{"id":30333,"date":"2026-07-16T12:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=30333"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:18:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:18:36","slug":"wheat-under-the-snow-farmers-in-badakhshans-shiwa-plain-struggle-with-poor-harvests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/07\/wheat-under-the-snow-farmers-in-badakhshans-shiwa-plain-struggle-with-poor-harvests\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheat under the snow; farmers in Badakhshan\u2019s Shiwa plain struggle with poor harvests"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of farmers in Shiwa Plain, located in Arghanj Khwah district of Badakhshan province, say that early cold weather, irregular rainfall, and the short growing season have reduced their wheat harvests to an average of only about 75 kilograms per jerib, while agricultural experts say that wheat yields in Faizabad, Argo district, and some other areas of Badakhshan range from 350 to 500 kilograms per jerib. According to the experts, this significant difference has not only reduced household incomes but has also forced many farmers to rely on labor migration to cover their living expenses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shiwa Plain, with 35 villages and nearly 2,400 families, is one of the important agricultural and livestock-producing areas of Badakhshan. More than 80 percent of the residents depend on wheat and barley cultivation and livestock raising for their livelihoods. However, the winter season, which lasts for around seven months, has severely limited the growing period for agricultural crops.<\/p>\n

Hassan Big, a farmer from Shiwa Plain, says that he plants around 56 kilograms of wheat seeds on one jerib of land every year, but at the end of the season, he harvests only about 75 kilograms of wheat. According to him, this amount of wheat can provide food for his family for only about three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom November until June, it snows here. Farmers who cultivate more land usually begin planting in May, and in some years they start as early as April. The rainfall this spring was relatively good, but we also need rain during the summer because all our farmland is rain-fed. Rainfall needs to continue in July so that the crops can grow properly, but it has not rained for nearly 20 days,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Zarif Big, another farmer, says this problem is not new and that agriculture in the area has been affected for years by long winters and short growing seasons. According to him, every year some crops are buried under snow before they can be harvested and are lost due to early snowfall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn previous years, there was drought, and the wheat did not grow properly. This year, the rainfall has been good, and we have become hopeful. By God\u2019s grace, the wheat has grown well, but the snow comes early here. If farmers cannot harvest on time, some crops remain buried under the snow. We do not know what to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Sayed Ali, another farmer, says repeated crop losses have forced him to travel to other cities for about four months each year to earn enough to cover his family’s expenses. He says the income from this seasonal work is still not enough to meet his family’s needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not get proper harvests here. Every year, we plant wheat and barley, but in the end, we harvest almost nothing. We are forced to go to cities to work to cover our families’ expenses. We ask the government to help us because we will have a difficult winter ahead,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sohail Ahmadi, an agricultural expert in Badakhshan, says that due to long winters and the short growing season, wheat cultivation in many parts of Shiwa Plain is less profitable. According to him, wheat usually requires 90 to 120 days to grow, but the climatic conditions in this area often do not allow enough time for the crop to complete its growth cycle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He suggests that, alongside the use of early-maturing and climate-adapted seeds, the development of cold-resistant orchards and the mechanization of harvesting should also be prioritized. He adds,<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficials should promote modern orchard management methods and provide farmers with the necessary machinery. When harvest time arrives, farmers cannot harvest their crops on time because they rely on traditional tools. As the snow arrives, some of their crops are lost. If machinery is available, harvesting can be completed more quickly and on time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mawdud-ul-Haq Dayem, head of agricultural affairs at the Badakhshan Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, says that changing climatic conditions in recent years have caused significant damage to the agricultural sector and left many farmers facing serious challenges.<\/p>\n

He adds that the department, in cooperation with partner organizations, is working to reduce some of these problems by distributing early-maturing seeds adapted to local climatic conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some border districts of Badakhshan, wheat, barley, and corn are cultivated. However, due to cold weather and the short growing season, these crops do not grow properly and fail to produce satisfactory yields. Therefore, we are working to promote orchard farming in areas with potential and to pave the ground for residents to establish orchards,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Shiwa Plain is an example of an area where harsh climatic conditions, natural limitations, and a shortage of technical facilities have affected the livelihoods of thousands of families. If programs such as the distribution of early-maturing seeds, expansion of harvesting machinery, and implementation of climate adaptation projects are not practically implemented, farmers in this region will continue to lose part of their harvests under the snow every year before they can collect them. This situation will not only reduce wheat production but will also increase families\u2019 dependence on labor migration.<\/p>\n

Reporter: Faridullah Yaqobi<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A number of farmers in Shiwa Plain, located in Arghanj Khwah district of Badakhshan province, say that early cold weather, irregular rainfall, and the short growing season have reduced their wheat harvests to an average of only about 75 kilograms per jerib, while agricultural experts say that wheat yields in Faizabad, Argo district, and some other areas of Badakhshan range from 350 to 500 kilograms per jerib. According to the experts, this significant difference has not only reduced household incomes but has also forced many farmers to rely on labor migration to cover their living expenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,16,30],"tags":[205,400,787,879,1855,2031],"class_list":["post-30333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-report","category-environment","tag-badakhshan","tag-snow","tag-wheat","tag-farmers","tag-harvests","tag-shiwa-plain"],"views":9,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30338,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30333\/revisions\/30338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}