In the Agricultural Sector of Afghanistan, the existing Procurement procedures are usually done through tendering or competitive bidding process that helps to improve the overall performance and quality through a procurement planning which is exceedingly more important in terms of achieving the procurement objectives and the objectives of the Agriculture sector itself. The procurement procedure emphasises acknowledging terms and acquiring goods, services or works from an external source. At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAIL) and the Afghan Government are remodelling procurement covers the Goods. In this situation, the political and administrative disconnection between provincial and central authority, economic constrains were causing hindrance to the procurement planning in Agriculture sector. In this section the background of the research, the research rationale, research aims, objectives, research questions and the structure of the research have been described. The purpose of this section is to present the importance and feasibility of selecting the research topic and the procedure of conducting the research.
More than two decades of political and economic conflict in Afghanistan have caused unstructured and fragmented administration, poor policies, poor enforcement capability, and backward financial management system. Apart from that, political and administrative disconnection between provincial and central authority, economic constrains were causing hindrance to the protection of national rights and effort for reconstructing the whole system. In 2001 the new government was formed with new amendments in laws that drafted and finalised in 2006. In this situation Public Procurement Policy Unit or PPU, a small unit within the Ministry of finance was one and only policy institution before 2014. Based on decree no. 16 of H.E. President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 20/7/1393 the National Procurement Authority (NPA) established under the Administrative Office of the President. Afterwards through the legislative decree no. 60 on 21/11/93, decree no. 72 on 13/12/93 and decree no. 75, the Special Procurement Commission (SPC) upgraded to National Procurement Commission (NPC), Contract Management Office (CMO) dissolved, while the Afghanistan Reconstruction & Development Services (ARDS) and Procurement Policy Unit (PPU) merged to the National Procurement Authority (NPA).
Procurement planning unit under the policy directorate works in National Procurement Authority (NPA) that has the overall responsibility of procurement planning for NPA itself and as well as for the rest of the government agencies which includes the development of procurement planning, coordination of procurement planning, changes in the procurement planning and effective implementation of procurement planning.
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) has also a functioning unit under the procurement directorate within MAIL that works to ensure the effective implementation of the procurement plans across MAIL in all sector and in particular for goods and seasonal activities that are very much crucial for the agriculture sector and more generally for the farmers.
At this situation discussed earlier, agricultural environment of the nation has not made any exertion for sustainable Procurement either primary or secondary. Agriculture is the second largest sector that shares the one quarter of the nation GDP. All the agricultural lands are situated in the rural area where 80% of total population live. More than 90% of the poor population lived in rural area causing a discrepancy in economical distribution. 50% of total population in Afghanistan are dependent on the agriculture for at least 20% of their yearly income. The economic and political distresses are causing a significant amount of disruption in national agricultural procurement system and the dependent economy. At this stage of high population growth rate the income from agriculture needs to grow at least 6% per year through direct or indirect procurement. The major part is this procurement lies on the agricultural development through procuring the goods in rural area which requires around twice improvement rate of existing agricultural procurement process and policies development in rural area with sustainable procurement planning and implementation. Fortunately, there are many potential ways, through which the procurement planning works in NPA for public procurement, collaboration of government and non-government organisations and others.
Agriculture is one of the most essential sectors of Afghanistan that holds the largest amount of population and their financial condition. The lack of structured direct or indirect procurement policies and procedures are causing unexpected dilemmas in this sector while increasing the amount of poverty level especially in rural area needs effective high quality procurement implementation on an emergency. In order to change this situation, the most effective and efficient procurement plan has to be made that can significantly increase the Per Capita Income (PCI) depending on the agricultural improvement nationally. At the same time, being a Procurement Specialist in Ministry of Agriculture my duty was to managing the procurement contracts that worth million dollars. Effective procurement plan can avoid the delay of the services delivery to the farmers, effective implementation of the procurement contracts and the inappropriate budget execution.
During various phases of developing goods related procurement contract such as fertilizers, DAP, Urea, pesticides, medium and high density saplings, vaccines, medicines, sprayer pumps, seed and others, I have faced several challenges that has direct effect on the contracting procedure of Ministry of Agriculture. These types of situations need comprehensive and structured planning to develop and execute the effective Model procurement plan successfully. Therefore, working on this particular sector while analysing the current situation to find out the most appropriate way for the agriculture sector, can help to enhance my proficiency and the economical condition of the country. Apart from that, this study could also be a good reference document for further research or Model procurement planning for the NPA and the Ministry of Agriculture (MAIL) of Islamic State of Afghanistan.
Goods is the crucial part of the MAIL procurement, about 45% of the entire development budget of MAIL is the procurement of various goods such as seeds, DAP, Fertalizers, agricultural machines, equipment and medicines which has direct impact on the actual service delivery and the mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Things have improved in the last years of so in developing a comprehensive procurement plan that could fulfil the procurement requirements, however there are still constraints that does not lead the effective implementation of the procurement contracts such as the development of and incorporating of right and correct specification of the goods, allocation of correct time for the provision of goods, allocation of reasonable time for the tendering process and identification of the evaluation committee in order to evaluate the goods with the technical and procurement knowledge that is required for the effective implementation of the procurement plan.
Mr. Ziauddin Zia, Head of the Goods at the Procurement Directorate quoted that the effective procurement plan has not been implemented in the recent years due to the following reasons:
The aim of this research was to analyse the existing constrains in the procurement planning process of the agricultural sector for goods in Afghanistan considering the regulations, policies and procedures of Ministry of Agriculture.
The primary aim of this study was to ensure how to come up with a model and comprehensive procurement plan that could fulfil the basic needs and objectives of the MAIL and more generally of the agriculture sector.
This research also aimed to examine the planning, development, organising and execution procedure for Model Procurement Planning in Agriculture while ensuring the coordination between Ministry of Agriculture and NPA.
The purpose of this research was to find out the appropriate and effective model of procurement process in Agriculture and suggest the effective plan for the procurement of goods contracts.
The objectives of this research have been designed in order to achieve the aim of the study considering the feasibility, attainability of the measurable parameters. These objectives are:
The research questions have been designed in order to achieve the aim of the study considering the feasibility, attainability of the measurable parameters. These research questions are:
What are the importance and role of procurement planning of goods at the Ministry of Agriculture in Afghanistan?
What is the applicability in Procurement Planning of goods for the agriculture sector of Afghanistan?
