an analysis of horticulture sector of afghanistan
TRANSCRIPT
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AN ANALYSIS OF HORTICULTURE SECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN
BY
MOHAMMAD BILAL MIRAKI
September, 2015
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AN ANALYSIS OF HORTICULTURE SECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN
By
Keranna Abedi
By
MOHAMMAD BILAL MIRAKI
Registration No: 402-1109009
Supervised by
KOKAB MANZOOR
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award degree of Bachelor of Science of Economics.
Department of Economics
Afghanistan
September, 2015
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Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor
Name of Head of the department Signature of Head of the department
Name of Vice Chancellor Signature of Vice Chancellor
PROJECT APPROVAL FORM
The undersigned certify that they have read the following project report and are
satisfied with the overall performance and recommend the report to the Department of
Economics for acceptance.
Project Report Title: AN ANALYSIS OF HORTICULTURE SECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN
Submitted By: MOHAMMAD BILAL MIRAKI Registration #: 402-1109009 Bachelor of Science
of Economics.
Mr. Kokab Manzoor
Mr. Murtaza Massod Niazi
Dr. Syed Umar Farooq
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DECLARATION FORM
I, Mohammad Bilal Miraki son of Ghulam Darwish Miraki, Registration 402-1109009
Student of Bachelor of Science of Economics at the Kardan University Kabul, Afghanistan do
hereby declare that the Project Report titled as
AN ANALYSIS OF HORTICULTURE SECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN
Submitted by me in partial fulfilment of BSC Economics (Hons.) degree, is my own work, and
has not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it shall not, in future,
be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or
institution.
Signature: ________________________
Name: _____MOHAMMAD BILAL MIRAKI_______
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Dedicated to
My Father
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my Father
&
To my uncle AHMAD JAWED MIRAKI
The source of my motivation
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PREFACE
Conducting research project in a country like Afghanistan is a little problematic because no one
will easily provide you information unless you have to know him/her personally even if they are
government officials or ordinary people.
I am conducting this research project for completion of my Bachelor Award Degree in Science
of Economics (BSC Economics), the selected topic is “An Analysis of Horticulture sector of
Afghanistan”.
I tried my level best to accomplish the research correctly and use current available data. If still
you see any mistakes, that is totally unintentionally. I beg you to read the research project with
kind eyes.
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Kokab Manzoor. It wouldn’t
have been possible without his kind guidance and support to bring this project to the completion.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In agriculture sector of Afghanistan 78% of the people are engaged whereas the contribution of
Agricultural sector to the national income of the country is only 31.5% which shows a huge gap
and at the same time the contribution of horticulture to agriculture is 32%. Additionally Most of
the farmers are poor and getting even poorer.
Afghanistan’s climatic condition has provided the opportunity to produce variety of horticultural
crops which are well-known in over the world including Grapes, Apples, Pomegranates,
Pistachio and wild Pistachio, Almonds, Raisins, Melons and Watermelons. All these products
have regional and international markets, the current markets are mainly India and Pakistan which
are the largest importers of Afghan horticultural crops. These markets can be even widen to
Russia, EU-27, Warsaw Poland, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, UAE and Turkey.
In this research mostly journals, articles, reports and doctoral dissertations are used as secondary
data and primary data has been collected through conduction of interviews, questionnaire and
observations. As there is no sufficient data available on horticultural products so this research
does not include all the horticultural products mainly flowers and vegetables.
The major strengths of horticulture sectors are the suitability of agro-climatic conditions of
Afghanistan and uniqueness of Afghan horticultural crops like wild pistachio and almonds.
Weakness include poorness of farmer, farmers are still using traditional methods of production,
lack of value adding processes and proper packaging, lack of refrigerated transportation system,
weak irrigation system, lack of credit opportunities, market subsidies etc.
Floriculture and ornamental plants can be an opportunity for Afghanistan to be availed.
Afghanistan produces variety of such flowers and ornamental plants which are hardly found in
regional countries but still mostly ornamental plants and flowers are imported from Pakistan and
India because the floriculture is completely neglected and even no data is available on
floriculture in Afghanistan. Cottage industry can be promoted in packaging and in all other
sections, more labor can be utilized and will help control urban migrations. Sapling production
can increase the income level of the farmers and will lead to more investment in agriculture
sector. Lack of modern machinery, experts, inputs and water resources are counted as main
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obstacles and weakness in the way of development of horticulture sector in Afghanistan as well
as problems in post-harvesting, marketing are also important to be solved.
In order to increase the income of farmers and find a better market for horticultural products
some recommendations are provided in various sectors like market subsidies and creation of
market zones, unstable political situation, farmer awareness, post-harvesting, storage, packaging,
transportation, floriculture and ornamental plants.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER #1 ................................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1: Background ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2: Problem Statement: .......................................................................................................... 2
1.3: Objectives of Study: ......................................................................................................... 2
1.4: Significance of study: ....................................................................................................... 3
1.5 Scheme of Study............................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER # 2: ............................................................................................................................... 4
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Grapes............................................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Raisins .............................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Melons & Watermelons ................................................................................................... 8
2.3.1 New markets ............................................................................................................. 9
2.3.2 Existing Markets ..................................................................................................... 10
2.4 Almonds ......................................................................................................................... 10
2.5 Major Horticultural Products of Each Province ............................................................. 13
CHAPTER # 3 .............................................................................................................................. 16
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................. 16
3.1 Research Methods .......................................................................................................... 16
3.2 Sampling and Population ............................................................................................... 16
3.3 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 16
3.3.1 Primary data ............................................................................................................ 16
3.3.2 Secondary data ........................................................................................................ 16
3.4 Limitations of study ....................................................................................................... 16
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CHAPTER # 4 .............................................................................................................................. 17
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ..................................................................................................... 17
4.1 Strengths of Horticulture sector in Afghanistan ............................................................. 17
4.2 Weaknesses .................................................................................................................... 17
4.3 Opportunities .................................................................................................................. 18
Floriculture and ornamental plants:................................................................................ 18
Cottage industry ............................................................................................................. 18
4.4 Obstacles of Horticulture in Afghanistan .......................................................................... 19
4.4.1 Production process ..................................................................................................... 19
4.4.2 Post harvesting problems: .......................................................................................... 20
4.5 Market ............................................................................................................................. 20
4.6 Questionnaire used in research ....................................................................................... 21
4.7 SWOT analysis:.............................................................................................................. 31
CHAPTER # 5 .............................................................................................................................. 32
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................... 32
5.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 32
5.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 33
5.2.1 Market subsidies: .................................................................................................... 33
5.2.2 Market Zones: ......................................................................................................... 33
5.2.3 Unstable Political Situation: ................................................................................... 33
5.2.4 Farmer’s awareness:................................................................................................ 34
5.2.5 Post – harvesting: .................................................................................................... 34
5.2.6 Storages: .................................................................................................................. 34
5.2.7 Packaging: ............................................................................................................... 34
5.2.8 Transportation: ........................................................................................................ 35
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5.2.9 Floriculture and ornamental plants ......................................................................... 35
References ................................................................................................................................. 36
Appendix A: Questionnaire ....................................................................................................... 37
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CHAPTER #1
INTRODUCTION
1.1: Background Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries of the world, the decades of conflicts has destroyed
all of the infrastructure of the country and this conflict and political instability had significant
adverse effect on agriculture and horticulture sectors beside the other sectors of the country.
