Livelihoods Zoning “Plus” Activity in Afghanistan

Home , Arghandab River, Badakhshan Province, Chaki Wardak District, Daykundi Province, Helmand River, Khwaja Du Koh

LIVELIHOODS ZONING “PLUS” ACTIVITY IN AFGHANISTAN

A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET)

February 2011

LIVELIHOODS ZONING “PLUS” ACTIVITY IN AFGHANISTAN

A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET)

February 2011

The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Contents Acknowledgments ...... 5

Introduction ...... 5

Methodology ...... 7

Livelihoods Highlights ...... 8

National Seasonal Calendar ...... 9

Livelihood Zone 1: Eastern Mixed Agriculture and Forest ...... 10

Livelihood Zone 2: Eastern Agro-Pastoral and Forest ...... 12

Livelihood Zone 3: Southeastern High-Migration, Forest-Product and Livestock ...... 14

Livelihood Zone 4: Eastern Semi-Arid Agriculture ...... 16

Livelihood Zone 5: Eastern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture ...... 18

Livelihood Zone 6: Eastern Cross-Border Trade and Labor ...... 20

Livelihood Zone 7: Eastern Deep-Well Irrigated Agriculture ...... 22

Livelihood Zone 8: Kabul and Logar Irrigated ...... 24

Livelihood Zone 9: Southern Intensive Irrigated Vegetable and Orchard ...... 26

Livelihood Zone 10: Southern Semi-Arid Pastoral ...... 28

Livelihood Zone 11: Northern Kandahar Agriculture and Livestock ...... 30

Livelihood Zone 12: South-Central Mixed Farming ...... 32

Livelihood Zone 13: Western Intensive Irrigated Agriculture ...... 34

Livelihood Zone 14: Western Semi-Arid Agro-Pastoral ...... 36

Livelihood Zone 15: West-Central Highland Agro-Pastoral ...... 38

Livelihood Zone 16: Western and Southern Cross-Border Trade and Labor ...... 40

Livelihood Zone 17: Northeastern Highland Agro-Pastoral ...... 42

Livelihood Zone 18: Takhar-Badakshan Mixed-Agriculture ...... 44

Livelihood Zone 19: Kunduz-Baghlan High Cereal Production ...... 46

Livelihood Zone 20: Northwest Agro-Pastoral ...... 48

Livelihood Zone 21: Northern Rainfed Mixed Farming...... 50

Livelihood Zone 22: Northern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture ...... 52

Livelihood Zone 23: Amo River Irrigated Cereals and Oilseed ...... 54

Livelihood Zone 24: East-Central Vineyard, Cereal and Horticulture ...... 56

Livelihood Zone 25: East-Central Orchard and Agriculture ...... 58

Livelihood Zone 26: East-Central Mountainous Agro-Pastoral ...... 60

Livelihood Zone 27: South-Central Mountain Wheat, Dried Fruit and Livestock ...... 62

Livelihood Zone 28: Southeastern Zabul Rainfed Cereals and Orchard ...... 64

Livelihood Zone 29: Helmand Intensive Irrigated Wheat and Cash Crop ...... 66

Annex One: Provinces and Districts by Livelihood Zone ...... 68

Introduction Livelihoods across Afghanistan are as diverse as its landscape. From the Hindu Kush Mountains to the Registan desert, rural Afghans use resources found in the natural environment to obtain food and cash for their immediate and long-term survival. Though the environment plays an important role on what households are able to grow, raise, sell and buy, it does not explain the livelihoods variations found across Afghanistan and how these variations influence household food security. An analysis of the physical environment only provides a piece of the larger picture. Factors such as agricultural technology, market accessibility, transportation, infrastructure and conflict must also be considered in understanding livelihoods and household food security in Afghanistan.

Livelihoods in !fghanistan have changed since FEWS NET’s 2005 profiling exercise/ !mong some of the changes have been the poppy eradication initiatives which resulted in increase of the licit crops and the increasingly important role that the agriculture sector plays in the Afghan economy.

Agricultural technology and approaches vary throughout rural Afghanistan. The manner in which the land is prepared and tilled, the use of rainfed and/or irrigation systems, even inter-household labor agreements differ from one zone to the next. Most often, land is tilled by tractor, oxen and to a lesser extent, by hand. Households residing in areas that are flatter and cultivate more land may use tractors. However the price of tractors limits ownership and many rural people rent them from the few that own. The cost of renting 1 varies from 300 per jerib to 500 AFs per hour; most households pay in cash. Oxen are also used to till land, primarily in hilly areas and/or on smaller plots. This practice depends on

1 1 jerib = 1/5 of an hectare

whether two oxen are owned – the minimum required for tilling. Those that lack one or both animals must rent or borrow from neighbors or family members. Like tractors, the cost for renting is mostly paid in cash, however some households may also pay in grain upon harvest.

Agriculture-based livelihoods are common throughout Afghanistan and the availability of sufficient water is an important factor to production optimization and ensuring food security. Traditional karez2 systems and other types of gravity flow systems are the most common types of irrigation in rural Afghanistan. These gravity flow systems depend on the snowfall deposited during the winter months and the rate at which it melts during the spring. Pump irrigation either from deep wells or rivers is found in some zones. Households in Zone 7 use petrol- powered pumps to water their fields, which is impacted by fuel price rises.

Most agricultural areas in this document use a combination of both rainfed and irrigated crop production/ For the most part zones named “irrigated” represent areas in which the majority of households use irrigation to cultivate their crops. Rainfed areas may also have irrigation however the majority of households residing in these areas depend on rainfall for crop production.

Poor households often have less land and fewer assets and are typically less food secure than their better-off neighbors. With fewer options to access food and important non-food items, the poor often rely on labor power to finance essential expenditures. This is no exception in Afghanistan where in some areas poor people cannot produce sufficient amounts of food to meet their annual needs. This is due to one or more of the following factors: small plots of land, infertile or unproductive soil, inability to cultivate land, lack of draft animals to till their plots in a timely manner and inability to afford agricultural inputs. As a result, poor households must work for cash in order to buy food, or work and receive grain as payment. Another common practice is share cropping or dekhani. Under dekhani arrangements better-off households supply all agricultural inputs, i.e. tractors or oxen, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides while the poor offer their land and their labor power. Upon harvest the yields are split between the two sharecroppers at varying rates: 2:1 or 3:1 (better-off : poorer). Another common arrangement has the better-off providing all inputs including land and the poorer households providing labor power, for which they will receive grain as an in-kind payment.

2 Karez irrigation systems are underground channels that use gravity to transport water from higher elevations to agriculture fields.

Methodology

This Livelihoods Zoning ‘Plus’ product has been carried out using a rapid livelihoods assessment approach that aims to identify and describe trends and patterns in livelihoods that can be used as a starting point for early warning analysis. It is based on the Household Economy Analysis (HEA) methodology that FEWS NET uses as a foundation for its livelihoods activities.

The methodology for the Livelihoods Zoning ‘Plus’ exercise in Afghanistan consisted of two steps:

Step One: Representatives from the regions came together in four regionally-focused workshops to delineate the national map into livelihood zones, which are areas with similar livelihoods activities, agro-ecology, and access to markets.

Step Two: Descriptions of each livelihood zone are drafted at the national workshop, identifying the key characteristics of livelihoods found in each zone, as well as the Seasonal Calendar for each zone.

In a more secure situation, a third step that includes rapid field verification of the livelihood zone boundaries and descriptions is undertaken. However, the insecurity in Afghanistan limited the exercise to national workshops.

For more details on the Household Economy Analysis and principles, please visit the livelihoods section on www.fews.net or download the paper ‘Application of the Livelihood Zone Maps and Profiles for Food Security Analysis and Early Warning’/

National Livelihood Zone Map

Livelihoods Highlights

 In a normal year, livelihood zones 15, 12, 27, 26, 25, 17, 18, and 11 are considered chronically food insecure. Contributing factors to food insecurity include limited market access, particularly during winter, isolated from rest of the country, and with harsh terrain. Finally, these zones are all at high elevation where only one crop grows per year.  In a bad year livelihoods zones 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 20, 24, and 28, are considered at risk of food insecurity due variously to erratic or insufficient rainfall, obstructed market access and dependence on cross-border trade that may fluctuate.  The prolonged conflict in Afghanistan has impacted a number of zones, the most at risk of which are 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 25, 28, and 29. There are a large number of internally displaced people in these zones and conflict continues to impact households.  Price competition with neighboring countries is steep, and producers in Afghanistan receive a small profit as imported agricultural commodities are often cheaper.

National Seasonal Calendar

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow* Lean season Agriculture Seasons Spring crop w w h h h lp pl Summer crop lp pl w w h h Autumn crop lp pl w w h h

Key Cycles Milk production Local labor Labor migration

Shocks and Hazards Floods Insufficient rain Animal disease Crop disease Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting * high elevation areas only  occurs before harvest

Seasonal Calendar Key Points

 !fghanistan’s main harvest is from May to August, depending on the elevation.  Afghanistan has two main cultivation seasons for wheat: winter and spring. Winter wheat plantation takes place between September and December while spring cultivation takes place between March-April. Winter wheat is predominately irrigated while the spring crop is rainfed.  The lean season extends through the winter months and coincides with peak cost of staple foods, as well as part of the migratory labor season.  Key shocks and hazards are flooding, which happens March-August, and crop diseases that happens between April and August. Both of these may affect the spring and summer wheat crops.

Livelihood Zone 1: Eastern Mixed Agriculture and Forest Characterization of Food Security Households residing in this rugged and sparsely populated This zone is considered at risk of food insecurity zone do not produce sufficient amounts of food to meet their when wheat prices increase as most households annual needs. From the southern reaches of Nangarhar rely heavily on market. Province continuing through the mountainous districts of Logar, Paktia, Khost and Paktika Provinces households cultivate small Key Livelihood Activities and relatively infertile plots. As a result most households rely Poor Better-off on the market to source their food. Grain and cash Forest product Income earning activities are restricted by the options crop production sales available within the zone. Cash crops and the labor associated Livestock keeping Grain and cash crop with its production, as well as livestock keeping finance production essential and non-essential household needs for most of the Livestock keeping zones residents. Better-off households however, earn most of Types and Sources of Food* their income from the sale of timber and firewood. These products are extracted from the forest and sold at the nearest Poor Better-off local market. Wheat: 8-9 mths Wheat: 6-7 mths purchase, 3-4 purchased, 5-6 mths Wheat, maize and pulses are the main food crops produced mths own produced whereas hashish, walnuts and pulses are the main cash crops. produce Rice: purchased Though hashish is common throughout most of the zone, some districts in Nangarhar Province have ceased its production as a Rice: purchase Livestock products: own result of the national poppy eradication initiative. Poor Livestock produce households sell small quantities hashish, walnuts and beans but products: own Beans: 1 mth own earn most of their income performing agricultural labor. produce produce Key Income Sources Sheep and goats are an important source of food and income for most households in the zone. Better-off households Poor Better-off typically slaughter according to need whereas the poor Agriculture labor Forest product sales slaughter before the onset of the winter, preserving fodder Livestock sales Livestock sales stock until the next harvest and thinning herd sizes. Milk is Crop sales Crop sales consumed when production peaks from March until August and krut, dried yogurt is consumed throughout the year. Main Markets Jalalabad Market access throughout the zone is good allowing Khost households to buy essentials and sell their wares throughout the year. Most settlements are linked to the larger markets of Peshwar Jalalabad, Khost and Peshwar by reliable road networks. Rice Shocks and Hazards imported from Pakistan via Jalalabad market is purchased in Floods small quantities throughout the year whereas wheat is also Insufficient precipitation bought 8-9 months out of the year or once food stocks run out. Market shocks Hashish harvested in October/November is sold at the farm gate to traders and smuggled into Pakistan. Walnuts and beans Key Early Warning Indicators are also sold at the farm gate to traders then taken to larger Food price spikes markets in Khost and Jalalabad with final destination to Kabul. Decrease in dry fruit prices Firewood is collected from October to February meeting the Afghan government policy on banning urban demand of the winter months. Timber is harvested from deforestation as poor households work in the forest from November to January and smuggled into forest Pakistan for sale. Pine nuts are another significant forest Pakistan policy on food exports to Afghanistan product that is sold, mostly from September until November. Conflict

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 1: Eastern Mixed Agriculture and Forest

