Afghanistan seeks UN support for wheat storage amid concerns of drought

Afghanistan has sought help from the United Nations (UN) amid rising concerns about drought in the war-stricken country, asking the UN to provide storage facilities for wheat, TOLOnews reported.

According to the Afghan news agency, the chamber of agriculture and livestock has called the UN to help the country regarding the same and said that it will in turn help Afghanistan boost its economy.

Notably, Afghanistan's economy turned upside down after the Taliban seized power in the country in August 2021. Since then, the nation is under a severe humanitarian crisis as the citizens continue to live miserable lives.

Quoting Mirwais Hajizada, the deputy head of Afghanistan's chamber of agriculture and livestock as saying, TOLOnews reported, "The international community and other countries need to support Afghanistan under the current situation."

 

Regarding the ongoing food crisis, a spokesperson for the Taliban-led agriculture ministry, Musbahuhddin Mustaeen said, "The ministry of agriculture has sent the plan to the cabinet to allocate the purchase budget of 100,000 tons of wheat for emergency situations."

Despite receiving humanitarian assistance from across the globe, Afghanistan's poverty, malnutrition, and unemployment rates are still at their peak in the country.

Highlighting Afghanistan's situation, an analyst, Qutbuddin Yaqubi said, "Afghanistan needs six to eight million metric tons of wheat every year. Fortunately, nearly five million metric tons of it is supplied from domestic sources and the rest is supplied from foreign sources," according to TOLOnews.

Continued discrimination against more than half the population of the country continues to affect the growth of Afghanistan as a country.

In August 2021, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan and enacted laws severely curtailing the fundamental rights of the people, especially those of women and girls.