Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0001/00016.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 42KB | 630 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00016}
$Pretitle{265}
$Title{Afghanistan
Chapter 3D.   Agriculture}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Robert S. Ford}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{land
government
percent
wheat
hectares
million
agricultural
farmers
production
cotton}
$Date{1986}
$Log{}
Country:     Afghanistan
Book:        Afghanistan, A Country Study
Author:      Robert S. Ford
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1986

Chapter 3D.   Agriculture

     Despite the low level of technical development and the slow growth rate
of its output, agriculture dominated the economy throughout the 1970s and
1980s. The share of agricultural output in GDP remained about 60 percent
between 1961 and 1980. These figures were probably too low, for a great deal
of agricultural output remained on the farms as subsistence production. The
economy's overall growth, therefore, depended largely on this sector. Rapid
growth was not forthcoming. From 1965 to 1976 total agricultural output rose
only 25 percent. On a per capita basis, output fell 4 percent during this
period. The sector's rate of growth slowed after the Soviet invasion, with
increases averaging just 1.4 percent annually between 1981 and 1983. By the
1980s output was rising faster than the size of the agricultural labor force,
indicating improved productivity, although it was still very low. The
government statistics indicating these trends had to be regarded with some
skepticism, however. Agriculture employed the majority of the work force,
although its share was decreasing, from 64 percent in 1977 to 56 percent in
1982. Agriculture was the foundation of the economy not only because of its
large contribution to GDP and national employment but also because it provided
many of the materials upon which much of the country's industry and trade
depended. Cotton was the critical raw material for the textile industries and
a valuable export; wool was the main input for the important carpet industry
and was also an important export commodity. Cottonseed was the key input for
the extraction, refining, and soap industries. The sugar beet crop was refined
domestically, and there was also fruit and nut processing and packaging for
export. Hindus and skins, such as karakul, were key inputs for much of the
local handicrafts industry and were also major export items. Agricultural
products constituted 75 percent of the country's exports in 1977, but this
fell to 43 percent in 1984 as natural gas exports increased.

     After the drought of 1971-72 and the subsequent famine in parts of the
country, self-sufficiency in food, especially wheat, became a major goal of
the government. Production of cereals rose just enough during the 1970s to
obviate the need for imports during years when the precipitation was normal.
During dry years, however, such as 1977, the country had to import wheat and
other staples. With the disruption of agriculture caused by the fighting after
the coup, the government had to buy wheat from foreign suppliers to avoid
scarcities. In 1982 Afghanistan imported over 200,000 tons of wheat from
the Soviet Union, and estimates of imports in 1983 and 1984 rose to twice that
figure.

Land Use Patterns

     Of Afghanistan's surface area of 63 million hectares, only 8 million were
arable, the remainder being high mountain land and arid wasteland. The arable
land was scattered throughout the country, primarily in valleys along rivers
and other water sources. The total irrigable area was about 5.3 million
hectares, of which half was irrigated annually while the other half remained
fallow. Only 1.4 million hectares of the land irrigated in sequence had
sufficient water throughout the year to allow double cropping. Before 1978 the
irrigated land area provided Afghanistan with 85 percent of all food and
industrial crops produced. Another 1.4 million hectares of cultivated rain-fed
land supplemented the irrigated areas. Thus, about 4 million hectares of land
were cultivated annually before 1978 by 1.2 million farm families.

     The most serious constraint on agriculture before 1978 was the scarcity
of water. The cultivation of the soil depended on the farmers' ability to use
water from the spring floods as the winter snows in the mountains melted.
Traditionally, Afghan farmers developed a variety of systems to control the
water supply and distribute it to their fields. Where the land was fairly
flat, as in the northern plains, diversion dams of brush, mud, and stone were
built to divert water into irrigation canals. A finely branched network of
canals running side by side then channeled the water to the usually small
plots of land set on terraces in the narrow river valleys. Throughout eastern,
southern, and southwestern Afghanistan, farmers also used another traditional
irrigation system, developed centuries ago by the Persians, called the karez,
or qarez. The karez is an underground tunnel connected by vertical shafts. The
underground canal intercepts the rising water table as the land slopes upward
away from the riverbed and brings the water from the hillsides down to the
cultivated land on the plains. These irrigation systems require considerable
labor-intensive maintenance. The diversion dams are often washed away in the
spring floods, and the irrigation canals are frequently blocked by silt and
branches. The repair of the dams and canals may require hundreds of workers,
depending on the size of the system. The irrigation system is entirely
dependent on the weather, as was demonstrated during the drought of 1971-72
when the country's agricultural output sagged considerably. Even below-average
snowfall, as occurred in 1977, can cause serious problems for dryland crops.
In contrast, above-average precipitation, as occurred from 1972 to 1976, leads
to very good harvests.

     In response to the shortage of water, nearly all of the government's
agricultural investment funds went into largescale irrigation projects, such
as in the Helmand Valley. The large investments did not realize higher crop
yields immediately because of problems with land development and local farming
techniques. There were also serious difficulties with soil salinity as a
result of faulty drainage systems in areas brought under irrigation.

     The government's emphasis on large irrigation projects maintained the
traditional farming techniques. The average farmer still followed the farming
practices of his forebears, and his productivity remained very low. His
equipment was rudimentary, often little more than wooden ploughs and hand
sickles. The soil itself lacked basic nutrients and key trace elements, having
been developed under arid conditions. The soil's natural deficiencies were
exacerbated by traditional farming practices and the cultivation of soil-
depleting crops, such as wheat, barley, rice, and corn. Little of land was
fertilized because animal manure was used for fuel. There was little crop
rotation. In addition, farmers used old seed strains and had only limited
access to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. For a Green Revolution, such
as occurred in India and Pakistan, short-term credit was required for farmers
to start using these expensive inputs. The large irrigation projects tied up
most of the sector's funding, and as a result there was little financing
available. Starting in the 1960s, modern inputs were available to Afghan
farmers, and they responded well, but the instances remained few until the
1970s. Further aggravating the problem was the country's shortage of technical
and agricultural specialist skills that limited the availability of extension
services. It was also difficult to convince farmers of the value of producing
surpluses when access to roads and cities was so limited. The continued
isolation of so many villages fostered the belief in and the need for
self-reliance in basic food production, which was reflected in the priority
given to subsistence wheat farming.

     By the mid-1970s, however, the country's agricultural sector was making
modest achievements.