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Snow Lean season

Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Hashish lp pl w h h Maize/Beans lp pl pl w h h Walnut lp pl pl w h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migr. Wool sales Skin sales Pine nut harvest Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local labor Timber labor Labor migration Hazards Flood Animal diseases Crop diseases Hail storms Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 2: Eastern Agro-Pastoral and Forest Characterization of Food Security This agro-pastoral and forest-based zone covers the mountainous This zone is considered at risk of food areas of Southern Nuristan, Northern Laghman and parts of Kunar insecurity in bad year, particularly when the Province. Ox plowing is the most common form of land tilling Pakistan labor market cannot absorb however some households, mostly better-off, will use tractors. migrants from this zone. Key Livelihood Activities Households in this zone depend on agricultural production, livestock keeping and the forest to meet their food and cash needs. Poor Better-off Livestock keeping and cash earned from it far outweighs the other Grain production Grain production two income earning activities. Wheat, maize and pulses are the Livestock keeping Forest product sales main food crops in the zone, whereas beans and walnuts are mostly Livestock keeping produced for sale. Households typically reside in the valleys and rely on gravity flow irrigation systems for crop production. The Staple Foods and Sources* availability of water depends on the amount of snow (December – Poor Better-off February) and rain (March – May). Wheat : 9mths Wheat : 6mths purchase; 3 mths purchase; 6 mths own produce own produce Food is largely purchased from the market by all wealth groups, with the poor purchasing roughly ¾ of their food, and the better off Rice: all purchase Rice: all purchase purchasing ½ - ¾. After the harvest in June/July the poorer can Livestock products: Livestock products: 6 consume wheat from their own production for four to five months 3-6 mths own mths own produce relying on the market, and to a lesser extent livestock, to make up produce their remaining food needs. To prepare for the winter months Key Income Sources households will stock up on grains in the fall to sustain them Poor Better-off through the winter. If available they will slaughter sheep and goats before the winter and consume the meat throughout the season. Agriculture labor Livestock sales This strategy serves two purposes: One, it thins out the herd, Livestock and Forest product sales prolonging the fodder reserves and two, provides food for when livestock product Crop sales market access is limited. Krut, or dried yogurt, is also consumed sales during this time supplementing winter food needs. Main Markets Jalalabad Cash for most of the zone’s poor is earned from working either Kunar within the zone, on better-off households’ plots, or outside the zone Mehterlam in Jalalabad, Kabul and/or Pakistan. Livestock, dairy products and Shocks and Hazards wool are also an important source of income for both poor and Floods better-off households. The latter is sold during the summer months whereas milk is sold from March until August. Forest products such Animal disease as timber, pine nuts and firewood are sold from October until Crop disease and pest February. Beans and walnut are taken to district markets then Key Early Warning Indicators transported by traders to Kunar and Jalalabad. Food price spikes Reduction in daily wages Market access is limited for three to four months a year due to the Pakistan policy changes on food export to rugged terrain, extreme winters and poor transportation networks. Afghanistan Conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 2: Eastern Agro-Pastoral and Forest

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize/beans lp pl w h h Walnut h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migr. Wool sales Skin sales Pine nut harvest Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local labor Timber labor Labor migration Hazards Flood Animal diseases Crop diseases Hail storms Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 3: Southeastern High-Migration, Forest-Product and Livestock Characterization of Food Security This relatively sparsely-populated hilly livelihood zone sits within This zone is considered as food insecure the southeastern districts of Paktika along the border with in bad year. However, bad year for this Pakistan. zone is when households are unable to continue cross border trade and food Livestock husbandry, agriculture and forest product sales serve as price increase the foundation for household livelihoods in the zone. Livestock, such as cattle, sheep, goats and camels make significant Key Livelihoods Activities contributions to household annual food and cash needs. Household Poor Better-off use keraz irrigation systems to produce wheat, maize and beans. Labor Agro-pastoral Firewood sales and the labor opportunities associated with them Agro-pastoral Forest products are another important income source for many households. The Staple Foods and Sources distinctive feature of this zone is the degree to which households Poor Better-off are dependent on remittances for migrant laborers. The majority of households in this zone have at least one person who is working Wheat: 6mths Wheat: 9mths own outside of Afghanistan, either in Pakistan or the Gulf States. own produce; produce; 3mths 6mths purchase purchase Households purchase between half and three quarters their Rice: all purchase Rice: all purchase staple food at the market. Poor households produce Livestock Livestock products: approximately six months worth of wheat, and one to two months products: 4 4-6mths own of maize and beans. Their remaining food needs are sourced from 6mths own produce local district markets and from their livestock. Traders import rice produce and wheat from the Angor Ada market in Pakistan to sell at small Key Income Sources zone markets. While meat consumption occurs throughout the Poor Better-off year, it is contingent on the number of livestock each household owns. Milk is consumed during peak production periods, whereas Migrant labor Trade krut is consumed in the autumn and winter months. Agricultural labor Forest product Livestock and sales Labor opportunities are the main income source for the zone’s dairy sales Livestock sales poor and is sourced locally from better-off household farms or as Main Markets firewood collection laborers. It is the better-off households who Angor Ada (Pakistan) regulate the tree felling in the zone and benefit from the profits of Sharan sales. Most of the firewood is designated for urban markets, Kabul especially Kabul. Poor households also have at least one household member living in Pakistan or the Gulf States and receive Shocks and Hazards remittance on a regular basis. Floods Insufficient rainfall Kuchi pastoralists traditionally pass through the zone between Livestock disease October and April. However, over the past few years their numbers Crop disease and pest have declined as movement has become more restricted due to the war and the expansion of agriculture production. Key Early Warning Indicators Decrease/Increase in livestock prices Food price spikes Conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 3: Southeastern High-Migration, Forest-Product and Livestock

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat (1) w w h h lp pl Maize/beans lp pl pl w w h h Wheat (2) lp pl w w w h Fruit h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migr. Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Firewood sales Labor migration Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Animal diseases Crop diseases Hail storms Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 4: Eastern Semi-Arid Agriculture Characterization of Food Security This mixed-agriculture zone is divided into two areas: one This zone is considered at little risk of food south of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province and the other, a insecurity. narrow crescent shaped strip along Khost Province’s border Key Livelihoods Activities with Pakistan. Formerly a major poppy producing area, now Poor Better-off most households cultivate grains and vegetables. Agricultural Labor Agriculture production production in this flat semi-arid zone is largely dependent on Agriculture Livestock husbandry water availability. The majority of households rely on production Trade irrigation, mostly from the river, to produce wheat, maize and Staple Foods and Sources cash crops/ The zone’s proximity to the cities of Jalalabad and Poor Better-off Khost provides ample labor opportunities for the zone’s Wheat: 5mths own Wheat: 7mths own poorer households. produce; 6mths produce, 4-5 dekhani, 1mth in- purchase Dekhani, or sharecropping, is important for poor kind Vegetables: 9 mths households’ access to food. One or more poor household Vegetables: 7 mths own produce members work on a better-off household’s plot, utilizing the own produce Livestock products: inputs offered, and receiving a third to half of the grain Livestock products : 4mths own produce harvested in June and July. This arrangement is mostly 4 mths own reserved for wheat production; however, some laborers may produce also receive maize as payment when it is harvested in Key Income Sources October and November. Poor Better-off Migrant labor Trade Agricultural labor Crop sales Wheat and rice are the two main staples that households Crop sales Livestock sales purchase. The latter is bought in small quantities throughout Main Markets the year, whereas the former is purchased as household Jalalabad stocks diminish. Khost Peshawer Many poor households have migrated to urban centers and Shocks and Hazards Pakistan since the eradication of poppy production, in search Insufficient rainfall of labor opportunities. Some also find local work on better-off Floods household farms during the vegetable and wheat harvesting Animal diseases season (April-July). Better-off households earn most of their Crop pest and disease cash trading agriculture products, livestock and/or non-food Key Early Warning Indicators items. This usually entails purchasing crops or livestock when Irrigation water availability prices are low either in Afghanistan or Pakistan then selling Decrease in wheat and Maize prices when prices peak then buying non-food commodities to sell Decrease in daily wages within the zone. Conflict

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 4: Eastern Semi-Arid Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h lp pl Maize lp pl w h h Vegetables lp pl w w h h h Milk production Livestock sales Wool/skins Wheat purchase Rice purchase Veg. purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Animal diseases Crop diseases Hail storms  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 5: Eastern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture Characterization of Food Security This densely populated irrigated agriculture zone is split This zone is considered as food secure zone into two geographic areas. The first area is situated in where multiple corps grow per year and this intensely irrigated areas of Nangarhar, southern Laghman, zone supply vegetables to Kabul market Kunar and central Khost. The Kabul and Kunar Rivers in the northern zone and the Shamal, and Mangal Rivers in Khost Key Livelihoods Activities offer a steady source of water for grain, vegetable and fruit Poor Better-off production. Labor Agriculture production Intensive agricultural production in the zone makes it a Agriculture Livestock husbandry main source of vegetables for Kabul and neighboring areas. production Good road access and close proximity to Jalalabad, Khost Staple Foods and Sources and the border with Pakistan ensures ease of access to Poor Better-off markets for the sale of commodities produced in the zone. Wheat: 5 mths Wheat: 7mths own The zone’s main cash crops and are harvested three times own produce; 7 produce; 5mths per year and include vegetables such as potatoes, mths in-kind purchase tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes, green beans, Vegetables: 9 Vegetables: 9mths own eggplants. Wheat is harvested once in May and June while mths own produce; 3mths maize is harvested in the autumn, (October and produce purchase November). Though most land holdings rarely exceed 1.5 Maize: 2mths in- Maize: 2 mths own jeribs3, households maximize their yields by timely plowing, kind produce irrigating and fertilizing their fields. Livestock Rice: 3 mths purchase Poorer households, from within and outside the zone, products: 4 Livestock products: 4 mths supply labor to better-off households in exchange for both mths own own produce produce cash and grain, as intense agricultural production requires a large amount of labor. A minority of households send one Key Income Sources member to migrate to Pakistan and Iran from December to Poor Better-off February when there is a lesser demand for agricultural Agricultural labor Crop sales labor. Vegetable sales Trade Off-farm labor Livestock sales Vegetables, wheat and maize are sold at the local district markets to traders. From there the products are brought to Main Markets the larger regional markets at Jalalabad, Khost and Peshwar Jalalabad then brought to the larger urban market in Kabul. Khost Maintained highways traverse both the northern and Peshawe southern areas of this livelihood zone connecting both to Shocks and Hazards Kabul and Pakistan. A reliable network of feeder roads Floods offers households unlimited opportunities to both sell Animal diseases production and purchase essentials year-round. Crop pest and disease For the past several years floods have disrupted livelihood Key Early Warning Indicators activities in the zone requiring food assistance in many Reduction in vegetable prices northern districts. Rations of wheat, oils, pulses, salt and Increase in river water volumes that result in non-food items were provided to flood-affected areas by flooding the World Food Program and the Government of Crops diseases Afghanistan. Conflict

3 1 jerib= 1/5 hectar

Livelihood Zone 5: Eastern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h lp pl Maize lp pl w h h Vegetables (1) lp pl w w h h h Vegetables (2) lp pl w h Vegetables (3) lp pl w h h Milk production Livestock sales Wool/skins Wheat purchase Rice purchase Oil purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Animal diseases Crop diseases Hail storms  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 6: Eastern Cross-Border Trade and Labor Characterization of Food Security The zone’s economy is largely based on cross-border trading This zone is considered at risk of food with Pakistan. The zone hugs the border with Pakistan, insecurity in a bad year. Erratic or low levels extending south from Naray District of Kunar to Dor Baba of rainfall can lead to households 4-6 District of Nangarhar. The terrain of the zone varies from the months of households food from own crop mountainous areas of Eastern Kunar to the barren areas of production. Eastern Nangarhar. Several road networks link the zone with Key Livelihoods Activities Pakistan, allowing for a steady flow of commodities (firewood, Poor Better-off livestock, vegetables and non-food items) to pass in and out of the zone. Labor Trade Agriculture Livestock husbandry Labor migration is also an important source of income for production Agriculture residents, especially the poor. Migrants go particularly to production Pakistan but also to the Gulf States. Labor opportunities Staple Foods and Sources* associated with trade are found in district towns throughout the Poor Better-off zone and a minority of laborers work on better-off farms. Wheat: 3mths Wheat: 6mths own Crop production of wheat and maize is not a dominant activity dekhani, 9 mths produce, 6mths but is done by the better-off with access to land. The majority purchase purchase of crops produced in the zone are rainfed and therefore Wild vegetables: Rice: 12mths dependent on rains that fall from March to May and again in 5mths collection purchase July and August. Land is tilled either with oxen or by hand via Maize: 3mths Maize: 2mths mostly local landless laborers. Wheat is produced for household purchase purchase consumption whereas maize is produced for animal fodder. Livestock products: Livestock products: 4mths own 6mths own Poor households often sharecrop - dekhani - with the better-off produce produce and receive half of the harvest in exchange for their labor. Dekhani-sourced food only accounts for a portion of the Key Income Sources sharecroppers’ annual food needs- therefore most of their food Poor Better-off must be purchased from the market. Migrant labor Trade Local on and off- Livestock sales Livestock is kept by majority households, but it is only the farm labor Formal employment better-off who have the resources to own larger herds and profit from their sales. Better-off households also engage in Main Markets livestock trading, buying animals cheaply in Afghanistan and Jalalabad transporting them to markets in Pakistan where they can be Asadabad sold for a profit. Cash earned from livestock sales is then used Chatral – Pakistan to buy various commodities, such as wheat flour, oil, fertilizers Bajawar – Pakistan and other non-food items, and transported back to Afghanistan Malmand – Pakistan for sale. Timber smuggling is another source of revenue in the Shocks and Hazards zone, mostly for the better-off though some poor households Floods are offered laborer opportunities. Timber is cut from Insufficient rainfall neighboring Zones 1 and 2 and smuggled to Pakistan and sold. Market shocks Increased instances of civil insecurity, mostly during the Key Early Warning Indicators warmer months of March to October, have affected household Climate performance livelihoods in the zone as increased clashes with security forces Food price spikes often disrupt trade activities. Given the porous border, many Border restriction by Pakistan that affect Pakistani Taliban infiltrate Afghanistan. cross border trade Conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 6: Eastern Cross-Border Trade and Labor