Afghanistan is highly dependent on foreign aid and currently facing the problems like: lack of
clean water, lack of housing facilities, education, unemployment, health, weak governance,
corruption, and low economic growth, difficulties in implication of rules and regulation, lack of
infrastructure, political instability, and energy. Despite Afghan government with the help of
international community trying to cope with the problems, that is why the economy has boosted
after the collapse of Taliban regime in 2001 and the infusion of foreign aids left up the economy
since that time beside unsuccessful projects many successful project has been accomplished and
helped the country in different ways like increase in human capital increase and export of the
country and so on.
Afghanistan’s climatic and geographical conditions has provided the best ways to produce
horticultural products. Afghanistan has various climatic condition in various provinces and areas
but generally Afghan formers produce Apples, Pomegranates, Apricots, Grapes, Walnuts,
Pistachios, Almonds, Raisins, Melons and Watermelons. About 78% of human resource of
Afghanistan is engaged in agriculture while the contribution of agriculture to the annual GDP
(Gross Domestic Products) is only 31.5%, so there is urgent need of change in production
methodology of agriculture specially horticulture so that we can get outputs from these sectors
effectively and efficiently. Horticulture has historical roots in Afghanistan and people has
cultural relations with the matter that is why they are more likely to accept new methods to
increase their productivity and gain more.
Farmers are the poorest people along with lowest literacy rate around the country, mostly
security problems in the country are because of their unemployment, low income and illiteracy.
Thus there is higher need to increase the employment opportunities and income level of the
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farmers in rural areas and boost their literacy rate, for this purpose the only best possible
alternative is enhancement of horticulture which can be a higher income source for the farmers.
Currently (4th Quarter of 2014) the exported horticulture products are ($ 93391283) which are
the 47.23 per cent of the total Exports of the country. It is significantly high and can be even
higher by more effort of the government which will be illustrated in upcoming paragraphs of this
dissertation.
1.2: Problem Statement:
Afghanistan is an agricultural country and its major exports are agriculture based, but they are
not gaining enough income through this sector of economy. The contribution of agriculture in the
Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of the country is about 31.5% during the year 2015 while the
labor force engage in this sector is about 78%. By criteria of human resource allocation the
agriculture sector is on the top but from GDP perspective agriculture is in the bottom. This
shows a huge gap between inputs and outputs, which is not so economical.
The most productive sector of agriculture in Afghanistan is horticultural sector which produces
about 47.23% of the total exports of the country, but it still needs to improve a lot. Floriculture
which is a part of horticulture, is not supported by the government and even not included in the
GDP of the country while Afghanistan is a good producer of variety of flowers which can’t be
easily found in the region and this sector (Floriculture) can perform even better by giving
importance to it. Afghanistan is capable of producing variety of ornamental plants with a very
high prestigious, but it need some significant actions and commitment of responsible officials.
The farmer is still poor uneducated and without any kind of influential support, although they are
producing bulk of crops to the country and assemble the exports.
1.3: Objectives of Study:
Objectives of this study is;
To know the contribution of horticulture to the Gross Domestic
Products (GDP) of Afghanistan,
To know the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of
Horticulture sector in Afghanistan, and
To recommend remedial measure.
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1.4: Significance of study:
Afghanistan is an agricultural country, where 78% of population are engaged in agricultural
matters and their contribution to GDP in only 31.5%, in order to give them support and take
them out of poverty, a good way is to encourage agricultural sector in the country. Horticulture is
a good source of income for farmers, where about 80% of agricultural products are horticultural.
The climate of Afghanistan is very much suitable for the horticultural products and horticulture
has been one of the main source of income for the farmers throughout the history.
1.5 Scheme of Study
Chapter # 1 Introduction: Chapter number one of this dissertation consist of information
about background of Afghanistan and agriculture, introduction to agriculture,
horticulture sectors of Afghanistan, the Problem Statement, Objectives of the Study,
Significance of Study and Scheme of Study.
Chapter # 2 Literature Review: This chapter is completely allocated to literature survey.
Whereas the reports, journals, articles, studies and dissertations of various people,
NGOs and government organizations has been studied. Mostly these studies were about
the production, marketing and export of Grapes, Raisins, Almonds, Melons and
Watermelons of Afghanistan.
Chapter # 3 Research Methodology: Chapter number 3 consist of information about the
research methods, data collections methods, population and sampling and limitation of
the study.
Chapter # 4 Analysis and Findings: This chapter is about the finding and analysis of
entire research study, which mainly include Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats (SWOT Analysis). In this chapter the result of questionnaire in also included
which is shown in the form of percentages and numbers.
Chapter # 5 Recommendations and Remedial Measures: Chapter five is all about
remedial measures and recommendations for government and international donor
agencies in various sectors of horticulture like production, post-harvesting, marketing
and finance. These measures and recommendations will enhance profit of farmers,
increase exports of horticultural products and will bring the horticultural crops under
control of government, where government can have a better control on issues
concerning these crops.
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CHAPTER # 2:
LITERATURE REVIEW There are three major fruit growing zones in Afghanistan: Central Zone which include Logar,
Kabul, Parwan and Kapisa. South Zone which include Zabul, Kandahar and Helmand. North
Zone which includes Samangan, Sari Pul, Kunduz, Balkh and Trakhar.
2.1 Grapes
Along with melons the grapes and raisins have been the country’s most important products
throughout the history. In 1990 total grape cultivated land was estimated around 75,000 hectares.
In recent 2009 the calculation shows that the area under cultivation for grapes have increased by
12% in last 10 years. Mainly the grapes are produced in south-east region including Kandahar
and northern and central regions mainly Sari-pul, Parwan and Kabul. Figure 2.1 shows the grape
production by region.
Figure 2.1: Grape production by Region.
