Afghanistan - Opportunities for agricultural and rural development sector (Vol. 2)

Report No. 848a-AF "'"IL C O P Afghanistan Opportunities for Agricultural and Rural Development Sector Report Volume 11: Annexes November 20, 1975 Regional Projects Department Europe, Middle East and North Africa Regional Office Not for Public Use Document of the World Bank This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Free market rate average in Afghanis (Af) per US$ 1971 - 85.28 1972 - 84.73 1973 - 80.00 .1974 - 60.98 September - October 1974 - 53.40 June 1975 - 56.oo September 1975 55.00 Conversion rates used in report: Af 55 .US$1.00 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1 jerib = 0.2 ha 1 ha . 2.47 acres 1 seer = 7.14 kg ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank AFC - Afghan Fertilizer Company AgBank - Agricultural Development Bank FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FPD - Food Procurement Department HASI - Higher Agricultural Studies Institute HAVA - Helmand-Arghandab Valley Authority HLDC - Herat Livestock Development Corporation IDEA - Industrial Development Bank of Afghanistan MA - Ministry of Agriculture (replaced MAI in 1975) MAI - Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation PACCA - Program for Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives PDA - Paktia Development Authority RDD - Rural Development Department UNDP - United Nations Development Programme FISCAL YEAR The fiscal year is the same as the calendar year, which runs 621-1/4 years behind the Gregorian equivalent, and starts on March 21, e.g. 1354 = March 21, 1975 - March 20, 1976.  OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFGHANISTAN ANNEX 1 CROP PRODUCTION Table of Contents Chapter Page No. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .......................... i - iii I. THE PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTING .... 1 A. The Physical Environment . . 1 Topography . . 1 Climate. . 1 Soils.. 2 B. Land Tenure . . 2 C. Rural Village Organization and Water Rights 3 D. Land Use . . 4 E. Farming Methods and Labor Supply . . 4 F. Government Supporting Services . . 5 Extension . . 5 Research . . 7 Plant Protection . . 8 Supply and Credit . . 8 II. PRODUCTION PRACTICES. 9 General . .9 Wheat.. 9 Rice ..10 Maize . . 11 Barley . .11 Cotton . .11 Sugar Beets . .12 Sugarcane . .13 Tree Fruits, Nuts and Vines . .14 Vegetables . .14 Oilseeds (other than cottonsfeed . .14 Fodder Crops . .15  TABLE OF CONTENTS(Continued) Chapter Page No. III. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCREASED CROP PRODUCTION .... 15 Machinery and Equipment ........................... 15 Chemical Fertilizer .............................. 16 Improved Seeds ................................... 17 Agricultural Extension ............................ 18 Agricultural Research ............................. 20 IV. WHEAT PRICE STABILIZATION PROGRAM ......... ........ 20 APPENDICES A. Climatic data for selected towns in Afghanistan B. Monthly mean temperatures at selected recording stations C. Area of principal crops D. Trends in production of principal crops This report is based on the findings of an agricultural and rural development sector mission that visited Afghanistan in September - October, 1974. This mission was composed of: Tae-Hee Yoon Chief of Mission (IBRD) Rutillus H. Allan Agricultural Economist (Consultant) Patrick M. Houlahan Livestock Specialist (Consultant) Rupert W. Jessup Agriculturalist (Consultant) Regionald Price Water Resources Specialist (Consultant) John Perry Agro-Industry Specialist (Consultant) The report was prepared by the mission with the assistance of Altaf Hussain and discussed in Kabul in July 1975 between Government and Bank staff consisting of H. Pollan, T.H. Yoon, A. Hussain and A. Stapleton who carried out subsequent refinement of the report.  ANNEX 1 Page i OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFGHANISTAN ANNEX I CROP PRODUCTION SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS i. This annex deals with plans and strategies to improve crop production. The Government's chief goals are to maintain self-sufficiency in wheat; to increase cotton production for domestic use and to earn more foreign exchange; and to expand sugar beet production to save foreign 'ex- change on sugar, most of which is now imported. The principal strategies to improve crop production involve strengthening the extension services; Ln- creasing the distribution of chemical fertilizers and improved seeds; and expanding institutional credit. ii. The Department of Extension and Agricultural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture (MA) has about 2,300 extension workers, but about one-third have received no training in agriculture, apart from very limited in-service training. Housing, office and transport facilities for these extension workers are inadequate. The Department's main function is to arrange the distribution of chemical fertilizers and improved seeds. It has also arranged demonstration plots of improved varieties and chemical fer- tilizers on farmers' properties, but in practice only a small proportion of farmers get to see them. There is little direct extension worker/farmer contact aimed at helping farmers with production problems and teaching them improved technology. iii. Crop research is carried out by MA's Department of Research and Soil Survey on research stations and farms totalling about 750 ha in 10 regions (most established since 1960), but some 30% of this area is taken up with multiplication of improved seeds. Office space and essential office supplies and laboratory equipment are inadequate both at the central Govern- ment offices in Kabul and at the research farms. Much of the research work lacks supervision and planning, and falls more into the category of research demonstrations. Most of the earlier work was concerned with variety and fertilizer trials with irrigated wheat. Recently the research program was expanded to include cotton, sunflowers, vegetables and horticultural crops. Some research has also begun on animal feedcrops. No results are yet available from this expanded program, but testing of some rapid- maturing varieties of cotton and rice are well advanced.  