How would further achieve more coordination between Ministry of Agriculture and governmental entities in Afghanistan to ensure the development and effective implementation of comprehensive procurement plan?
How to assist the effective implementation of the procurement contracts for goods across Ministry of Afghanistan Agriculture?
Literature review refers to a search of the available literature that is related to a chosen area of topic in order to evaluate the subject selected. The following objectives are met while doing a literature review. The objectives include surveying the literature that already exists, along with synthesis of the information present in the literature in the form of a summary. It also helps to critically analyse the information gained from the current knowledge and identifying any gap present in the literature. The literature review also helps to presents the existing literature in an organised way.
In the present study, the literature review helps to assess the procurement planning for goods of agriculture that is prevalent in Afghanistan. Additionally, the agriculture sector is addressed and discussed regarding the type of existing direct and indirect procurement process and practises that is carried out in the country. Value chain analysis is also conducted that refers to the chains that is composed of the organizations that are involved in goods supply and other services which makes the production chains or the marketing chains in agro-business.
The economical as well as the social factors are also identified in the following segment, which highlights the current scenario and growth of the agricultural business in Afghanistan. In addition to this, the political and the legal factors have also been addressed in order to shed light on the political and economic conflict prevalent in the country. Finally, the needs of the rural people have been illustrated which is highly impacted by the factors like economic and social factors as well as the political and the factors.
The major part is this increment lies on the agricultural development and model procurement planning which requires around twice growth rate of agricultural development in rural area with appropriate implementation in horticulture, fish farming and livestock as well. Fortunately, there are procurement procedure models through which the agricultural structure can grow and profit can be enhanced considering the technological interventions, collaboration of government and non-government organisations and others. The Procurement planning of Afghanistan in agricultural sector is subdivided into two major portions namely direct procurements and indirect procurements. Considering the fact that Afghanistan has evidenced prolonged procurements policy failure lack of water supply, goods supply, food security and distribution in government and NGO involvement mostly secondary procurement can be considered as two major issues suffered by the residents of Afghanistan.
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Direct procurement and indirect procurement in agriculture |
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F E A T U R E S |
Direct procurement |
Indirect procurement |
Capital goods and services |
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Quantity |
Large |
Low |
Low |
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Frequency |
High |
Relatively high |
Low |
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Value |
Operation-specific |
Low |
High |
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Nature |
Operational |
Tactical |
Strategic |
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Examples |
Seeds, sapling, livestock importing, water facility |
Farming equipments, tractor, fertilisers, UDP, vaccines and others |
Subsidy, wider bidding opportunity |
Moreover, agricultural procurement and goods distribution are caught up in the issues raised by Afghan dependence on opium cultivation, extortion and corruption in aid and transport operations at every level, and manipulation by national as well as local power brokers. According to Frederik Van Oudenhoven and Jamila Haider (2015), 60 percent of farming residents in Afghanistan gets enough goods to sustain their cultivation while 40 percent of the residents suffers from lack of goods from government as well as NGO based procurement process. The government of Afghanistan givers more importance on short term secondary procurement plan instead of targeting the prolonged Procurement plan that can prevent the condition of dire poverty which is the condition of an overwhelming majority of Afghans.
According to researchers, the key determinants of poverty in Afghanistan include a weak asset base, ineffective institutions, diverse livelihood of people and vulnerability to conflict. Power abuse is the key driver of poverty in Afghanistan. The public agenda is frequently shaped by vested interest when it comes to law, allocation of resources and policies. Widespread corruption further prevents the residents to avail services. Additionally, a good number of Afghans perceive international actors as primarily interested in short-term objectives instead of challenging abusive power structures. Culture norms that demonstrate excessive discriminatory acts is considered to be another major social crisis Afghanistan that enhances poverty of the nation.
The security and wellbeing of Afghans, especially women gets highly hampered due to unjustified decision taken by the conservative society. In remote areas, huge numbers of decisions are taken by the society in order to meet short term objectives hampers the safety of the local people. Hence, it can be clearly understood that intervention of government along with reconstruction of the society is a dire need for Afghans to enhance their safety and security. The intensification as well as the spread of the armed conflict in recent years has increased insecurity have fallen procurements. According to a survey, only 20 percent of the financial procurement given by the government is able to reach the poor people of Afghanistan. In majority of cases, a good amount of the capital is either emblazed or diverted due to internal discrepancies.
Procurement planning in agriculture refers to a group of procedures for finding, agreeing terms and acquiring goods, services or works from an external source, usually through tendering or competitive bidding process that helps to improve the overall performance and quality of the agricultural system of any area. Sustenance of agriculture depends largely on the viability of the seeds that are used by the farmers. Thus, procurement of the seeds and their sources play a major role in better agricultural yield. Farmers acquire seeds from various sources like: farmers saved their own seeds; collected seeds from the other farmers, seeds are brought within the local markets and from the other sources. Seeds are collected and stored free of cost which is supplied thanks to the supply by the relief agencies, seeds are collected and obtained paying cash from the relief agencies.
It was particularly seen that the potato and the wheat cultivators bought their own seeds from the market produced the seeds on their own, differently than for the other crops. In this procurement process the major stakeholders are Ministry of Finance, Parliament, donor agencies, NPA. The relief agencies to a great extent were active during the seed distribution, especially for the wheat. This has been seen to a large extent because of the strategic importance of wheat and the larger number of the farmers that are depending on it for food. Whereas, the farmers preferred the local markets and also their own seed production for satisfying their requirement for the seeds. According to the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture (MAIL), around 6000 small tractors were distributed to the Afghan farmers in 18 provinces. The Ministry of finance said these tractors were a part of help provided by the United States and it costs around 24 million dollars.
The officials of the agriculture ministry said that the tractors will greatly help the Afghan farmers in high quality produce. The tractors help in increasing the agricultural produce and modernises the agricultural system. The agricultural equipment is locally produced after a move by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, which helped to increase the capacity, technology and skills of the labourers and the farmers by involving the Donor agencies and NPA. The machines or the agricultural equipment are made in Afghanistan, and when they break, the farmer themselves are capable of fixing them. Factories in Afghanistan manufacture threshers and the threshers are directly purchased by the farmers, which help the farmers in winnowing the corn, rice and wheat crops.
