Issue

1/10

February 2010

AFGHANISTAN Social Well-being Sector Report Valeria Davanzo Social Well-being KM (valeria.davanzo@cimicweb.org) (www.cimicweb.org) TO RATE OR COMMENT ON THIS PUBLICATION, CLICK HERE
Food Security in Afghanistan
Access to sufficient quality and quantity of food is often termed food security/insecurity. A report published by the British Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology discusses how food security is affected by a number of factors, including poverty, health, food production, political stability, infrastructure, access to markets and natural hazards. The concept of food security is commonly defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets the dietary needs, as well as the food preferences of a group of people. Hunger is considered by many sources to be closely interlinked with poverty, disease and armed conflict. Research conducted by the Environmental Change and Security Programme (ECSP) establishes a clear causal connection between poverty, hunger and natural resource deprivation, along with the probability of armed conflict and instability. According to ECSP research, widespread hunger, misery and lack of social justice almost systematically generate anger and provide an apparent justification for international instability and terrorism. Ongoing conflict has led to decades of severe poverty and food insecurity in Afghanistan, as noted by the World Food Program (WFP). Nine years after the fall of the Taliban regime, which led to a massive influx of international organisations, funds and expertise, there is still a need for strong humanitarian intervention to avert further deterioration of food security, particularly among vulnerable communities and during the difficult winter months. While humanitarian assistance may be effective in providing food and shelter for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), it remains important that policies and regulations deal with the key causes of food insecurity. Similar to other countries experiencing conflict, and more broadly most developing countries, an effective public sector is still needed in many areas of Afghanistan, specifically in relation to food security. This includes agricultural research, as noted in a January 2010 report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Food Security Project, to develop appropriate technology for small farmers, improved rural infrastructure, healthcare and education, the development and enforcement of the legal system, and the creation of a sustainable economy. Effective policies are also necessary to facilitate privatization and guide the transformation of the agricultural sector to benefit the poorest among the Afghan population. According to US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, currently about 50% of Afghanistans arable land is under cultivation. This arable land has been degraded over the countrys many years of conflict and agricultural productivity has suffered from uncontrolled grazing, intrusion and illegal logging. Food security conditions recurrently deteriorate during winter, specifically in chronically food insecure zones such as Bamian, Dai Kundi, Ghor and Badakhshan provinces, according to assessments by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS) Network. These remote rural areas are known for experiencing transportation complications during winter, combined with very little arable land to cultivate. This

can lead to challenges for Afghans during the winter months and causes an increase in food and fuel prices. In addition, food markets are seasonal and families must maintain their diet with whatever food they have stocked for the winter. Data from the 2007-2008 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) indicates that 7.4 million Afghans (nearly a third of the population) do not receive sufficient amounts of food to live active, healthy lives. Another 8.5 million (37%) are on the borderline of food insecurity, while each year an estimated 400,000 Afghans are affected by natural disasters such as drought, floods, earthquakes and/or extreme weather conditions. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), high food prices placed 1.3 million previously food-secure people in rural Afghanistan into high risk food-insecurity in 2008. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports that in 2008, food prices increased by 100% in global markets and about 60% in Afghan markets. According to the New York Times, Afghanistan experienced a severe drought in 2008 which led to crop failure and significant hikes in food prices. This trend was reversed the following year sufficient amounts of rainfall enabled the country to reach near self-sufficiency in domestic grain production. Prices began to fall sharply toward the end of 2009. As such, according to the Agricultural Commodity Price Bulletin dated 17 January 2010, the National Consumer Price Index in December 2009 was 25.4 percentage points lower than in December 2008. The annual drop in the national food index was 43.8 percent points, which was mainly due to a decrease in local wheat prices caused by the 2009 bumper harvest. The State of Food and Agriculture Report 2006, released by FAO, states that food assistance should remain a last resort as it can have a negative impact on the population. This includes creating dependency on external assistance, which may in fact be counterproductive to long-term sustainable reductions in hunger and poverty. Instead, the report suggests that specific agro-economic development programmes should be prioritized. Numerous international organisations and government institutions have worked with the goal of bolstering agricultural production and productivity, improving physical infrastructure and market development and building capacity at the root level through increased community participation. Poor snowfall can lead to water shortages during the summer months, which results in crop damage including underdeveloped growth and disease. In an attempt to overcome this recurrent situation, various organisations have developed specific programmes to assist the most vulnerable of the population. A National Area Based Development Programme (NABDP) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in coordination with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) is attempting to contribute to the sustainable reduction of poverty and the improvement of livelihoods in rural Afghanistan by empowering communities to articulate and address their needs and priorities. Through improving livelihoods and gaining new technical knowledge, farmers will enhance their capability to maximise their production, efficiency and food processing capacities, thereby increasing their food security. The NABDP also aims to enable the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) to support community-based rural rehabilitation and development in an integrated, peoplefocused, inclusive and participatory manner. Other programmes, such as OXFAM programmes through which 31 communities in Daikundi province have been assisted in building grain banks, have followed the model of neighbour India and introduced Grain Banks schemes implemented at the community level. These programmes have been successful in rural Afghanistan, offering communities the possibility to buy grain when the price is affordable, and then distribute it to those most in need to prevent them from taking out loans or selling their livestock during winter months. Initiatives in food processing and preservation have contributed to food security for many households, as well as promoted better nutrition through a diversified diet. These initiatives also play an important role in improving the income of many Afghan women. Among other projects within the National Agricultural Development Framework

(NADF), the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) intends to launch an economic regeneration programme focused on developing home-based food processing and preservation. The main objectives of this programme are to generate income for women through community-based food processing centres and marketing activities, in addition to diversifying each familys diet and reducing seasonal shortages and postharvest losses at the household level. The World Bank-funded Food Crisis Response Project focuses on providing medium-term investments that are essential to increase food security over a specific period of time. The objective of the project is to enhance wheat and other cereal production through the support of small-scale irrigation at the community level. This is to be accomplished by increasing the amount of irrigated land and building the capacity of communities to implement and maintain irrigation efforts. Through supporting the enhancement of localised wheat production, shortages will likely decrease progressively and self-sufficiency be achieved unless caused by natural factors such as drought or flooding. In 2009, a particularly large wheat harvest had several positive impacts on food security, according to the USAID Afghanistan National Food Security Assessment. Amartya Sens theory on food entitlement (dependency) explain aid agencies should avoid unnecessary food aid distribution in the main agricultural areas to avoid a outside food assistance and improve their targeting of emergency assistance to areas and populations at high risk. Last years record harvest can be taken advantage of by increasing the strategic grain reserves in preparation for future emergencies. In the first month of 2010, reports reveal that Afghanistan has been experiencing an unusually dry winter with very little snowfall being recorded since mid-December 2009. These figures have created some concern among the rural population of an impending drought. However, experts and government officials alike agree that any premature warnings suggesting a possible drought could lead to food hoarding and result in food shortages with negative repercussions on prices. Additionally, the month of February is experiencing regular rainfall and heavy snow, which should replenish the underground water table and limit the possibility of drought. It has been officially announced at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome last November that the Afghan government has placed national food security as a high priority. Through the National Food Security Programme, a major component of the Ten Year Master Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, small producers and vulnerable groups will be assisted in raising farm productivity and therefore decrease food insecurity. Such a national emphasize should assist in creating a sustainable agro-economic system that would make Afghanistan food self-sufficient.

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