EuropaWorld 27/4/2001 empty fields

At what should be a time of spring planting, two-fifths of Afghanistan's arable land is lying fallow, pointing to savage food shortages in the months to come. This is one of the findings of a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) study of 24 Afghan provinces. Almost a third of the farmers surveyed said they intended to plant less than half of the land they usually sow. While many cited seed shortages as a factor in their decision to plant less, almost half of the respondents were also worried that rain will fail them again this year.

Already nearly 3 million Afghans depend on food aid as crops have been badly hit in the past by drought and by the ravages of the 21 year old civil war. "The expected reduction (of harvest potential) is widespread and dramatic in a country that needs about four million tonnes of cereals annually for domestic needs," warned Gerard van Dijk, WFP's Country Director in Afghanistan who added that WFP were working to step up the distribution of food aid to prevent the crisis worsening.

To make matters worse, much of the livestock in many rural areas has been killed either directly for food or because farmers lack the money to buy winter fodder.

About 85 per cent of Afghanistan's estimated 21 million people are directly dependent on agriculture, according to WFP. With their crops ruined by the drought, millions of Afghans have lost their purchasing power because of mass unemployment and a moribund economy. They are therefore unable to buy sufficient food.

Further news of the Afghan crisis in this issue