The local factories also manufacture the vehicle-pulled trolleys and these trolleys are pulled behind the factors for the purpose of transporting crops from the fields to the facilities. The factories manufacture the necessary agricultural equipment and at the same time create opportunities for employment. The farmers directly procure the agricultural equipment from these local factories and manufacturers. Drip irrigation is very costly for the farmers to purchase and maintain and thus surface irrigation is the most preferred irrigation and especially the furrow irrigation is the preferred method of irrigation. Considering the fact, it is thus important to mention that the farmers still follow the traditional irrigation methods in agriculture.
The farmers in the several provinces utilize the rehabilitation irrigation program by taking into account the various best practices associated with the water usage. The rehabilitation irrigation project aims to support the water management in the 5 major regions like Balkh, Nangarhar, Baghlan and Kabul. Altogether, this project covers an area of 19,000 hectares. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and improves the agricultural productivity and it undertakes the rehabilitation of the irrigation canals in the villages..
MAIL procurement is heavily consisted of goods, as per the officials from the planning unit of MAIL, nearly half of the development and core budget of MAIL is spent on the procurement of goods. The capacity of the local market is not as good as it should be in order to offer all the goods required by the MAIL and on the other hand, Afghanistan has very low domestic production in order to fulfil the requirements of the sector. Local firms therefore largely depend on the international market and importing goods from overseas, which is once again something that is not at somehow reflected in the procurement plan, there is not concrete data or assessment showing the capacity of the local market in Afghanistan but the thresholds set by the government and the World Bank can give indications that the capacity of local firms is not good.
While developing a procurement plan, in most cases MAIL does not allow the right time for procuring specific type of goods, particularly the ones that have to be imported to Afghanistan, as certain goods require further approvals and permissions which obviously bring the delay in the provision of such goods. This impacts on the effective implementation of the procurement plan and lastly on the actual service delivery of the equipment to the end users which are in most cases FARMERS.
Afghanistan has an agricultural driven economy, accounting for more than 53 percent of the gross domestic product before the invasion of soviet Russia in the year 1979. However, the agricultural sector till now has never produced at its full capacity. As per a survey, only 30 percent of the total arable land in the nation is cultivated. Only 12 percent of the total land in the nation are arable. Afghanistan grows more than 95 percent of its requirement in rye and wheat. When it comes to rice, potatoes, nuts, seeds and pulses, the country produces the crops more than its needs. Considering the fact that the majority of the needs of the country is met, the government of Afghanistan imports low amount of sugar, wheat, edible oil and fat. Fruits both preserved as well as fresh, is the staple food for a good number of Afghans. Lack of economical development as well as technological advance are considered as major reason behind the mentioned condition.
The chief crops that are exported from Afghanistan to various parts of the world include sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, nuts, sugar beets and wool. The Ministry of Finance increased the subsidising procedure for goods for the primary crop of Afghanistan, which is wheat and produced during the summer season. This will require additional investments of 30 million Dollar. As per the report published in 2016 from the Ministry of Agriculture (MAIL) Other mention worthy summer season crops that are being cultivated in the country. These include potatoes and opium, which are worth of 32 million Dollar annually, and the two mentioned crop are cultivated on irrigated land. During the monsoon, barley and cotton are cultivated in the rain fed land. During winter, the chief crops that are being cultivated include rice, corn and sorghum.
The livestock subsector of Afghan agriculture is divided mostly into sedentary and nomadic production cycles. The nomadic system provides the main source of livelihood for most of the lowest economy people, especially the Kuchi nomads, and accounts for most of the red meat, skins, and wool. Agricultural production of the country is totally dependent on the spring rain for water. The main challenges in the livestock subsector are low productivity breeds, diseases, poor feeding, drought, and the difficulties of marketing perishable commodities.
Being an underdeveloped country, the techniques used by the farmers for irrigation are highly elementary When it comes to usage of chemical fertilizers, machine and pesticides, their use is relatively limited. The variety of crops produced in the country corresponds to its topography.
The areas around Herat, Kandahar and Kabul plain yield fruits of several kinds. Cotton is produced in northern region of Afghanistan from Takhar to Bagdis along with Herat and Helmand. Corn is chiefly grown in Paktia and Nangarhar provinces while a major province that grows rice includes Kunduz, Baghlan and Laghman. Wheat makes 80 percent of the total grain production in Afghanistan. The aggregate wheat production in Afghanistan in the year 2012 was estimated to be 2.69 million ton which is 63 percent more than the previous year. The second most important is barley, corn, rice, corn and potatoes. The most crucial exports of Afghanistan include nuts and fruit, including pistachios, almonds, grapes, melons, apricots, cherries, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates.
Agricultural products had accounted for about 53 percent of the total export conducted by Afghanistan in 2011 and fruits and nuts comprised a commendable portion of the export. Hasish and opium are widely grown in Afghanistan for drug trade. Drug trade is a good source of income for impoverished afghans since opium is easy to cultivate and transport. Not only that, drug trade is considered to be the quickest source of income. Since 1999, Afghanistan was considered to be the world’s largest producer of opium. However, in 2000, The Taliban banned cultivation of poppy seeds. However, due to the existing stockpile, Afghanistan was benefited due to banned. In the year 2001, The Taliban resumed the production of poppy.
Looking into the importance of the procurement of goods for the agriculture sector, if a model procurement plan is adopted, it might benefit MAIL, agriculture sector in general and more importantly the farmers which will have direct impact on the economy of Afghanistan. The poppy cultivation has now been significantly reduced after the collapse of the Taliban government and the World Bank, IFAD, FAO and all other donor countries have contributed a lot to empower the agriculture sector, particularly the horticulture, irrigation and livestock. All the three require significant number of goods in order to empower them, with the adoption of a model procurement plan, the sector will further be strengthening.
The approach of value chain analysis is used as a valuable tool during the procurement process. This helps in facilitating production cycle and operational development including planning, procuring, farming, gathering and marketing of agricultural product, livestock products, fish farming products as well as the DAP, vaccines, saplings, seeds, pesticide, fertilisers and other goods. Apart from development, market participation can be enhanced through its use in the procurement process. In cases where there is lack of formal institutions, there is a provision for cultural, social and political framework that determines the scope of participation and the scope in the markets.
