The cases of grapes/raisins, almonds and saffron in Afghanistan

158 Pages·2011·3.91 MB·English

by  World Bank Group

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UNDERSTANDING GENDER IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS:

THE CASES OF GRAPES/RAISIN S, ALMONDS AND SAFFRON IN
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e AFGHANISTAN
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r Agriculture and Rural Development Unit
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os Sustainable Development Department
scl South Asia Region
Di The World Bank
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P May 2011

Report No. 62323-AF
CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(Exchange rate effective as of July 2010)

Currency unit = Afghani (Af)
US$ 1.00 = 46.2 Af

FISCAL YEAR
March 21 – March 20

UNITS OF MEASURE

1 jerib 0.4942 acres or 2,000 square
meters
1 ser 7 kilograms

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AAIDO Afghanistan Almond Industry Development Organization
ACCI Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries
Af Afghani (currency)
AFSA Afghanistan Farm Service Alliance
AMIP Agriculture Market Infrastructure Project
ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy
ANSA Afghanistan National Standardization Authority
APPRO Afghan Public Policy Research Organization
APTTA Afghanistan - Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement
AREDP Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program
ASAP Accelerating Sustainable Agriculture Program
ASMED Afghanistan Small and Medium Enterprise Development
AWBC Afghan Women's Business Council
AWBF Afghan Women's Business Federation
b Billion
CDC Community Development Council
CSO Central Statistics Organization (Afghanistan)
DACAAR Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees
ECO Economic Cooperation Organization
EPA Afghanistan Raisins, Fruits and Vegetables Export Promotion Agency
EPAA Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FGD Focus group discussion
FOD Farmer Organization Development
g Gram
GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
ha Hectare
HLP Horticulture and Livestock Project
ISO Information Organization for Standardization
KAIIFC Khulm Agriculture Islamic Investment Finance and Cooperative
Kg Kilogram
i
M Million
MAIL Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock
MBDFA Mazar Sharif Balkh Dry Fruits Processing Association
MEDA Mennonite Economic Development Associates
MFI Microfinance institution
MOC Ministry of Commerce
MOWA Ministry of Women's Affairs
MRRD Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
NGO Nongovernmental organization
NSDP National Skills Development Program
NSP National Solidarity Program
PRT Provincial Reconstruction Team
PTA Preferential Trade Agreement
Rs Rupees
SAARC South Asia Association of Regional Countries
SAFTA South Asia Free Trade Agreement
SDO Sanayee Development Organization
t Metric ton
TTGG Through the Garden Gate Project
UAE United Arab Emirates
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USA United States of America
VF Village facilitator
WOCCU World Council of Credit Unions
WTO World Trade Organization
yr Year

Vice President: Isabel Guerrero
Country Director: Nicholas J. Krafft
Sector Director: John Henry Stein
Sector Manager: Simeon Ehui
Project Team Leaders: Jennifer Solotaroff, Mio Takada

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. vii
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ viii
Chapter 1: Understanding Gender in Afghanistan’s Agricultural Value Chains: Context,
Methodology, and Case Studies .................................................................................................1
1.1 The Context ..........................................................................................................................1
1.2 Study Objectives ..................................................................................................................2
1.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................................2
1.4 Selecting Value Chains for the Case Studies .......................................................................4
1.5 Organization of this Policy Note..........................................................................................7
Chapter 2: Afghanistan’s Expanding Export Markets and Women’s Potential to
Participate ....................................................................................................................................9
2.1 Exports and Export Partners in Regional and International Markets ..................................9
2.2 Gender Dimensions in the Agricultural Sector ..................................................................12
2.3 Conclusion: Toward a More Nuanced Understanding of Gender in Agricultural Value
Chains ................................................................................................................................14
Chapter 3: Women’s Constraints and Opportunities in the Grape/Raisin, Almond, and
Saffron Value Chains ................................................................................................................15
3.1 Women’s Roles in the Grape/Raisin, Almond and Saffron Value Chains ........................15
3.2 Constraints and Opportunities for Women Producers .......................................................23
Chapter 4: Policy Recommendations ......................................................................................31
4.1 Promoting Opportunities For Women Producers ...............................................................31
4.2 Conclusion: Developing Value Chains That Work for Rural Women ..............................33
References ..................................................................................................................................35

ANNEXES
Annex 1: Grape and Raisin Value Chain
Annex 2: Almond Value Chain
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Annex 3: Saffron Value Chain
Annex 4: Meetings with Key Value Chain Participants
Annex 5: Interview Data
Annex 6: Stakeholder Workshop

