On November 2023, the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC) conducted a comprehensive assessment on the current situation of livelihoods in rural Afghanistan. The key findings, which was presented by our Head of Knowledge Management, Mustafa Himmati, shows that the consequences of climate change have taken over as the biggest threat to livelihoods in the targeted provinces.
We cannot generalize the findings from the baseline-assessment to the overall situation in rural Afghanistan. This assessment strongly indicates that NAC has chosen the most vulnerable communities as a focus for development support over the next four years. The districts were chosen based on criteria including vulnerability to natural disasters as well as the lack of access to healthcare services.
In this study, 583 households from 28 districts in Badakhshan, Daikundi, Faryab, Ghazni, Kapisa, Paktia, and Takhar participated. The respondents included smallholder farmers and members of local committees for natural resource management and disaster prevention in the mentioned provinces. 31% of the respondents were women. The study utilized household surveys, focus group discussions, and interviews with key informants as research methods. It covered areas such as food security, climate change and disaster risk reduction, and access to healthcare services.
The baseline-assessment was conducted for the following projects:
- Empowering Rural Afghanistan (ERA) II (funded by Norad)
- Empowering Afghan Civil Society in Mitigating the Negative Impacts of Climate Change in Rural Communities (funded by EU)
- Improving Food Security through Infrastructure Support in Rural Afghanistan (funded by IsDB)
A baseline-assessment serves as a crucial foundation for determining the impacts of our efforts. It is also essential to ensure that our initiatives align with the needs of the local communities we support. Based on the collected data from the baseline assessment, we can measure the impact of our projects.
Livelihoods and Food Security
Afghanistan is currently one of the income poorest countries in the world and faces severe livelihood and food security challenges. In 2021, the country was ranked as the sixth most vulnerable to climate change, with the immediate consequences of floods and the long-term effects of drought being felt most sharply in rural Afghanistan.
As many as 89% of the farmers included in the assessment reported that their agricultural areas are vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change. Additionally, 86% reported a lack of agro-based productive and protective infrastructure which hindered food production and agricultural productivity. This was attributed to a lack of community ownership of the typical project interventions, and the fact that such interventions rarely align with the needs of the local communities.
The findings related to food security are very concerning. The results show that 95% of the respondents are forced to base their food purchases on the cheapest options, rather than the most preferred or nutritious ones, due to the lack of affordability. 80% of households depend on assistance from friends or relatives, or borrowing food products from neighbors.
Agricultural land in Yawan, Badakhshan
Over half of the respondents reported that adults in their families must eat less to ensure that children get enough food and nutrition. The results show that 68.4% of households experience severe food insecurity. This underscores how critical the situation in rural Afghanistan actually is.
One of the smallholder farmers from Badakhshan expressed his concern about the shortage of food products in his community:
“Food is not easily accessible for our rural community. We do not have enough food in our daily lives, and tea and bread are the most common meals we have access to. Meat is not a common food here and is only eaten on days like Eid-ul-Adha”.
Another smallholder farmer from Faryab, shared a similar problem:
“To survive and get through the day, we have to manage with just bread. We simply do not have money to purchase enough food”
Climate Change and Disaster Prevention
Worrying figures also emerged regarding the communities’ ability to handle climate change and natural disasters. Only 14.56% of the communities were found to be resilient, and the average disaster preparedness rate was just 12.9%. This included access to first aid equipment, temporary shelters, and warning systems.
This concerns many members of these communities. A small farmer from the Kohistan district in Badakhshan said:
“The resilience of our community in the face of natural disasters is very poor and limited, and the constant challenge of poverty makes it even tougher. A severe flood last year damaged our crops to the extent that most of what we harvested was washed away. This is unsustainable.”
The account above reflects how low preparedness levels can lead to food insecurity when agricultural land is not adequately protected and is washed away by floods. Over half of the respondents report that agriculture is their primary source of income, and many smallholder farmers in rural Afghanistan can relate to the accounts above.
Access to Healthcare Services
Access to healthcare services in the surveyed provinces is extremely limited, especially for women and children. 68% report that they either do not have access at all, or experience low quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent healthcare services.
Almost half of the respondents report that they must travel for several hours to reach the nearest public health facility. Therefore, the situation is critical for women and children in rural and hard-to-reach areas, which is further exacerbated by the lack of transport.
Midwifes, Paktia province
Food security, climate change and disaster risk reduction, and access to healthcare services are interconnected. Food security is essential for maintaining good health. It is also crucial for achieving sufficient physical and mental capacity to participate in education and work.
Climate change and natural disasters can disrupt agriculture and food production, directly affecting food security. To build a robust community that is better prepared, it is crucial to address future challenges with a holistic approach.
Local Solutions to Local Challenges
For the next four years, NAC will implement a series of projects to improve the situation in rural Afghanistan. In collaboration with 28 districts in the mentioned provinces, we will work to find local solutions based on the knowledge and experience available within these communities and our experience in supporting communities in mobilizing these precious resources.
We have an integrated approach, which means that we perceive food security, natural resources management, preparedness and disaster risk reduction, education and health as all part of an interconnected whole.
Community-led disaster response exercises in the Daikundi province
The recommendations from the communities who participated in this study highlight the importance of local engagement and ownership of preventive measures. Implementing projects that align with community needs is essential to ensuring relevance, community participation and ownership in the development process.
With agriculture being the primary source of income for a majority of the respondents, it is essential to prioritize food security by strengthening agriculture and food production. This also includes preventive measures to protect agricultural land in the face of natural disasters.
The recommendations regarding access to healthcare services highlight the need for community-led healthcare centers in remote areas. This will improve access to necessary healthcare services, especially for women and children who often suffer the most from the lack of healthcare services.
Through a holistic approach that considers local needs and capacities, communities can effectively address their challenges and build a more sustainable future. Such help ensure that our projects in Afghanistan are community-driven.
