Political Geography: Middle East / Topic: Rural

Author:: Paula Kantor and Adam Pain
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: Over the past few years, Afghan policymakers have put aside strategies encouraging pro-poor growth in favour of solutions that focus on expanding GDP. In addition, existing solutions to poverty are becoming increasingly technically-oriented and fail to take local social realities and power structures into account. This briefing paper calls for policymakers and programmers to refocus on poverty and its social causes as a way to ensure that efforts to improve the lives of rural Afghans meet with lasting success.
Topic:: Poverty, Inequality, Economic Growth, and Rural
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: David Mansfield
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: Levels of opium poppy cultivation have fallen in Afghanistan for two consecutive years and it now appears that cultivation will be maintained at this relatively low level for another year. This briefing paper examines the reasons behind the reductions and assesses their sustainability, with special emphasis on the key provinces of Nangarhar and Helmand. It identifies instability and drops in livelihood standards caused by coercive reductions in opium poppy cultivation, and finds that increasing levels of wheat production do not reflect a sustainable shift from opium production, but instead are a sign of market failure, growing concerns over food security, and coercion.
Topic:: Security, Agriculture, Food, Rural, Drugs, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: Paula Kantor
Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: Reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan have prioritised access to and delivery of microcredit to stabilise livelihoods. Since 2003, over US$569 million in microcredit loans have been delivered to over 440,000 urban and rural clients. This paper from AREU examines the effect that the availability of microcredit has had on existing informal credit systems and on livelihoods in rural Afghanistan.
Topic:: Microcredit, Rural, Credit, Banking, and Loans
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: Alan Roe
Publication Date:: 11-2008
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: This paper synthesises the preliminary findings, conclusions and recommendations emerging from the first year of AREU’s study, “Applied Thematic Research into Water Management, Livestock and the Opium Economy” (abbreviated as WOL). It examines irrigation methods and water management systems, and draws linkages between water availability, livestock production and opium cultivation. Based on this analysis, the paper makes recommendations for the improvement of natural resource access, rural development and agricultural policy.
Topic:: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Rural, Management, and Farming
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: David Mansfield and Adam Pain
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: For many rural households the cultivation of opium poppy represents the key means by which they can achieve welfare under the conditions of pervasive risk and insecurity in Afghanistan. This briefing paper argues that understanding changing levels of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan requires recognition of the multifunctional role of opium poppy cultivation in the livelihoods of rural Afghan households.
Topic:: Security, Agriculture, Rural, Drugs, and Farming
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: Jo Ball and Stefan Schutte
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: This synthesis report draws out the main findings and recommendations from five case studies on urban poverty in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad and Pul-i-Khumri. The report examines livelihood strategies, assets and crisis management over time in a set of households in each of these cities. It calls on the Afghan government to implement long-term strategies for economic growth that would create more jobs with regular income, and draws attention to the uneven thrust of national assistance—focused more on poverty-reduction initiatives in the rural communities—and the need to expand programmes to urban areas.
Topic:: Poverty, Urbanization, Urban, Rural, and Job Creation
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: Jo Grace and Adam Pain
Publication Date:: 06-2004
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: This synthesis report presents the findings of the first 18 months of research from AREU’s Rural Livelihoods Monitoring Research Programme. The project gathered village and household information from 390 households across seven provinces with an aim to improve the understanding of rural livelihoods in Afghanistan and the monitoring and evaluation capacity of NGOs. The report offers conclusions and recommendations regarding: livelihoods diversity, non-farm labour, labour migration, indebtedness, gender, health, agriculture and social protection.
Topic:: Agriculture, Gender Issues, Health, NGOs, Rural, and Labor Rights
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

Author:: Liz Alden Wily
Publication Date:: 12-2004
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: This paper synthesises the lessons learned from a study of land tenure relations in Bamiyan, Badakhshan and Faryab Provinces. It also offers recommendations on how to move forward from the existing muddle of land policy and law to engage in "learning by doing" projects aimed at mitigating conflict on communal land.
Topic:: Law, Rural, Land, and Community
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

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