TABLES
Table 1.1: List of key export products with women’s involvement in value chains
Table 1.2: Value chain selection
Table 1.3: Export of raisins and almonds by Afghanistan
Table 2.1: Afghanistan’s exports by country, 2004–09
Table 2.2: Afghanistan’s participation in multilateral trade and trade-related organizations
Table 2.3: Preferential tariffs on Afghan raisins, almonds, and grapes by the Government of
India
Table 3.1: HLP farmers’ sals and income from grapes, raisins, and almonds
Table A1.1: World’s top 10 fresh grape exporters and Afghanistan, 2006–09
Table A1.2: World’s top 10 fresh grape importers, 2006–09
Table A1.3: World’s top 10 raisin exporters, 2006–09
Table A1.4: Major importers of Afghan raisins, 2006–09
Table A1.5: World’s top 10 raisin importers, 2006–09
Table A1.6: Differences in fresh grape yields, sales volumes, and income among HLP producer
households
Table A1.7: Differences in raisin yields, sales volumes, and income among HLP producer
households
Table A1.8: Prices and costs along the value chain for fresh grapes and raisins
Table A2.1: World’s top 11 almond exporters, 2006–09
Table A2.2: Major importers of Afghan almonds, 2006–09
Table A2.3: World’s top 10 almond importers, 2006–09
Table A2.4: Differences in almond yields, sales volumes, and income among HLP producer
households
Table A2.5: Prices and costs along the value chain for almonds
Table A3.1: World’s top saffron exporters, 2006–09
Table A3.2: World’s top 10 saffron importers, 2006–09
Table A3.3: Prices of imported and domestically produced saffron, Afghanistan, 2010

FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Afghanistan’s exports in 2008
Figure 3.1: Raisin subsector map
Figure 3.2: Red raisin value chain
Figure 3.3: High-quality, in-shell almond value chain
Figure 3.4: Constraints tree: Raisins
Figure 3.5: Gender constraints in the raisin subsector
Figure A1.1: Fresh grape subsector map
Figure A1.2: Raisin subsector map
Figure A1.3: Trade values: Fresh grapes (in-season and off-season)
Figure A1.4: Trade values: Red raisins
Figure A1.5: Trade values: Green raisins

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Figure A1.6: Trade values: Golden raisins
Figure A1.7: Constraints tree: Fresh grapes
Figure A1.8: Constraints tree: Raisins
Figure A1.9: Gender constraints in the fresh grape subsector
Figure A1.10: Gender constraints in the raisin subsector
Figure A2.1: Almond subsector map
Figure A2.2: Value chain: High-quality, in-shell almonds
Figure A2.3: Value chain: Medium-quality, shelled and in-shell almonds
Figure A2.4: Value chain: Low-quality, shelled and in-shell almonds
Figure A2.5: Constraints tree: Almonds
Figure A2.6: Gender constraints in the almond subsector
Figure A3.1: Saffron subsector map
Figure A3.2: Value chain: Saffron
Figure A3.3: Constraints tree: Saffron
Figure A3.4: Gender constraints in the saffron subsector

BOXES
Box 2.1: Afghan women’s land ownership
Box 3.1: The Kabul Women Farm Store
Box 3.2: Providing extension services to women: The HLP experience
Box 3.3: Two saffron producer associations for Afghan women
Box 3.4: The Afghan Pride Association: A women-owned processing company
Box 3.5: Through the Garden Gate: A project mobilizes women in the vegetable value chain
Box 3.6: Developing the saffron value chain with women producers

MAP
Map 1.1: Main production areas and trade routes in Afghanistan for grapes/raisins, almonds, and
saffron

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report was prepared by a team led by Jennifer Solotaroff and Mio Takada, with the core
team comprising Miki Terasawa, Cornelia Staritz, and Najla Sabri. The report was developed
under the overall guidance of Simeon Ehui, Sector Manager, Agriculture and Rural Development
Department, South Asia (SASDA), and Maria Correia, Sector Manager, Social Development
Department, South Asia (SASDS). Venkat Ramachandran, Wahida Obaidy, and Wazhma Khalili
provided administrative assistance.

The major contribution to this report was made by the Mennonite Economic Development
Associates (MEDA), with a team of consultants led by Ann Gordon with the participation of
Catherine Sobrevega, Deepa Swaminathan, Zainab Wahidi, Mohibullah Mohmand, Simrat
Mand, and Parinaz Hissami. The MEDA team undertook extensive field and desk research and
data analysis for two value chains (grapes/raisins and almonds). MEDA also carried out desk
research and data analysis on the saffron value chain, building on the field research conducted by
the Afghan Public Policy Research Organization (APPRO). Miki Terasawa converted MEDA’s
field report into the policy document contained in these pages.