Value chains generally refer to the interaction of the organizations that interact with one another in order to provide goods and services. This builds up production chains of livestock, horticulture, fishery, agriculture along with marketing chains or distribution chains. In order to develop a prioritized value chain, the first step should be to invest in the development of a comprehensive procurement plan,. This includes irrigated wheat, several intensive livestock and fish farming practices. The steps that are taken to establish a prioritized value chain involve having the highest potential with the aim of raising productivity. The goods can be produced on the basis of competition with the imports and often export. Additionally a good access of the markets is required that can provide leverage to the planned infrastructure of investments that is prevalent in the growth corridors. Significant addition of value is also leveraged in value chains along with employment. The prioritized value chains secure the national fish supply as well. Horticulture crops and intensive livestock are quite profitable such as production of opium poppy.
Value chain analysis has been used in agribusiness with the aim of formulating and implementing a new competitive model procurement planning. Value chain analysis has been implemented in Afghanistan as well in order to assess the impact of the agricultural product based business on the local and global market. Analysis had been carried out in the provinces of Bamyan, Kabul and Panjsheer. The process can be achieved by improving the production management capacity of participating communities. There is reduction of the on farm storage, diseased animals in husbandry, water cycle disturbance the overall value chain model of existing procurement planning losses along with maintenance of the quality of the goods. The current picture of value chain analysis shows that there is an expanding domestic production with the increase in the rate of exports to the neighbouring countries. There is also an evolving procurement plan that can decrease the imports of goods like wheat, wheat flour, along with rice, tomatoes, potatoes, wool, milk, meat, skin, egg, fish from the neighbouring countries can cause more than 70% changes in the existing value chain model available for Model Procurement Plan for Goods in Agriculture.
Afghanistan has a poor economic background as it is mainly a rural country. The National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) conducted by the government in 2007-2008 showed that the majority of the population lived in the rural areas. Rural poverty was perceived to be accountable for 84% of the poverty in the whole nation. The agricultural sector of Afghanistan is accountable for 53% of the gross domestic production of Afghanistan. About 36% of the household is dependable on the farming as their main source of income, additionally 6 % of them are dependent of the farm wages.
Civil conflict along with neglect has contributed to the lack of productivity in the agricultural industries. The farmers often lack the potential to capture the benefits of the significant crop production. Evidence has shown that the agricultural input is low and there is significant loss in the post-harvest phase. As per the collaborated decision with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAIL) has decided to invest at least 100 million Dollar for goods. However, the farmers often lack infrastructure to store the commodities, therefore there is no provision to delay the sale of the goods of 120 million Dollar which might help them to receive optimal market prices .
One of the strategies applied to bring about economic and social development includes the development of the facilities of water and irrigation. Agriculture and rural development is needed to be brought about. The development of the sector of agriculture and the natural resources has been considered one of the priorities according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) strategy for partnership that was implemented for Afghanistan in 2009–2013. The government has successfully recognized the economic growth as being critical to reduce the poverty which can be brought about through the sector of agriculture. A master plan has been devised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), which addressed the need to focus on the rising incomes of the farm that drives the rural nonfarm sector. It stimulates the growth however there is no increase in demand for the agricultural products that fails to target the results. The central part of Afghanistan tends to face poor economic growth in terms of agriculture as well as food insecurity. The main reasons behind this include the geographic isolation, the lack of transport of infrastructure along with the markets that are inaccessible. The high population density also adds up to the causes along with the cold climatic conditions that restricts the transport during the winters. The livestock assets also decrease during the winters. The vegetable producers of Afghanistan have to face a lot of challenges in order to market their crops. Some of the challenges faced include the availability of limited variety of seeds.
At this situation discussed earlier, agricultural environment of the nation has not made any exertion for sustainable improvement. Agriculture is the second largest sector that shares the one quarter of the nation GDP. All the agricultural lands are situated at the rural area where 80% of total population live. More than 90% of the poor population lived in rural area causing a discrepancy in economical distribution. 50% of total population in Afghanistan are dependent on the agriculture for at least 20% of their yearly income. The economic and political distress are causing significant amount of disruption in national agricultural system and the dependent economy. At this stage of high population growth rate the income from agriculture needs to grow at least 6% per year.
The most important political and legal factors those are responsible for affecting the model based agricultural procurement, involves programs of farm bill commodity and farm bill conservation programs. Agriculture research that is funded federally is one of the factors while the other factors include international trade policies, regulations of food safety and several environmental regulations that is hindering the scopes for improving procurement system. These include the acts like the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act. In addition to these certain factors are involved like constraints of federal budget and the energy policies. The food industry also influences the process of dietary guidelines and the policies of food and agriculture. Lastly the rural development programs forms an integral part of the political factors.
More than two decades of political and economic conflict in Afghanistan have caused unstructured and fragmented administration, poor policies, poor enforcement capability, and backward financial management system. Political and administrative disconnection between provincial and central authority, economic constrains were causing hindrance to the protection of national rights and effort for reconstructing the whole system. In 2001 the new government was formed with new amendments in laws that drafted and finalised in 2006. In this situation Public Procurement Policy Unit or PPU, a small unit within the Ministry of finance was one and only policy institution before 2014. Based on decree no. 16 of H.E. the President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 20/7/1393 the National Procurement Authority (NPA) established under the Administrative Office of the President. Afterwards through the legislative decree no. 60 on 21/11/93, decree no. 72 on 13/12/93 and decree no. 75, the Special Procurement Commission (SPC) upgraded to National Procurement Commission (NPC), Contract Management Office (CMO) dissolved, while the Afghanistan Reconstruction & Development Services (ARDS) and Procurement Policy Unit (PPU) merged to the National Procurement Authority (NPA). The roots of conflict that arise in Afghanistan affect the economic security of the country. This has also shown effect in agriculture. After the Soviet invasion in 1979, there has been a reduction from 2.5 million hectares to 1.5 million hectares. This was mainly due to the destructions that were caused during the years of war.
However, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations puts forward that Afghanistan possesses the potential for achieving food security for its people. In order to do so, it needs to rebuild its agriculture which is currently shattered, especially in irrigation system. In accordance to the Department of State/USAID Strategic Plan FY 2007 – 2012, full devotion of efforts is provided to the regional priority in Afghanistan in order regain stability by enhancing the capacity of the Afghan National Army and National Police. Combating opium which includes eradicating poppy fields is also involved in the plan.
