Real Needs - Serious Drought in Northern Afghanistan
Limited rain and snowfall in 2010 and early 2011 have resulted in drought conditions across Afghanistan’s north, north-east and west. This has led to massive losses in wheat production which represents the primary source of income for the poorest and most remote families. As a result there has been a significant deterioration in food security where access to food was already limited. Assessments indicate that an additional 2.7m people have been pushed into food insecurity as a result of the drought.
In areas where Afghanaid is active, clean water for drinking is scarce, wheat yields are low or non existent and livestock are dying. This means millions of people in Afghanistan will struggle to make it through the winter months with limited access to food, fuel and income.
Below are a number of impacts of the drought on rural communities:
- Water: Water availability is a problem as wells and reservoirs have dried up which means people, usually women and children, have to travel up to nine hours to collect water. Water quality has subsequently been affected as the little surface water that remains is contaminated.
- Food Availability: The drought has had devastating effects on the rain-fed wheat crop, which is crucial for consumption and income needs of millions of poor Afghans. Approximately 80-100% of the rain-fed wheat crop has been lost. Similarly, other important crops, such as potato have also been devastated.
- Livestock and Pastures: Pastures and fodder crops have been damaged and livestock have suffered as a consequence. Households have been forced to sell their livestock for reduced amounts (due to market saturation the price has plummeted by over 50%) because there is no animal feed or pasture to keep these animals alive.
- Food Access: Because of the wheat crop failure, households that relied on the rain-fed wheat crop for income and day labour have been affected. As such household income has been compromised and simultaneously, food prices have increased.
In order to cope, households are engaging in harmful responses such as selling all of their assets including breeding livestock, entering into debt which they can never hope to pay off and some families, particularly in the most remote mountainous regions have said that they may have to consider selling their children into child labour or early marriage to make money.
These coping activities will have implications that will be felt by families for the rest of their lives, potentially trapping them into poverty for their lifetime.
Amanda Curley, Afghanaid’s UK Fundraising Manager, travelled from London to Samangan province in October to meet with fellow colleagues and visit Afghanaid’s projects. Afghanaid has been working in Samangan since 2000 which is located approximately 250 kilometres north-west of Kabul, straddling the main road between the capital and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Samangan province suffers disproportionately from lack of access to water, often necessitating the drilling of deep wells, which brings further risks of water table depletion and soil salination. The majority of people (90%) are employed in agriculture. Only 20% of the land is irrigated, while 80% is rain-fed. Livestock products are also an important source of income.
Amanda spent time listening to stories about the effects of the drought on the lives in the local communities. She reported: “The drought is affecting all programmes from specific agricultural projects to how much people are able to save. This will have long-term effects.”
“The main concern voiced from the Samangan team was the lack of rain-fed water for irrigation and the swiftly dropping water table. One Afghanaid volunteer told me that the water table was at least 170 metres whereas before it was between 100-150 metres. Fresh water springs which are source of clean drinking water are drying up and machinery to drill 170 metres is inaccessible.”
Migration out of the drought-affected areas into neighbouring provinces or to other countries is increasing as individuals are in search of employment. Pastoralists [goat herders and shepherds] are moving to nearby provinces. This has only added to the negative impact on local individuals as many shepherds watch over sheep and goats purchased by women as an investment or source of milk and income. Therefore, many animals have been sold or slaughter prematurely.
In a village called Delkhaqy Amanda saw women and children travelling from great distances to collect water, wash clothing and water their livestock. The river had banks over four metres high indicating a once vibrate and flowing waterway, yet the water barely rose a few inches from the bed itself.
Afghanaid is responding to the drought in two immediate ways – first, through an emergency WAter, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project that is rehabilitating pipe water systems (see photo below far left), reservoirs and taps, as well as providing emergency hygiene promotion and awareness and, improving water quality through a bio-sand filtration system.
Secondly, Afghanaid has an emergency animal health programme – providing feed and animal healthcare. The animal fodder being distributed has greater nutritional potency therefore smaller quantities are needed.
Afghanaid and other NGOs released a statement in late August calling upon international donors to fund activities addressing emergency needs and also to place equal importance on funds to support long-term community-driven development programmes. Afghanaid and many other NGOs working on the ground in Afghanistan feel that we must fund and support programmes which increase real Afghans’ resilience to future disasters and reduce their dependency on emergency aid.
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