The United Nations: Four Million Afghans Facing “Emergency Foods” and the majority of living in rural areas where $ 36 million is needed for the coming months to ensure winter wheat planting, feed for livestock, and cash assistance for vulnerable families, elderly and disabilities, said United UN official.
Rein Paulsen, director of the emergency office and resilience of agricultural and agricultural organizations, told reporters at the United Nations headquarters in a video briefing from Kabul that 70% of Afghans lived in rural areas and there was severe drought which affected 7.3 million Afghans in 25 years.
34 provinces of the country.
This vulnerable rural community has also been exposed to a pandemic, he said.
Paulsen said the 4 million Afghans faced humanitarian emergency, marked by “extreme gaps in food consumption, very high levels of acute malnutrition and excess death”.
He said the farm “was very necessary” to the people of Afghanistan.
He said it contributed more than 25% of the country’s GDP, directly employing around 45% of the workforce, “and most importantly it provided the benefits of livelihood to be fully 80% of the Afghan population”.
Many families are susceptible to livestock for food, he said, but 3 million animals are risky as a result of drought to leave an inadequate meadow.
Paulsen said the winter wheat planting season – the most important in Afghanistan – was threatened by “challenges of cash and banking systems” and challenges for markets and agricultural goods.
Since the takeover of Taliban on August 15, fear has grown that Afghanistan can face economic collapse.
Many banks have been closed, those who open have limited cash withdrawals, and the price of staples has increased.
“More than half of the Afghan daily intake of Afghan daily originated from wheat,” Paulsen said.
“The Pangkandan is very necessary in the term food security” and farmers must start planting now.
“FAO has resources to support an additional 1.25 million Afghans but are far more needed,” he said.
“Seeds can’t wait, farmers can’t wait.
This window requires a scale and urgent support for donors now.” He said the wheat FAO package, fertilizer and support for a single farmer worth $ 150.
“For $ 150 a family of seven Afghans will produce 1.2 million tons of wheat – they will produce enough wheat to give them cereals and flour for a period of 12 Moon, “Paulsen said.
$ 150 is “very impact, very cost effective _ and once again, (it) underlines why it is very important that we do not miss this winter wheat season,” he added.
He also said more than 400,000 Afghans were transferred from their homes, especially from rural areas, “and that number increased.” He said keeping farmers in their fields and their herders with their flocks is very important to prevent the crisis of increasingly deep displacement.
If the agriculture collapsed further, Paulson warned, it would encourage malnutrition, increase displacement and worsen the humanitarian situation.
FAO in 2021 has supported nearly 2 million Afghans with a livelihood and cash assistance, Paulsen said.
He said $ 36 million that FAO needs to be urgent for the winter agricultural season is part of the UN emergency appeal of $ 606 million.
At a conference in Geneva on Monday, the donor promised $ 1.2 billion _ twice the amount sought, called Paulsen.
FAO hopes that promises will fully fund $ 36 million needed, but Paulsen notes that they only promise for now and donors need to quickly provide cash.