Aiming the agricultural sector of Afghanistan, the literature review has been made by choosing articles, study reports and government reports that can be highly feasible in this context. However due to insufficient time to collect bulk of evidences this literature review has some moderate limitation, which can be identified, as a gap in literature review. One of the major gaps is the lack of direct updated information from the field analysis. It emphasises that, the literature review consists of very limited amount of real time survey and interview data. At the same time due lack of availability of the internal government planning and information, the presented data and information could not be collected from the selected literature. Apart from that the literature review tense to display in depth analysis and exploration of poverty level and sufferings of farmers in the rural area and agriculture based community of Afghanistan.
Method outline
The research method outline is the guidance for the researcher, which allows executing the selected procedure as per the requirement. All major section of the research procedure are included in the research outline including research philosophy, research approach, research design, research strategy, data collection, findings and interpretation. In this research both primary and secondary data have been collected considering both the qualitative and quantitative data analysis to formulate the conclusion and to develop recommendations. The methods for this research have been chosen keeping in mind the required timeline and information availability. The research method abides by the ethical considerations especially for conducting primary data collection tools.
The term ‘Research Onion’ refers the layer of design, developing, preparation and execution of various subsections to conduct the research. To conduct this research on Procurement Plan for agricultural goods in Afghanistan, the selection of research philosophy and research design has been done at the early stage that represents their position in outer layer of the research onion. The progression of multiple layers towards the core of the research onion comprises research methods, strategies, selection of tools and other related sections respectively. At the very core of the research onion the execution of the data analysis and formulating results are situated.
At the early stage of the research, the philosophy of the research method has to be chosen to develop the design and the approach of the research method. The research philosophy emphasises the perception of executing the data collection and analysis procedure that determines the other components of a research method. Positivism, Realism and Interpretivism are the three major types of research philosophies that can be followed by the research method. The positivism philosophy allows the researcher to find the causing and regulatory attributes behind a specific outcome. On the other hand, the Interpretivism philosophy allows to interpret the research components and strategies while gauging the effectiveness and perceptive discussion of facts. The realism philosophy is a mix of positivism and Interpretivism philosophy that allows the research to use real time data collection and analysis process while allowing the secondary data collection. In order to assess the existing Procurements Plans regarding agricultural goods and opportunity of improvement of model procurement plan in Agricultural sector of Afghanistan. This research followed the realism research philosophy. The cause of choosing the realism philosophy is this philosophy allows both real-time data collection as well as the secondary data collection.
Research approach is the closest regulator in the research onion that directly regulates the procedure of analysis and interpretation of collected data. Two research approaches are commonly used in modern research methods namely Inductive and Deductive research approach. In Deductive research approach, the research can deduce a concept or hypothesis that already has been declared at the beginning of the research. On the contrary, in inductive research approach the research collects and analyse data and information to find out cause and effect connectivity. This research aimed to identity and analyse the existing of the procurement planning for goods for agricultural sector and opportunity of improvement of Model Procurement Plan for Agricultural sector of Afghanistan. Therefore, in this research the Inductive research approach has been followed. Inductive approach allowed the research to collect and analyse data to derive the findings and conclusion.
Research design determines the process of data collection and analysis in a research method on which the findings and progress of the research depend. A research can adopt one of these three types of research designs namely exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research designs. In Explanatory research design, the researcher can explain a certain fact aiming to prove the authenticity of the declared hypothesis, theory, predictions or assumption with logical and rational explanation. On the other hand, the exploratory research design allows the researcher to conduct an open ended analysis on a particular topic without assuming or making any predetermined before conducting the research. However, the descriptive research design allows data collection and analysis to explain a certain fact with more details. For this research, the aim was to explore and recommend Model Procurement Plan for goods in agricultural sector and find the opportunities for increase the comprehensiveness of procurement plan and implementation in Afghanistan. Henceforth, this research has been designed as per the exploratory research format to explore the existing situation through data collection and analysis.
Research strategy refers the strategy through which the research can choose various research tools for data collection and analysis strategically. Being an exploratory and formed on a real life condition, this research required tool a research tool to collect the real time data with detailed cause effect cardinality. Apart from that, the secondary data collection was also required as an evidence of the decisions during the progress of the research. For secondary data collection, government report, books, journals and articles have been collected and analysed. It has allowed the research to collect strong and authentic evidence about the existing condition of Procurement Plan in goods in Agricultural sector of Afghanistan. To collect primary data a close ended survey has been conducted. Selecting close ended survey is a strategic choice for this research that allowed the research to analyse with quantitative analysis. The survey comprised of 10 questions including 3 multiple choice question and 7 Likert Scale based question. For this research the Likert scale has been used with 5 parameters namely ‘Strongly Disagree’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Neutral’, ‘Agree’, ‘Strongly Agree’ The survey was structured with close ended Likert Scale MCQ model where the respondents had to choose one of the five answers for each question. At the same time the graphical representation helps to visualise the collected and analysed data accordingly. For this survey the sample size is also chosen among the colleagues.
A research can conduct two types of data collection procedures namely Primary data collection and secondary data collection. The primary data emphasise the real time data collection by either engaging some personnel to gather opinions, perspectives and concerns of the respondents relevant to the research topic or examining the result from measurement tolls applied on the subjective field. On the other hand, in secondary data collection the research focuses on the previously collected data, research findings, statistical information and other documented data. To analyse the implemented procurements planning for goods agricultural sector along with potentiality, and the influence of utilisation of agricultural goods in Afghanistan, this research considered both primary and secondary data collection. To collect primary data through desk studies of various available documents such as public procurement law, Afghanistan Agriculture Sector Review, National Agriculture Development Framework, procedures, journals, published articles, books and laws related to the procurement of the agricultural policies, practices and scope of Afghanistan. To collect primary data collection, close a close ended survey on a stipulated sample size.
Sample size refers the area of the real time data collection field on which the research has been conducted. The sampling procedure can be divided into two major types of sampling strategy namely probability sampling and non-probability sampling. This research is based on the agricultural condition and procurement of existing process and strategies in Afghanistan. Therefore, the respondents for this survey are selected from working personnel of Agricultural procurement management sector in Afghanistan. For this research the non-probability sampling has been considered during the selection of the respondents to formulate the survey reports. The research has been conducted a survey on the sample size of 30 who are working in the Procurement Units and as well as in the Agriculture sector of Afghanistan.
