KABUL - With winter approaching, the top Afghan agricultural official said more than the usual 30 per cent of the population is expected to fall under the poverty line due to a poor harvest spurred by dry conditions, rising food prices and instability.

“Afghanistan harvested 28 per cent less than 2010 crops in 2011, which has caused tremendous difficulties in the country,” Agriculture Minister Asif Rahimi said Sunday at a ceremony to mark World Food Day jointly organized by Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kabul.

He added that with global food prices on the rise, better strategy and plans are needed to increase agricultural productivity to ensure food security.

More than half of the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is directly linked to non-poppy agriculture, providing employment to nearly two-thirds of the workforce, according to government figures.

Of the Afghan poor, up to 60 per cent are in agriculture and devote more than half of all their income to food.
“Availability of food has an integral link with the social stability and security,” the Minister said noting the theme of this year’s World Food Day - Food Prices from Crisis to Stability.

Minister Rahimi added that Afghanistan needs an annual investment of one billion dollars for the next ten years to feed its increasing population. The comments come just as the world population is expected to reach seven billion people.

Also speaking on the occasion, Tekeste Tekie, FAO representative in Afghanistan, urged greater political will to counter the instability in food prices.

“Agriculture cannot respond faster with increased food production due to long term under-investment in research, technology, equipment and infrastructure.”

The report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011, released by FAO last week warns that high prices are likely to continue and food price volatility may increase over the next decade — primarily because of more frequent extreme weather conditions.

The rising food prices are also a concern for the World Food Programme, whose Head of Programme in Afghanistan, William Affif, attended the ceremony.

As food prices rise, “the number of people needing food assistance increase and it costs more for WFP to purchase food for the hungry people,” said Affif.

Affif added that WFP supports MAIL by providing food storage facilities for about six thousand metric tonnes and to set up a strategic grain reserve to help Afghanistan reduce the impact of food price fluctuations. WFP has committed US$ 6 million for the construction and rehabilitation of warehousing in the country in order to augment the Ministry's storage capacity.
The ceremony was also addressed by the Deputy Min

ister of Ministry of Energy and Water, Shujauddin Ziyaee, Afghan Parliamentarians, representatives of national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and a number of ministerial staff.

By UNAMA Kabul