Grapes are produced along with vegetable and other fruits, but Afghanistan is hardly counted in
one of the grape producing countries. According to online FAO (Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations) Afghanistan produce 1.4% grapes of the world and it is
ranked among top 15 producers of grape, while EU-27 produces 41% (24,956 thousand tons),
Region North23%
Region South-east22%
Region south14%
Region Central32%
Region West9%
Grape Production by Region 2009
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China produces 10% and united states produce 12% of world’s grape. The figure 2.2 shows
world’s grape producing countries.
Figure 2.2: World’s grape producing countries.
According to Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) in 2009 the total
production of grapes was 864,000 tons. By the end of 2009 the export of grapes increased by
423% during the last decade. Fresh fruit are 8% of total exports of the country of which the
grapes are 4%, it declares that grapes consist half of all fresh fruit exports of Afghanistan. Prior
to war in 1984 the annual exports were around $580 million dollars, where the fresh fruits were
7% ($41 million) and dried fruits were about 30% ($174 million).
The main grape producing countries like USA, EU and China are also the largest importing
countries as well. The figure 2.3 shows the main grapes importing countries of the world.
China12%
USA11%
Afghanistan 1%
Turkey7%
Argentina5%
India 3%
Australia3%
Egypt 3%
Brazil2%
Others 12%
EU-27 41%
World's Grape Producing Countries
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Figure 2.3: Main grapes importing countries.
The existing foreign market for Afghanistan’s grapes is mainly Pakistan, during the period of
2009 – 2010 the difference between the prices in Lahore, Kandahar and Kabul was about 154%.
The average price rate of one Kg Grapes in Kabul was $ 0.45 USD, while the average wholesale
price of grapes in Lahore was $ 1.15 USD per Kg. The transportation cost, custom clearance,
insurance and other import tariffs push the price up to $0.75 USD per Kg leaving room for an
average possible profit margin of 62%. It shows a huge gap between the prices and can be an
opportunity for Afghanistan to gain more profit.
2.2 Raisins
To be competitive in raisin Afghans should adopt and improve drying techniques. The Indian
technology can be easily transferred and implemented in Afghanistan in order to produce the
quality raisins. In fact there are two kinds of raisins in Afghanistan 1) Sun dried raisins and 2)
Shade dried raisins. The shade dried raisins worth twice than the sun dried raisins. There is high
priced for green raisins in India and it can be a potential opportunity for Afghanistan. Meanwhile
China is also one of the importer of green raisins, which can be one of the rising opportunity for
Afghan entrepreneurs and government to take some initial steps and promote the green raisin
export to the mentioned countries. In order to promote the production of green raisins with
USA20%
China3%
Hong Kong4%
Canada6%
Russia 7%
EU-2748%
Others 12%
Main Grapes Importing Countries
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quality standards and find new markets, new raisin processing plants are needed. It is a good
opportunity for the donor agencies as well to invest on.
In 2010 Afghanistan produced world’s 3.1 percent raisins which made Afghanistan one of the 6th
major raisin producing country of the world. Figure 2.4 shows the raisin producing countries of
the world.
Figure 2.4: Raisin Producing Countries of the World
In 2009 the total exports of raisins reached to 30 million USD and constituted 45% of total
exports of the country. There was 203% difference between the prices of wholesale raisins in
Kandahar and wholesale price of Bangalore. The transportation cost, tariff cost which are 50% of
the value of invoice and non-tariff barriers are the elements which leads the export price to
upward by 93% and the price of raisin will become 1.25 USD/kg. The main raisin importing
countries of the world are shown in figure 2.5.
Russia is the third largest consuming country of raisin after EU-27 and Canada. 68000 tons of
raisins were imported during 2010. The wholesale price of raisin coming from Afghanistan is
increased by 75%. In 2002 the price of raisins were 0.83 USD/kg, in 2008 it were 1.65 USD/kg
while it was 1.5-3 USD/kg in 2010 depending of the quality and region form where it is coming.
The wholesale price difference in Moscow and Kandahar varies between 225-385%. The
Afghanistan , 3.1
United States , 27.5
Turkey, 23.6
Iran, 12.3
China, 11.8
chile, 7.4
Raisin Producing Counties of the World
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maximum export price for Afghan raisins to Moscow can be estimated 179% higher than the
Kandahar and the lowest is calculated at 86%.
Figure 2.5: The main raisin importing countries
2.3 Melons & Watermelons
The figure 2.6 shows the production of melons by province.
Figure 2.6: Melon production by province
United States4%
Ukraine 3%
Russia 11%
japan4%
EU-2750%
Canada4%
Brazil4%
Australia4%
Others 16%
The Main Raisin Importing Countries
Samangan 2%
Sari pul 6%Others
1%
Badghis 6%
Baghlan2%
Balkh 5%
Farah5%
Ghazni 5%
Faryab 19%
Herat14%
Jawzjan 11%
Kunduz 24%
Melon Production by Province
Source: Agricultural Profile ASAP 2009
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The figure 2.7 show the production of watermelon by province
Figure 2.7: Watermelon production by province
Exported melon and watermelon were valued 1.36 million USD in 2010. Export values of these
products were at peak in 2007 with 2.2 million USD. It is 15 times higher than 2000. Pakistan is
the big exporting partner for both melons and watermelons from last one decade. The average
export price to Pakistan is the lowest among all others importing partners of Afghanistan and it is
the lowest profit per unit of export to this country. India is also one of the importer of
watermelons and melons of Afghanistan, but 10 times less than Pakistan. There are some other
countries like UAE, Kuwait, Poland and others which give a better average of export price for
Afghanistan but they are sporadic. The main exports of melon and watermelons are trading
among the neighboring countries and none of the countries are targeting the main international
markets like Canada, EU, Russia, and China. There is a big potential opportunity for Afghanistan
to take some serious actions and occupy the international markets.
2.3.1 New markets
New markets are Moscow, Russia and Warsaw of Poland, the reason for selecting Russia and
Poland is that the climatic of these countries are not suitable for the production of exotic fruits
secondly watermelons and melons are exported to these countries sporadically and third is that
Badghis 8%
Sari pul 5%
Others 1%
Parwan1%
Baghlan1%
Farah 36%
Ghazni 6%
Faryab 19%
Herat12%
Jawzjan 7%
Kunduz 4%
Watermelon production by province
Source: Agricultural Profile ASAP 2009
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by entering to Poland’s market would mean of entering to EU-27 markets. Russia and EU-27 are
the areas where there is very high worldwide demand for melons and watermelons by the end of
2010. In Warsaw, Poland the wholesale price is 0.75 USD/kg which is 193% of the domestic
market almost 3 times, another benefit is that EU-27 has 0% tariff on melons and watermelons.
By selecting these countries for exporting the entrepreneurs can maximize their profits.
