National Agricultural Development Framework (NADF)
Publisher: Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock
Date: 2015
Topics: Economic Recovery, Governance, Renewable Resources
Countries: Afghanistan
A farmer in Helmand can refuse to grow poppy if agricultural processing provides even one job for one family member. Families from Samangan can afford to stay at home rather than migrate to crowded cities, if their agricultural productivity is increased and their earnings grow. Women and children in Bamyan can become healthier and literate if storage facilities provide a longer and more lucrative market for their potatoes. Young men of Paktika can refuse the steady meals offered by insurgent groups, if they can afford to work at home on the farm with their fathers and mothers.
When the Afghan economy is overwhelmingly agricultural, agriculture is the dominant factor in the economy, in food security, livelihoods, sustainable natural resources and national security. Agriculture will determine whether Afghanistan will succeed or fail. Fortunately, the indicators of agricultural success are promising indeed, for example in 2007 we were nearly self-sufficient in wheat.