IN

III.AGRICULTURE

III.8. FARMERS AND IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY

III.8.1. ACCEPTANCE OF IMPROVED INPUTS

Under normal conditions, it is reported that improved inputs such as varieties, seed, fertilizer and pesticides, have been adopted on a larger scale in the irrigated areas. In the survey reported by Dennis et al., about 83% of the 350 villages surveyed in the year 2000 reported using at least one kind of chemical fertilizer. It should be noted that this survey reported that some 68% of the surveyed households did not report using modern wheat varieties or seed. The rainfed areas reportedly use little in the way of improved inputs.

On the rainfed areas, little (sometimes reported as none, depending on area) use of yield-enhancing inputs occurs. It appears to be almost entirely LEISA (little external input subsistence agriculture) conditions.

It must be noted that "Afghanistan is a land of an endless variation of small micro-climates". Therefore, the conditions (including transport, accessibility, markets, crops, etc.) extant probably cause considerable variation also in use of inputs, so generalizations must be considered as that-generalizations.

III.8.2. FERTILIZERS

Urea, DAP and SSP/TSP are the mainly-used mineral fertilizers. FAO reports that availability of fertilizers in the market was "universally" reported to be good. A separate FAO report noted that availability was reported as good in most areas, and "the mission saw good supplies in stores along the road south of Kabul and in Herat. A Pakistani trader in Peshawar reported 70,000 MT imported into Afghanistan in 1999. Iranian urea was seed in stores in Herat, as well as supplies from Turkmenistan". Most of the fertilizer requirements (nitrogen requirements estimated at some 500,000 MT of Urea equivalent) are met through imports from Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan. The Mazar-I-Sharif fertilizer factory has a reported capacity of 105,000 MT of Urea annually, from natural gas. It is reported to be operating at 70% of capacity.

FAO also reported that "sales of adulterated and low quality fertilizer were reported to be continuing, especially in the east".

As to use of fertilizers, FAO found that " there has been a further and significant reduction of use of fertilizers in many areas. The limited ability of the impoverished farmers to use fertilizer has been exacerbated by their indebtedness". A large part of the farmers are financially unable to obtain seed or fertilizer.

III.8.3. FARM POWER

"Many farmers now use tractors for cultivation as they do not have sufficient land to maintain a pair of oxen. Tractors owned by larger landowners are widely available for rent, but farmers find it difficult to pay the charges in the absence of credit facilities" (FAO).

Oxen were the primary field power source before the war, when 90+% of farmers plowed with their own oxen. However, during the war, farmers (especially refugees) were unable to maintain their oxen, and by 1987 only 43% of farmers remaining in the country used oxen. Use of tractors has increased, so that much of the tillage is done by hired tractors (obviously, the many small farmers cannot afford a tractor).

Some farmers visited during this trip stated that they did not have enough land/money to maintain their own oxen. They did not have money to hire tillage by oxen or tractors, so they exchanged labor for land preparation by neighbors in the village who had oxen or tractors.

III.8.4. ACCEPTANCE OF MODERN VARIETIES

Reportedly, the modern "improved" varieties are used primarily in irrigated areas. Landraces are still grown widely in the rainfed areas.

"Genetic diversity is an ancient time-tested mechanism that has been used in agriculture. Its value has in the last decades been discovered again scientifically and is increasingly being used again in modern agriculture. Local landraces and mixtures contain a diversity of characteristics, including disease resistance (these are the source of resistance for virtually all resistance used in modern breeding programs). Landraces and mixtures have received little study, and little is know of how farmers manipulate resistance genes in genetically diverse systems…..In Afghanistan's rainfed areas, landraces are made up of similar but highly diverse germplasm adapted over centuries by selection to local conditions. Under broad local conditions with no use of external inputs, landraces perform better than most improved varieties. It is likely that the reasons for limited, slow diffusion and acceptance of improved varieties by farmers in rainfed and some irrigated regions have a sound basis and should be respected" (Dennis et al.).

As reported by Dennis et al., a survey in 2000 of four districts in three provinces between Kabul and the Pakistani border did not indicate that a high percentage of farmers had adopted modern improved wheat and maize varieties. Since these districts were on main roads, it was not felt that access to the varieties due to lack of transport was a limiting factor. Similarly, as most were using chemical fertilizers, expense was not felt to be a limiting factor. On this basis, the survey authors concluded that farmer acceptance of the modern varieties was the limiting factor. Dennis et al. concluded that general adoption of modern wheat and maize varieties was limited to parts of the areas where wheat is grown under irrigation each year, either with single- or double-cropping. (this data was taken from Appendix L of Year 2000 Survey for UNOPS carried out by Afghan Survey Unit).

Table 15 (PDF File 51Kb)
Acceptance of Modern Wheat and Maize Varieties in Selected Districts in 3 Provinces in 2000

III.8.5. TRAINABILITY OF FARMERS

Prof. Dr. Abdul Qahar Samin of Afghanaid (AAD) reports that AAD started its agricultural activities in Ghor Province in 2000 with wheat field demonstrations and trials, contract farmer seed growers, and seed distribution. In 2001, the following year, their contract growers' average yield had risen to 184 seers/jerib "which proves that the agriculturalists (AAD staff) in Ghor Province have done an excellent job on on-the-job training of farmer contract growers".

This is an indication that once the benefits of improved varieties and practices are demonstrated effectively (by Extension methods, as used by AAD) to farmers under their own conditions, they are quick to adopt improved methods which are available to them and within their means to purchase/obtain.

III.8.6. LOCAL (FARMER) VARIETIES vs. IMPROVED VARIETIES

There has been much discussion about the relative value of improved vs. local farmer varieties. Some have even maintained that local farmer varieties out-yield improved varieties under conditions such as are found in Afghanistan.

Afghanaid, as reported by Prof. Dr. Abdul Qahar Samin, conducted wheat variety and fertility trials and observation plots in the provinces of Badakhshan, Ghor and Nuristan. A number of improved varieties were compared with local varieties; local fertilizer was compared with chemical fertilizer; and seed were distributed to a large number of farmers. In 2001, which was still one of the serious drought years, the average lowest wheat yield was produced by the concerned local varieties. All of the improved varieties tested by AAD are much better than the concerned local varieties. Average yield of local varieties in Ghor and Nuristan was 90 seers/jerib (seer = 7 kg, jerib = 0.5 acre), while average yields of 13 improved varieties ranged from 108 to 141 seers/jerib.