The purpose of this study is to identify the contribution of agriculture to the Afghanistan economy by examining the experience of 34 provinces as documented in commissioned case studies and various secondary sources (CSO directory, FAO reports, government publications, USAID reports, NGO reports, journals, and websites) for the period 2016 - 2017. Agriculture is the backbone of the Afghan economy, the contributions of agriculture to the country's gross demotic product (GDP) is 23% in 2017, while the labor force engaged in this sector is around 61.6%. The annual growth rate in Afghanistan is predictable 3.6%.Afghanistan produces organic fruits, nuts, grain, vegetables and livestock products including cashmere, skin,wool, and a significant amount of these commodities is moving towards the export market. Agriculturere presents about one-quarter of national GDP and is the second largest sector after services. Over the 70 %of the population are poor living in rural areas, and agriculture plays a significant role in their livelihoods.The most Afghan farms are very small, and their productivity is low over the years that farmers produce to satisfy the food needs of their household, with limited agricultural production entering commercial marketing channels and the trade account deficit overall. The GDP including opium was US$ 20.3 billion with GDP per capita of US$ 697. The agricultural sector is entirely run by private enterprises, including farmers, cooperatives, input suppliers, herders, agribusiness processors, and exporters.
The majority of the Afghan population lives in rural areas, where poverty and deprivation are the most severe. Since almost all rural households depended directly or indirectly on agriculture and given the sector's large contribution to the global economy, agriculture can be expected to be an essential element of growth and development [
“
Through the varied geography and topography, out of 6
To rapidly increase the rate of agricultural growth, rather than trying to drive the whole agrarian sector forward at the same time, it may be more sensible to focus attention on a few "first movers:" priority on imported products and export traditional crops, and drive value chains for these hard for growth and creation job in the expectation that the rest of the sector will follow. Such an approach is very similar to that of the Asian Green Revolution, where a first thrust on the substitution of wheat and rice imports in high-potential irrigated areas has led to significant growth in agricultural employment and rural transformation [
The main subjects covered by this study include a general outlook of agricultural sector in Afghanistan, contribution to national income, job creation and well-being for rural populations, sectoral contribution to GDP, and present situations of key subsectors (food supply source, livestock, and horticulture). It was aimed to understand their structure, performance, and potential for development. The data of the study collected from various secondary sources, (CSO, FAO reports, government publications, USAID reports, NGOs reports, journals, and websites) for the period of 2016 - 2017. Lack of sufficient time-series data on crop and livestock production, domestic consumption, exports, and their respective prices made the quantitative evaluation of the sector very difficult. There are serious gaps in the data collected during the years of conflict, and many of the data available are of uncertain quality and contain noteworthy contradictions. The years of conflict saw a shortage of field-based studies on critical agricultural issues. Many agricultural activities also failed or were disrupted during the conflicts, leaving few successful models that can be scaled up. Further, the deteriorating security situation significantly limited field trips during the review period.
Afghanistan is an agricultural country with 80% of the population lives in rural area. Most of the Afghan economy's output comes from agriculture. Agriculture is the most crucial sector of the economy, as the majority of the population is dependent on crops and has a long tradition in horticulture and livestock production, including for export. A major part of this production is wheat, and more generally cereals, produced for domestic consumption. The agricultural value added is estimated at Afs 316510 million or about 23% of GDP in 2016-201
3.1 Contribution to National Income
The financial value of all the finished goods and services produced within the borders of a country during a given period. Although GDP is generally calculated on an annual basis, GDP includes all private and public consumption, government outlays, investments, private stocks, paid construction costs and the foreign trade balance (exports are added, imports are subtracted). Simply put, GDP is a broad measurement of a nation's overall economic activity (Anonymous, 2017). In order to show economic condition in the country, GDP for Afghanistan is compiled into two categories; GDP includes opium and GDP exclude opium. GDP including opium was 1373275 Million Afs) US$ 20.3 billion (with GDP per capita of Afs 47030 equal to US$ 696. GDP excluding opium was (1333
3.2 Sectoral Contribution GDP
The agriculture sector in Afghanistan contributed 23% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while industry contribution is 21.1%, Services
3.3 Food Supply Source
Agriculture is the essential source of food supply for all countries, whether they are underdeveloped, developing or even developed in the world. Table 4 shows the quantity of cereals crops production (tons), the total average cereals crops production was 6.189 million metric tons in Afghanistan between 2013 -2017. In 2017, cereal production for Afghanistan was 5.525 million metric tons. The deceleration in growth was primarily driven by the decline of the agriculture sector. Wheat is a major crop for food. Every year cultivated on irrigated and rainfed area the average wheat production in 2013-2017 was4.96 million tons. The average of rice production was 0.463 million tons which decreased in 2017 by 13.03% compared to the previous year. This decrease in production was due to a reduction in the area of cultivation. The average production of barley was 0.448 million tons compared to last year decreased by 25.09%, and maize production was 0.313 million tons. The production of both rain-fed and irrigated wheat, which account for almost 80 percent of Afghanistan's entire output of cereals, fell, mainly due to low rainfall. By contrast, the fruit output increased by around 7 percent. In 2017, the production of cereals declined by an additional 2.1 percent, with the per hectare yield of wheat falling by 8 percent due to crop diseases and pests. Table 5 shows the crop yield of agricultural products (Kg/Ha), the total average wheat production is 2067 Kg/Ha, rice 2646 Kg/Ha, barley 1442 Kg/Ha, maize 2229 Kg/Ha, potato 12894 Kg/Ha, sugar beet 9184 Kg/Ha, sugar cane 16963 Kg/Ha and almond 1779 Kg/Ha in Afghanistan between 2015 -2017.
