Goshta District

Coordinates: 34°21′22″N 70°46′20″E / 34.35611°N 70.77222°E / 34.35611; 70.77222

Goshta District is located in the northeast of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan and borders Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The district's population is 100% Pashtun and was estimated at 160,000 in 2002, of whom 30,000 were children under 12. The district centre is the village of Goshta, on the Kunar River.

Location and Economy

The Goshta district is located on the Durand Line between Afghanistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. From the highlands that define the border, dry hilly country with seasonal streams slopes down to the flat land along the north side of the Kunar river valley where most of the people live, at an elevation of about 540 m. Average temperatures in the valley range from 3^o in January to 27^o in July. Precipitation is low, perhaps 150mm per year, mostly falling in the spring.

Agriculture is the main source of income. Crops include wheat, corn, sugar cane and rice. At times, opium poppies have been an important crop. Goshta's residents do not have a modern water supply system for their crops. They traditionally drain water from the Kunar river, which flows along the south of the district, using hand pumps and shallow wells. Floods often destroy valuable fields. In the hill country, water must often be carried long distances by pack animal. Most villagers do not have access to potable water.