Data analysis method is one of the major tools that directly interconnected with the outcomes of the research especially for the exploratory research. Data analysis allows the researcher to find out the result of the research with logical and rational explanation. Two types of data analysis process are used in a research namely qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis. The qualitative data analysis allows the researcher to analyse the rational and non-numeric information while the quantitative data analysis allows the researcher to analyse the numerical data with various mathematical and statistical procedure. In this research, the secondary data and the data collected from semi-structured interviews have been analysed by qualitative data analysis without any intervention of quantitative data analysis.
The ethical consideration is crucial in order to validate the morality of the research while ensuring the authenticity and credibility of the study. The ethical consideration of the research guides the research procedure under the rules and regulation of confidentiality, human rights, social ethics and other compliances. The authority of involved agricultural organisations has validated the ethical consideration of this research. This research committed to preserve personal safety, security and dignity of the participants. Before conducting the survey, a guidebook had been provided to the participants to ensures their acknowledgement for participation. The research ensured the willingness of each participant. The research questions have been design in a way that could not herm the emotions and perceptions of the participants. The research also committed that the participants can participate anonymously and can skip any of the 12 questions. The research also ensured that the document and data collected from the primary data will not be implemented any other unauthorised process or research.
In order to assess the existing Procurement Plan regarding agricultural goods and opportunity of increase the comprehensiveness of existing Procurement Plan for goods in Agricultural sector of Afghanistan, this research followed the realism research philosophy that allowed the research to use real time data collection and analysis process while allowing the secondary data collection. In this research, the Inductive research approach has been followed to collect and analyse data to derive the findings and conclusion. This research has been designed as per the exploratory research format to explore the existing situation through data collection and analysis. This research considered both primary and secondary data collection. To collect primary data a close ended structure survey has been conducted on 30 colleagues who work in Agricultural Procurement Management sector in Afghanistan. The survey comprised of 10 questions with two demographical question and 10 subject oriented question. The survey was structured with close ended Likert Scale MCQ model where the respondents had to choose one of the five answers for each question. For secondary data collection, government report, books, journals and articles have been collected and analysed. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis have been conducted for this research. For quantitative analysis both numerical analysis and graphical representation have been considered. The qualitative analysis of this research was based on the secondary data collection.
|
Activities |
Start date |
Duration (days) |
|
Selection of Topic |
04-Jun |
5 |
|
Constructing the Research Layout |
9-Jun |
10 |
|
Literature Review |
20-Jun |
20 |
|
Selection of research methods |
01-Jul |
10 |
|
Development of Research Plan |
07-Jul |
10 |
|
Data Collection from Secondary Resources |
18-Jul |
25 |
|
Data Collection from Primary Collection |
05-Aug |
20 |
|
Analysis and Interpretation of Collected Data |
25-Aug |
15 |
|
Formulating Conclusion |
10-Sep |
7 |
|
Development to Draft |
17-Sep |
5 |
|
Final Work Submission |
22-Sep |
5 |
Data presentation and analysis from survey
|
Responses |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Ministry of Agriculture is has been trying for successful procurement plan |
||
|
Less than 1 year |
6 |
20 |
|
More than 1 year and less than 5 years |
15 |
50 |
|
More than 5 years |
9 |
30 |
From the above data presentation, it is clear that most of the participants supports that Ministry of agriculture has been implementing procurement model from less than 5 years of earlier. This data emphasise that the development of agricultural procurement planning system was not appropriate before, as MAIL has recently been able to execute more than 75% of its development budget whereas in comparison to more than five years, it was less than 75%.
2.
|
Responses |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Improving attribute in existing agricultural procurement planning for goods |
||
|
Yes |
12 |
40 |
|
No |
18 |
60 |
Among the participant 40% personal perceived any potential attribute in existing procurement plan for goods. Therefore, the existing procurement policies of Ministry of Agriculture lacks some appropriate game changing attribute in their procurement plan for goods.
3.
|
Likert scale range |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Procurement planning for goods in Agriculture, will work for the benefits of farmers |
||
|
Strongly Disagree |
6 |
20 |
|
Disagree |
12 |
40 |
|
Neutral |
3 |
10 |
|
Agree |
6 |
20 |
|
Strongly Agree |
3 |
10 |
60% of total participants denied the fact that the recent procurement planning and procedures and bidding opportunity for farmers are adequate, while only 40% supported this fact. Therefore, it is clear that the Administrative Executives and Personnel are not satisfied with the way procurement plans have been developed that is pointing a severe loop hole in this procurement planning system.
4.
|
Likert scale range |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Procurement planning requires more alteration in its implementation compared to granting |
||
|
Strongly Disagree |
3 |
10 |
|
Disagree |
12 |
40 |
|
Neutral |
6 |
20 |
|
Agree |
9 |
30 |
|
Strongly Agree |
0 |
0.0 |
50% of total participants disagreed about the importance of alteration only on direct procurement. At the same time, no participant strongly supported this statement. This opinion directly reflects that the existing strategy of the government to focus on technical support for direct is not beneficial for the agricultural development of Afghanistan.
5.
|
Likert scale range |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Current threshold for the procurement of goods in MAIL |
||
|
Strongly Disagree |
3 |
10 |
|
Disagree |
12 |
40 |
|
Neutral |
6 |
20 |
|
Agree |
6 |
20 |
|
Strongly Agree |
3 |
10 |
50% of total participants did not agreed that the existing threshold for the local firms for the procurement of goods in agriculture sector. Only 30% of total participant think that the existing threshold is a significant part of their procurement planning. This report clearly showed that the existing threshold for the local firms is not adequate to achieve the proper financial procurement plan for goods in Agricultural Sector of Afghanistan.
6.
|
Responses |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Time allocation practical for the procurement of goods in NCB/ICB |
||
|
Fertilizers (Urea, DAP) |
6 |
20 |
|
Pesticides |
6 |
20 |
|
Equipments (Sprayer pump) |
9 |
30 |
|
Medium to high-density saplings |
3 |
10 |
|
Seeds |
6 |
20 |
Among Fertilizers (Urea, DAP), Pesticides, Equipments (Sprayer pump), Medium to high-density saplings and Seeds, Equipments like Sprayer pump and other advance technologies got the maximum support from the participants in terms of allocation of more and appropriate time. On the other hand, Medium to high-density saplings got only 10% support among the participants. It emphasises the importance of technologically advanced equipments as a focus of less time allocation provided by the Ministry of Agriculture.
