Improving agricultural livelihoods Lessons for the Australia Afghanistan Community Resilience Scheme

Current Australian support to Afghanistan agriculture Block grant to ARTF MAIL Dry Land Farming Strategy and capacity building

Australia’s support for the MAIL Dry Land Farming Initiatives Establishment of a profile for dry-land Farming in MAIL Dedicated resources to the planning and coordination of dry-land farming within MAIL Study tours and workshops Development of DLF Strategy Development of an operational plan for the DLF Strategy

Afghan communities living in water restricted areas benefit from improved and sustainable food security and agricultural productivity Afghan communities living in water restricted areas benefit from improved production, productivity, household food security and livelihoods Increased drought resilience and diversity of rain-fed farming systems Improved water capture and water management systems across one hundred critical dry land watersheds Increased reliability and overall productivity of rain-fed cereal grain production Improved Government capacity, institutional structures and partnerships to service the needs of dry land farmers

Current Australian assistance to Afghanistan agriculture Block grant to ARTF MAIL Dry Land Farming Strategy and capacity building Afghanistan Agricultural Livelihoods R4D Portfolio

Afghan communities living in water restricted areas benefit from improved and sustainable food security and agricultural productivity Improved livestock productivity in targeted farming systems Improved water management in targeted farming systems Improved grain productivity in targeted farming systems

Current Australian assistance to Afghanistan agricultural livelihoods Block grant to ARTF MAIL Dry Land Farming Strategy and capacity building Afghanistan Agricultural Livelihoods R4D Portfolio Support to public financial management within MAIL Australian Afghanistan Community Resilience Facility (AACRS)

Importance of agriculture to development If: A country has comparative advantage in agriculture Low income levels predominate Largely unskilled labour A preponderance of poor people living in rural areas Then agricultural development: is a precursor to growth Contributes to economic transformation Is the most poverty-reducing sector Provides opportunity for inclusiveness Builds food security But is compromised if there is insecurity, macro-economic instability, inappropriate market regulation, or low investment in R,D, and E

Rainfed productivity failure is a key impediment to agricultural growth

Poverty and agriculture At 36% relatively unchanged from 2007/8 to 2011/12 80% of the population and 90% of the poor live rurally 50% of households receive some agriculture income 40% of workforce but 400,000 new labour entrants per annum Grown at 2.9% for last decade – must now grow at 6% if it is to increase rural incomes

Lessons from Australia’s rural livelihoods programs in other counties Tailor the AACRS to the capacity and aspirations of households within each community

Exit Poverty Provide Food Security Target: the poorest and most vulnerable households in priority livelihood systems Transition to enterprise Target: the economically active poor in priority value chains Strengthen entrepreneurs Target: emerging private sector leaders in the agriculture sector Resilience, household income, assets, choices Trajectory of households – creating different entry points Emphasis on productivity, food security and a healthy diet Emphasis on integrated farming systems approaches Emphasis on profitable value chains, market linkages Common work roles Labour options More Options Labour Diversified

Lessons from Australia’s rural livelihoods programs in other counties Tailor the AACRS to the capacity and aspirations of households within each community The need to be realistic timeframes, flexibility and learning.

Flexibility, realistic expectations and learning

Lessons from Australia’s rural livelihoods programs in other counties Tailor the AACRS to the capacity and aspirations of households within each community The need to be realistic timeframes, flexibility and learning for systemic change Be clear about short term catalytic partnerships and long term sustainable partnerships : local community groups, entrepreneurs, private sector, Government service agencies and some local NGOs Don’t forget nutrition sensitive agricultural approaches

Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture Agriculture as a source of food Pathway 1: Own production → food consumption Agriculture as a source of income to affect food purchase Pathway 2: Income → food purchase Agriculture as a source of income to affect health care purchase Pathway 3: Income → health care purchase The link between agricultural policies and food prices Pathway 4: Food prices → food purchase Women’s ability to manage the care, feeding, and health of young children given their time constraints Pathway 5: Women’s time use → care capacity Women’s own nutritional status due to workload demands Pathway 6: Women’s workload → maternal energy use Women’s socioeconomic status and ability to influence household decision-making including allocations of food and other resources within the household Pathway 7: Women’s control of income → resource allocation