In Moscow the wholesale price of melon is 1.7 USD/kg which is 5 time more than the average
domestic wholesale price of melon. The price differentiation is huge but the profit can be
decreased because of the transportation cost and import tariffs. The export parity price for
Moscow is 0.78 USD/kg and the average profit margin will be 0.91 which means that the trader
will get benefit of 25000 USD per truck from the trade of melons between Russia and
Afghanistan. The similar situation is prevailing in Homburg the average wholesale price of
melon is 0.26 USD/kg which is 3 time more than the domestic prices but due to the
transportation cost the profit will be narrowed down. The export parity price for Homburg will
be 0.53 USD/kg
2.3.2 Existing Markets
Pakistan is one of the existing market for the Afghan melons and watermelons the price in
domestic market was valued 0.28 USD/Kg whereas the whole sale price in Lahore, Pakistan was
0.33 USD/Kg which shows 15% increase in the price of both markets. However the time is the
most important factor in determining the prices which ultimately leads to profit and loss. The
prices of melons and watermelons are high in early seasons and the prices become uncompetitive
in domestic markets so it will lead to fulfill the domestic demands rather than the export
demands. The export profits improves when there is a higher demand in Lahore and lower prices
in domestic markets during the specific season (August till September) which is considered as an
opportunity for traders.
2.4 Almonds
The production growth slope was in upward direction with a minor decrease in 2004. Mainly the
production zones of almonds lay in South-Western and Northern regions of Afghanistan. The
production of almonds by province in elaborated in the figure 2.8.
Figure # 2.8: Production of almond by province:
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Global almond production in 2009 went up to 2,420 thousand tons, where the main almond
producing country all over the world is USA, by producing 58% of global almonds and
Afghanistan in also one of the 10 main almond producing countries of the world. Afghanistan
produces 2% of almonds of the world. The following figure 2.9 shows the almond production of
the glob by countries.
Figure 2.9: Production of almonds by country
Paktia3%
Zabul 48%
Ghazni5%
Balkh4%
Samangan36%
Kapisa 2%
Parwan2%
Production percentage of almonds by province
source: CSO Agriculture Report
USA58%
Afghansitan 2%
Tunisia 2%
Turkey 2%
Syria 4%
Morocco 4%
Italy 5%
Iran5%
Spain7%
Production of almonds by country
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A very large quantity of Afghan almonds are exported to Pakistan with a very lower average
export price of 0.3 USD/kg. Afghanistan also occasionally exports to Germany where it is sold
with an average price of 5.8 USD/kg. The study and analysis of several factor indicates that
Afghanistan can become an important exporter of almonds in the world as it fits to its rank as
one of the top ten producer of almond in the globe.
Figure 2.10: Top Almond Importing Countries
China and Hong-Kong can be a good opportunity for Afghanistan in terms of export of almonds
to these countries as China and Hong Kong both import 15% of almonds of the world and the
transportation cost will be also lower as compared to EU areas. The average export price for
Afghan almonds is calculated 2.2 USD/kg. The transportation cost 0.5 USD/kg and 24% tariff
and other several barriers could make some difficulties but still Afghan almonds can reach the
China’s big and competitive market with a proper strategy.
Turkey , 2 Poland, 1 Egypt, 1 Maxico, 1
Lebanon, 1
Russia, 3
Canada, 4
Japan, 4
China & Hong Kong, 15
India, 8
EU-27, 47
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2.5 Major Horticultural Products of Each Province
Badakhshan: Badakhshan’s 61% of products are horticultural products which include
Grapes, Nuts (Almonds), Pomegranates and Watermelons.
Badghis: Total horticultural products of Badghis reaches up to 49% (141,203 tons) out of
total products of the province which are mainly fruits. Badghis is well known in
producing pistachio and it also produces Melons and Grapes.
Baghlan: Baghan’s products contain only 8% (35,401 tons) horticultural products which
are mainly Pistachio, Apples, Melons, Mulberries and Apricots.
Balkh: Balkh has 32% (193,875 tons) horticultural produces which are Watermelons,
Melons, Grapes and Pomegranates.
Bamyan: Only 2% (3,708 tons) of Bamyan products are horticultural products which
include Apples and Apricots.
Daikundy: Mostly fruits and nuts are the dominant agricultural products of this province
which reaches up to 94%. Almonds are the main export product of this province and also
produces Grapes, Apricots and Pomegranates.
Farah: Farah’s 49% products are dominated by the horticulture products which are
522,867 tons, mostly fruits which include Watermelons, Pomegranates, Apricots and
Grapes.
Faryab: Faryab produces 364,384 tons of horticultural products which are 53% of its
total products. Mainly the products are Watermelons, Grapes, Apples and Apricots
Ghazni: Total horticultural products of Ghazni reaches up to 447,156 tons which are the
43% of all of its products. Mostly Ghazni produces Apples, Apricots, Plums, Grapes and
Almonds.
Ghor: Ghor produces 3,140 tons, 2% of all of its products mainly Walnuts, Apricots,
Apples and Almonds
Helmand: Helmand’s more than 67% of products come from horticultural origin. Its
famous horticultural crops are Pomegranates, Grapes, Melons and Cauliflowers.
Herat: Herat produces 328,740 tons (44%) of horticultural crops mainly they are Grapes,
Watermelons, Melons, Apricots, Peaches and Pistachios.
Jowzjan: Jowzjan’s 49% of products are fruits and nuts which are about 119,181 tons
and mostly include Melons, Watermelons, Apricots, Grapes and Almonds.
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Kabul: Out of total agriculture products of Kabul province 72% (281,870 tons) are
horticultural products mainly Kabul produce; Grapes, Apples, Almonds and Peaches.
Kandahar: Kandahar’s 61% (of products are horticultural products which are
Pomegranates, Grapes, Raisins, Melons and Watermelons. Most of its products are
exported.
Kapisa: kapisa produces 55,464 tons of horticultural products which are 42% of all of its
products and its main horticultural crops are; Mulberries, Grapes and Pomegranates.
Khost: Khost’s 53% of products are horticultural products which are Pomegranates,
Walnuts, Melons and Watermelons.
Kunar: Kunar’s 37% of products are horticultural products, the main horticultural crops
of Kunar are Walnuts, Mulberries and Grapes.
Kundus: Kundus produces about 6211,242 tons of horticultural products which are
counted at 27% of all of the province’s products. Its most popular horticultural crops are
Melons, Watermelons, Grapes and Pistachios.
Laghman: Laghman products contain 37% horticultural products which are mainly
Grapes, Pomegranates, Walnuts and Mulberries.
Logar: Logar’s most popular horticultural products are Grapes, Apples, Apricots, Pines
and Nuts which are 20% (36,400 tons) of all of its products.
