MONITORING (SW) – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has appealed for humanitarian assistance to be scaled up as Afghanistan continues to be hit hard by an ever-worsening drought that threatens the livelihoods of more than 7 million people who rely on agriculture or livestock.
Many of these people are already among the 14 million people – one in three Afghans – who are acutely food insecure and need urgent humanitarian assistance.
“Farmers and livestock owners must not be forgotten in today’s humanitarian crisis,” said FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu. “Urgent agricultural support now is key to counter the impact of the drought and a worsening situation in Afghanistan’s vast rural areas in the weeks and months ahead.”
The combination of severe drought, COVID-19 related economic impacts and widespread displacement have hit Afghanistan’s rural communities hard, particularly its farmers and herders, who are the backbone of the country’s economy. Food production and agricultural livelihoods are under extreme pressure.
“If we fail to assist the people most affected by the acute drought, large numbers will be forced to abandon their farms and be displaced in certain areas,” the Director-General added. “This threatens to further deepen food insecurity and poses yet another threat to the stability of Afghanistan.”
In a statement, it said FAO aims to assist 250 000 vulnerable farming families – some 1.5 million people – for the upcoming winter wheat season. Planting begins in late September and runs into October in many areas. However, current funding will only enable FAO to support 110 000 families. There is a funding shortfall of USD 18 million in support for FAO’s Drought Response Plan in Afghanistan.
“The window of opportunity to provide this assistance is closing quickly. We must act before it is too late,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO’s Representative in Afghanistan. “If farmers cannot get the seeds they urgently need by the end of September or early October, then the winter wheat season will fail. This will be a disaster for millions of Afghans, both farmers and consumers.”
“FAO and its partners are already supporting millions of rural people. But far more needs to be done,” Trenchard added.
With the current harvest expected to be 20 percent below the 2020 harvest and 15 percent below average due to the acute drought, the next winter wheat planting season will be crucial to prevent a further deterioration in the country’s food security, and to protect agricultural livelihoods, the mainstay of millions of people across the country.
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