Kabul – A recent survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) illuminates an ongoing Afghan Livelihood Crisis in the northern provinces of Badakhshan, Balkh, and Kunduz.
As the 2022 narcotics ban is being closely tracked, the human price is becoming unbearable.
Approximately 85 percent of families in the areas report that they have failed to earn the income they lost when they had to destroy their poppy fields.
It is only a small percentage, a mere 15 percent, that have had to be able to sustain their households completely through work or alternative crops.
A Massive Gap in Earnings
The shift to legal agriculture has left a huge fiscal gap. The majority of farmers have replaced poppy with wheat, which now occupies more than 90 percent of the ex-poppy fields. Wheat is, however, a low-value substitute.
In 2023, wheat imported earned an average of 770 per hectare, a pitiable amount compared to the 10,000 that opium poppy had earned previously.
It is this shocking loss of income that is the major cause of the current crisis, since the rural families are virtually left with no purchasing power, since they cannot afford most of the basic items in the market, and cannot invest in their future.
Climate Threats and Water Stress
The climate change has added to the predicament. Farmers are not simply struggling against lack of income; they are struggling against the elements.
Mainly due to recurring droughts and absence of stable rainfall, the soil is drying up. Surface water in these northern provinces serves to sustain most of the fields, but the surface and ground water are severely depleted.
This pressure on the environment complicates the Afghan livelihood crisis to such an extent that now families can hardly produce enough food to survive, not to mention sell profitably.
The Path to Recovery
The UNODC Regional Representative Oliver Stolpe points out that the effects of such loss of income reverberate within the whole local economy.
The international community and local governments should go beyond mere eradication to resolve the Afghan livelihood crisis.
The UN is demanding comprehensive alternative development, including construction of cold storage, development of roads and increased accessibility to markets.