Nangarhar: Nangarhar is also called as food basket of Afghanistan where agriculture
and livestock have developed very smoothly. It is all because of the climatic suitability.
Nangarhar produces Grapes, Oranges, Watermelons, Walnuts and Mulberries
horticultural products, out of which Walnuts, Grape, Watermelons and Pomegranates are
important export crops.
Nimroz: The past drought has negatively affected the Nimroz’s crops production by
90%. Nimroz’s most popular horticultural products are: Grapes, Watermelons and
Melons out of which Watermelons and Grapes are exported to foreign countries.
Nooristan: Nooristan’s horticultural products are Grapes, Mulberries, Pomegranates,
Almond and Walnuts. Nooristan suffer from lack of technology in agriculture and
horticulture sectors.
Paktika: Mostly Paktia’s horticultural crops are Grapes, Mulberries, Pomegranates,
Almonds and Walnuts. Grapes and melons are export crops of Paktika.
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Paktya: Paktya produces Apples, Grapes and Apricots as horticulture products. Since
Paktya is a cold province of Afghanistan it produce less crops and almost in all of its
districts there is one agricultural season. The people of Paktya are mostly engaged in
livestock.
Panshir: Panshir produced 26,130 tons of horticulture crops in 2011 and the produced
horticultural products were 49% of all of its production in the province. Its popular
horticultural crops are; Mulberries, Apples, Walnuts, Apricots and Grapes.
Parwan: Parwan produces around 139,803 tons of horticultural crops which are 43% of
its total products mostly the horticultural products of Parwan consist of Grapes,
Mulberries, Apricots, Almonds, Apples and Watermelons. Important fresh fruit exports
of Parwan are Grapes and Apricots, and the key dry fruit exports are Raisins, Almonds
and dried Mulberries.
Samangan: Samangan’s total estimated production in 2008 was 292,286 metric tons out
of which 10% (29,746 tons) was horticultural products. Its main horticultural products are
Pistachios, Almonds, Melons and Watermelons.
Sar-e-pul: Out of total production of Sar-e-pul province 56% (628,180 tons) was
horticultural crops in 2008 and the main crops include: Grapes, Pomegranates, Almonds,
Walnuts, Melons and Watermelons.
Takhar: Out of total crop production of Takhar 65% are horticultural crops which
include: Almonds, Walnuts, Mulberries, Grapes, Melons and Watermelons.
Uruzgan: In Uruzgan about 60% of households gain their income from agricultural
activities. Its most horticultural products are Apricots, Almonds Melons and
Watermelons. The biggest market for Uruzgan’s products is Kandahar.
Wardak: In 2008 out of total production of Wardak province 36 percent of the crops
were from horticultural sector which were 190,030 tons. Wardak is mostly popular for
Apple production and other horticultural products are Apricots, Peachs and Almonds.
Zabul: In Zabul the main source of income of households are agriculture activities,
which is affected from last drought especially because of dryness of Karizes (Water
Canals). The horticultural products of Zabul province are Almonds, Grapes and Apricots.
Note: The percentages only shows the fresh and dry fruits.
Source (http://afghanag.ucdavis.edu/)
Page | 16
CHAPTER # 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Methods
In this research mostly articles, journals and reports are used as secondary data while the primary
data is collected through simple multiple choice questionnaire and direct interviews. The
questionnaire will be attached with the appendix A. The data is collected from various associated
parities mostly, Horticultural crop Traders, Farmers, Shopkeepers and Government Official.
3.2 Sampling and Population
The data between 2003 and 2014 has been used and the convenient sampling technique is used.
The population is the certain horticultural products of entire Afghanistan.
3.3 Data Collection
The data in this research is collected through structured and unstructured interviews,
questionnaire, articles, journals, dissertation and governmental reports.
3.3.1 Primary data
The primary data is collected through questionnaire and direct interviews. The
questionnaire was distributed to the farmers, traders and shopkeepers, while
interviews were held with the government officials, big traders of horticultural
and floricultural products.
3.3.2 Secondary data
As secondary data the report of various ministries like Ministry of Agriculture,
Irrigation and livestock, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of industries and
commerce are used. International research dissertations, articles and reports of
international agencies are also used in this regard.
3.4 Limitations of study
As there is no sufficient data available for all horticultural products so this study does not
constitute all the horticultural products of Afghanistan mainly flowers and vegetables. The study
is only limited to the fresh and dried fruits like Apples, Pomegranates, Watermelon and Melon,
Grapes, Raisins, Almonds and Pistachio.
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CHAPTER # 4
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Contribution of agriculture to the total GDP of Afghanistan is 31.5% whereas the total
contribution of horticulture to the agricultural sector is about 32%.
4.1 Strengths of Horticulture sector in Afghanistan
Agro-climatic condition of Afghanistan: The condition of Afghanistan is very suitable for
the production of variety of unique products like wild pistachio which is hardly found in
other countries of the world.
Soil suitability for the horticultural production: Soil is very much suitable for the
production of horticultural products especially fresh and dried fruits.
Existence of big domestic markets like Kandahar, Kabul, Herat, Mazar and Jalalabad.
Afghan horticultural products are well-known in the region and worldwide.
Most of Afghan farmers are already familiar with the production of the horticultural
crops and are very receptive to the innovations.
Uniqueness of Afghan horticultural products like Wild Pistachio and Almonds
4.2 Weaknesses
Farmers do not have enough money to invest on modern technology.
Farmers are using the traditional ways of Production, Grading, Packaging and
Marketing.
Lack of cold storages
Lack of quality control
Lack of value adding processes and packaging
Absence of specific brands
Lack of general technical know-how
Export procedures are not well developed no single agency is working for promotion of
the export of the horticultural products which is one of the biggest sectors of
Afghanistan. By the 4th quarter of 2014 the total exports contains about 47.23% of
horticultural products which is a huge value as compared to the other sectors of the
economy.
Lack of proper domestic and international refrigerated transportation
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Farmers have no market information
Weak irrigation system
Lack of credits like production credits, post-harvesting credits, marketing credits and
export credits.
4.3 Opportunities
Floriculture and ornamental plants: Despite that Afghanistan is producing variety of
flowers which can be hardly found in neighboring countries, still Floriculture products
are not the focus of Ministry of Agriculture. They do not have any kind of program for
floriculture and this sector of horticulture is totally neglected in Afghanistan. No data is
available on floriculture within Ministry of Agriculture nor with the international
agencies.
