January 9, 2012

 

Afghanistan sees better 2011/12 grain harvest

 

 

In the current 2011/12 season, Afghanistan is expected to rake in a bigger grain harvest and avoid repeat of previous year's severe food shortages, its agriculture minister said this week.

 

Afghanistan consumes around 6.5 million tonnes of grain annually, of which 5.4 million tonnes are wheat, its staple crop, and the rest consist of rice and barley. Last season, a drought led to a deficit of nearly two million tonnes.

 

"So far rainfall is above average. Especially in the drought-stricken areas it has been very good ... if it keeps above average throughout, we will be fine for this year," Agriculture Minister Mohammad Asif Rahimi said. The wheat harvest normally runs from late May to August. He said even if rainfall continues at its current level, Afghanistan will still need to import up to a million tonnes of cereals, mainly from Kazakhstan and Pakistan. Last season's drought did not have a major impact on Afghanistan's output of melons, grapes, almonds and other fruits, largely grown for export, which rose 5% compared with the previous season.

 

"If we grow between 3% and 5% each year, this will be good for economic growth in the rural areas," Rahimi said. His ministry plans to focus on crops for which the country has established markets. Afghanistan was the world's top producer of raisins in the 1960s, and almonds are another key crop.

 

"No matter how many almonds we grow, India will buy them. There is a huge market. India has lifted all customs duty on agricultural products from Afghanistan, so we send them duty-free," he said.

 

Formerly an important producer of grapes and other fruit, Afghanistan's vineyards became minefields during the years of conflict, while the roads needed to move crops were destroyed by decades of fighting. Access to international markets is also limited by difficult relations with neighbouring Pakistan. As a result, landlocked Afghanistan wants to reach a trade agreement with Iran to open a link via Iran's Chabahar port to the sea, Rahimi said.

 

One of Afghanistan's major disadvantages is its lack of adequate cold storage capacity, which means many products are sent to Pakistan for storage and then trucked back over the border in the off-season, while wheat also goes to Pakistan for milling.

 

"Potatoes go to Pakistan for storage and come back; onions go to Pakistan and come back. That's insane," Rahimi said. To develop the agriculture sector and boost output, the ministry is designing programmes that include investments in irrigation, seed distribution, farm credits and local processing, packaging and storage facilities to retain the full value chain for crops in the domestic market.

 

Rahimi said the farming sector will require investment of US$2.7 billion over the next three years and US$10 billion over the following decade. Rahimi, who took charge of the ministry after many years in development work with international aid agency CARE, said he wanted better coordination across the sector to ensure projects are properly implemented and for the long term.

 

"Over the past 10 years, funds have gone because of the haste of donors, quick impact, short vision of development," he said. Foreign agricultural development projects were still being designed without consultation with the ministry, and nearly half of the money spent went to cover contractor overheads rather than as investment in farming communities, he said.

 

"What communities receive is just a fraction," he said. He urged donors and other groups to include his staff in their projects in order to build their expertise, so they will be able to carry on working once the donors and development agencies leave. Security has improved in some regions, which should allow ministry staff to better monitor projects and communicate with farmers in more remote areas, he said.

 

"If we get these programmes up and running ... I am sure Afghanistan will not only be self-sufficient by 2024 but also a net exporter of various crops," he said.