Horticulture Value Chain Development Sector Project (RRP AFG 51039) Supplementary Document 21: Detailed Social and Gender Assessment Contents Acronyms i 1. Executive Summary 1 2. Current Socio-economic Situation 3 2.1. Increase in the poverty rate 3 2.2. Conflict and Food Security 4 3. Population 6 3.1. Internally displaced people 7 3.2. Returnees 8 4. Ethnicity 9 5. Gender 10 5.1. National Gender Situation Overview 10 5.2. Women’s Access to Justice 11 5.3. Women and Health Care 11 5.4. Women and Education 12 5.5. Women and Employment 13 5.6. Women and Agriculture in Afghanistan 14 6. Education 16 7. Health 19 7.1. Children Health 19 7.2. Maternal Health 19 8. Employment 20 8.1. Economic sectors and socio-economic development 21 8.2. Formal and informal employment 21 8.3. Unemployment and economic migrants 22 8.4. Agriculture and employment 22 9. Access to Services 23 10. Provinces 24 10.1. Bamyan 25 10.2. Ghazni 26 10.3. Kabul 27 10.4. Khost 29 10.5. Kunar 30 10.6. Laghman 30 10.7. Logar 32 10.8. Nangahar 33 10.9. Paktya 34 10.10. Paktika 35 10.11. Wardak 36 Acronyms ALCS Afghanistan Living Condition Survey ANP Afghan National Police IDP Internally Displaced Person IPC Intergrated Food Security Phase Classification MAIL Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock NGO non-government organization i 1. Executive Summary 1. Afghanistan ranks 169th1 (out of 188 countries) in the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index. This index is based on a number of economic, social, and health factors. It has been around this position for a number of years. 2. Afghanistan’s socio-economic situation has been negatively affected by the increasing insecurity and poverty in recent years. The decline in aid and growth damaged jobs, and the escalation of conflict further intensified the vulnerability of the Afghan people. Absolute poverty is increasing, with about 55% of Afghans now poor. There are not enough jobs to meet the needs of a fast-growing labor force and provide livelihoods to illiterate and unskilled Afghans.2 3. The gross domestic product growth increased from 2016 and was worth US$20.82 billion in 2017. The biggest sector of Afghanistan´s economy is services accouting for 49% of the gross domestic product. Agriculture creates 26% of the output. Manufacturing and mining constitute 13% of the wealth and construction 12%. Growth will likely remain below the 8% requirement to fully employ Afghanistan’s growing labor force. Meanwhile, conflict and fragility will likely continue constraining Afghanistan’s development and progress toward reducing poverty (footnote 2). 4. Insecurity in the country, poverty at the family level, and social and cultural constraints are the major obstacles that challenge Afghan people’s lives generally, in particular women’s and girls’ education and employment development in Afghanistan. The diffusion and intensification of conflict perpetuate poverty down to future generations as children miss school and more families flee their homes. The economic and security crisis has accentuated deep and widening inequalities between those who have the means to cope with shocks and those who must give up vital assets to stay alive. Lack of education, livelihoods, and access to basic services contribute to Afghan poverty. Poor people face higher unemployment and are more likely to work in agriculture or in the informal sector. The main economic problems faced by the poor are high food prices and the lack of formal jobs. The situation is deteriorating with further poverty challenges faced but the poor in general but by women and ethnic minorities in particular. 5. The stagnation and deterioration should be viewed against the recent worsening of the security situation, the large influx of returnees, the reduction of international presence in and aid to Afghanistan and macro-economic conditions. In addition, more structural factors continue to play a role in impeding development in the country, including the very low participation of women in the economy and in society in general, the low levels of education and skills in the country’s work force and the poor performance of the labour market. In this context, labor-market challenges are not just unemployment since the other equally important factors is low quality of employment characterized by vulnerable, low-productivity and low-paid jobs that prevent households from escaping poverty and improving their living conditions. Moreover, the high population growth rates generate unsustainable conditions for development. Analysis of the Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016–2017 shows that these above-mentioned factors undermine the capacity of many households and individuals—in particular women and girls—to escape poverty and poor health. 