Cottage industry can be developed in rural areas which can reduce the unemployment in
rural areas and can enhance to stop migrations to urban areas which will lead to avoid the
unemployment and poverty in both rural and urban areas. Cottage industry can also help
to reduce the imports of Afghanistan. The major advantages of cottage industry in
Afghanistan are listed below. Mostly the cottage industry of horticultural products can be
packaging and small private cold storages
o Meets the demand of the local market
o Reduce regional economic disparity
o Less capital and less sophisticated technology is involved (do not need to huge
investment)
o Best use of local raw materials
o Employment potential
o Gainful employment for women
o Reduces rural-urban migrations
Fruit processing firms can emerge
Horticulture activities are labor intensive which can lead to increase in employment
Horticultural sapling production is a high income activity that can bring high income for
the farmers
Horticultural sapling production is a water-efficient activity and it is very good for a
country like Afghanistan where water resources are very limited.
Page | 19
Horticultural crop production has low operation cost for farmers in Afghanistan
Horticultural crop and sapling production in urban and peri-urban areas can help reduce
the poverty and malnutrition of the area.
Afghan horticultural products have a very good market in regional countries like
Pakistan, India, UAE, etc.
4.4 Obstacles of Horticulture in Afghanistan
4.4.1 Production process
Lack of modern machinery: In Afghanistan hardly one can find the proper machinery
for agriculture or horticulture purposes, still farmers are using the traditional way of
productions process, harvesting and post-harvesting.
Limited water resources: In Afghanistan almost in every province we have the water
problem for agricultural matters. The water availability is seasonal where in spring water
are abundant but in other seasons water are too scarce even farmers dispute with each
other in order to irrigate their fields.
Lack of experts: In Afghanistan very low percentage of students would like to study in
agriculture sector that is why mostly in this sector the qualified experts are not engaged
or if there are experts they are only in urban areas mostly well-known cities, experts are
reluctant to work in rural areas where there a dire need of experts.
Lack of inputs: Mostly there are no standardized inputs available in the market for
farmers and farmers don’t know what can be used for what, for example they don’t know
about pesticides and variety of fertilizers to be used in the fields for specific matters.
They use wrong pesticides and fertilizers that is why the ultimate crop production
decreases.
Page | 20
4.4.2 Post harvesting problems:
Gathering: Another problem for farmers is the gathering process, which takes more time
as they are using the outdated tools for gathering and mostly they are not using proper
method for gathering that is why some of the crops are destroyed at the first stage
(gathering).
Farmers are letting the crops to too ripe which leads to the problems in transportation of
the crops and crops life become very short, mostly a huge segment of the crops are
destroyed while shifting or packaging. It also delay the supplies to the market which can
affect the income of the farmers.
Packaging: Lack of proper packaging also destroys the crops, farmers are only using
plastic bags for the packaging rather it would be more effective to use plastic crates
which can prevent the crops from shaking.
Transportation is another big issue for the farmers, lack of refrigerated trucks which can
keep the crops cool till it reaches to the desired market is a very big problem for farmers
and even for the traders.
Storage: The lack of cold storage in the rural areas where crops are produced, is a reason
for farmers to sell their products in the surplus time where every farmer is trying to sell
his products in order to save them from deterioration and that is why the trader gain more
profit while farmer gain less.
4.5 Market
Farmers don’t know about the demands of the consumers and the market situation,
mostly farmers are copying each other in selection of produces, and usually from one
area similar crops come to the market which pushes the prices downward because of
excess supply of one product.
Lack of market subsidies: Cold storages are not available to the farmers that is why they
bring their crops just after the harvesting, where supply of the crops increase and prices
come down, as a result farmers receive less from their crops. There is no price subsidies
in the shape of minimum price. Which must be set by the government, where no one
should be allowed to buy the specific crop less than the determined price.
Lack of market zones: Some proper markets need to be created on the zone level where
farmers may bring their crops over there and sell it out with appropriate price. The same
Page | 21
markets can also be used as export zone, it will also boost up the exports of the country
and help farmers to reach to broader market.
Instable Political relations with the neighbor countries also affected the exports
negatively to foreign markets.
4.6 Questionnaire used in research
Questions were prepared and asked from 150 traders and farmers.
1. When a question was asked as; “In which rank will you put the Horticultural sector, in
order to benefit the economy of Afghanistan?” out of 150, 29 persons of the respondents
selected first rank, 49 person selected second rank, 41 person selected third, 21
individuals selected forth rank and 10 persons selected fifth rank.
29
49
41
21
10
00
10
20
30
40
50
60
first second third forth fifth non of these
Number of People
Page | 22
2. When a question was asked as; “Please dedicate points to the following problems of
horticulture in production process 1-5, one as less and five as severe problem.”
1) Lack of modern machinery 1 2 3 4 5
2) Lack of water resources 1 2 3 4 5
3) Lack of irrigation system 1 2 3 4 5
4) Lack of inputs 1 2 3 4 5
5) Lack of experts 1 2 3 4 5
Mostly lack of irrigation system and modern machinery got more points. Means there is
a big problem in these areas.
10
50
0
4045
20
40
10
50
40
3035
3035 35
60
25
35
20
10
30
0
75
5
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
Lack of modernmachinery
Lack of waterresources
Lack of irrigationsystem
Lack of inputs Lack of experts
Nu
mb
er
of
Pe
op
le
Number of People Dedicated Points to Each Problem
1 2 3 4 5Points:
Page | 23
3. When a question was asked as “Please dedicate points to the following problems of
horticulture in Post Harvesting 1-5, one as less and five as severe problem.”
1) Lack of transportation facilities 1 2 3 4 5
2) Lack of packaging facilities 1 2 3 4 5
3) Lack storage or cold storage 1 2 3 4 5
Lack of packaging facilities got more points, means people have more worries in this
section of post-harvesting.
100 0
20
5
30
50
10
3040 40 40
30
95
50
0102030405060708090
100110120130140150
Lack of transportation facilities Lack of packaging facilities Lack of storage and/or ColdStorage
Number of People Dedicated Points to Each Proplem
1 2 3 4 5Points:
Page | 24
4. When question was asked as; “Please dedicate points to the following problems of
horticulture in Marketing 1-5, one as less and five as severe problem.”
1) Lack of market subsidies 1 2 3 4 5
2) Lack of market zones 1 2 3 4 5
3) Instable political relations with neighbors 1 2 3 4 5
4) Unawareness of farmers from market condition (demand of consumer)
1 2 3 4 5
Most of individuals indicated that lack of market subsidies is a severe problem,
secondly they reveal that lack of market zones and instable political relations with
neighboring countries are also significant problems.
