LIVELIHOODS ZONING “PLUS” ACTIVITY IN AFGHANISTAN A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET) February 2011 1 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. 2 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 3 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 4 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 5 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. 2 Traditional karez 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