7.
|
Likert scale range |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Technological equipments is adequate for the procurement plan implementation |
||
|
Strongly Disagree |
6 |
20 |
|
Disagree |
12 |
40 |
|
Neutral |
3 |
10 |
|
Agree |
6 |
20 |
|
Strongly Agree |
3 |
10 |
As per the above survey report 60% of total participants did not agreed upon the adequacy of existing procurement plans in terms of technological advancement in cultivation. Only 30% of total participant think that the existing advancement of technology is beneficial for the implementation of procurement plan. This report clearly showed that the existing procurement plan for technological equipments providing is not adequate for ensuring the effective implementation of the procurement contracts and as well as the achievement of the MAIL objectives.
8.
|
Likert scale range |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
The current procurement planning in goods is achieving the target |
||
|
Strongly Disagree |
3 |
10 |
|
Disagree |
12 |
40 |
|
Neutral |
6 |
20 |
|
Agree |
6 |
20 |
|
Strongly Agree |
3 |
10 |
As per the above survey report, 50% of total participants did not agreed upon the adequacy of existing Procurement planning in goods decided by the Ministry of Agriculture. Only 30% of total participant think that the existing model of procurement for goods is beneficial for the farmers and for the overall economical growth of the rural area. This report clearly emphasise that the existing procurement planning is not adequate to achieve the target to meet the economical growth and as well as ensure the procurement plan was implemented as per the public procurement law and procedures.
9.
|
Likert scale range |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Alteration of the subsidy on fertilisers |
||
|
Strongly Disagree |
3 |
10 |
|
Disagree |
3 |
10 |
|
Neutral |
3 |
10 |
|
Agree |
15 |
50 |
|
Strongly Agree |
6 |
20 |
As per the above survey report, 70% of total participants strongly agreed that Ministry of Agriculture should change their existing process for the development of specifications for goods in procurement plan for the effective implementation of the procurement contracts and as well as for the on-time delivery of the goods to the end users. Only 20% of total participant think that the existing process of development of specifications do not need further modification. This report clearly showed that the MAIL should change the existing procurement planning focusing on the development of right and concrete specifications for goods.
10.
|
Responses |
Number of respondents out of 30 |
Frequency percentage |
|
Time the Ministry of Agriculture have for amending the procurement plan for goods |
||
|
Next 6 month |
3 |
10 |
|
Next 1 year |
12 |
40 |
|
Next 2 year |
9 |
30 |
|
Next 5 year |
3 |
10 |
|
More than 5 years |
3 |
10 |
As per the above survey report 50% of total participants that within 1-year Time that Ministry of Agriculture has to amend the procurement process in order to achieve the target growth of the Agriculture sector of Afghanistan. Only 30% of total participant think that the existing procedure can be changed after 5 years from now. This report clearly showed that The Ministry of Agriculture has less than 5 years to change the procurement Planning procedure in order to meet the economical growth rate in Agricultural sector of Afghanistan.
From the above data presentation, it is clear that most of the participants have less than 5 years of experience in this field. The lack of workforce from 2012 and earlier testified the fact that in last five years a large number of participants have been recruited. Apart from that, the participation trends showed that the existing human resource system of Ministry of Agriculture focuses significantly on the experienced candidate in the Agricultural Administration field. According to the survey report about 60% of total participants denied the fact that the recent procurement procedure and bidding opportunity are adequate. Therefore, it is clear that the Administrative Executives and Personnel are not satisfied with the recent government policies that is pointing a severe loop hole in this model of procurement planning. At the same time, about half of total participants disagreed about the importance of technological assistance only on direct procurement. Therefore, it is also clear that the existing strategy of the government to focus on technical support for direct procurement is not beneficial for the agricultural development of Afghanistan.
Around 50% of total participants did not agreed upon the adequacy of existing time allocation for particular goods. This survey report clearly showed that the existing time-frame is not adequate to achieve the economical growth in Agricultural Sector of Afghanistan. Despite these facts, the survey reports also showed that among Fertilizers (Urea, DAP), Pesticides, Equipments (Sprayer pump), Medium to high-density saplings and Seeds, Equipments like Sprayer pump and other advance technologies should be essential components of procurement and subsidising plan of Ministry of Agriculture. This report clearly showed that the existing procedure for technological equipment providing is not adequate for making the cultivation procedure profitable for the farmers. The survey report also clearly emphasise that the existing procurement planning procedure is not adequate to achieve the target to meet the economical growth that can save the Agricultural sector of Afghanistan from being collapsed. According to the Survey report presented above, 70% of total participants strongly agreed that Ministry of Agriculture should change their existing procurement planning system to support the farmers and their economical depression. Therefore, the opinions of the participants clearly refer that The Ministry of Agriculture has less than 5 years to change the model of procurement planning and phenomenon of financial procurement in order to meet the economical growth rate in Agricultural sector of Afghanistan.
Agriculture being the backbone of the economy in Afghanistan therefore financial procurement is required in other to promote the economic welfare. 80% of Afghanistan’s production is due to wheat, however most of it is unprofitable. Therefore, suggestions have been made for a shift of use of land to irrigate higher value crops that is imperative during the post-conflict phase. The World Bank along with the Afghanistan government have successfully recognized that growth is agriculture is necessary for the inclusive growth of the country. This should be committed to the direct and indirect procurement in agriculture. The National Agriculture Development Framework (NADF) was developed using the assistance form the government and the donors in 2009. This framework provided a plan for production, economic regeneration and natural resource management.
Rural credit constraints the livestock and the production in horticulture. There is fragility in the financial sector which leads to low access to the financial services. The financial sector being poorly developed in Afghanistan, showed that the credit of the private sector was only 4.1% of the GDP. Considering the low level of finance, it was reported that agriculture received 2.4 percent of loans from banking sector (US$19.6 million). However most of this went to borrowers in the Kabul region.
