Agriculture in Afghanistan and Neighboring Asian Countries

Publication Date: November 2001

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Type:

Coverage: Afghanistan

Abstract:

Agriculture's share of total economic activity - as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) - is significant in seven countries located in Central and South Asia: Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Its share ranges from about one fifth in Tajikistan to more than one half in Afghanistan. Those employed in the agricultural sector account for a large portion of the entire labor force in all seven countries. Agricultural workers account for almost one-third of all employment in Iran; in Afghanistan, farmers and related workers represent more than two-thirds of the labor force.

Large desert regions and extreme mountainous terrain limit the amount of arable land in most of these countries. Irrigation systems are vital in most countries in directing limited water supplies to agricultural producing areas.

All seven countries are net food importers, meaning they do not produce enough to cover all their food needs. Even with food purchases, the World Bank considers a portion of each country's population to be malnourished due to poverty. Hunger in some areas has been further exacerbated by food shortages. Some countries have in recent years experienced successive years of drought, which has resulted in a decline in agricultural output. Largely for these reasons, the United Nation's (UN) World Food Program reports that Afghanistan and Tajikistan are in need of emergency food assistance over the next year to cover sizable food deficits. Afghanistan's food aid needs have increased since mid-September 2000, reflecting refugee movement toward border regions, and disruptions and logistical problems that UN personnel expect in distributing food aid due to military conflict and the onset soon of harsh winter conditions.

Afghanistan's agricultural sector has deteriorated during more than two decades of conflict, and made a large portion of the country's population reliant on international food aid. By comparison, Pakistan and Iran have introduced some agricultural reforms in recent years, seeking to raise productivity and to bolster their agricultural sectors' contribution to their national economies.

Of the former Soviet Union republics (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), Kyrgyzstan appears to have modified its policies the most by transfering formerly state-owned farmland to agricultural producers and by introducing elements of market-oriented agricultural policies. Tajikistan has also introduced some reforms, but its agricultural sector faces serious problems following two years of drought. Cotton production (heavily reliant on irrigation) is a major component of the agricultural sectors in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Cotton exports from these three countries are important in generating much needed foreign exchange as well as transfering resources to other economic sectors.