Economic sector and occupation

37 LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS Figure 4.6: Working population a , by sex, and by weekly working hours in percentages 5 10 15 20 25 Less than 8 8-15 16-23 24-31 32-39 40-47 48-55 56-63 64 or more 1 4 5 14 9 12 22 18 14 4 17 20 20 11 9 8 8 3 2 6 8 15 10 11 20 16 12 Male Female Both sexes a Including workers classiied as under- and unemployed 38 AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK 5 AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK SUMMARY. The NRVA 2011-12 conirms the overriding importance of the agricultural sector for the livelihood of Afghanistan’s population. Agriculture is the main source of income of close to one-third of households and 40 percent of the labour force are employed in the sector. Irrigated land in particular provides an important resource for 38 percent of households in the country, while 17 percent own rain-fed land. However, productivity of farmland is often low, as indicated by the large shares of land left uncultivated – 20 percent of irrigated land and as much as 37 percent of rain-fed land – mainly due to lack of water, and secondly – but related – because of soil infertility. Cereals, especially wheat, are the main farm produce in Afghanistan. Estimates based on responses to the NRVA survey suggest a spring cultivation production of 2.4 million tonnes of wheat in 2011 and 2.8 million tonnes in 2012. The difference was mainly due to the drought that hit the northern provinces in 2011 and especially affected rain-fed farmland. Maize, rice and potatoes are other staple food crops produced in signiicant quantities. Tomatoes and – from garden plots – grapes and other fruits and nuts represent other main agricultural products. On the input side, fertilisers, seeds and machine costs are the main investments in farming. In total it is estimated that farmers spent 16.5 billion Afs. USD 309 million on farming input for the last spring cultivation. The national stock of cattle seems to have dropped since the Livestock census of 2002-03. On the other hand, the herds of small ruminants – especially sheep – show signiicant increases. Livestock products are an important part of the daily consumption of animal-owning households, but market sales of animals or livestock products are also an important income source for these households. With regard to livestock production factors, the NRVA shows a relatively good vaccination coverage, but relatively low access to feed concentrate. Livestock owners signiicantly 67 percent rely on private service providers for veterinary services. The main obstacles to using veterinary services are refusal by providers, lack of knowledge of the livestock owner and distance to the service provider.

5.1 Introduction

Agriculture – including livestock-related activities – is the backbone of Afghanistan’s economy. For around half 49 percent of households agriculture provides any source of income and for 30 percent it is even the most important source. Similarly, with 40 percent of the labour force engaged in agriculture, it is the main sector for employment. CSO estimates that the sector contributes 27 percent to the country’s GDP in the solar year 1390 2011-12 CSO 2012. With a varied geography and topography, out of 652 thousand square kilometres of total land area, only an estimated 12 percent is arable, 3 percent of the land is considered forest-covered, 46 percent is under permanent pasture and 39 percent is mountainous, not usable for agriculture CSO 2012. This chapter deals with various aspects of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector and is divided into two main parts: section 5.2 on farming and horticulture, and section 5.3 on livestock-related information.