The team wishes to thank the peer reviewers, Stephen Jaffee, Asta Olesen, and Riikka Rajalahti
for helpful comments and guidance; and counterparts in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation,
and Livestock (MAIL) and the Horticulture and Livestock Project (HLP) team for their valuable
assistance. The team also extends its thanks to the women; entrepreneurs; service providers;
producer and/or trade organizations; the Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
(MRRD), Public Works (MPW), Women’s Affairs (MOWA), and Commerce (MOC);
nongovernmental organizations, in particular Roots of Peace and the Danish Committee for Aid
to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR); and donors in Afghanistan who provided valuable input to the
study through interviews and the stakeholder workshop.

The study was made possible through assistance from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Trade and
Development, and its dissemination is supported by a Gender Action Plan Just-in-Time grant.
The team wishes to take this opportunity to express its appreciation for the supporting donors.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Afghanistan has comparative and competitive strengths in agriculture, which accounts for
approximately half of its gross domestic product. An estimated 54 percent of Afghanistan’s
agricultural workforce is female, and women are especially prominent in horticulture. More than
half of Afghanistan’s official exports—not including informal or illicit trade—are fresh or
processed horticultural crops, especially fresh grapes and raisins (approximately 40 percent of
Afghanistan’s horticultural exports) and almonds (20 percent). Exports of saffron, although still
very small, have the potential to become quite significant, and women are heavily involved in
growing and processing this extremely high-value crop.

2. Recognizing women’s predominance in agricultural production, harvesting, and
processing, the National Agriculture Development Framework of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) stipulates that gender mainstreaming must form an important
cross-cutting element of its work in economic regeneration, agricultural production, and natural
resource management (MAIL 2009). This study supports gender mainstreaming in horticulture
by developing a better understanding of constraints and opportunities shaping women’s
prospects for moving up the value chains for grapes/raisins, almonds, and saffron. The study
maps the placement and roles of women and men in the value chains of these key horticultural
exports. It identifies constraints and opportunities influencing the value chains in general and
women’s roles in particular. The analysis combines a vertical perspective (focusing on sectoral
dynamics and commercial actors) with a horizontal perspective (focusing on institutions and
structures in the Afghan context). The study involved extensive field research in Kabul, Parwan,
Balkh, and Herat Provinces.

3. Women are generally concentrated at the lower levels of the grape/raisin, almond, and
saffron value chains, where they perform irrigation, weeding, harvesting, and minimal
processing, such as drying and packing raisins and almonds, at the household level. Men, on the
other hand, link households with the market to obtain input supply and sell the products, in
addition to their substantial engagement in production. Most of these activities also involve
heavy lifting, such as carrying 50 plus kilogram bags to the local market. Men also serve as the
actors in the upper levels of the value chains, including middlemen or village-level traders and
processors, wholesalers, retailers, or exporters. This division of labor is largely a reflection of
social and cultural norms, which do not allow women to interact with men, travel by themselves,
or own land. These factors severely curtail women’s access to resources and services, including
credit, training, extension, inputs, and trading and marketing networks. Women do not have
collateral to apply for credit or opportunities to participate in extension training because selection
for these opportunities is often based on land ownership. Moreover, there are few or no women
service providers in extension, credit, input supply, or marketing. Despite the key roles women
play in harvesting and post-harvest processing, there is little or no training on quality control,
including hygiene, sanitation, and higher-value varieties.

4. Because men and women perform different functions, the difference in their wages is not
comparable. Rural women perform harvesting and post-harvest processing of raisins, almonds,
and saffron as a part of household chores; thus, their work goes unpaid. In the case of saffron,
however, some women (most likely from women producer associations) are hired by small- or

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large-scale farmers at Af 200-300 per day, because these activities are highly labor intensive as
well as time bound. A similar wage (Af 100-200 per day, or Af 100 per 50-kilogram processed)
is paid to women in urban or peri-urban areas, who are hired by processors or wholesalers to
clean, sort, grade, and package raisins or almonds for national, regional, and international
markets. Post-harvest processing is among the lowest paid work, in which men—who have other
opportunities—would not be interested. For example, male laborers, who are hired by exporters
to harvest, pack, and load crates of fresh grapes, are paid Af 400 per day.

