Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) 2017 to 2021.

The Vision of the present Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework is to achieve self-reliance and increase the welfare of the people. A productive and broad-based economy that creates jobs shall be built. The structure of the economy shall be changed from one of import and distribution to one where a thriving private sector - from small farmers and urban businesses to large manufacturers - can successfully export Afghan products to regional and global markets. As the economy grows, Afghanistan will be able to expand investments in the health and education of its people. In particular, this Policy sets the economic, political and security context for the approach to development, which is built around agriculture, extractive industries and trade.
Chapter 5 on Development Strategy is the most important chapter of the Policy. It deals with: 1) The New Development Planning System; 2) Development Priorities; 3) Governance and State Effectiveness; 4) Social Capital and Nation Building; 5) Economic Growth and Job Creation; 6) Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion.
Sub-chapter 5 on Economic Growth and Job Creation outlines a Comprehensive Agriculture Development Program. This establishes that public investment will focus on agricultural sectors that show the largest potential for economic growth. Improved seeds, better farm technology, and more storage and cold chain facilities will help smallholders increase food security and move from subsistence to surplus production for domestic and export markets. There is a long-term potential to change Afghanistan from an importing and agrarian country to an agro-industrial exporting nation. This can happen by promoting agro-industry, improving quality control, expanding cold chain facilities, and introducing better packaging that reduces waste and spoilage.
Over the next five years the aim is to: 1) Expand the land under irrigation from 2.2 to 2.7 million hectares; and 2) Increase wheat production from 4.5 to 5.9 million metric tons. These goals will be achieved by: i) Increasing investments in water management, with rehabilitation of more than 1,000 irrigation schemes, developing new irrigation networks and building small water reservoirs; ii) Implementing the national wheat program to increase yields to 26%, and developing a standardized wheat seed market; iii) Improving livestock management, applying phytosanitary entry criteria and WTO-allowed tariffs to prevent subsidized imports from competing with smallholders; iv) Increasing horticulture capacity from 180,000 to 230,000 hectares, supporting investments in value-chains, establishing export certification procedures, and increasing support to women-owned agri-businesses; v) Rehabilitating the strategic grain reserve and establishing a Grain Reserve Board to support farmers; vi) Expanding agro-forestry and reforestation with over 60,000 hectares that support environmental conservation and income generation for farmers; and vii) Restructuring the Ministry of Agriculture to become a decentralized and farmer-centric institution that regulates and encourages private investments.
Sub-chapter 5 also deals with Mineral and Resource Development Program. It states that extractive industries such as mining and hydrocarbon development will play an increasingly important role as drivers of economic growth. Their sustainable development through transparent tendering and effective monitoring is of particular importance. As governance improves, up mining to international investors will be opened who can provide the capital and management skills needed to help this sector realize its full potential. The goals for the mining and minerals sector are: i) Maximizing revenue from mineral exploitation; ii) Increasing the sustainability and predictability of mining revenues; iii) Expanding oil and gas exploration; and iv) Addressing illegal mining. The priorities for the sector are: i) Reforming contracting and professionalizing internal governance; ii) Establishing full government control over mining areas; iii) making the mining law EITI compliant; iv) Inviting international partnerships to develop large mines; and v) Building new freight rail links to regional networks in Turkmenistan and Iran.
The Energy and Infrastructure Development Program proposes a three-tiered investment strategy focusing on energy supply, institutional development, and regional trade, partnerships, and climate change mitigation.
Sub-chapter 5.6 concerns Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion and establishes that the strategy for poverty reduction combines investments to improve growth and productivity with targeted programs to help the poor improve their skills and access opportunities. There has been an absence of poverty-focused investments over the long years of conflict.Corruption hampers the ability of the poor and vulnerable groups, including persons with disability, to access services and opportunities. Social factors such as localized violence and criminality, land tenure insecurity, illegal land seizures, gender mores, discrimination, and poor service delivery, lock entire populations into inescapable poverty traps.
Women’s Empowerment is a key issue in this chapter. Afghan women shall have the full political, social, and economic participation in national development. Government budgets have factored in the costs of implementing UN Resolution 1325 and the National Priority Program for the Economic Empowerment of Women.In keeping with the commitment to reduce poverty, over the next fifteen years, USD250 million shall be invested in the women’s economic empowerment program. A reform agenda shall be enacted to increase women’s mobility, improve the quality of gender statistics, and reduce or eliminate regulations that block women’s access to credit and markets.
Another central issue is Afghanistan’s gender strategy. The Constitution guarantees equal citizenship rights for women. But help is need to lift women out of the cycle of poverty by ensuring their socio-economic inclusion and increasing their engagement with markets. This gender strategy rests on five pillars, each grounded in a cross-government action program: i) Implementing the global commitments on human rights, security, and freedom from domestic violence for Afghan women; ii) Ensuring full access to education and health services, including higher education; iii) Launching the Women’s Economic Empowerment National Priority Program; iv) Securing the constitutional rights for women through the full execution of our laws; and v) Advancing women in government and business.
Under Social Protection it is stated that poverty will be reduced by helping the poor increase their skills, productivity, and access labor-intensive paid employment through the Jobs for Peace program. The Program was launched in 2016 and has already provided over two million paid days of work to repair and maintain village infrastructure. While investing in more opportunities for young people is the central focus of the poverty strategy, there is still a substantial population of vulnerable, disabled, widowed, and elderly citizens who will need carefully targeted and professionally managed assistance. The safety net operations such as pensions, entitlements, and other forms of transfer must be progressively improved. Weak targeting systems, deeply embedded corruption, and poor management structures are first-order challenges. To improve their efficiency and reduce corruption, the Ministry of Labor and the Disabled will establish an Agency to manage cash transfers for pensions, disability, and other social protection entitlements. The text consists of 7 Parts as follows: Introduction (1); Political, Security, Economic, and Socioeconomic Outlook (2); Fiscal Forecast (3); Fiscal Strategy (4); Development Strategy (5); Development Partnership (6); Development Financing (7); Conclusion (8). One Annex is enclosed.