Agriculture is the major and most significant sector of the Afghan economy. However, the war and drought have destroyed the capability of food production and drained important seeds stocks, caused strong dependency of the nation to international food aids. (ICARDA, Carvan, 2003).It accounts as a source of income for 49 percent of households and forms 40 percent of labor force. Central Statistical Office of Afghanistan estimates that the sector contribution of around 27 percent to the national GDP in the year 2011-12. (ACSO, 2012)
The majority of Afghan populations are living in rural areas. They are substantially living from agriculture and most of them are smallholder farmers. Dairy farming is a fundamental component of mixed crop-animal farming
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Some reports used the cattle population, growth rate and production itself as main indicators to estimate the total amount of production; others calculated the total milk production based on average milk yield per cow estimated as 750 …show more content…
A lot of imported dairy products is substantial depletion of country’s resources and import substitution policy in dairy sector can lead to the promotion of local products and at the same time decrease the outflow of national resources. (MAIL report, 2007).. p2
Different variety of phenotypes in cattle can be found in regions of Afghanistan. They differ in color and body weight and have either a small or no hunch. The smallest types are kept in eastern and northeastern provinces while larger ones are special for North and West.
The common type is called ‘Watani’ which means’ native’ and it is in black color with white spots with an average height of 117 cm and an average weight of 225 kg. The average milk production is estimated as 3.5 kg/day. In some places like Balkh, Nangarhar, and Laghman, there exists a considerable number of cross breed cattle that vary in quality and appearance and they have higher genetic potential than native ones. Some new genotypes are imported from neighboring countries mainly Pakistan to improve the dairy production in