Sustainable Agricultural Development and the Challenges Facing Agricultural Education in Afghanistan

Abstract

Agricultural development in Afghanistan is challenging, with farmers often facing limited access to appropriate technologies as well as weak institutional support. Problems with the organization and management of research, education, and extension systems are significant obstacles confronting development of agriculture. Agriculture in many parts of the country thus remains starkly underdeveloped in the face of major constraints on the utilization of knowledge and innovation for development. While agriculture accounts for a large pro­ portion of gross domestic product, numerous challenges constrain efforts to provide adequate food supplies. Policy makers and donors have thus devoted more attention to the agriculture sector, concluding that its development is essential for national economic regeneration. Education and training are widely recognized in research as contributors to national economic growth. Agricultural education affects directly agricultural productivity and the performance of ancillary businesses and trade. Progress and advances in the knowledge arena, including knowledge dissemination, are thus among the important factors contributing to productivity growth and the attendant change in the quality of labor. Edu­ cation and training are especially important for activities requiring adaptation to change. The discipline of rural development recognizes the crucial links between agriculture, natural resources, human settlement, and biodiversity. Sustainable development clearly requires the cooperation and inputs of sectors other than agriculture, including infrastructure, education, health, and energy. To bring about signifi­ cant change, reformers of agricultural education systems and institutions will need to fully appreciate the complexity of the environment in which the shift in focus from agriculture to rural development must take place.