With respect to the procurement planning, the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) began its operation. The initial capital of the organization was US$100 million. This was a part of the USAID Agricultural Credit Enhancement (ACE) project. ADF lends financial support to institutions which are non-financial. Help is provided mainly to the farmer associations and farmer cooperatives. This in turn lend to its members who are engaged in agricultural activities. With respect to financial procurement, minimum loan size is US$100,000 where the maximum loan tenure is three years. In case of indirect lending occurring through non-financial institutions, the amount of the end loans varies between US$2,000 and US$5,000 per farmer. It is reported that ADF has a high loan portfolio which is US$19 million. According to of procurement planning, the portfolio is at risk over 180 days that stands at 3.9 percent. As transition occurs from ADF to a USAID-funded project belonging to a financial institution, support is received from the international staff of ACE. This will be phase down at one point. It is expected that after the year 2015, a small number of advisers will provide management assistance to ADF
The Afghan Government should take steps to provide indirect support to the process of expansion of agricultural finance institutions implementing direct and indirect procurement. Support can also be provided by the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) for the development of financial products that can be adapted to the sector of agriculture. There is a need of support both from the government and donor community for the effort of ADF. Sustainable financial institution is required that must be dedicated to the sector of agriculture sector. Much needed finance is provided by ADF that is functioning well through the intermediaries complying with the procurement planning model. Provision of partial risk guarantees is received from the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Facility (ACGF) The commercial banks are involved in lending financial support to all small and medium-sized businesses with the objective to elevate the rate of its operations, with the main focus on the rural sector in terms of procurement planning model.
According to the World Bank document, the process of procurement of goods should be carried out complying to the “Guidelines: Procurement of Goods, Works and Non-Consulting Services under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers”. It also stated that responsibility of procurement and management should be taken under the project, along with all the staff involved in the project management team (PMT). The team can be a part of the implementing agencies which are namely ILDG in the urban areas and for the rural areas it is MRRD Studies have shown that the capacity of the technology development in Afghanistan is quite limited. The national agricultural research system has failed to provide adequate technological support to the farmers. This is evident form the fact that there is low crop and limited livestock yields in comparison to the other neighbouring countries.
There is also an evident trend decline in the TFP. From the year 2002, initiative has been taken by the MAIL to re-establish the system of significant research. This has been recently structured as the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA). For extension of services in the agricultural sector, strategic framework has been provided by the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Model (AAEM). This model of procurement planning puts forward plans that suggests to revise the delivery of extension services in a way that is more focused. More concentration should be provided on the first-mover agricultural commodities with has high potential for bringing about production and productivity growth. This is mainly in case of irrigated wheat, most horticultural crops, and intensive production of livestock included in direct and indirect procurement. Focus is mainly on the irrigated areas having a good market access.
Conclusion
Agriculture is the primary driver of Afghanistan’s economy and the development in the agricultural products has led to the growth of Afghanistan’s agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture of Afghanistan is assisting and helping the farmers to increase the agriculture productivity. It is important to note that the only a small share of the land (15 percent) is suitable for farming and only about 6 percent of the land is actually under cultivation. Two-thirds of the land needs irrigation and thus for this purpose, water is drawn from the rivers and springs and water is distributed through the underground tunnels and channels and also through the surface ditches. The most common and most important crop cultivated is wheat and this is followed by other crops like barley, corn and rice. The most widely cultivated crop is cotton and nuts, fruits form the vital part of the export.
The conducted study has shown that the procurement planning is mostly dependent on the capability of the farmers in saving the seeds for later use. The various ways through, which farmers procure seeds are: farmers saved their own seeds, collected seeds from the other farmers, seeds are brought with from the local markets and from the other sources, seeds are collected and stored free of cost which is supplied by the relief agencies, seeds are collected and obtained with cash from the relief agencies. All these includes the direct, indirect and financial methods of procurement. Considering the importance of the agricultural sector on the Afghanistan economy, the agricultural ministry must subsidies the fertilizers like DAP, Urea so that the agricultural productivity can be increased. The study revealed that the participants involved in the study had 5 years of experience and 60 percent of the respondents have said that the recent model of procurement planning were not adequate. Administrative Executives and Personnel are not satisfied with the recent government policies that are pointing to a severe loophole in this procurement system. The study mainly focused on the role of procurement planning model of the agricultural goods, the extent of the applicability of the procurement planning, ensuring the comprehension procurement planning will help in achieving a much better coordination between the government entities and the Ministry of Agriculture, assisting in the implementation of the procurement contracts in the Ministry of Agriculture. Thus, all the objectives direct towards the inefficiency of the Agricultural Ministry in the procurement of the agricultural goods. There are several factors that contribute to the inefficient performance of the agricultural ministry and it includes the lack of funds and reliance on the external aid and assistance by the developed countries. Thus, it is clear that the administrative executives and the personnel are not satisfied with the governmental policies and this directs towards the loopholes that are present in the procurement planning. According to the above study, the participants also disagreed about the importance of the technical assistance required only for the indirect procurement for goods. Thus, it is clear that the existing strategy of the government must focus on providing technical support.
The revival of the agriculture sector is vital for the economic development of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s agriculture must have the aim of providing a boost to the overall economy and the livelihood of the general public. The agricultural sector can be revived if the agricultural ministry lays emphasis on the capacity building, development of the preservation of the forests, commercial trees, fruit orchards, wheat production, natural streams, storage facilities, irrigation system, improvement of the administrative systems and human resources. The public agricultural sector can also form ties with the private sector to bring forth more minds into the field. The economy of Afghanistan relies heavily on agriculture and thus the developmental plans must include the poverty reduction plan. Investment in agriculture can help the agricultural sector and can help Afghanistan increase its self-sufficiency and financial stability. The international aid and funding have made Afghanistan heavily reliant and along with it eroded the self-reliant capacity. Thus, to increase its financial stability the state must look towards the increase the Comprehensiveness of the Model Procurement Planning for Goods so that the country can generate revenue by exporting the agricultural produce. It has also been estimated that a large portion of the Afghan population lives in the rural areas where agriculture is the only source of income.
Effective implementation of a procurement plan particularly in goods does have direct impact on the life of ordinary Afghans that are largely dependent on agriculture. Here are some of the recommendations that come as the result of this research:
Aiming the agricultural sector and procurement planning and procedure of Afghanistan this research has been conducted focusing on the authentic data from articles and government reports and the survey response of employees of Ministry of Agriculture. However, this research has been failed to present in depth analysis and exploration of poverty level and sufferings of farmers in the rural area and agriculture based community of Afghanistan.
The development of the objectives in this study targets to explore the existing condition of the procurement planning for goods in Agriculture Sector of Afghanistan, while finding the possible solution to increase the comprehensiveness of the existing procurement planning practice for goods in Agriculture of Afghanistan. In case of future researches the factors affecting the poverty of the rural area and the community who are responsible for the maximum portion of the agricultural product can be explore or examined. This particular research can serve as references for further evaluation of the status of the Agricultural procurement of Afghanistan.
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