ANNEX 1 Page ii iv. The Department of Plant Protection and Quarantine is poorly funded and staffed. Its main activity is to initiate programs for the control of major epidemic outbreaks. It has been able to offer only minimal services to farmers for disease and pest prevention, and has failed to educate farmers in the use of pest control materials and equipment. In any case there is only limited availability of these materials, and little credit for their purchase. v. There is little mechanization of farm operations. For the small farmers the main need is for small animal-drawn implements; and for the large farmers, tractors and other machines. There are only about 1,500 tractors in the country. vi. Urea and DAP are the only chemical fertilizers being distributed. In 1975 it is expected that 13% of the irrigated wheatlands will receive chemical fertilizers, but sufficient fertilizer should be available for all of the cotton lands. Only small quantities of chemical fertilizers are used on other crops. vii. About 32% of the irrigated wheatlands will be sown to improved seeds (but none of the rainfed wheatlands). Enough improved seed is available for all of the cotton lands. A major campaign has been mounted for the distribution of improved vegetable seeds and stocks of improved varieties of fruit trees. viii. Based on recent rates of increase in inputs of improved seeds and chemical fertilizers, the irrigated wheat yield could increase rapidly, perhaps by as much as 3% annually over the next 5-10 years. The yield of rainfed wheat is highly uncertain, but official estimates show it to have averaged about 500 kg per ha for the past few years. There is long-term potential for yield increases through the introduction of a proper rotation involving a period of cultivated fallow for improved soil moisture storage, a period of Medicago pasture to improve the level of soil nitrogen, and replacement of local varieties with drought-resistant, better yielding ones. ix. If the present favorable relationship between the price of cotton and the principal competing crops, wheat and sugar beets, is maintained, cotton production could increase substantially over the next 5 years. Most of this increase would come from expansion of the area planted, which could be as much as 40,000 additional ha of irrigated land. x. A moderate expansion of sugar beet production would appear to be justified providing the feasibility study now under preparation supports such as expansion. Reconstruction or expansion of the existing plant at Baghlan should be given first priority. Concerted efforts will be needed to improve sugar beet yields, and it may be necessary to offer farmers higher prices as a production incentive. xi. Total fruit production could well increase by an average of 5% annually during the next 5 years, vegetables by 4-5%, rice by 3%, and maize  ANNEX 1 Page iii by 2-3%. Sesame and linseed are grown commercially, but cannot be pro- cessed in the existing oil extracting facilities. The Government plans to mount an extension campaign aimed at substituting sunflower for these crops, without increasing the area now used (about 52,000 ha). xii. Government action is required to improve the extension, research and plant protection services, and to increase the availability of chemical fertilizers, improved seeds, and other inputs. A major need is for str'ength- ening the vocational agricultural schools, and a systematic program for in- service training of existing staff is also necessary. xiii. Price policies play an important role in directing resource alloca- tion in agriculture. Price support and stabilization for priority commodi- ties are necessary, particularly for wheat. A wheat price stabilization program with 190,000 tons of additional storage capacity is recommended.   ANNEX 1 Page 1 OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFGHANISTAN ANNEX 1 CROP PRODUCTION I. PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTING A. The Physical Environment Topography 1.01 Afghanistan is a country with rugged topography in which mounitain, desert, and forest areas unsuitable for cultivation comprise about 85%,of the total. Elevations range from 300 m along the banks of the Amu Darya on the northern frontier to 7,500 m on the Wakhan Corridor in the north- east. The most prominent topographic feature is the Hindu Kush mountain range, which occupies the central and northeastern parts of the country. Climate 1.02 Afghanistan's climate is continental, characterized by hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters and wide diurnal fluctuations in tempera- ture. 1.03 Precipitation varies considerably from year to year and with altitu'de (Appendix A). It occurs from December to April inclusive, March usually being the highest month. The period June through October is very dry. The areas with least precipitation are the lowlands southeast of Lashkargah and Farah, and those north of Mazar-i-Sharif and Shebergan and west of Kunduz and Baghlan. The total precipitation in these deserts is 100 mm or less per annum. The highest precipitation occurs on the Hindu Kush, e.g. 1,170 mm at Salang. Elevations up to 1,500 m receive most of their precipitation as rain, while elevations above 3,000 m receive most as snow, which melts in spring, providing water to irrigate the valleys during spring and summer. 1.04 Average monthly temperatures for selected towns are presented in Appendix B. The cold period lasts from November to March inclusive, and the hottest part of the year is June through August, with maximum tempera- tures in July in most places. The maximum temperatures recorded at dit- ferent localities are related to elevation. 1/ During winter, which is a 1/ For example, at Jalalabad (elevation 550 m), July temperatures reach as high as 43