10 10
0
2520 20
30 30
10
30
40 4040
50
3025
70
40
50
30
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
Lack of market subsidies Lack of market zones Instable political relationswith neighbor countries
unawareness of farmersform market condition
Number People Dedicated Points To Each Problem
1 2 3 4 5Points:
Page | 25
5. When a question was asked as; “Please dedicate points to the following problems of
horticulture in Finance 1-5, one as less and five as severe problem.”
1) Less credit opportunities 1 2 3 4 5
2) Corruption in credit distribution 1 2 3 4 5
3) Capital unavailability 1 2 3 4 5
Most of the individuals indicated that less credit opportunities and capital unavailability
are the significant problems
20
0
1520
50
20
3035
25
40
30
404035
50
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
Less credit opportunities Corruption in credit distribution Capital unavilability
Number People Dedicated Points to Each Problem
1 2 3 4 5Points:
Page | 26
6. When a question was asked as; “Please answer the following questions with yes/NO.
a) Is government policy regarding horticulture is effective?
b) Do Afghan horticultural products have foreign market?”
The answers were as follows;
Yes 27%
NO 56%
Don't Know 17%
A
Yes 60%
No20%
Don't Know 20%
B
Page | 27
7. When a question was asked as; “How would you rate the performance of government
regarding the horticulture crop management?”
A) Poor b) Faire c) Good d) Excellent f) Don’t Know
47% of the respondents selected “Poor”
20% of the respondents selected “Fair”
14% of the respondents selected “Good”
5% of the respondents selected “Excellent” and
14% of the respondents selected “Don’t know”
Poor 47%
Fair 20%
Good 14%
Excellent 5%
Don't Know14%
Perforamnce of Government regarding the Horticulture Crop Management
Page | 28
8. When a statement written as; “Overall, I am very satisfied with the way government
performed in horticultural sector.” the answers toward its acceptance was as follows.
8% of the respondents selected “Strongly Agree”
20% of the respondents selected “Agree”
23% of the respondents selected “Strongly Disagree”
37% of the respondents selected “Disagree” and
12% of the respondents selected “Neither Agree nor Disagree”
Strongly Agree8%
Agree20%
Strongly Disagree23%
Disagree37%
Neither Agree nor Disagree
12%
Satisfaction from the performance of government in Horticulture sector
Page | 29
9. When a question was asked as; “Which sector of agriculture can easily help to uplift the
economy of Afghanistan?” the answers were as follows.
Agri-crops and fruits 30%
Livestock 23%
Poultry farming 17%
Forestry 13%
Beekeeping 17%
Ari-Crops and Fruits 30%
Livestock 23%Poultry Farming
17%
Forestry13%
Beekeeping 17%
Agriculture sectors which can uplift the eonomy of Afghanistan
Page | 30
10. When a question was asked as; “what is the highest education level you have
completed?”
29 individuals studied Less than high school
45 individuals were high schools graduates
20 individuals were 14 grade graduates
50 individuals had bachelor degree
5 individuals had master’s degree, and
1 person had doctoral degree
less than high school , 29
high school, 45
14 grade , 20
bachelor degree , 50
master's degree, 5 Doctoral degree, 1
The number of participant with the highest education level
Page | 31
4.7 SWOT analysis:
S Strengths
•Afghan products are well-known in the region.
•Competitive products in the world market
•Suitable cliamtic condition across the country for variouse products
•Existiance of big domestic markets like Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Kundoz and jalalabad.
•Many Afghan farmers are already fimilier with the production of horicultural products.
Weaknesses
•Lack of cold storage
•Lack of quality control
•Lack of value adding processes and packaging
•Lack of brand
•Lack of general technical Know-How
•Lack of proper demestic transportation
•Lack of refrigerated transportation
•No market information
•Weak irrigation system
Opportunities
•Quality control certification
•Increase in quality by creating cold storage, chilling facilities, providing machinary etc.
•Improvement in market linkage
•By meeting the international stadards reaching to other high value markets.
•Proper packaging, labeling and branding can also increase the sales of the Afghan products.
•Increase in cottage industry
Threats
• Fear if consumer loss faith on afghan products.
• Regional competition
• Price competition
• No speciality (no particular differential feature)
SWOT
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CHAPTER # 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
In order to increase the income of farmers in rural areas, the establishment of market in each
zone of Afghanistan and setting market subsidies in the form of setting minimum price for the
horticultural and agricultural products can easily help to increase the income of farmers. Political
instability is the situation where it kept the farmers in poverty. Afghanistan is a landlocked
country and its exports are totally dependent on relations with neighboring countries, good
relations and long term transit agreements with neighbor countries can help the traders to export
crops in its due time to the other countries of the world. Post-harvesting problems which include
grading, packaging, and storing are also the key problems of Afghan farmers, which really need
to be solved.
The floriculture and ornamental plants of Afghan farmers are totally neglected by the
Government of Afghanistan, and in Ministry of Agriculture no data is available on this sector.
Floriculture sector is a productive sector where lots of farmers of Kabul are engaged with it and
they are trying to fulfill the domestic needs. Despite Afghanistan is a good producer of flowers
and ornamental plants but still Afghanistan is importing flowers from Pakistan and India, which
is all because this sector is ignored by the Afghan Government.
As per the research most of the traders and farmers are worried about the irrigation system, lack
of packaging facilities, luck of market subsidies and political relations with neighbor countries.
Page | 33
5.2 Recommendations
5.2.1 Market subsidies: For certain crops in certain situations and seasons the market
subsidies must be set. The most effective is to set a minimum price for the crops in order to
support farmers. Wherein after harvesting the farmers have to sell their crops immediately
because they do not have the facility of storage and cold storage, from this situation the traders
are getting more benefit by purchasing the crops from the farmers at a very lower price.
Government can also buy some crops at high price from the farmers and store it in their storage
and/or cold storage and can resale after due time. This will help the farmers in gaining more
money which will lead to investment in Agricultural sector and Agro-businesses can also
improve.
5.2.2 Market Zones: At the level of the region like Sought-West region which include
Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Herat and some other provinces, Central region which includes
Kabul, Parwan, Sar-e-pul, Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces, North Region and in the same
way East region Market Zones must be created. Where farmer can bring their crops and can
easily meet with the big traders and exporters of Horticultural and Agricultural products. These
market zones can also work as Afghanistan’s big export zones, where variety of products comes
in and can be exported to different regional and international countries. Along with each market
zone cold storages should be made in order to store crops over there. The cold storages can be
either private owned or public owned. These market zones will create employment opportunities
for skilled and unskilled labors of each region and can help to boost up the economy and increase
the living standards of the people. Ultimately the income of the poor farmers will increase, their
purchasing power will go up and will invest more on the horticulture and agricultural sector and
can reduce the poverty situation in Afghanistan.