1 World Bank. 2013. World Development Indicators 2013. Washinton, DC. 2 World Bank. 2017. World Bank Country Assessment 2017. Washington, DC. 6. Considering the above socio-economic and other constraints, the proposed project has been designed in such a way that it will benefit agro-business enterpises (ABEs) and their affiliated farmers in the project areas that include low-income and marginal farmers (with landholdings of less than 1–2 ha). The project provinces have some of the highest food insecurity levels in the country: Bamyan, Ghazni, Kabul, Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Logar, Nangahar, Paktika, Paktya, and Wardak. Project interventions will help increase annual production of fruit and vegetables, contributing significantly to improve food security of project beneficiaries and others in the project area. Incremental household income and jobs created, particularly for women in packing and processing premises, will significantly contribute to local poverty reduction. 7. The project is categorized as effective gender mainstreaming. Gender activities will be mainstreamed in the project. It will directly benefit ABEs and affiliated farmers, including poor households within the project areas, through increases in agricultural production and farm incomes. Improved access to water-efficient on-farm distribution and application systems, quality planting material, modern production systems, on-farm greenhouses, and storage facilities will allow farmers to access higher off-season prices in perishable produce and reduce income inequality. Female subproject owners will be specifically targeted to ensure they participate equally in access to grant funding. Supply contract arrangements between ABEs and affiliated farmers will be developed taking into account the special requirements of female headed farming households who will be encouraged to actively participate in technical support training in the use of on-farm improvements as appropriate and particularly in the development of small-scale agro- processing activities. Training for women will be conducted by female trainers to ensure willingness to participate. A gender action plan has been prepared and is accessible from the list of linked documents in Appendix 2 of the Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors. 8. Focus of the assessments and data limitations. These assessments focus on the socio-economic and gender aspects in Afghanistan and highlights the visible challenges of the Afghan population in education, health, employment, and agriculture. It discusses the role of women in agriculture and horticulture and contribution towards the household economy. The report is based on a secondary data and desk review. Most of the data comes from the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) and donors such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, and the World Food Program. Data also came from line ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). However, in some cases, recent data are not available and there are discrepancies between the figures from the government’s sources and the figures available from key development partners. Due to the insecurity situation in large parts of the country, it is not possible for surveyors and enumeratos to collect reliable primary data. 2 2. Current Socio-economic Situation 9. A severe slow down in Afghanistan's development occurred since 2012 (specifically noted in the "transition period" leading to the 2014 election and handover of security responsibility to Afghan forces). The recent socio-economic deterioration is attributed to: • Reduction of international military forces • Decline in associated international spending • Reduction of aid and development interventions • Increasing conflict and political instability 10. While development aid fueled growth during 2007–2012, since 2012 the transition has magnified social inequalities between rich and poor, and between men and women and girls and boys. Overall, vulnerable groups suffer most as the security condition deteriorates with poverty on the rise (from 36% in 2012 to 55% in 2016–2017)3. 11. Vulnerability to shocks4 is a key social challenge. The country's heavy reliance on subsistence agriculture, difficult geography and climate-change risk, absence of formal social safety nets, and history of conflict, all contribute to the vulnerability context status. The socio- economic and security crisis that unfolded during 2012–2014 increased shock occurrence (almost doubled) pushing households unable to cope with poverty.5 This increases the risk of downward trend of social indicators as poverty and conflict combine to exacerbate Afghans' vulnerability to shocks. Poorer households and those living in high-conflict areas are not only more likely to be exposed to shocks, but they are also more likely to suffer the negative consequences of shocks over long periods of time.6 2.1. Increase in the poverty rate 12. Afghanistan shows that poverty increases without sustained, job-creating growth and sluggish growth, and increasing conflict has pushed 16 million Afghans into poverty, increasing the poverty rate to 55% (footnote 3). The increase in the poverty rate is experienced across the country and is present in urban as well as in rural areas. Not only the share of poor people among the general population increased, but also the depth or intensity of poverty.