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains

Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp pl Maize lp pl w h Pea h h lp pl Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Rice purchase Oil purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Wild foods X-border trade Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Animal diseases Insecurity Hail storms  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 7: Eastern Deep-Well Irrigated Agriculture Characterization of Food Security Most of the zone residents are congregated in the irrigated areas The zone is considered at little risk of food of central Paktia and western Paktika. The Kandarhar-Kabul road insecurity when climate performance is transects this flat zone connecting it to the larger regional and normal. national markets. The distinctive feature of this zone is the large Key Livelihoods Activities land holdings (approx. 30 Jeribs) and the dependence of deep- well pump irrigation systems. Poor Better-off Labor Agriculture Livelihoods depend on the irrigation for fruit cash cropping and Agriculture production its associated agricultural labor opportunities. Orchard fruits production Livestock husbandry such as apples, grapes and pomegranates are the main cash Staple Foods and Sources* crops, followed by potatoes and wheat. The costs associated with the crop production in the zone are directly influenced by Poor Better-off the cost of fuel and fertilizers. Most households till their land Wheat: 6mths Wheat: 10mths own with tractors and those that don’t own tractors must rent them dekhani/in-kind, produce, 2mths at 400 Afghanis per hour. 6mths purchase purchase Rice: 3mths Rice: 12mths Food is obtained through a combination of majority purchase purchase purchase and minority own production or sharecropping payment. The Livestock products: Livestock products: majority of poor households have limited access to or no land 3mths own 9mths own holdings and therefore must engage their better-off neighbors in produce produce various social arrangements such as dekhani and in-kind labor Beans: 3mths Maize: 4mths own payment to obtain food. Despite these arrangements the purchase produce amount of food earned often falls short of meeting all of the Key Income Sources poorer households’ needs/ Wheat, rice and mung beans imported from India and Pakistan are purchased from the market Poor Better-off as reserves subside. Migrant labor Crop sales (fruits) Local on- and off- Remittances Labor migration to Pakistan and the Gulf States is an important farm labor Livestock trading source of cash for the poor. Locally cash labor opportunities, Firewood sales specifically the harvesting of maize (October) and the cultivation Main Markets (May-June) and harvesting (September) of potatoes. Construction labor opportunities are also abundant in April/May Gardez and July through September. Sharan Zurmat Cash crops, such as fruit and potatoes, are bought by traders at Shocks and Hazards the farm gate and transported to the main zone markets. From Increased fuel prices the main market fruit are exported to Pakistan and India via Crop diseases and pests Khost while potatoes are bound to Kabul, Khost, Jalalabad and Pakistan. Key Early Warning Indicators Poor rainfall Better-off households also travel to Pakistan to buy sheep and Water table goats when prices are low (April to August) and then sell to Increase in fuel cost butchers in the main zone markets. Food price spikes Conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 7: Eastern Deep-Well Irrigated Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains

Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp pl Maize lp pl pl w w h Potato lp pl w h h Fruit h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Rice purchase Beans purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Livestock trade Firewood sales Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Animal diseases Crop diseases  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 8: Kabul and Logar Irrigated Characterization of Food Security This irrigated agriculture zone covers most districts in This zone is considered at little risk of food Kabul and Logar Provinces with the exception of the insecurity. grape and orchard areas annexed to Zone 24. Rivers, springs and wells provide water for irrigation systems, Key Livelihoods Activities where most settlements are concentrated. Households Poor Better-off in this moderately populated zone use tractors to Agriculture Agriculture production cultivate the two to three jeribs owned. Better-off production and Livestock husbandry households have more land under cultivation and use local laborers to tend the land through dekhani or wage labor Livestock husbandry labor. Staple Foods and Sources* Wheat, beans and vegetables (tomatoes, onions and Poor Better-off potatoes) are produced in surplus quantities for Wheat: 6mths own Wheat: 9mths own household consumption. Both short and long cycle produce, 6mths produce, 3 mths wheat is produced in the zone, both harvested in purchase purchase June/July. Apples, onions and beans are sold to traders Beans/potatoes: 4 Beans: 9mths own at the farm gate who then transport and sell the goods 5mths own produce at the larger regional markets of Kabul, Khost and Pol produce Vegetables: 5mths Alam. Rice: 12mths produce There is a high demand for agricultural labor in the purchase Rice: 12mths purchase zone which is mostly supplied by poorer households Livestock products: Livestock products: from March-September. In addition to paid labor, poor 6mths own 7mths own produce, households also engage in dekhani farming earning a produce 3mths purchase portion of the harvest as payment. Key Income Sources The better-off produce the majority of their food Poor Better-off needs, whilst the poor produce less than half of theirs. Local on-farm labor Cash crop sales Thus market purchases are a major source of income for Livestock product Trade/small business the poorest in the zone. Households purchase wheat, sales Livestock and product rice and chickpeas once their food stocks expire. sales There is a steady flow of food and non-food items as Main Markets well as seasonal employment opportunities for the Kabul laboring poor thanks to the zone’s proximity to Kabul Pol Alam and the regional markets of Pol Alam and Khost allows Khost for a. Shocks and Hazards Crop diseases and pests Insufficient rainfall Floods Key Early Warning Indicators Food price spikes External wheat supply Decrease in daily wage Conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 8: Kabul and Logar Irrigated Zone

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains

Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat (1) lp pl h h Beans lp pl w w h h Vegetables lp pl w w w h h Wheat (2) h h lp pl Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Firewood sales Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Low river level Animal diseases Crop diseases  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 9: Southern Intensive Irrigated Vegetable and Orchard Characterization of Food Security This relatively densely populated agricultural zone follows Kabul- This zone is considered at risk of food Kandarhar highway and expands across the districts within Ghazni, insecurity in bad years due to erratic Zabul and Kandahar Provinces. The majority of settlements are climatic behavior. concentrated within close proximity to irrigated plots and along the Key Livelihoods Activities main highway. Poor Better-off The economy of the zone is based on the irrigation available from Agriculture Agriculture 4 production and production Arghandab River and some from karez irrigation. This zone was labor Livestock formerly a poppy producing zone which has since transitioned to Livestock husbandry the intense production of vegetables and fruits. The latter is husbandry especially important to the zone’s economy/ Pomegranates and Staple Foods and Sources* stone fruits are bought at the farm gate and transported to larger regional markets of Hirat and Kabul and to international markets in Poor Better-off Pakistan and Iran. Wheat: 7mths Wheat: 8mths own purchase, produce, 4mths Irrigation is also used to grow staple food crops of the zone 5mths produce purchase including wheat, maize and pulses. A combination of private crops or dekhani Vegetables: 8mths and grain earned from labor produces nine months of the poor’s Maize: 2mths own produce annual food needs, but requires them to purchase wheat and rice produce or Rice: 12mths for the remaining three months. The poor purchase a small amount dekhani purchase of rice every couple of months and wheat after reserves expire. Livestock Livestock products: Those that have smallstock also consume milk, cheese, meat and products: 3 4-5mths own krut. 4mths own produce produce Income for all wealth groups is dependent on agriculture – with Key Income Sources the better-off depending on the sale of fruit, vegetable and staples, Poor Better-off and the poor primarily depending on work on the farms of the Local on-farm Fruit and vegetable better-off. Pomegranates, grapes and radishes are harvested and labor sales sold during the autumn months (September to November) whereas Crop sales Grain trade tomatoes, melons and string beans are sold from May to August. Livestock product Livestock and Poor households sell a portion of the wheat, maize and vegetables sales product sales they receive from in-kind payment immediately after harvested to Main Markets cover pressing food and non-food needs. Livestock are sold Kandahar throughout the year with peak peak sheep and goat sales Lashkargah happening from November to February. Ghazni Insecurity is the largest hazard affecting livelihoods in this zone. Shocks and Hazards Kandahar is a Taliban hotspot and clashes between them and Insufficient rainfall international and national security forces sometimes limit Floods household access to markets. Though insecurity is a constant Key Early Warning Indicators threat, increased instances of civil insecurity occurs from March to Food price spikes November. Decrease in vegetable and fruit price Conflict Unavailability of irrigation water Increase in fuel prices *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

4 Karez irrigation systems are underground channels that use gravity to transport water from higher elevations to agriculture fields.

Livelihood Zone 9: Southern Intensive Irrigated Vegetable and Orchard

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize lp pl pl h h h Poppy h lp pl Barley h h h h lp pl Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Trade Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Insecurity Animal diseases Crop diseases Hailstorms  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 10: Southern Semi-Arid Pastoral Characterization of Food Security This large and sparsely populated livelihood zone covers most This zone is considered at risk of food of the semi-arid non-agriculture areas of Kandarhar, Helmand insecurity in a bad year when poor rainfall and Nimroz provinces. The zone boundaries extend to the affects pasture conditions. border of Pakistan to the south and Iran to the west. Sandy, Key Livelihoods Activities infertile soils and low rainfall restricts agriculture opportunities; therefore most households in the zone do not cultivate the Poor Better-off land. Livestock Livestock husbandry husbandry Trade Livestock husbandry drives the economy in this zone. Nearly Labor every household sells livestock and livestock products within Staple Foods and Sources* their own means but many, especially the poorest, must complement this income with cash from on- and off-farm labor Poor Better-off opportunities or by migrating to Iran or Pakistan in search of Wheat: 9mths Wheat: 12mths work. Smuggling of poppy, livestock, and non-food items is purchase, 3mths purchase another source of cash for better-off households. Access to in-kind Livestock products: transportation, strong international social relationships and Livestock products: 8mths own little government presence allow many smugglers to operate 6mths own produce without limitation. produce Key Income Sources Households consume meat and dairy products provided from their animals, and purchase staples from the market. Market Poor Better-off access is difficult for many as road networks are poor, trading Labor migration Livestock and centers are far and adequate transportation is in short supply. product sales Livestock product Many poor households also depend on wheat received as in- sales Trade and smuggling kind payment working in the northern irrigated agriculture Main Markets areas and from herding work within the zone. Zaranj Kandahar Some Kuchi pastoralists from the central highlands pass through the zone to take advantage of the southern pastures during the Lashkargah winter months (December – March). Shocks and Hazards Wind storms Insufficient rainfall Key Early Warning Indicators Poor rainfall Poor pasture conditions Terms of trade between livestock and wheat Dramatic livestock changes *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 10: Southern Semi-Arid Pastoral

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Camel milk Sheep/goat milk Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Smuggling: Poppy

Human

Animals

Clothes X-border trade Hazards Insufficient rains Windstorms Animal diseases  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 11: Northern Kandahar Agriculture and Livestock Characterization of Food Security This moderately populated, rainfed zone sits within the This zone is considered moderately at risk of food mountainous districts of Northern Kandahar. The 300-500 insecurity in a normal year. mm of rain the zone receives annually – which falls primarily between mid-November and March - is the main Key Livelihoods Activities source of water for crop production. Poor Better-off Crop production Crop production Livelihoods are built on crop production of wheat and Livestock keeping Livestock keeping maize, with some poppy and hashish. Surplus wheat and rice is brought to the main market at Kandahar to be sold, Labor Trade and then transported to larger regional markets Staple Foods and Sources* throughout the country. Poppy that is harvested in Poor Better-off April/May and Hashish that is harvested in Wheat: 6mths own Wheat: 12mths produce December/January is bought at the farm gate by traders produce or Rice: 10mths purchase, and then smuggled through the desert into Iran. dekhani, 6mths 2mths Households also rely on the meat and dairy products of purchase Livestock products: sheep, goat and cattle to fill a small portion of the annual Rice: 6mths 7mths own produce food and cash needs. The sale of small livestock makes up purchase, 2mths Vegetables: 8mths own a generous portion of household income, especially for own produce produce the better-off but is overshadowed by the cash Livestock products: contribution from poppy sales/ Many of the zone’s poor 5mths own also travel outside the zone to Kandahar and as far as produce Pakistan and send remittances home. Poorer households Key Income Sources purchase wheat and rice for nearly six months out of the Poor Better-off year. Agricultural labor Crop sales Crop sales Livestock & product Market access is limited due to poor road conditions. Wheat and rice from Pakistan are brought to local markets Livestock product sales via Kandahar. As the supply of grain produced from their sales Trade fields and those they sharecrop reduces, households rely Handicraft sales more on the market to fill additional needs. Main Markets Qalat Insecurity is a hazard throughout the year, however Kandahar fighting tends to increase March through November. Trimqot Shocks and Hazards Floods Insufficient rainfall Crop and livestock diseases Key Early Warning Indicators Conflict Food price spikes Decrease in poppy prices *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 11: Northern Kandahar Agriculture and Livestock

