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KABUL (SW): In the last four years, the shares of agriculture and industry in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have fallen significantly.
Officials at the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) acknowledge that the share of industries in the GDP has improved positively over the past four years, but growth in the agriculture sector has been falling, saying the shares of these two sectors in the GDP were not as high as it should have been.
Haseebullah Mohed, deputy director technical affairs at the CSO, informed that the services sector remained the top contributor to the GDP in the past four years. Meanwhile, officials from the ministries of agriculture, and commerce and industry have vowed to take effective measures to increase their share of GDP in the country.
GDP is subject to all legal and illegal revenues in the three sectors of agriculture, industry and services in the country. Though, poppy cultivation is an illegal act, but revenue earned from it is also contributed to the GDP. According to the CSO, in the period from 2013 to 2017, the share of agriculture and industry in (GDP) has been low.
According to the CSO statistics, the share of agriculture in the country's gross domestic product in 2013 was 24.7%, in 2014, 24.1%, in 2015, 21.8% and in 2016 it decreased to 23%. The share of industry in GDP in 2013 was 19.6%, in 2014, 20.7%, in 2015, 21.8% and in 2016 it was 21.1%.
According to Haseebullah Mohed, the share of services sector in 2013 was 51.7 percent, in 2014, 51.8 percent, in 2015, 52.5 percent, and in the year 2016, it was 51.6 percent. He noted that the distribution of about 20 million SIM cards and increase in internet services, schools, universities and private hospitals, and travel and aviation sector.
The technical deputy director of the Central Statistics Office said the dependence of Afghanistan's agriculture on seasonal rains together with the destruction of some agricultural land and the construction of high-rise houses have contributed to reducing the share of this sector in GDP.
But the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) spokesman Lutfullah Rashid has said the ministry will focus its activities on supporting agriculture in distant parts of the country for greater agricultural contribution to the GDP. He said based on the World Bank reports, the share of agriculture in the growth of the Afghan national economy is 1.8%, which underlines the importance of this sector.
Musafar Qoqandi, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, has said by making adjustments to the investment law the industry's share of GDP can be lifted.
The CSO officials urge the government and economic planners to consider these key figures for chalking out a successful economic policy with a clear focus on improving domestic production.
ENDS
