UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : Bi-weekly Press Briefing: Afghanistan Relief, OCHA

Afghanistan: ‘urgent imperative’ to start winter planting to avoid acute food insecurity, says UN

The unfolding situation in Afghanistan is causing significant disruption and threatens Afghanistan’s critical winter wheat season, which is about to begin, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Tuesday, ahead of a major fundraising conference for the country, that is due to take place in Geneva on 13 September.

“One in three Afghans are acutely food insecure, a situation that is dramatic by any stretch of the imagination,” said FAO Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, speaking from Islamabad.

Emphasizing the dire situation in the country, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, warned that “basic services in Afghanistan are collapsing and food and other lifesaving aid is about to run out”.

In a call for urgent action to be taken now, ahead of the “fast-approaching winter wheat season,” Mr. Paulsen noted that there will likely be a “25 per cent deficit on the national wheat crop this year”.

Half of the average Afghan’s daily calorific intake comes from wheat and most of the wheat grown in the country is sourced to the upcoming rainfed winter season, the FAO expert said, adding that there was “an urgent imperative towards the end of September”.

He added: “We need to make sure that that planting is starting. There's a very short window of time to be able to address that. The seeds can't wait. The farmers can't wait. We need to do everything we can to ensure that those vulnerable households are supported”.

In addition to food insecurity, Mr. Paulsen noted that 70 per cent of all Afghans live in rural areas and agriculture provides livelihoods benefits to 80 per cent of the population.

Threats to rural livelihoods have been a growing concern for FAO for months, he said. Without urgent support, farmers and pastoralists could lose their livelihoods and be forced to leave rural areas, adding further pressure to urban and peri-urban areas as internally displaced people.

As of August 2021, FAO has provided livelihood and cash assistance across 26 out of 34 provinces to over 1.5 million people.

In August alone, FAO has reached over 100,000 people. The Organization has also been able to continue operations in 26 out of the 31 provinces where it works. Afghanistan has 34 provinces. Mr. Paulsen emphasized that the FAO remains on the ground in Afghanistan and is

in the process of procuring and distributing 40 per cent of all the wheat seeds available in the country.

But he warned that more resources are required. “We have an urgent need for $15 million to support what we're doing with winter wheat, livestock and support,” he said. OCHA also appealed for support for the upcoming Flash Appeal for Afghanistan to address the immediate response gaps in Afghanistan. The appeal is a prioritization of unmet needs from the Annual Humanitarian Response Plan launched earlier this year, plus new emerging needs. OCHA is seeking “$606 million to assist nearly 11 million people during the four remaining months this year. This includes two million people not previously covered in the humanitarian response plan. $430 million of this request is already costed, but unfunded in the annual response plan. $193 million of the overall $606 million is for new and emerging needs and changes in operating costs”.

Donations will deliver “critical food and livelihood assistance to nearly 11 million people, essential health services to 3.4 million people, treatment for acute malnutrition for more than a million children and women,” said Mr. Laerke.

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Bi-weekly Press Briefing Afghanistan Relief- OCHA - FAO 7 September 2021

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