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize lp pl h h Poppy h lp pl Hashish h lp pl h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Hide/skin sales Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Petty trade Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Insecurity Animal diseases Crop diseases  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 12: South-Central Mixed Farming Characterization of Food Security This mixed agriculture zone is relatively populated and covers the This zone is considered as moderately mountainous districts of Northern Helmand Province, the food in secure, if poppy production Northeastern district of Nimroz Province and the southeastern parts decreased to zero as this mountainous of Gulistan and Pur Chaman districts of Farah Province. area have less arable land to cultivate Livelihoods are dependent on a livestock, and a mix of staple grain Key Livelihoods Activities crops and cash crops. Wheat, maize and vegetables are cultivated Poor Better-off using keraz irrigation systems/ The zone’s main cash crop is poppy, Crop production Crop production which is harvested and sold in April and May. Settlements in some Livestock keeping Livestock keeping districts, such as Naw Zad and Washir also produce and sell fruits in Labor Trade lieu of or in addition to poppy. Staple Foods and Sources* Some households sell a portion of their wheat harvest in May and Poor Better-off June to cover immediate needs or to repay debts. Wheat: 7mths Wheat: 8mths own purchase, produce, 4mths Livestock, mostly goats and sheep, but also cattle, are an 5mths own purchase important source of income for all households. The better-off earn produce or Vegetables: 8mths most of their cash selling livestock from November to February. dekhani own produce Labor opportunities serve as the main income generating Maize: 2mths Rice: 12mths opportunity for the zone’s poor/ Some opportunities are found own produce purchase locally on better-off households’ poppy fields. Migration to the or dekhani Livestock products: Helmand Intensively Irrigated Wheat and Cash Crop Zone offers Livestock 4-5mths own additional income earning opportunities for the poor. Others travel products: 3 produce to Hirat or Iran in search of off-farm work during the winter and spring months. Both the poor and the better off are able to produce 4mths own produce the more than half of their food needs, however they are still largely dependent on the market for staples. Key Income Sources Poor Better-off Market access is limited given the rough terrain, extreme winters, Agricultural labor Livestock & poor road networks and insecurity. Households typically take their Livestock product sales goods e.g. crops and livestock, to local district markets where product sales Crop sales traders buy then transport to larger markets outside the zone. Trade Wheat specifically is taken through district markets to Hirat or Kandarhar via the main zone markets. Poppy is bought at the farm Main Markets gate by wealthier traders then transported to Kandarhar or Delorram smuggled into Iran. Cheghacheran Laskargah Kuchi pastoralists, who are not represented in this description, stay Shocks and Hazards in the zone during the summer months. Floods Insufficient rainfall Crop & livestock diseases Key Early Warning Indicators Food price spikes Decrease in poppy prices Increasing and/or sustained conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihoods Zone 12: South-Central Mixed Farming

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize lp pl h h Poppy h lp pl Fruit h h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Hide/skin sales Wheat purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Petty trade Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Insecurity Animal diseases Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 13: Western Intensive Irrigated Agriculture Characterization of Food Security This moderately populated zone sits within the northern half of This zone is considered at little risk of Hirat Province. Most of the settlements are found near the irrigated food insecurity zone. areas the Harirud and Kagban Rivers and their tributaries. Some Key Livelihoods Activities northern settlements practice rainfed agriculture however they Poor Better-off represent the minority. Between 80%-90% of plots are irrigated producing surplus quantities of wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables. Agricultural labor Crop production Saffron is a newly introduced cash crop, however due to the conflict Crop production Trade producers find it challenging to market their product to Staple Foods and Sources* international buyers. Poor Better-off Wheat/rice: Wheat/rice: Crop production drives the zone’s economy and provides most 8mths produce 12mths own households with a steady source of food and income. Poor or in-kind, produce households and migrant laborers from neighboring zones take advantage of the nearly year-round availability of agricultural labor 4mths Vegetables: 3mths opportunities. In addition to local work, the poor also travel to Hirat purchase produce during the winter months and to Iran, Pakistan and neighboring Vegetables:2 Livestock products: provinces in search of labor opportunities. 3mths produce 4-5mths own Livestock produce Land ownership is the main limitation to food self-sufficiency for products: 3 the zone’s poor; many are landless. This portion of the population 4mths own gets most of their annual food needs from in-kind payment for produce agricultural laboring. They primarily receive wheat in June/July and Key Income Sources rice in October. Their remaining food needs are met through local Poor Better-off market purchases. Agricultural labor Livestock and Hirat market is the regional market for most of western Livestock product sales Afghanistan and the commercial hub for Zone 13. Most product sales Crop sales commodities, both crops and livestock, are brought from the villages Trade to Hirat. Traders from within and outside the zone purchase grains Main Markets and fruit at Hirat and transport them to other provinces throughout Hirat the country/ Sheep are also brought to Hirat’s livestock market then Enjil smuggled into Iran. Qooryan Gozara Shocks and Hazards Floods Insufficient rainfall *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 13: Western Intensive Irrigated Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp lp pl pl Rice lp lp pl pl lp w h h Vegetables lp pl w w h h Fruit h h h Saffron lp lp pl h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Hide/skin sales Wheat purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Wild food coll. Hazards  Food prices Insufficient rains Insecurity Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 14: Western Semi-Arid Agro-Pastoral

Characterization of Food Security This flat, semi-arid and predominantly low altitude zone The zone is considered at risk of food stretches across southern Hirat, southward through Farah until insecurity in a bad year. the northern districts of Nimroz Provinces and borders Iran to Key Livelihoods Activities the west. Population density is comparatively sparse with most Poor Better-off of the settled population concentrated around the irrigated areas. Agricultural labor Agriculture Livestock keeping Livestock keeping Wheat, barley, maize and some vegetables are the primary Trade crops produced for both consumption and sale. Some of the Staple Foods and Sources* irrigated areas in Hirat are reserved for rice cultivation however Poor Better-off this does not represent the majority. Wheat/barley: Wheat/barley: Most poor households cultivate 2 to 3 jeribs of land, reserving 7mths purchase, 8mths own most of their land for wheat production and a smaller portion to 5mths in-kind produce 4mths grow livestock fodder, maize or barley. In a typical year, poorer Livestock purchase households’ yields provide less than half of their annual food products: 6mths Livestock products: needs, which leads them to purchase wheat and rice from Zone own produce 8mths own 13 via credit. Better-off households produce sufficient amounts produce of wheat to cover most of their needs but they also purchase rice Key Income Sources from Zone 13 on a monthly basis. Meat from their own livestock Poor Better-off is consumed through the year whereas dairy from sheep and Agricultural labor Crop sales cattle are consumed during the peak production months (April to July). Migrant labor Livestock & product Livestock product sales The proximity to the border of Iran and porous borders offers sales Trade many income earning opportunities for the zone’s better-off Main Markets traders and poor laborers. Grains are bought during the harvest Darwazai from July through September and sold in Iran when price peak Hirat from November through March. Similarly livestock are bought Trarabar Maiden from October to December and sold from January to March. Zaranj Most of the expansive rangeland found in the zone is used by Shocks and Hazards Kuchi Pastoralists who pass through seasonally. Windstorms Floods Crop and livestock diseases Key Early Warning Indicators Disruptions to cross-border trade with Iran Increased and sustained conflict Deportation of migrant laborers from Iran *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 14: Western Semi-Arid Agro-Pastoral

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w h h h lp lp pl pl Pea h h lp lp pl pl Barley w h h lp pl pl Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Livestock trade Hazards Floods Windstorms Insecurity Animal diseases Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 15: West-Central Highland Agro-Pastoral Characterization of Food Security This high altitude mountainous zone covers most districts in Ghor This zone is at risk of food insecurity in Provinces, the northwest districts of Daykundi Province and some a normal year districts in Eastern Farah Province. Livelihoods in the zone are based Key Livelihoods Activities on a mixture of rainfed and irrigated agricultural production, and animal husbandry. The zone is dominated by rangeland that is used Poor Better-off by the zone’s residents and by Kuchi Pastoralists during the summer Labor Agriculture months. Cattle, small stock and poultry are the dominant livestock Livestock keeping Livestock keeping kept by households though poorer households own fewer cattle. Staple Foods and Sources* Oxen-pulled plows are the most common form of land preparation. Poor Better-off Households that lack the necessary two oxen have to borrow or rent Wheat: 6mths Wheat: 7mths own animals from neighbors or family members. own produce, produce, 5mths Most of the settled population engages in mixed agriculture, 6mths in-kind purchase producing wheat, potatoes (only in the irrigated areas) and barley, Livestock Potatoes: 4mths in addition to livestock keeping. The barley is used as animal fodder products: own produce while the wheat and potatoes are for household consumption. 4mths own Livestock products: Relatively modest landholdings translate into low crop yields for the produce 6mths own zone’s poorer population/ To compensate, the poor work for the produce better-off in exchange for wheat. Wheat and rice from Hirat are Key Income Sources purchased, complementing in-kind wheat earned and livestock Poor Better-off products. Labor Crop sales Market access is limited during the winter months when excessive Livestock Livestock & snowfall blocks transportation routes to and from Kabul and a Hirat. product sales product sales Households typically do not produce much food but sell a portion of Trade their wheat, barley or potato harvest immediately to cover costs or Main Markets repay debts. From the villages people transport goods for sale by District markets foot or donkey to local markets within the zone. Local traders then Hirat transport the commodities to central markets then to the main Chaghcharan regional market at Hirat. Livestock sales follows the same route but Shocks and Hazards is then brought into Iran via Zone 16. Extreme winter Insufficient rainfall Crop and livestock diseases Floods Key Early Warning Indicators Insufficient and untimely rainfall Livestock price drops Food price spikes Increased cost of transportation Reduced remittance sharing

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 15: West-Central Highland Agro-Pastoral

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat lp pl w h h Potato lp pl w h Barley lp pl pl w h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Firewood sales Hazards  Floods Avalanche  Food prices Animal diseases Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 16: Western and Southern Cross-Border Trade and Labor Characterization of Food Security Livelihoods in this composite zone are based on the This zone is considered at little risk of food trade/smuggling and labor-based activities associated with insecurity. being located on the north-western/western borders with Turkmenistan and Iran, and the southern border with Pakistan. Key Livelihoods Activities Though this peri-urban zone relies heavily on cross-border Poor Better-off activities, many households are also engaged in small-scale Labor Trade agriculture and livestock. Agriculture Agriculture Income is largely earned through trade and the labor Staple Foods and Sources* opportunities associate with it. Grain, livestock, manufactured Poor Better-off goods and opium are the various commodities that are flowing Wheat: 6mths Wheat: majority own through these border areas. Better-off households are the own produce, produce primary operators in the zone. They own the transport trucks 6mths in-kind Maize/chickpea: and have the capital and connections to move commodities and purchase 2mths own produce across international boundaries. They also supply labor Maize/chickpea: Livestock products: 6 opportunities to the poorer households of zone which can 2mths own 7mths own produce include construction, loading and unloading, transport and other activities associated with trade. Others travel to one of produce Livestock products: the foreign countries in search of labor opportunities. 5-6mths own Most households engage in farming however harvests are produce limited due to a combination of factors including small Key Income Sources landholdings, poor soil quality and the lack of irrigation Poor Better-off infrastructure. As in other zones, better-off households have Labor Trade/self the means to produce more food for themselves than their Migrant labor employment poorer neighbors however they too source the bulk of their Livestock sales Livestock and product food from the market. The market is the primary source of sales food for all households in the zone. Wheat and rice from Pakistan or Iran are bought at the market. Main Markets The main settlements within zone Sheep, goats and cattle are the main livestock kept in the Adjacent markets in Iran and Pakistan zone and are sold according to need throughout the year. Shocks and Hazards Most animals are sold to better-off traders from October to Rising food prices November and are transported or smuggled to Iran and Crop pest/ diseases Pakistan. Insufficient rainfall Insecurity Key Early Warning Indicators Border restrictions Decrease in daily labor wage *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 16: Western and Southern Cross-Border Trade and Labor

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp lp pl pl Maize lp pl w h h Chickpea pl pl h h lp lp Milk production Livestock sales Other opportunities X-border trade Labor migration Hazards Insufficient rain Insecurity  Food prices Diarrhea Malaria Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 17: Northeastern Highland Agro-Pastoral Characterization of Food Security This hilly and mountainous livelihood zone covers most of This zone is at risk of food insecurity in Badakhshan, extends southwestward into the southernmost district a normal year given its limited access of Takhar, south to the northern reaches of Nurestan and the to market and harsh winter conditions. southeastern district of Baghlan Provinces. Population density in this Key Livelihoods Activities remote part of the country is relatively sparse with most Poor Better-off settlements in the valleys in the western part of the zone and some Daily farm labor Livestock keeping along the border with Tajikistan. Agriculture Agriculture Most households rely on livestock as a key resource for food and Livestock Grain & livestock income. Sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys are the main livestock keeping trading owned by households. Sheep and goats are mostly sold according to Staple Foods and Sources* need but are also consumed throughout the year, mostly before the Poor Better-off onset of winter. Wool and hides are also sold, however many keep Wheat: 8mths Wheat: 7mths own these products for household use. Those that own dairy cattle, purchase, produce, 4-6mths consume dairy products, especially milk, from March to July, selling 4mths dekhani purchase surpluses locally. Potato: 1mth Potato: 3mths dekhani dekhani Crop production is also important for all wealth groups’ livelihoods Livestock Livestock products: in the zone. Though there is some rain dependence, most products: 4 6mths own households rely on snow-melt irrigation for wheat, barley, beans, 5mths own produce maize, and potato production. The availability of water for irrigation produce is largely dependent on the amount of snow that accumulates from December to mid-March and the rate at which it melts. Key Income Sources Poor Better-off Market access is limited in the zone due to poor road conditions, Labor sales Livestock and remoteness, and seasonality. From December to mid-March snow Crop sales livestock product accumulation blocks the flow of commodities in and out of the zone. Livestock and sales The majority of households use local district markets to sell and buy livestock Crop sales goods, traveling on foot or by donkey. Faizabad is the primary product sales Trade market in the zone and where most commodities pass through en Main Markets route to local markets. Those households settled along the Tajikistan Faizabad border may cross the border to buy staples though prices tend to be Tahkar higher there. Tajikistan Kunduz Shocks and Hazards Insufficient rainfall Floods Key Early Warning Indicators Households food stock ability prior winter Climate performance Road access Food price spikes Prepositioning food prior winter *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 17: Northeastern Highland Agro-Pastoral

