Drought-hit Faryab farmers seek assistance

MAIMANA (Pajhwok): The Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock says crops on nearly all rain-fed and 50 percent of irrigated lands have gone dry in northern Faryab province.

As a result of a severe drought, growers and livestock owners in the province have voiced deep concern, calling for urgent assistance.

Farmers’ concerns

Mohammad Maroof Nekzad, a farmer from Lawlash district, stood gazing at his parched wheat fields, lost in worries.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News the area used to receive regular snowfall and rain, resulting in good harvests every year.

However, he said: “There has been neither snow nor rain until now this year. All our crops have gone parched and destroyed.”

Nekzad, an experienced farmer, warned if growers were not provided with aid, they could end up in serious trouble this year.

Ahmad, hailing from the Hawz Maran village of the same district, had painstakingly sown 1,050 kilograms of wheat, said his entire crop had been lost.

The 75-year-old added: “In my lifetime, I have never seen such a drought. We have lost all hope.” He also asked the caretaker government and aid organisations for assistance.

Another resident, Abdul Qayyum, said farming had been the sole source of income for his 20-member family. But the drought has dashed all his hopes.

Several tribal elders and farmers from Bandar and Lawlash districts, who travelled to Maimana, the provincial capital, to seek help, described their situation as deeply worrying.

Ghulam Jilani Kohistani, a tribal elder from the area, noted 90 percent of the population in Kohistanat relied on agriculture and livestock.

These areas once supplied wheat and meat to meet the needs of Faryab. But now, this unprecedented drought has severely affected both sectors.

The elder added the people of Bandar and Lawlash lived far away from the provincial capital. Their plight is exacerbated by impassable roads and lack of markets and employment opportunities.

A shortage of food supplies and the closure of strategic reserves belonging to organisations such as the Agriculture Programme and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are adding to their woes.

He warned: “If the government and international organisations do not take swift action, people will be forced to either leave the country or become displaced within other provinces.”

Kohistani continued: “Farmers, especially labourers who used to earn a living through harvesting and manual work, are now unemployed and. Many are even ready to work for food,  but sadly, even that is hard to come by.”

Unprecedented drought in 50 years

Haji Mohammad Amin, a livestock owner from Kohistan district, said such a drought had not occurred in the area over the past 50 years.

“All farmlands stand parched. There is no wheat, and there is no fodder for our animals,” he regretted.

Food and livestock feed were no longer available in Kohistan, Amin complained. Even in spring, animals are already going hungry.

If the government and international bodies did not take immediate action to save people from hunger and poverty, he feared: “Most of our livestock will either perish before winter or will have to be sold at dirt-cheap prices.”

Rain-fed lands left bone-dry

Agriculture Director Maulvi Jan Murad Waqar acknowledged the concerns of farmers and livestock owners.

“Ninety percent of the population’s needs and expenses are met through farming and livestock. But this year’s drought and has nearly destroyed all rain-fed farms, fuelling serious concern among livestock owners.”

Waqar estimated 91,000 hectares of rain-fed land and nearly 50,000 hectares of irrigated lands in Faryab had been sown with wheat this year.

Almost all rain-fed crops had been lost and up to 50 percent of irrigated farms damaged in the province, the official claimed.

“The people, especially farmers, are in a state of extreme distress. We are working to coordinate aid for them with international organisations. If no support is provided, a major disaster is inevitable.”

kk/mud