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5.5.2 Use of extension services
Only 10 percent of households engaged in agriculture received advice on agriculture production Table 5.12 and of these, 94 percent were satisfied with advice received. However, the majority 90 percent did not received any advice
and only around one quarter of these did not so because they did not need advice. Another 29 percent could not afford advice or could not reach the service because of distance 16 percent or lack of knowledge how to find it 19 percent. In
view of this, increased agriculture awareness through media and extension services are apparently promising strategies to improve agricultural practices and production. General improvement of literacy levels would also be beneficial.
Outbreaks of diseases and pest infestations may occur under different microclimatic conditions and can wipe out subsistence and commercial crops. Monitoring of growing conditions is essential for timely interventions of pest control
and the pay offs can be high RAMP 2006a. Animal diseases can be prevented with the use of vaccines and timely veterinary services that can reduce the spread of diseases. Systematic provision of veterinary services has proven to be
highly cost-effective in Afghanistan RAMP 2006b.
In NRVA 20078, veterinary service provision was reported by only 15 percent of households with livestock ownership, and of these, 74 percent indicated satisfaction with the service Table 5.13. Another 21 percent reported that the
services are too expensive. The large majority 85 percent had not received any veterinary service and 43 percent of this group mentioned having difficulties in accessing the services.
Table 5.12 Households with access to farming land, by information on agricultural production received,
reason for not obtaining information in percentages Table 5.13 Households with livestock, by veterinary
information received, reason for not using veterinary services in percentages
Received advice on agricultural production, reason for not receiving advice
Percentage Obtained veterinary service in last 12
months, reason for not obtaining service Percentage
Received advice 10
Obtained veterinary service 15
Did not receive advice, because 90
Did not obtain veterinary service, because 85
Did not need advice 26
Did not need help 18
Could not afford 29
Had too few animals poultry 26
Too far away 16
Could not afford too expensive 13
Do not know how to findobtain 19
Too far away 18
Service would not work with me 5
Do not know how to find obtain 13
Other reason 5
Service would not work with me 10
Total 100
Other reasons 2
Total 100
Total 100
Total 100
5.5.3 Community accessibility
Easy access to markets is another facilitating factor for the agricultural sector, for both selling agricultural produce and purchasing inputs to farming. The NRVA 20078 indicated that the percentage of households within one hour and three
hours reach of the nearest food market by foot is only 26 and 51 percent, respectively. If private vehicles or taxis are used, the corresponding figures are 31 and 44 percent.
Around 29 percent of households are more than two kilometers removed from the nearest drivable road and the average distance is 3.4 kilometer 4.3 for Kuchi households, 3.8 for rural households and 0.3 for urban households. An
encouraging proportion of households 51 percent mentioned that in the last three years road conditions had improved, even though another 13 percent reported road deterioration. This development is likely to have had positive effects on
access to markets and agricultural services, as well as to health and education facilities. Around 78 percent of all rural communities mentioned an increase in motorized road traffic in last 3 years.
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5.6 Conclusions
Agricultural activities are the main livelihood strategies for the Afghan population, as 55 percent of households are engaged in farming and 68 percent have any type of livestock. However, productivity in the agricultural sector is relatively
low, as for instance reflected by the 37 percent contribution of agriculture to the GDP. Frequently, farming households have access to only small areas of land, and provision of water is cited as a main problem for both irrigated and rain-fed
cultivation. The rehabilitation of irrigation systems is also the main priority for community development according to the male Shuras interviewed in the NRVA survey. The relatively low rate of mechanized traction in farming is another factor
in the low productivity, and so is the significant proportion of farming households that is not using fertilizers 38 percent and the large proportion that is not reached by agricultural extension services 90 percent for information on agricultural
production and 85 percent for veterinary services. Finally, remoteness of communities and access to markets are impeding factors for the development of the agricultural sector.
Strategies that would benefit the agricultural sector include improvement of irrigation systems, cultivation of drought- resistant crops, provision of credits to farmers, soil fertility increase through proper crop rotations andor the use of
fertilizers, increased agriculture awareness through media and extension services, and all-weather road construction. With regard to the latter, significant development is reported, as more than half of the households mention that road
conditions have improved over the three years preceding the NRVA 20078. Another positive development is that the share of households with access to land has increased in the period between the 2005 and 20078 NRVAs.
In a wider perspective, increased education and literacy would provide farmers and livestock owners with better knowledge and access to relevant information. Also, decline in fertility would help to reduce the ever-increasing pressure
on the limited available arable land in Afghanistan.
On a separate note, it should be mentioned that 10 percent of Afghan households engaged in agricultural activities produce opium, a figure which likely is a considerable under-estimation. Six provinces account for almost all reports on
opium production, with Urozgan and Helmand having the highest proportion of households producing opium 82 and 67 percent, respectively.