the Afghan economy, very important for the livelihoods of so many families, with a strong potential for export-led economic development and employment generation. The grape gene bank is part of the Perennial Horticulture Development Project (PHDP), funded by the European Union, a long term initiative that supports the work of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) in horticulture development, providing scientific research and technology transfers to farmers.

The PHDP laid the foundations of a Perennial Horticulture Development Centre (PHD Centre) in Urdokhan Research Farm, Herat in March 2008, with completion expected in the second half of 2008. The building comprises a training room for 30 people, a laboratory for assessing fruit and nuts, and offices for four staff who are being trained in horticultural skills, and in research and extension. The PHD Centre building is situated in the middle of Urdokhan Farm, adjacent to fruit tree nurseries, mother stock nurseries and demonstration orchards. The PHD Centre will provide demonstration facilities for crops in their own agro-ecological zone.