FINDINGS FROM FIELD STUDIES OF POST-HARVEST STORAGE AND PROCESSING IN AFGHANISTAN

Post-harvest storage and food processing was neglected in Afghanistan’s agricultural rehabilitation agenda after 2001. The few interventions that were prioritised – for example, installing refrigerated storage facilities for private sector companies – reflected donor emphasis on improving production and market development in areas of high potential, such as those that are well irrigated and close to urban centres. A few projects have worked at village level to improve customary practices using low-tech, zero-energy storage facilities. However, little attention appears to have been given to using solar power for food processing and drying at the household level. Today, the infrastructural challenges for selling agricultural surplus are considerable. Physical access to markets can be difficult, given the country’s poor road coverage and conditions. Often, households cannot afford vehicle costs and continue to use donkeys to transport goods. Although 84% of Afghanistan’s population now has access to electricity, this is largely from the development of off-grid systems and solar energy for lighting rather than cooking. Less than 11% of rural Afghanistan is connected to the (unreliable) mains electricity (CSO, 2016).