ASAD ABAD: Economy of the people of Kunar mainly depend on agriculture, livestock and trade but the sectors face immense obstacles and downward trend, officials and residents said.
The dense forest of Kunar too contributes greatly to bolster the overall economy of the people. However, chopping of forest trees in large number on the one hand and the government reluctance to take notice of the illegal timber business on the other put the people into immense trouble.
People complain they have less cultivable land, adding that the government did not extend the needed cooperation to remove their grievances.
Agriculture:
Engineer Abdul Ghayyas, minister for agriculture and livestock said 75% economy of Kunar’s population depend on agriculture and livestock.
“Kunar is a mountainous province. Its mountains spread on 330, 000 acres of land, which is covered by natural and thick forests. The vast forests are covered by precious timbers including oak, deodar and other kind of trees,” he added.
The minister said that people cultivate various crops including wheat, barley, and bean.
 He said that 75, 000 hectares of land is pastoral, 24,000 hectares is cultivable while another 18, 000 hectares have water and 6, 000 hectares of land is rain-fed.
 
Noting with satisfaction, he said that wheat crop witnessed 20% increase as compared to last year. The districts of Khas Kunar, Noor Gul, Shegal, Narang and Otapur have rich in production of crops.
The minister admits that despite the fact that Kunar has abundant water but its water could not be utilized for irrigation purposes. 
He said most of the crops depend on seasonal rains, expressing optimism that the crops would see visible increase if water of the river could be diverted for irrigation of vast land of the province.
He said 40% forests’ trees have been chopped; adding that 1, 700 hectares of land is covered by orchards. The fruits include oranges, palms, pomegranate and peaches.
Besides the orchards, he said that in mountainous areas, there are other trees that contribute to bolster the living standard of the people.
The livestock witnessed considerable dearth as compared to the last year because people could not bring their cattle for pasturing to the mountainous areas due to widespread insecurity, he added.
Mujeeb-u-Rehman, a farmer from the Sauki district said his crops have surged to double digit and now the same land yield crops twice instead.
He said a number of NGOs helped people provide with the needed facilities to develop their orchards, which bolstered people’s income.  Similarly, the disbursement of refined seeds led farmers to get bumper crops.
AKhtar Muhammad, a resident of Marorah district said though the Kunar River flows within his district but the ill-fated people of the province could not get benefit from its water.
“Our entire land is being irrigated on rain water. Earlier, we have karez system but its water has now considerably diminished and could not irrigate the land,” he added.
He said in case there is no rain then their lands are left uncultivated.
 
Ezatullah, a resident of Teshay village said that earlier the people were not cultivating vegetables but they have started reaping enough crops after the government disbursed refined seeds among them.
He said some of the vegetables have 10 times high income than the wheat.
Trade and investment:
Haji Sayed Azeem, head of the trade union said trade related activities witnessed 80% dearth because of insecurity, which is hampering the traders to openly promote their business in a fear-free environment.
He threatened if the status quo remained the same then the traders would stop business and trade activities in the volatile Kunar.
“Kunar has no factories, forcing the traders to import their materials from Nangarhar, Kabul and with special reference from Pakistan,” he remarked.
Niamatullah, a Kunar based businessman said that Kunar is a small province, which offers no such facilities for big investment activities.
“If someone wants to establish a factory in Kunar then he tends to face problems and in first preference he cannot find land for the purpose on affordable price,” he added.
He reiterated the second biggest problem is the absence of electricity, which put traders and investors into immense trouble. He expressed concern that the government is not willing to ensure provision of electricity at the earliest.
“The absence of raw material is also among the obstacles that hampering trade in the province,” he added.
Handicrafts:
  Handicraft is a long standing profession of the Kunar province but the consistent wars deal a severe blow to the profession. However, with the extended help by the NGOs, the profession has been revived to great extent. 
 
Naseema Shafiq Sadaat, head of women affairs department said that short term courses were conducted elsewhere in the province to train women in carpet-weaving, tailoring and embroidery.
She said that she held wide ranging meetings with authorities in the central government to help establish a separate market for women, but her demand would yet to be taken up for consideration.
She said that four acres of land have been allocated for construction of Women Park, which boundary wall has been constructed.
Farishta, a resident of Asad Abad says: “She learnt tailoring after an NGO conducted a six months training course for women folk.”