KABUL, Jun 15 (NNN-ANA) – Below average rainfall has hit food production in eastern and north-eastern Afghanistan, where some rain-fed fields have dried out, officials and farmers said.
“I planted wheat on my land but it has failed, due to lack of rain,” Hamidullah, the owner of eight hectares in Chaparhar District, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, said.
Enayatullah, a farmer in Nangarhar’s Sor Rod District, said, “I spent 70,000 Afghanis [US$1,450] on wheat and onion seeds, but my fields have dried out.”
Provincial agriculture officials said that, “drought” has been reported in 12 of the province’s 23 districts, mostly in areas where farmers are reliant on rain, rather than irrigation.
About 20,000 hectares of farmland is drought-affected, said Muhsil Khan, an agriculture official, adding that, Sor Rod, Chaparhar, Rodat, Achin, Spinghar and Goshta were the worst hit.
Drought-affected farmers in Nangarhar said, they needed food aid, and assistance to irrigate their land. However, the drought-like conditions are not limited to Nangarhar alone.
“Despite periods of rain and snow during Mar and early Apr, precipitation deficits remain substantial across the north-east parts of the country,” Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), an affiliate of the US Agency for International Development, said.
FEWS NET predicted a “mid-level drought” in north-eastern areas.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) said, it had sent assessment teams to the region and would present its analysis.– NNN-ANA