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat lp pl w h h Potato lp lp pl w h h h Barley lp pl pl h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wool/skin sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Formal work Labor migration X-border trade Wild foods Petty trade Hazards Floods  Food prices Animal diseases Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 18: Takhar-Badakshan Mixed-Agriculture Characterization of Food Security This moderately dense and reasonably flat livelihood zone covers This zone is considered chronically at the plains of Takhar Province and continues into the central districts risk of food insecurity with very limited of Badakhshan Province. access to market and harsh winter conditions. Agriculture production and to some extent animal husbandry serves as the foundation for livelihoods in this zone. Wheat, rice Key Livelihoods Activities and vegetables are produced on fairly fertile soils. Most of the Poor Better-off agriculture is rainfed however some households have access to Daily farm labor Agriculture snow melt irrigation. The rainy season occurs after the winter from Agriculture Livestock keeping March until mid-June. The agriculture season starts before winter Livestock keeping Trade/self with the land preparation of a single cycle of wheat and ends with employment the harvest in July. Households cultivating less than five jeribs use oxen to till their plots while those owning more land, typically Staple Foods and Sources* better-off households, use a tractor. Poor Better-off Wheat: 7mths Wheat: 12mths Poor households source a limited amount of food from their fields own produce, own produce, and must purchase the larger share of their food from the market. 5mths Rice: 12mths own Livestock products - mostly dairy - represent a small part of the purchase produce poor’s food from April to October. Better-off households are able to Rice: 7mths own, Vegetables: 5mths produce a surplus in crops, using them to meet most of their annual 5mths own produce food and cash needs. They too consume livestock products, both dairy and meat from their animals. purchase Livestock products: Vegetables: 4-6mths own Cash earned from labor is the primary source of income for poor 4mths own produce households. Some find local agricultural labor opportunities on produce better-off farms but many migrate to more productive agriculture Key Income Sources areas such as neighboring Northern High Cereals Production Zone. Poor Better-off In addition to agriculture labor, some work is found in construction or in neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran. The poor also sell Labor sales Crop sales portions of their rice harvest in November/December and wheat in Crop sales Livestock and July/August. If available the poor sell sheep and goats, and milk and livestock product sales Livestock and butter to supplement their annual income. Better-off households livestock Trade sell surplus grain, livestock and livestock products. They also product sales purchase grains and livestock when prices dip and re-sell when Main Markets prices are more favorable. Taluqan Faizabad Market access in the zone is relatively good. The construction and Kunduz reconstruction of many roads connect it to the main transportation artery of the north. Most commodities sold, grains and livestock, are Shocks and Hazards done at the district market. Traders, both local and from other Floods areas, transport commodities in and out of the zone. Grains, wheat Insufficient rainfall and rice are transported to Taluqan or Faizabad and livestock is Key Early Warning Indicators taken to Tajikistan or Kabul via Taluqan. Food bought at the local Food price spikes market, namely wheat, is brought in from Turkmenistan or Pakistan Poor market access via Kabul. Poor weather conditions, particularly erratic rains *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 18: Takhar-Badakshan Mixed-Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat pl pl w h lp Rice lp pl w h h Vegetables h h lp pl w Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Remittances Hazards Floods Insufficient rain  Food prices Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 19: Kunduz-Baghlan High Cereal Production

Characterization of Food Security This surplus-cereal producing zone lies low and covers all of This zone is considered at little risk of food Kunduz Province, the northwestern districts of Takar Province insecurity it is a surplus producer of and most of the districts of Baghlan Province. Most of the agricultural products. zone depends on irrigation however those living in the Key Livelihoods Activities southern part (Nahrin and Dahaneh-ye-Ghowri Districts) depend on rainfall. The main staples produced are wheat, rice, Poor Better-off oilseeds, melons and some potatoes. There are two Agriculture Agriculture agricultural season in this zone: wheat, maize and flax are Livestock husbandry Livestock husbandry harvested in the summer whereas rice and sesame are Staple Foods and Sources* harvested in the autumn. Poor Better-off The dekhani farming arrangement is central to production in Wheat/rice: 6mths Wheat/rice: 12mths this zone, in which better-off and poor households sharecrop dekhani, 6mths produce and split the harvest at a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio. Most poor purchase Potatoes: 3-4mths households in the zone rely heavily on the grain earned Potatoes: 3-4mths produce through dekhani for most of their food, though some may sell own produce Livestock products: a part their dekhani crops after harvest for additional income. Livestock products: 6-8mths own Surplus wheat, rice and melons are the main crops sold for 6mths own produce cash followed by flax and sesame. produce Key Income Sources Demand for labor is high in this breadbasket region. Many poor households rely on local agricultural work, which is paid Poor Better-off in grain and/or cash/ The zone’s high demand labor attracts Labor sales Crop sales laborers from other areas which in turn push down labor rates. Crop sales (from Livestock sales Dekhani) Trading Market access is good as main transportation artery from Livestock sales Kabul transects through the center of the zone with many Main Markets secondary and tertiary roads connecting villages to the larger zone markets. Wheat and rice are sold at the local market and Kunduz transported throughout the north and down to Kabul. Traders Imam Sahib from Kabul come to the farm gate and buy melon and Khanabad Manduy watermelon. Although this is a surplus producing zone, many Mazar-e-Sharif households purchase beans from Zone 18 or import them from Shocks and Hazards Turkmenistan. Flood

Insufficient rainfall Crop pest/ diseases Livestock disease Key Early Warning Indicators Crops diseases Decrease in staple food prices Reduced irrigation water availability Increase in agricultural inputs prices Conflict *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 19: Kunduz-Baghlan High Cereal Production

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h h lp lp pl pl Rice lp pl w h h h Potato lp pl w h h Sesame lp pl pl w w h h Flax lp pl pl w h Maize lp pl w w h h Milk production Livestock sales Butter sales Wool/skin sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Remittances Wild plants In-kind payment Hazards Floods  Food prices Diarrhea Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 20: Northwest Agro-Pastoral Characterization of Food Security This expansive and sparse zone cuts across the southern This zone is considered at risk of food districts of Samangan, Balkh, Sari Pol, Faryab Provinces, the insecurity in a bad year, when market northern parts of Ghor and Hirat Provinces, and all of Bagdhis access is poor. Province/ The zone’s landscape is mostly grassland, Key Livelihoods Activities intermingled agricultural land, wild plants and pistachio forests Poor Better-off to the west. Agriculture Agriculture Livestock husbandry Livestock husbandry Households have increased their reliance on crop production Staple Foods and Sources* in the last several years – a shift from former times in which animal husbandry was dominant and complemented with Poor Better-off limited crop production. While the majority of households in Wheat/maize: Wheat/maize/rice: the zone rely on rainfall, there are some pockets of irrigated 7mths purchase, 12mths own fields throughout the zone in which rice is produced. 5mths dekhani produce Livestock products: Livestock products: Household production and earnings from dekhani 3-4mths own 6-8mths own sharecropping is roughly sufficient to cover household needs of produce produce all wealth groups. Grains such as wheat, barley and maize are Key Income Sources produced for household consumption whereas wheat, pulses Poor Better-off and zera (cumin) are cultivated as cash crops. Labor Crop sales Crop sales Livestock sales Households’ access to major markets is restricted by distance, Livestock sales Trading few roads and limited transportation options. After harvest, Main Markets households take a portion of their wheat to be sold at local District markets district markets. Wheat is brought in from Hirat, Kabul and Zone Mazar-e-Sharif 22 to local market to meet consumers’ demands/ Pulses are Hirat typically sold at the farm-gate to traders who then take the Shocks and Hazards goods to local markets or to larger regional markets outside the Insufficient rainfall zone. Cumin is also bought by traders but is then exported to Flood one of the major trading centers within Afghanistan where it is Key Early Warning Indicators then exported to India, Pakistan or Iran. Livestock stock and livestock products are sold at local markets then transported to Reduced pistachio sale prices the provincial capital to be slaughtered. Conflict Food price spikes Decrease in daily wage rates and work availability

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 20: Northwest Agro-Pastoral

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp pl pl Maize lp pl w lp pl w h h Chickpea pl pl h h lp lp Cumin lp pl h h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migr. Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Pistachio collect. Hazards Floods  Food prices Avalanche Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 21: Northern Rainfed Mixed Farming Characterization of Food Security This zone is mixed agricultural zone is rainfed and located in the This zone is considered at risk of food hilly and mountainous areas of the districts of southern Balkh and insecurity in a bad year, which is Northern Samangan, Sari Pul and Faryab Provinces. Forests cover affected by insufficient or erratic much of the mountainous area to the south, and offer pistachio, rainfall. almond and walnut trees amongst the wild growth. Key Livelihoods Activities Most households in this area cultivate wheat, barley, sesame and Poor Better-off on small to moderately sized plots. Grains are sown before the Agriculture labor Wheat and barley winter, mature through the rainy season and are harvested in the Wheat and barley production summer. In addition to grains households also cultivate sesame and production Livestock cumin. Sheep, goats and cattle are owned by most in the zone Handicraft husbandry however the number owned varies according to wealth. Plough production Trade oxen are used by the majority to till the land, though some better-

off households use tractors. Staple Foods and Sources* Poor Better-off Land size is a key limitation for livelihoods in the zone. Poor Wheat/barley: Wheat/barley: households sharecrop, dekhani, to access most of their food. Under 7mths 10mths own this system a land-poor laborer provides all labor on a better-off purchase, produce, 2mths household’s land in which proportions are divided roughly 3.1 or 5mths dekhani purchase 2:1 land-owner:laborer. This accounts for roughly half of the or own produce Livestock products: poor’s food, requiring them to purchase for six to seven months. Livestock 6mths own Better-off households get most of their food from their fields products: produce supplementing their remaining needs from livestock products and 4mths own rice and potatoes purchased from the market. produce Key income sources Crop sales are a key source of income for all wealth groups. Poor Better-off Though the yields poorer households produce are insufficient to Labor sales Livestock sales meet their food needs they sell a small portion of their higher value Crop sales Crop sales crops or grain earned through in-kind payment to purchases Carpet weaving & Trade cheaper grains and buy other essentials. However, the majority of wool spinning their income comes from labor sales, both locally and in other Main Markets provinces or in Iran. Migration labor is typically undertaken by one Mazar-e-Sharif male household member who travels to Iran from November to Samangan March, working in construction or other off-farm employment Faryab activities. A minority of the poor may also earn cash from carpet Sari-Pul weaving or wool spinning. Better-off households earn the bulk of Shocks and Hazards their cash through livestock sales followed by wheat and sesame Floods sales. Some better-off families are also engaged in grain, livestock Insufficient rainfall and handicraft trade. Crop pest and disease Good road networks connect many of the small district markets Market shocks to larger provincial markets and the major northern market at Key Early Warning Indicators Mazar-e-Sharif. Wheat and sesame, as well as livestock, are bought Poor rainfall and snow performance by traders at the local district market, transported to provincial Decrease in livestock prices market and then sold at the larger markets of Mazar-e-Sharif Decrease in price of wheat and rice and/or Kabul.

