Prolonged drought deepens Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis
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[August 11, 2023]
NAHR-E-SHAHI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - In parched brown
hills in north Afghanistan, Abdul Hahad tears stalks of wheat out of the
arid earth. In the third year of water shortages and high temperatures,
his harvest is barely enough to support his family.
The 55-year-old farmer from Nahr-e-Shahi district in Balkh province used
to plant two or even three wheat crops a year but in the last three
years he has only been able to grow one. The yields from his nine acres
of land are dwindling year by year.
"It's been three years since the drought started, wells and the river
have almost dried up. We don't even have enough drinking water, you can
see all our land has dried up," he said, as he sat near a pile of wheat
beneath the sun in heat of 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Persistent drought across Afghanistan is taking its toll on farmers, its
economy - a third of which is generated by agriculture - and food
security.
Experts say the drought is exacerbated by climate change which leads to
intensifying pressure on water resources. The Global Climate Risk Index
says Afghanistan is the world's sixth most affected country by
climate-related threats.
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With little functioning irrigation, Afghanistan relies on snow melting
in the mountains to keep its rivers flowing and fields watered during
the summer.
But Najibullah Sadid, a water resources and environment expert and
Research Associate at the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research
Institute in Germany, said as temperatures rise, precipitation falls and
with less snow, the summer melt is not feeding into rivers as much as it
used to.
"In terms of food security you see that in a country like Afghanistan
where more than 30% of GDP (gross domestic product) is coming from
agriculture, then of course if this sector is impacted by climate change
then the gross economy of the country is impacted by climate change,"
said Sadid.
'A LOT OF HARDSHIP'
Two years after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan as foreign troops
withdrew, stretched water resources and the struggles of agriculture are
one of their administration's top challenges.
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![](../images/081123PIX/news_i19.jpg)
An Afghan girl stands with an empty
water container in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ali
Khara
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With a sharp reduction this year in humanitarian aid and no foreign
government formally recognizing the Taliban, aid workers and
diplomats say the level of development assistance to help with the
problem is limited.
The U.N. World Food Program says 15.3 million people are facing
acute food insecurity in the country of nearly 42 million people.
The Taliban administration is building a 280 km-long (174 miles)
canal, which if completed could divert water for irrigation
throughout northern provinces. But it is still years away from
completion and neighboring countries have raised concerns that it
will unfairly divert their water.
Sitting with three of his eight grandchildren, Hahad described how
his income has shrunk, forcing his family, like many in the village,
to cut back on food beyond essentials like bread and fruit.
"I used to be able to earn from 2.3 million afghanis ($27,000) to
2.5 million afghanis ($29,500) a year from my land. We used to grow
wheat, melons, onions, eggplant, carrot and other things, but in the
last three years I couldn't even make 100,000 afghanis ($1,200)," he
said.
"People are facing a lot of hardship, some have left the village due
to the lack of water," Hahad said.
"But we'll keep planting crops even if there is a water shortage
because we don't have any other option. It's the only thing we know
how to do."
(Reporting by Reuters TV; writing by Phyllis Xu and Charlotte
Greenfield; editing by Robert Birsel)
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