5. The case studies show that in developing value chains that work for women, it is vital for
women producers to (i) remain in charge of harvesting and post-harvest processing and (ii) be
provided with women-to-women service delivery. These conditions can be achieved by (a)
providing training on quality control in harvesting and post-harvest handling, including hygiene,
sanitation, sorting, and grading; (b) mobilizing women producer associations; (c) developing a
pool of women para-professionals at the village level, who would work in critical areas such as
input supply, extension, quality control, credit, and trade/market linkages; (d) facilitating
women’s access to credit by developing MFI linkages; (e) facilitating women’s access to
medium and high-end export markets by providing certification and supporting research on
high-end market preferences; (f) using information technology in service provision. In support of
women’s movement up in the grape/raisin, almond, and saffron value chains, this study offers
the following policy recommendations:

6. Develop value chain action plans that would enhance women’s participation. MAIL
should develop value chain action plans for key horticulture export products, including
grapes/raisins, almonds, and saffron. These plans should be developed in consultation with all
stakeholders, such as women producers, other key value chain actors, the private sector, relevant
ministries and agencies, NGOs, and donors. Developing and implementing the plans would
require honest brokers, such as NGOs already active in promoting the value chains. These
brokers should also monitor impacts on household dynamics as well as increases in household
income.

7. In supporting the action plans, MAIL also should develop a marketing strategy for each
product to access key regional and international markets. The strategy would help identify
quality standards and certification requirements, which need to be addressed by extension
packages. This would have to be developed in consultation with export support agencies, such as
the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA) and the Afghanistan Chamber of
Commerce and Industries (ACCI), and the private sector.

8. Support mobilization of women’s producer groups and their aggregation with
men’s groups at the cluster or district level. In forming producer groups, the Community
Development Councils (CDCs) developed by the National Solidarity Program (NSP) should be
the entry point and provide a governance mechanism by ensuring transparency and
accountability in the selection and management of producer groups. The human capacity and
knowledge of CDC members (in subproject management, accounting, and procurement capacity,
for example) could support producer groups in undertaking select group activities.

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9. Female and male producer groups should be aggregated at the cluster or district level,
which would enable producers to reach economy of scale to attract regional or international
buyers. Global experiences indicate that by encouraging women to stay in charge of harvesting
and post-harvest processing, there could be opportunities for the cluster organizations to market
their products with those international buyers, who are willing to pay premium for women-
managed value addition or businesses.

10. Improve rural outreach by developing a pool of women para-professionals. MAIL
could support creating a pool of women para-professionals at the producer or cluster/district
level by training women high school graduates. In addition to providing extension services, these
para-professionals could develop entry points for service delivery, such as by (i) mobilizing
group formation and accounting support for savings and credit and/or (ii) developing linkages
with MFIs and markets. Following good practices identified in livelihood development projects
elsewhere in South Asia, these para-professionals could be contracted by NGOs or eventually
work for producer groups and associations for a fee per business case. The latter would shift
quality control from NGOs to producers themselves, thus ensuring sustainability.

11. Develop a certified training program for women extension service providers. MAIL
should develop a systematic extension training program in collaboration with the Ministries of
Education and Higher Education. The program would provide women extension workers with
current knowledge, in particular of harvesting, post-harvest handling, quality control, and market
information. Another program should also be developed for women para-professionals, who
would require less technical but more pedagogical training on the value chains. These programs
would also offer regular opportunities for re-training to update their skills. The National Skills
Development Program (NSDP) could support development of a certification program and
identify training providers. The Faculties of Agriculture in Kabul, Balkh, and Herat Universities
could potentially expand their curricula to deliver the program for extension workers and para-
professionals. It is recommended that MAIL support these universities to strengthen research and
development of grapes/raisins, almonds, and saffron value chains.

12. Improve rural road infrastructure to enable access by women service providers.
Poor public infrastructure, particularly for rural connectivity, is one of the major constraints on
the ability of women service providers, including extension workers and village-level traders or
sales agents, to reach women producers. The World Bank-financed National Emergency Rural
Access Project has been upgrading tertiary roads to improve access to and from rural areas. Even
so, more investments are necessary to upgrade farm roads, and MAIL and key ministries should
continue investigating alternatives. In building access roads, the hub approach is recommended.
A good practice is also to carefully consult the value chain actors—in particular, processors—on
the appropriate locations for raw material/processed product acquisition. This may further guide
infrastructure investment to the economically most appropriate locations.

13. Provide value chain innovation grants for women. A grant facility could be set up to
specifically support women’s producer groups, female service providers in a cluster
organization, or women-managed processing companies, in innovation and entrepreneurship to
promote the value chains of key horticulture export products for Afghanistan. This incentive
could finance women’s producer groups in accessing value addition tools and infrastructure,

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