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 21: Northern Rainfed Mixed Farming

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp lp pl Barley w w h h h lp pl Sesame lp pl w w h h Cumin lp pl h h Milk production Livestock sales Hides/skin sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Wild foods Remittances Hazards Floods  Food prices Animal disease Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 22: Northern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture Characterization of Food Security This lowland zone includes the intensively irrigated areas of Balkh, This zone is considered at little risk of Jawzjan and Faryab Provinces. Most of the settlements in the zone food insecurity. are concentrated in small part of the overall area. Key Livelihoods Activities !griculture is the main driver of the zone’s economy where surplus Poor Better-off wheat, oilseeds and fruit represent the main cash crop. Wheat and Cash and food Cash and food vegetables (onions, tomatoes and okra) are also produced though cropping cropping mostly for household consumption. Vegetables can be harvested Labor Livestock twice annually, once in September and October and again in Handicraft husbandry December and January. In addition to crop production, sheep, cattle production Handicraft trade and poultry are kept, mostly for household consumption. Staple Foods and Sources* Poor households rely on the market for the majority of their food. Poor Better-off This is due to small land holdings and the lack of draft animals Wheat: 6mths in- Wheat: 10mths needed to plow in a timely manner. Conversely, the better-off are kind, 6mths own produce, able to produce the vast majority of their food themselves and rely purchase 2mths purchase on the market for a minimum amount of staple food. Vegetables: 4 Vegetables: 5mths own 5mths own Ample on-farm work is available from April through December due produce produce to the high demand for agricultural laborers. Some of the poorer Livestock Livestock laborers travel to other provinces in search of work, or to Pakistan, products: products: Iran or Uzbekistan. 4mths own 6mths own Though livestock keeping is not an integral part of this zone’s produce produce economy it does offer some limited income that is used for Key Income Sources purchasing essentials. Like crops, livestock are sold locally and taken Poor Better-off to provincial livestock markets. Labor Crop sales Carpet production and wool spinning is a significant income source Handicraft Trading for the zone’s poorer population/ Most of this work is reserved for production Livestock sales women and is a primary source of income for most female headed Crop sales households. The majority of the carpets and rugs are sold to local Main Markets traders who then take them to regional commercial centers where Sherberghan buyers from Kabul and other regional markets buy in bulk. Mazar-e-Sharif Most villages are connected to the main market at Mazar-e-Sharif Sari Pul by a series of road networks, ensuring the flow of commodities in Maymana and out the zone. Surplus wheat, oilseeds and fruits are taken to Shocks and Hazards local district markets by producers to be sold to traders. Then the Insufficient rainfall goods are taken to the larger provincial market to be sold. The main Floods limitation to commodity sales is the influx of foreign grain, from Crop pest/ diseases Kazakstan and Pakistan or from relief.

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 22: Northern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat w w h h lp pl pl Fruit lp pl pl w w h h h lp Vegetables (1) lp pl w w w w h h Vegetables (2) h . . lp pl h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migrat. Hides/skin sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Wild foods Hazards Floods  Food prices Animal disease Crop diseases Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 23: Amo River Irrigated Cereals and Oilseed Characterization of Food Security This sparsely populated lowland zone stretches along the southern This zone is considered at little risk banks of the Amo River across Faryab, Jawjan and Balkh Provinces. The of food insecurity. Amo River is the primary source of irrigation, feeding cereals such as Key Livelihoods Activities wheat and maize and oilseed such as sesame and flax. Snowfall in the distant highlands, as well as rainfall, influences water levels of the Amo, Poor Better-off which causes periodic flooding. The majority of households rely on Grain and Agriculture labor their oxen to till their land however some, mostly better-off oilseed Grain and oilseed households, use tractors. production agriculture Handicraft Livestock Agriculture is the foundation for the majority of livelihoods in the production husbandry zone and provides food, income and labor opportunities for the Handicraft majority. Labor is performed through the dekhani or ejara systems or trade for in-kind payment and cash. Livestock, mostly sheep, goats and cattle, Staple Foods and Sources* but also camels, are kept by all in the zone however the extent to which households rely on livestock products and sales increases with wealth. Poor Better-off Wheat/maize: Wheat/maize: Staple foods are sourced largely through own production or 7mths 9mths own dekhani farming arrangements across the zone, though the poor still purchase, produce, purchase more than half of their staple grains. Wheat is the main staple 5mths dekhani 3mths and is harvested by all of the zone’s residents in June and July/ Poor Livestock purchase households consume wheat produced from dekhani and/or their own products: 5 Livestock fields for 4-5 months and must purchase the remainder of their needs. 6mths own products: 6 The better-off, who typically own and cultivate larger tracks of land can produce 7mths own harvest 8 to 9 months of wheat, purchasing in the months preceding produce the harvest. Additionally, most households own livestock and consume Key Income Sources meat throughout the year, and dairy products from March to August. The better-off typically consume more of these than do the poor. Poor Better-off Agricultural labor Crop sales Income is largely earned through the agricultural sector, though Handicraft Handicraft sources and their relative importance vary for wealth groups. Though production trade crops are primarily produced for household consumption the poor sell a and wool Livestock sales portion in July and August to cover urgent food and non-food needs. spinning For the most part poor households earn the greater part of their cash Crop sales as agricultural laborers for better-off households, providing agricultural Main Markets labor. Labor migration during the winter season to Iran, Pakistan, Mazar-e-Sharif Mazar-e-Sharif or distant provinces is also common. Handicraft Sheberghan the capital of Jawazjan production, mostly carpets, and wool spinning serves as a supplementary source of cash. Carpets and other handicrafts are sold Shocks and Hazards to local traders, mostly better-off households, who transport and sell Floods them at larger provincial or regional markets. Insufficient rains Crop pests The market is accessible throughout the year without limitation. From Livestock disease the local district market, traders transport the commodities to Jawzjan, Land erosion Mazar-e-Sharif or Kabul markets. Crops are typically sold after the harvest whereas livestock are mostly sold from October until February. Key Early Warning Indicators Rice and potatoes are imported from the Kunduz area via the Jawzjan Agricultural land erosion and Mazar-e-Sharif market and sold locally. Increase in fuel cost

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 23: Amo River Irrigated Cereals and Oilseed

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat (1) w w h Lp lp pl pl Wheat (2) lp lp pl w w h H lp Maize/sesame lp pl w w h Milk production Livestock sales Butter sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Hazards Floods  Food prices Insufficient rain Erosion Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 24: East-Central Vineyard, Cereal and Horticulture Characterization of Food Security This medium altitude mixed agriculture zone covers large parts This zone is at risk of food insecurity in a of Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan and Lowgar Provinces. Most of the bad year. agricultural land is under irrigation and relies on the use of Key Livelihoods Activities improved seeds and fertilizers. Water for irrigation is sourced from snow melt, wells and springs and the use of tractors is Poor Better-off common across all wealth groups. Tractor rental which equals Agriculture & Agriculture about 600 Afghanis per hour covers one jerib. construction labor Livestock keeping Livestock keeping Trade Livelihoods in this zone are distinguished by grape production Handicraft and surplus grain production. Wheat is cultivated twice production annually and other crops such as barley, pulses and vegetables are also produced and sold. Staple Foods and Sources* Poor Better-off Almost all household staple food comes from own crop Wheat: 6mths Wheat: 12mths production or through grain received through the dekhani dekhani, 6mths own produce system. own produce Potatoes: 5mths Crop production and sales are the main income source for the Potatoes: 4mths own produce majority of households. Local agricultural labor is the primary own produce Barley: 10mths own revenue source for the zone’s poor offering paid labor Livestock products: produce opportunities for most of the year. Few laborers travel to 7mths own Livestock products: Pakistan and Iran in search of labor since there is a high demand produce 8mths own for labor locally. Livestock sales are an important source of produce revenue for many households in the zone/ The zone’s residents Key Income Sources and central highlands supply the demand for meat in Kabul. Poor Better-off Dairy products are also in demand by Kabul’s urban consumers Labor Crop sales and are sold from April until December. Income from the Livestock sales Livestock sales production and sale of handicrafts is important to all wealth Handicraft Trading groups. Carpet weaving and wool spinning is performed by the production poorer sector of the population whereas the trading of handicrafts is done by the better-off. Most of the goods are Main Markets brought to the main market in Kabul to be sold. Charikar Pol Alam The zone’s proximity to Kabul offers unfettered market access Kabul year-round and significant trade benefits. Most of the Khos commodities for sale travel from the local market to Kabul and Shocks and Hazards are then distributed nationally or internationally. Wheat and rice are purchased as household food reserves decrease. Wheat Crop pest/ diseases is either imported from Kazakhstan or Pakistan before it Insufficient rainfall reaches the Kabul market for regional distribution. Rice follows Floods a similar route though it is mostly imported from Pakistan. Key Early Warning Indicators Decrease in daily wage Decrease in fruit prices Food price spikes Climate performance Flooding during March-August *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 24: East-Central Vineyard, Cereal and Horticulture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat (1) lp pl h h Wheat (2) h lp pl Potato lp pl h h Barley h lp pl Vegetables lp pl pl w w h Beans lp pl h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migrat. Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Hazards Floods Insufficient rain Hailstorms Crop disease Animal disease Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 25: East-Central Orchard and Agriculture Characterization of Food Security This zone includes most of the districts in eastern Wardak This zone is considered at risk of food Province and Paghman District in Kabul Province. Agro insecurity in bad year. ecologically, this zone is similar to Zone 24 but there are some Key Livelihoods Activities distinct differences, primarily in the types of crops cultivated and the amount of time spent on production, which is greater Poor Better-off in Zone 25. Agriculture labor Agriculture Livestock Livestock husbandry The fruits produced in this area are exported to Iran, husbandry Pakistan, and the Gulf States in addition to Kabul. The river Staple Foods and Sources* provides water for Irrigation and is dependent on rainfall and the amount of snowfall that accumulates during the winter. Poor Better-off The use of tractors is not as common and most of the poorer Wheat/potatoes: Wheat: 2mths households use their own or rented oxen to plough. 9mths purchase, purchase, 10mths 3mths own own produce Crops are produced for consumption and sale and are in high produce Potatoes: 5mths own demand by Kabul’s urban population/ In addition to stone Livestock products: produce, 7mths fruit, apples and apricots, wheat, vegetables and pulses are 4mths own purchase produced once annually. Even though the poor typically produce Livestock products: cannot produce enough food to be self-sufficient they opt to 5mths own produce sell a portion of their harvest. As a result, the poor rely on the Key Income Sources market to meet most of their annual food needs and eat their own production for roughly three months of the year. Poor Better-off Labor Crop sales Migratory work during the agricultural off-season (October – Livestock sales Livestock sales March) is another distinctive characteristic of Zone 25 is the Crop sales degree to which the rural population migrates for work Main Markets during. Many go to the urban centers of Kabul or Ghazni for Kabul construction labor opportunities while other travel as far as Pakistan and Iran. Ghazni Shocks and Hazards Insufficient rainfall Floods Crop pest/ diseases Key Early Warning Indicators Decrease in apple price Decrease in potato price Food price spike *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 25: East-Central Orchard and Agriculture

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat (1) lp pl w h h Wheat (2) w h lp pl Potato lp pl w h Vegetables w h lp pl Apricot/Apple h h Milk production Livestock sales Wheat purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Off farm labor Petty trade Hazards Floods Hailstorms Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 26: East-Central Mountainous Agro-Pastoral Characterization of Food Security The zone is situated in the high altitude mountain districts This zone is at risk of food insecurity in a of Parwan, Pansher, Kapisa, Wardak, Bamyan and Ghazni normal year. Provinces. The landscape is covered with low lying bushes Key Livelihoods Activities and grassland pastures intermingled with farmland. Snowfall Poor Better-off begins in November and continues through February. Land preparation is primarily done with oxen-pulled plows, Agriculture labor Agriculture though some better-off households have tractors. Livestock husbandry Livestock husbandry Staple Foods and Sources* Both livestock and agriculture play integral roles in the Poor Better-off zone’s economy serving as primary and secondary sources Wheat: 8mths Wheat: 5mths of food and income. Wheat, pulses and vegetables are purchase, 4mths purchase, 7mths cultivated on small, moderately fertile plots utilizing own produce own produce irrigation from rivers and springs. Fruits like apples, apricots and nuts such as almonds and walnuts are the main crops Rice: 12mths Rice: 12mths purchase harvested for sale. Vegetables and pulses are also sold. purchase Beans: 12mths own Beans: 5mths produce Temporary labor migration during the agricultural off- purchase Vegetables: 6mths season is common. Kabul, Pakistan or Iran are the common Livestock products: own produce destinations. This is largely due to small land sizes of the 5mths own Livestock products: majority, and the level of production, there are limited local produce 9mths own produce labor opportunities. Key Income Sources Market access is limited from November to February due to Poor Better-off impassible roads. Most of the crops are sold before the Labor Crop sales onset of the snow which prevents transport to the main Crop sales Livestock sales provincial markets and even Kabul. Livestock is also sold Livestock sales Trade before the winter months for two main reasons; 1) as Main Markets income earning options are limited during the winter, Kabul households sell their sheep and goats to prepare for lean Siagerd times 2) to preserve animal fodder. Households sell and slaughter their animals before winter to ensure sufficient Bamyan amounts of feed for the remaining herd during the lean Ghazni winter months. Shocks and Hazards Insufficient rainfall Floods Crop pest/ diseases Animal diseases Hail storms Key Early Warning Indicators Increase in transportation cost Food price spikes Poor potato harvest Flooding: March-August *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 26: East-Central Mountainous Agro-Pastoral

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat (1) w h h lp pl Wheat (2) lp pl h h Potato lp pl w h Beans lp pl h Vegetables (1) lp pl h Vegetables (2) lp pl w h Milk production Livestock sales Livestock migrat. Wool/skins Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Kindlebush sales Wild foods Hazards Floods Insufficient rain Animal disease Crop disease Hailstorms Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 27: South-Central Mountain Wheat, Dried Fruit and Livestock