5.2.3 Unstable Political Situation:
Government should have very strong and reliable international relations with the regional and
world’s countries where change in economic policies can be reduced and one policy could help
effectively in promotion of exports of the Horticultural and other products. The variation in
destination and in the path of export can be really harmful for the Afghan product’s market. This
situation can also lead to delayed supplies and delayed supply is like giving chance to the
competitors to enter your market and target your customers. Hence demand for the products
Page | 34
decreases. The variation in particular ways in reaching to the target market will delay the supply
and can cause loss for the traders because they are paying rent of trucks, land etc. For solution
the Long terms contract must be signed with the neighboring countries.
5.2.4 Farmer’s awareness:
Generally farmers don’t know about the market situation (demand of the customers) they are
producing the same crops every year and they are simply copying each other in selection of the
crops to produce. Which ultimately leads to oversupply of the product to the market and
decreases the price, from such situation farmers do not gain enough profit and they remain poor
and get even poorer. For the solution of this matter the department of agriculture in each
province must conduct trainings and/or awareness programs for selection of crops and distribute
seeds to the particular farmers.
5.2.5 Post – harvesting:
Each provincial office of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and livestock should make aware the
farmers of the area, to not let the fruits to become too ripe because it will shorten its durability
and will also create difficulties in its transportation and storage. These awareness programs could
be done through media and trainings in each district and in each village.
5.2.6 Storages:
The biggest problem of Afghan farmers throughout the yeara is the storage problem, lack of
standardized cold storages caused the farmers and small traders to sell their products at a very
earlier time with a very lower price, which directly affect the farmers. Mostly the neighboring
countries increase the tariffs in surplus seasons, in order to avoid Afghan exports. These
conditions lead the prices down. Inevitably the farmers and trader have to sell their products
within the boundaries of the countries, with the lowest price and within the due time otherwise
because of lack of storages and cold storages the fruits can be destroyed. The establishment of
big storages and cold storages will help decrease the problem.
5.2.7 Packaging:
Poor packaging is the biggest issue against the exports of the horticultural products of
Afghanistan. Good packaging will maintain quality of the products, will create image of product
and will be always trustable. Through good packaging the visibility of the products increases
which will increase demand for the product. Government and international donor agencies
should try to fund and/or establish small agro-packaging firms.
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5.2.8 Transportation:
Transportation is the infrastructural matter, each country of the world should have a well-
established transportation system. Afghanistan’s transportation is very closely related with its
exports, and poverty. Good roads to productive districts of provinces can help the farmers to
reach the market at time and use fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs at its due time which will
help to increase production and will give a chance to farmer to gain more.
5.2.9 Floriculture and ornamental plants
Floriculture is completely neglected in Afghanistan. Even very high profile employees at
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) don’t know about the situation of
floriculture in Afghanistan and they haven’t worked in this sector. Research suggest that there
must be a specific nursery for floricultural products and the products of floricultural need to
come under the statistics and administration of government. The production and exports of
floriculture and ornamental plants should be promoted. In each eight zones of Afghanistan
markets of floriculture and ornamental plants must be established where ornamental plants can
be sold and exported from that specific market to other countries of the world.
Page | 36
References
Refah M.R. (2003). Prioritizing Export Opportunities for Horticulture in Afghanistan.
David A. G. (2009). Cold Storage, Airfreights and High Value Afghan Horticulture.
Directorate of Statistics and market information of ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and
livestock. (3/November/2012 till 8/November/2012). Report on export of agricultural
commodities form the ports country.
Directorate of Statistics and Market Information of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation
and Livestock of Afghanistan. The publications of USAID’s Agricultural Credit
Enhancement Program. Market Briefs of Almonds, An Overview of Export Potential
Directorate of Statistics and Market Information of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation
and Livestock of Afghanistan. The publications of USAID’s Agricultural Credit
Enhancement Program. Market Briefs of Grapes, An Overview of Export Growth
Directorate of Statistics and Market Information of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation
and Livestock of Afghanistan. USAID’s Agricultural Credit Enhancement Program.
Market Briefs of Raisins, An Overview of Export Growth
Directorate of Statistics and Market Information of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation
and Livestock of Afghanistan. USAID’s Agricultural Credit Enhancement Program.
Market Briefs of Melons and Watermelons, An Overview of Export Potential
Page | 37
Appendix A: Questionnaire
Name: ________________________ Place: _________________
Designation: ___________________ Date __________________
Note: It is absolutely fine, if you don’t want to answer any specific question.
Q1 In which rank will you put the horticulture, in order to benefit the economy of
Afghanistan
a) First b) second c) third d) forth e) fifth
f) None of these
Q2 Please dedicate points to the following problems of horticulture in production process 1-5
one as less and five as severe problem.
6) Lack of modern machinery 1 2 3 4 5
7) Lack of water resources 1 2 3 4 5
8) Lack of irrigation system 1 2 3 4 5
9) Lack of inputs 1 2 3 4 5
10) Lack of experts 1 2 3 4 5
Q3 Please dedicate points to the following problems of horticulture in Post Harvesting 1-5
one as less and five as severe problem.
4) Lack of transportation facilities 1 2 3 4 5
5) Lack of packaging facilities 1 2 3 4 5
6) Lack storage or cold storage 1 2 3 4 5
Page | 38
Q4 Please dedicate points to the following problems of horticulture in Marketing 1-5 one as
less and five as severe problem.
5) Lack of market subsidies 1 2 3 4 5
6) lack of market zones 1 2 3 4 5
7) instable political relations with neighbors 1 2 3 4 5
8) unawareness of farmers from market condition (demand of consumer)
1 2 3 4 5
Q5 Please dedicate points to the following problems of horticulture in Finance 1-5 one as less
and five as severe problem.
4) Lack of credit opportunities 1 2 3 4 5
5) Corruption in credit distribution 1 2 3 4 5
6) Capital unavailability 1 2 3 4 5
Q6 Please answer the following questions with yes/NO
c) Is government policy regarding horticulture is effective?
d) Do Afghan horticultural products have foreign market?
Q7 How would you rate the performance of government regarding the horticulture crop
management?
B) Poor b) Faire c) Good d) Excellent f) Don’t Know
Q8 Overall, I am very satisfied with the way government performed in horticultural sector.
a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Strongly Disagree d) Disagree
e) Neither Agree nor Disagree
Q9 Which sector of agriculture can easily help to uplift the economy of Afghanistan?
a) Agri-crops and fruits b) Livestock c) Poultry farming d) forestry
f) beekeeping
Page | 39
Q10 what is the highest education level you have completed?
Less than high school
High school
14 grade
Bachelor degree
Master’s degree
Doctoral degree
Thank you for your cooperation