3.3.1 Livestock
The livestock sub-sector is another key component in Afghanistan’s economy; livestock currently contributes about 15 percent of agricultural GDP. Afghanistan exports some livestock products mostly skins, wool, and cashmere. Livestock Products such as wool, milk, meat, skin, and fat are an important source of income for the farmers and a good food source for the farmer households. Based on the last three years reports by the ministry of agriculture, irrigation, and livestock, the average numbers of animals are cattle’s 5.2 million, sheep 13.3 million, goats 7.4 million, camel 0.17 million, horse 0.17 million, ass 1.4 million and chickens 11.9 million.
3.3.2 Horticulture
Horticulture subsector plays a vital role in providing livelihood to the farmers; horticulture contributes 34 percent of agricultural GDP. The major fruit varieties are apple, pomegranates, apricots, mulberries, grapes, and almonds. Fruit cultivation area was 181 thousand hectares. However, orchards products are the major source of income for farmers in many areas of the country, and the majority of large and medium-sized orchards are exclusively for markets. According to the ministry of agriculture, irrigation, and livestock, the fruit production in the year of 2017 was 1.2 million tons, whereas production of vegetables was 427.9 thousand tons, Potato and onion are major vegetables they are specially used for food in the country [
In Afghanistan, more than 60% of the total labor force is dependent on agriculture. Agriculture provides large-scale employment opportunities for rural people in underdeveloped and developing countries. It is an important source of livelihood. Typically, landless workers and marginal farmers are engaged in non-agricultural jobs such as handicrafts, furniture, textiles, leather, processing industries, and in other service sectors. To raise the agricultural surplus caused by increasing agricultural production and productivity tends to improve social well-being, particularly in rural areas [
From the explanation of above conclude that the agriculture plays an important role in the economic development of a country. It has already made an important input to the economic prosperity of advanced countries and its role in the economic development of the least developed countries is the essential importance. "The increase in agricultural output and the rising per capita income of the rural community, as well as industrialization and urbanization, leading to an increased demand for industrial production" [
Investment in research, extension and irrigation infrastructure is key to transforming the agricultural sector in Afghanistan. The role of the government is to improve research stations, which play a significant role in the development of new varieties to increase productivity, shelf life, and marketability. The extension is the key to disseminating new technology among farmers through field days and demonstration programs. Improving irrigation infrastructure and on-farm water management will help farmers achieve self-sufficiency and productivity.
APPENDICES
Agriculture Contribution as % of GDP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. Cereals | 10.6 | 10.6 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 8.5 |
2. Fruits | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
3. Livestock | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
4. Others | 9.3 | 9.1 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 8.4 |
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
||
Agriculture | 12.4 | -16.9 | 3.7 | ||
1. Cereals | -4.7 | -14.2 | 3.7 | ||
2. Fresh Fruits | 32.1 | 7.2 | 18.9 | ||
3. Livestock | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | ||
4. Others | 6.3 | -2.2 | -14.9 | ||
|
|||||
|
2017 | 2016 | 2015 | ||
Agriculture | 316510 | 274103 | 294038 | ||
1. Cereals | 116568 | 121693 | 134306 | ||
2. Fruits | 44654 | 31556 | 31822 | ||
3. Livestock | 40102 | 37629 | 36580 | ||
4. Others | 115186 | 83225 | 91329 |
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wheat | 4555110 | 4673040 | 5370259 | 5169235 | 5050000 | 4963529 |
Rice | 356565 | 410000 | 537000 | 512094 | 500000 | 463132 |
Barley | 301856 | 403000 | 521000 | 514000 | 504000 | 448771 |
Maize | 311646 | 316000 | 316000 | 312000 | 310000 | 313129 |
Indicator | 2017 | 2016 |
|
|
Cereal | ||||
Wheat | 1980 | 2196 | 2024 | 2067 |
Rice | 2996 | 2500 | 2441 | 2646 |
Barley | 1377 | 1429 | 1521 | 1442 |
Maize | 2052 | 2146 | 2488 | 2229 |
|
||||
|
2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|
Cattle | 5234 | 5261 | 5349 | 5281 |
Sheep | 13265 | 13218 | 13485 | 13323 |
Goat | 7448 | 7723 | 7059 | 7410 |
Camel | 170.5 | 170 | 171 | 170.5 |
Horse | 171.2 | 173 | 171 | 171.7 |
Ass | 1472 | 1481 | 1441 | 1464.7 |
Mule | 24.9 | 24.5 | 24 | 24.4 |
Chicken | 11899 | 11863 | 11098 | 11620 |
|
||
|
|
|
Peach | 15306 | 3110 |
Almond | 32843 | 19481 |
Pomegranate | 99871 | 9721 |
Apple | 140903 | 19365 |
Grape | 874541 | 82450 |
Walnut | 6515 | 3949 |
Potato and beet | 429499 | 96946 |
Potato | 427917 | 35699 |
Sugar beet | 1582 | 202 |
Sugarcane | 17364 | 1333 |