Characterization of Food Security The landscape in this mountainous zone is dominated by This zone is at risk of food insecurity in a grassland pastures intermingled with trees, bushes, wild food normal year plants and agricultural land. The zone covers most of Daykundi Key Livelihoods Activities and Uruzgan, the northern fringes of Zabul and several districts Poor Better-off in western and central Ghazni Provinces. Most of the settlements are spread out across the zone, near the irrigated Crop production Crop production areas. The medium-sized plots cultivated by the majority are Livestock keeping Livestock keeping tilled in spring using a pair of oxen. Karez irrigation systems are Labor Trade used to produce: wheat, barley, maize and vegetables. Staple Foods and Sources* Poor Better-off Most households also own small orchards producing almonds Wheat: 7mths Wheat: 8mths own and fruits. The latter are mostly sold dried. Like other areas in the country households allocate a portion of their fields to purchase, 5mths produce, 4mths growing barley and maize for livestock fodder. These grains are own produce or purchase harvested in the autumn before the onset of winter when dekhani Vegetables: 8mths pastures are limited. Maize: 2mths own own produce produce or Rice: 12mths Livestock keeping is a key source of income and food for all dekhani purchase wealth groups. Vast pasturelands alongside irrigated crops Livestock products: Livestock products: serve this activity well. Most households have sheep and goats 3-4mths own 4-5mths own however better-off households also own cattle. Small stock produce produce serve as an important sources of food (milk, krut, and Key Income Sources sometimes meat) but more importantly a source of cash, through the sale of dairy products, wools and animals. Poor Better-off Labor Livestock & product Labor opportunities within the zone are few therefore most Livestock product sales households migrate to Hirat, Kabul, Iran and Pakistan to look for sales Crop sales seasonal work. Credit Trade Market access is limited due to long distances from rural areas Main Markets to local markets, poor road networks, insecurity and land mines Malistan and excessive snow. Fruits and nuts are sold to traders at the Jaghuri farm gate then transported to provincial then regional markets. Nili Livestock are sold before the onset of the winter at weekly Kabul livestock markets then transported to Kandarhar, Hirat, Nili, Shocks and Hazards Qalat to be sold for slaughter. Floods

Insufficient rainfall Crop and livestock diseases Key Early Warning Indicators Food price spikes Term of trade between almond and wheat Livestock diseases Prepositioning of food prior the winter *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 27: South-Central Mountain Wheat, Dried Fruit and Livestock

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Peak snow Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize lp pl w h Barley lp pl pl w h Vegetables lp pl w h h h h , Apricot h h Apple h h Almond h h Milk production Livestock sales Wool sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Petty trade Hazards Floods Frost Animal disease Crop disease Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 28: Southeastern Zabul Rainfed Cereals and Orchard Characterization of Food Security This small, flat, bush-land zone covers parts of Zabul, northern This zone is considered at risk of food Kandarhar, and Nawa district of Ghazni. Households in this insecurity in a bad year as it has a tendency zone depend on the 400-500 mm of rainfall it receives annually to be affected by drought. for crop production. A minority of the population has access to Key Livelihoods Activities irrigation. The amount of land under irrigation compared to Poor Better-off the rainfed areas is not significant. Plots are relatively large in this zone and most households use tractors to till their land. Crop production Crop production Poor households use tractors on a credit basis, paying the Livestock keeping Livestock keeping owners in grain or in cash. Labor Staple Foods and Sources* Staple grain and cash crop production are the main sources of Poor Better-off food and income in the zone. Wheat is the main crop produced followed by maize and vegetables. Orchard fruits Wheat:6mths own Wheat:9mths own such as apricot, peaches and almonds are the main cash crop produce, 6mths produce, 3mths of the zone. dekhani purchase Maize: 2mths own Maize: 3mths own The majority of households keep some livestock for food and produce produce sale, mostly sheep and goats but some cattle. Animals are sold Vegetables: 4mths Vegetables: 4mths throughout the year but sales peak from September to own produce own produce November. Livestock products such as milk, yogurt, cheese and Livestock products: Livestock products: krut are sold from April to August. Sheep and goats are taken 6mths own 8mths own produce to the weekly livestock market in Qalat where they are produce purchase by traders who take them to Kandarhar. From there Key Income Sources they are taken to Nimroz and smuggled into Iran. Poor Better-off Market access in the zone is constrained due to poor road Labor Crop sales conditions, inadequate transportation and insecurity. The Crop sales Livestock and product majority of poor households buy, or trade or barter goods for Livestock product sales staple food from the village kiosks. Some may go to the larger sales Self employment market at Qalat or cross the border into Pakistan to Quatar Main Markets market. Fruit and almonds are bought by traders at the farm- Qalat gate then transported to markets outside the zone. Kandarhar There are limited labor opportunities in this zone therefore Quatar (Pakistan) most households send one member to travel to Pakistan and Shocks and Hazards Iran once crops are harvested. Insufficient rainfall Insecurity Animal diseases Key Early Warning Indicators Poor term of trade between almond and wheat Food price spikes Poor rainfaill *Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 28: Southeastern Zabul Rainfed Cereals and Orchard

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize lp pl h Vegetables lp pl w h h h Almonds h h , Grapes h h h h Apricot h h h Milk production Livestock sales Wool sales Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Petty trade Hazards Floods Hailstorm Animal disease Crop disease Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Livelihood Zone 29: Helmand Intensive Irrigated Wheat and Cash Crop Characterization of Food Security This mostly flat zone includes the districts in Helmand This zone is considered at risk of food in Province that hug the Helmand river. Livelihoods are heavily security zone during times of conflict. dependent on irrigated agriculture producing surplus quantities of wheat, in addition to maize, pulses, vegetables Key Livelihoods Activities and poppy. Agricultural production is intense, with the Poor Better-off majority of households using from improved seeds, fertilizers Labor Crop production and tractors. Crop production Livestock keeping Food and income comes largely through own production Livestock keeping crops, or through working for in-kind or cash payment on Staple Foods and Sources* farms. Most of the labor opportunities are found locally Poor Better-off though some household members travel to Iran or Pakistan. Wheat: 5mths own Wheat: 8mths own There are two types of labor opportunities available for the purchase, 7mths produce, 4mths poor. The first is Dekhani labor on better-off households’ in-kind purchase wheat fields. Under this arrangement the poor households Maize: 2mths in- Vegetables: 8mths earn ½ of the wheat harvest in exchange for working on the kind own produce better-off’s land/ This accounts for a major source of food as Livestock products: Rice: 12mths purchase well as income since they sell a portion of the harvest for cash. 3-4mths own Livestock products: 4 Poppy labor is paid in cash. Poor households work on the produce 5mths own produce poppy fields and earn cash which is used to buy food and non Key Income Sources food essentials. Poor Better-off Market access is good as most of the roads are passable Crop sales Crop sales throughout the year and trucks and traders pass through the Livestock product Livestock & product zone regularly. Most of the surplus wheat is taken from the sales sales village farm via donkey, horse or tractor and sold at the local Self employment district market. From there it is transported by local or regional Main Markets traders to the larger markets at Lashkargah, Kandarhar or Hirat. Poppy is sold at the farmgate and smuggled from the Lashkargah zone into Iran via Hirat or south through the desert. Kandarhar Hirat The conflict between Taliban and International and National Shocks and Hazards security forces imposes a threat to food security, despite the Insufficient rainfall fact that this is a surplus producing area. Access to markets, Crop pest and diseases fields and potentially increased displacement could push more households toward food insecurity. Key Early Warning Indicators Conflict Decrease in crop prices

Agriculture inputs price spikes Increased conflict or displacement

*Months listed are not meant to express exact timing, but rather indicate trends and patterns.

Livelihood Zone 29: Helmand Intensive Irrigated Wheat and Cash Crop

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Seasons Peak rains Lean season Key livelihood activities Wheat h h lp pl Maize lp pl pl h h h Vegetables h h Poppy h lp pl Barley h h h h lp pl Milk production Livestock sales Livestock mig. Wheat purchase Rice purchase Other opportunities Local farm labor Labor migration Trade Hazards Flood Insufficient rains Insecurity Animal diseases Crop diseases Hailstorms  Food prices Legend lp land prep pl planting w weeding h harvesting

Annex One: Provinces and Districts by Livelihood Zone Livelihood Zone 1: Eastern Mixed Farming and Forest Province District Comments Nangarhar Pachier Agam Shared with LHZ 4 Paktya Laja Ahmad Paktya Khail Paktya Sayed Karam Paktya Shawak Paktya Zadran Paktya Ali Khail (Jaji) Paktya Gardiz Shared with LHZ 7 Paktya Ahmad Abad Shared with LHZ 7 Paktika Barmal Shared with LHZ 3 Nangarhar Deh Bala Shared with LHZ 4 Nangarhar Shirzad Shared with LHZ 4 Paktika Gayan Nangarhar Khogayani Shared with LHZ 4 Nangarhar Acheen Shared with LHZ 4 Khost Spira Khost Shamal Logar Azra Paktika Nika Nangarhar Nazyan Paktika Ziruk Nangarhar Hesarak

Livelihood Zone 2: Eastern Agro-Pastoral and Forest Province District Comments Laghman Alishing Shared with LHZ 5 Nuristan Kamdesh Kunar Ghaziabad Laghman Alingar Shared with LHZ 5 Laghman Daulatshahi Nuristan Nurgaram Nuristan Wama Kunar Chapa Dara Nuristan Du Ab Kunar Dara-I-Pech Shared with LHZ 5 Kunar Wata Pur Shared with LHZ 5 Nuristan Waygal Kunar Marawara Shared with LHZ 5 Nuristan Parun

Livelihood Zone 3: Southeastern High-Migration, Forest-Product and Livestock Province District Comments Paktika Urgun Paktika Sar Hawza Paktika Omna

Province District Comments Paktika Dila Paktika Barmal Shared with LHZ 1 Paktika Waza Khwa Paktika Turwo Paktika Wor Mayi Paktika Sarobi Paktika Gomal

Livelihood Zone 4: Eastern Semi-Arid Agriculture Province District Comments Nangarhar Rodat Khost Khost(Matun) Shared with LHZ 5 Nangarhar Shirzad Shared with LHZ 1 Khost Jaji Maidan Khost Tere Zayi Shared with LHZ 5 Khost Qalandar Nangarhar Surkh Rod Nangarhar Lal Por Shared with LHZ 6 Nangarhar Kot Paktya Jani Khail Nangarhar Chaparhar Paktya Dand Patan Nangarhar Acheen Shared with LHZ 1 Khost Sabri Shared with LHZ 5 Paktya Chamkani Nangarhar Shinwar Nangarhar Khogayani Shared with LHZ 1 Nangarhar Goshta Shared with LHZ 6 Khost Gurbuz Shared with LHZ 5 Nangarhar Deh Bala Shared with LHZ 1 Khost Tani Shared with LHZ 5 Nangarhar Muhmand Dara Shared with LHZ 6 Nangarhar Pachier Agam Shared with LHZ 1

Livelihood Zone 5: Eastern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture Province District Comments Nangarhar Bati Kot Khost Tani Shared with LHZ 4 Kunar Khas Kunar Shared with LHZ 6 Laghman Mihtarlam Nangarhar Jalalabad Nangarhar Bihsud Khost Sabri Shared with LHZ 4 Nangarhar Kama Khost Mosa Khail Kunar Dara-I-Pech Laghman Alingar

Province District Comments Laghman Qarghayi Khost Nadir Shah Kot Kunar Narang Nangarhar Kuz Kunar Kunar Nurgal Khost Mando Zayi Khost Gurbuz Shared with LHZ 4 Laghman Alishing Shared with LHZ 2 Kunar Marawara Shared with LHZ 2 Kunar Wata Pur Khost Bak Khost Tere Zayi Shared with LHZ 4 Khost Khost(Matun) Shared with LHZ 4 Kunar Asadabad

Livelihood Zone 6: Eastern Cross Border Trade and Labor Province District Comments Nangarhar Lal Por Shared with LHZ 4 Kunar Sarkani Kunar Dangam Kunar Bar Kunar Kunar Nari Nangarhar Dur Baba Kunar Khas Kunar Shared with LHZ 5 Nangarhar Goshta Shared with LHZ 4 Nangarhar Muhmand Dara Shared with LHZ 4

Livelihood Zone 7: Eastern Deep-Well Irrigated Agriculture Province District Comments Paktya Zurmat Paktika Jani Khel Paktika Zarghun Shahr Paktya Gardiz Shared with LHZ 1 Paktika Mata Khan Paktika Yosuf Khel Paktya Ahmad Abad Shared with LHZ 1 Paktika Sharan Paktika Yahya Khel

Livelihood Zone 8: Kabul and Logar Irrigated Province District Comments Logar Puli Alam Shared with LHZ 24 Logar Mohammad Agha Shared with LHZ 24 Kabul Khaki Jabbar Shared with LHZ 24 Logar Kharwar Logar Baraki Barak

Province District Comments Logar Khoshi Kabul Chahar Asyab Kabul Musayi Kabul Surobi Kabul Bagrami Kabul Kabul

Livelihood Zone 9: Southern Intensive Irrigated Vegetable and Orchard Province District Comments Kandahar Spin Boldak Shared with LHZ 16 and LHZ 10 Ghazni Andar Ghazni Dih Yak Ghazni Zana Khan Zabul Arghandab Ghazni Khwaja Umari Ghazni Gelan Kandahar Arghistan Shared with LHZ 28 Ghazni Wali Muhammadi Shahid Kandahar Panjwayi Kandahar Daman Shared with LHZ 10 Kandahar Kandahar Kandahar Arghandab Kandahar Maywand Kandahar Zhari Zabul Mizan Zabul Tarnak Wa Jaldak Zabul Qalat Ghazni Ghazni Ghazni Giro Zabul Shahjoy Ghazni Ab Band Ghazni Muqur

Livelihood Zone 10: Southern Semi-Arid Pastoral Province District Comments Nimroz Chahar Burjak Nimroz Chakhansur Shared with LHZ 16 and LHZ 14 Nimroz Khash Rod Shared with LHZ 14 Kandahar Daman Shared with LHZ 9 Kandahar Registan Kandahar Spin Boldak Shared with LHZ 16 and LHZ 9 Hilmand Garmser Shared with LHZ 29 Hilmand Nad Ali Shared with LHZ 29 Hilmand Dishu Shared with LHZ 29 Kandahar Shorabak Hilmand Reg(Khanshin) Shared with LHZ 29 Kandahar Shah Wali Kot

Province District Comments Kandahar Khakrez Kandahar Nesh Kandahar Miya Nishin Kandahar Ghorak

Livelihood Zone 11: Northern Kandahar Agriculture and Livestock Province District Comments Kandahar Shah Wali Kot Kandahar Khakrez Kandahar Nesh Kandahar Miya Nishin Kandahar Ghorak

Livelihood Zone 12: South-Central Mixed Farming Province District Comments Farah Gulistan Shared with LHZ 15 Farah Pur Chaman Shared with LHZ 15 Hilmand Washer Hilmand Baghran Hilmand Musa Qala Hilmand Naw Zad Hilmand Kajaki Nimroz Dilaram

Livelihood Zone 13: Western Intensive Irrigated Agriculture Province District Comments Hirat Kohsan Shared with LHZ 16 Hirat Ghoryan Hirat Zanda Jan Hirat Guzara Hirat Karukh Hirat Pashtun Zarghun Hirat Koshki Kohna Shared with LHZ 20 Hirat Koshk Shared with LHZ 16 and LHZ 20 Hirat HIrat Hirat Obe Hirat Chishti Sharif Hirat Injil Hirat Gulran

Livelihood Zone 14: Western Semi-Arid Agro-Pastoral Province District Comments Farah Qala Ka Shared with LHZ 16 Nimroz Khash Rod Shared with LHZ 10 Farah Anar Dara Shared with LHZ 16

Province District Comments Farah Shib Koh Farah Farah Farah Lash Wa Juwayn Farah Pusht Rod Nimroz Chakhansur Shared with LHZ 16 and LHZ 10 Hirat Farsi Shared with LHZ 15 Hirat Adraskan Hirat Shindand Farah Bakwa Farah Bala Buluk Farah Khaki Safed

Livelihood Zone 15: West-Central Highland Agro-Pastoral Province District Comments Ghor Pasaband Ghor Chaghcharan Shared with LHZ 20 Ghor Tulak Shared with LHZ 17 Farah Pur Chaman Shared with LHZ 12 Ghor Shahrak Ghor Du Layna Ghor Saghar Farah Gulistan Shared with LHZ 12 Ghor Dawlat Yar Ghor Taywara Ghor Sarjangal

Livelihood Zone 16: Western and Southern Cross-Border Trade and Labor Province District Comments Nimroz Chakhansur Shared with LHZ 10 and LHZ 14 Nimroz Zaranj Farah Qala Ka Shared with LHZ 14 Farah Anar Dara Kandahar Spin Boldak Shared with LHZ 10 and LHZ 9 Hirat Koshk Shared with LHZ 20 and LHZ 13 Hirat Kohsan Shared with LHZ 13

Livelihood Zone 17: Northeastern Highland Agro-Pastoral Province District Comments Nuristan Mandol Badakhshan Raghistan Nuristan Bargi Matal Badakhshan Kuf Ab Takhar Warsaj Badakhshan Shahada Badakhshan Arghanj Khaw Baghlan Khost Wa Firing

Province District Comments Badakhshan Yawan Badakhshan Kohistan Badakhshan Tashkan Badakhshan Kuran Wa Munjan Nuristan Parun Badakhshan Ishkashiem Badakhshan Zebak Badakhshan Darwaz Ghor Tulak Shared with LHZ 15 Badakhshan Shighnan Baghlan Guzargahi Nur Baghlan Farang Wa Gharu Badakhshan Khwahan Badakhshan Shaki Badakhshan Tagab (Kishmi Bala) Badakhshan Darwazbala Badakhshan Yamgan (Girwan) Badakhshan Wakhan

Livelihood Zone 18: Takhar-Badakshan Mixed-Agriculture Province District Comments Takhar Rustaq Badakhshan Argo Badakhshan Darayim Badakhshan Yaftal Sufla Takhar Chah Ab Badakhshan Kishim Takhar Ishkamish Badakhshan Warduj Badakhshan Shahri Buzurg Badakhshan Jurm Takhar Kalfagan Takhar Taluqan Takhar Hazar Sumuch Takhar Baharak Badakhshan Baharak Takhar Farkhar Takhar Namak Ab Takhar Chal Badakhshan Fayzabad Badakhshan Khash Takhar Bangi

Livelihood Zone 19: Kunduz-Baghlan High Cereal Production Province District Comments Takhar Khwaja Ghar Takhar Dashti Qala

Province District Comments Takhar Yangi Qala Baghlan Dushi Baghlan Baghlani Jadid Baghlan Puli Khumri Baghlan Nahrin Baghlan Andarab Baghlan Dih Salah Baghlan Khinjan Takhar Darqad Baghlan Burka Baghlan Khwaja Hijran (Jilga Nahrin) Baghlan Puli Hisar Kunduz Khanabad Kunduz Aliabad Kunduz Chahar Dara Kunduz Kunduz Kunduz Dashte Archi Kunduz Imam Sahib Kunduz Qalay-I- Zal Baghlan Dahana-I- Ghuri Nimroz Kang Takhar Khwaja Bahawuddin

Livelihood Zone 20: Northwest Agro-Pastoral Province District Comments Faryab Qaysar Shared with LHZ 22 Balkh Zari Hirat Koshki Kohna Shared with LHZ 13 and LHZ 16 Samangan Dara-I-Sufi Bala Faryab Kohistan Balkh Kishindih Badghis Jawand Sari Pul Sangcharak Shared with LHZ 21 Badghis Ab Kamari Sari Pul Kohistanat Shared with LHZ 21 Bamyan Yakawlang Badghis Bala Murghab Badghis Ghormach Badghis Qala-I- Naw Faryab Pashtun Kot Shared with LHZ 22 Badghis Muqur Balkh Sholgara Shared with LHZ 21 Balkh Chahar Kint Shared with LHZ 21 Samangan Ruyi Du Ab Badghis Qadis Ghor Charsada Sari Pul Gosfandi Hirat Koshk Shared with LHZ 13 and LHZ 16

Province District Comments Ghor Chaghcharan Shared with LHZ 15 Sari Pul Balkhab

Livelihood Zone 21: Northern Rainfed Mixed Farming Province District Comments Balkh Chahar Kint Shared with LHZ 20 Sari Pul Sayyad Sari Pul Sari Pul Samangan Dara-I-Sufi Payin Faryab Shirin Tagab Shared with LHZ 22 Faryab Dawlatabad Shared with LHZ 22 Samangan Feroz Nakhchir Samangan Khuram Wa Sarbagh Samangan Aybak Samangan Hazrati Sultan Faryab Pashtun Kot Shared with LHZ 22 and LHZ 20 Jawzjan Qush Tepa Faryab Khwaja Sabz Posh Shared with LHZ 22 Faryab Bilchiragh Balkh Sholgara Shared with LHZ 20 Balkh Marmul Sari Pul Sangcharak Shared with LHZ 20 Sari Pul Kohistanat Shared with LHZ 20 Balkh Chimtal Shared with LHZ 22 Jawzjan Darzab Sari Pul Sozma Qala Faryab Gurziwan Shared with LHZ 20 Faryab Almar Shared with LHZ 22 Balkh Chahar Kint Sari Pul Sayyad

Livelihood Zone 22: Northern Intensive Irrigated Agriculture Province District Comments Jawzjan Khwaja Du Koh Shared with LHZ 20 Balkh Mazari Sharif Faryab Shirin Tagab Shared with LHZ 21 Faryab Maymana Jawzjan Fayzabad Jawzjan Mangajek Balkh Dihdadi Balkh Balkh Balkh Nahri Shahi Jawzjan Shibirghan Balkh Chimtal Shared with 21 Jawzjan Khaniqa Jawzjan Aqcha Balkh Chahar Bolak

Province District Comments Faryab Qurghan Faryab Qaramqol Jawzjan Mardyan Faryab Andkhoy Balkh Dawlatabad Faryab Qaysar Shared with LHZ 20 Faryab Khani Chahar Bagh Balkh Khulm Faryab Almar Shared with LHZ 21 Faryab Dawlatabad Shared with LHZ 21 Faryab Khwaja Sabz Posh Shared with LHZ 21 Faryab Pashtun Kot Shared with LHZ 20

Livelihood Zone 23: Amo River Irrigated Cereals and Oilseed Province District Comments Jawzjan Qarqin Shared with LHZ 20 Balkh Shortepa Balkh Kaldar Shared with LHZ 21 Balkh Sharak Hairatan Jawzjan Kham Ab

Livelihood Zone 24: East-Central Vineyard, Cereal and Horticulture Province District Comments Kabul Khaki Jabbar Shared with LHZ 8 Parwan Jabalussaraj Kapisa Hisa-i-Duwumi Kohistan Kabul Dih Sabz Logar Charkh Kabul Qarabagh Parwan Sia Gird ( Ghorbund) Shared with LHZ 26 Parwan Chaharikar Parwan Sayd Khel Parwan Bagram Parwan Kohi Safi Parwan Shinwari Shared with LHZ 26 Kabul Istalif Kabul Farza Parwan Salang Shared with LHZ 26 Logar Puli Alam Shared with LHZ 8 Kapisa Mahmudi Raqi Kabul Kalakan Kabul Shakardara Kapisa Nijrab Shared with LHZ 26 Kabul Guldara Logar Mohammad Agha Shared with LHZ 8 Kapisa Koh Band Kapisa Hisa-i-Awali Kohistan

Province District Comments Kabul Mir Bacha Kot

Livelihood Zone 25: East-Central Orchard and Agriculture Province District Comments Maydan Wardak Jalrez Maydan Wardak Maydan Shahr Maydan Wardak Chaki Wardak Shared with LHZ 26 Maydan Wardak Saydabad Maydan Wardak Day Mirdad Shared with LHZ 26 Kabul Paghman Maydan Wardak Nirkh

Livelihood Zone 26: East-Central Mountainous Agro-Pastoral Province District Comments Bamyan Yakawlang Parwan Surkhi Parsa Kabul Dih Sabz Maydan Wardak Hisa-I- Awali Bihsud Parwan Sia Gird ( Ghorbund) Shared with LHZ 24 Parwan Shekh Ali Maydan Wardak Day Mirdad Shared with LHZ 25 Ghazni Malistan Kapisa Nijrab Shared with LHZ 24 Ghazni Nawur Parwan Shinwari Panjsher Bazarak Panjsher Khenj (Hese- Awal) Panjsher Paryan Panjsher Dara Kapisa Tagab Maydan Wardak Jaghatu Bamyan Sayghan Maydan Wardak Chaki Wardak Shared with LHZ 25 Baghlan Tala Wa Barfak Maydan Wardak Markazi Bihsud Bamyan Waras Bamyan Panjab Bamyan Shibar Bamyan Bamyan Bamyan Kahmard Parwan Salang Shared with LHZ 24 Panjsher Shutul Panjsher Unaba Panjsher Rukha Kapisa Alasay

Livelihood Zone 27: South-Central Mountain Wheat, Dried Fruit and Livestock Province District Comments Zabul Kakar Uruzgan Dihrawud Uruzgan Shahidi Hassas Uruzgan Tirin Kot Uruzgan Chora Shared with LHZ 24 Uruzgan Khas Uruzgan Ghazni Ajristan Shared with LHZ 25 Ghazni Jaghuri Ghazni Qarabagh Shared with LHZ 24 Ghazni Bahrami Shahid (Jaghatu) Ghazni Waghaz Zabul Daychopan Daykundi Gizab Ghazni Nawa Daykundi Shahristan Daykundi Miramor Daykundi Kajran Daykundi Gaiti Daykundi Khadir Shared with LHZ 25 Daykundi Sangi Takht Daykundi Ishtarlay Daykundi Nili Ghazni Rashidan

Livelihood Zone 28: Southeastern Zabul Rainfed Cereals and Orchard Province District Comments Zabul Shamulzayi Zabul Naw Bahar Zabul Shinkay Kandahar Arghistan Shared with LHZ 9 Kandahar Maruf

Livelihood Zone 29: Helmand Intensive Irrigated Wheat and Cash Crop Province District Comments Helmand Dishu Shared with LHZ 10 Helmand Reg(Khanshin) Shared with LHZ 10 Helmand Garmser Shared with LHZ 10 Helmand Nawa-I- Barak Zayi Helmand Nahri Sarraj Helmand Lashkar Gah Helmand Sangin Helmand Nad Ali Shared with LHZ 10