Badghis, Afghanistan - A small FAO team, led by FAO Representative Rajendra Aryal, joined up with UNICEF and the Korean Ambassador HE Rhee Zha-hyoung and his team to visit Internally-Displaced People (IDPs) and other vulnerable farmers in drought-stricken Badghis province. The occasion marked the kick-off of a new resilience building project supporting drought-affected smallholders being implemented by FAO and funded by the Government of Korea.

The team took off from a snow-covered Kabul in the morning, and less than two hours later, landed in a much less snow-covered Qal-e-Naw, the provincial capital of Badghis. Badghis had received a blanket of snow the evening before, but in this lower lying and more southern province, the heat of the day was quickly melting it away, leaving the city and the surrounding land covered in mud, and perversely…an abundance of water.

Perverse because Badghis was one of the provinces hit hardest by the 2018 drought. Badghis, and the Western Region in which it lies, had experienced multiple years of dry conditions.  When the full drought hit in 2018, people had already spent most of their resources trying to feed themselves.  The near complete lack of water in early 2018 left their lands barren throughout the growing season, without wheat to eat, or fodder for animals.

Korea, a long-time supporter of education in Afghanistan and a growing supporter of people in remote locations, is funding two projects aimed at helping both people who have been forced to move to IDP camps, as well as those who are still living in their homes, but are in desperate need of assistance.  For FAO this meant that Korea donated funds for wheat and vegetable seed, and fertilizer for farmers, allowing them to remain at home and grow their food for coming seasons.

While this assistance will go a long way towards preserving livelihoods and keeping people fed, the changing frequency of droughts and floods mean that more focus must be given to making people resilient to climactic extremes. This resilience can come about through helping people diversify what they grow, so that drought resistant or high-value crops become more prevalent.  It can come about through improved water management practices on farms, and better water storage structures, to capture abundant early spring snowmelt.  And, it can come about through better education – both basic education, and education about ways to prevent disasters and survive them when they hit.

Said Ambassador Zha-hyung while meeting with the Governor of Badghis “In Korea, we know that late winter and early spring used to be the most difficult time of the year for farmers – it’s a time when we use a phrase about eating grassroots and peeling trees. But, that was a generation ago. In a very short time, Korea has gone from a poor society, to a thriving, economically stable democracy. If we can do it, we know Afghanistan can too, and we are here to support you to get there.”

FAO Representative, Rajendra Aryal thanked the Government and people of Korea saying "your support comes at a critical time and will help 2 900 families in Badghis grow their own food using certified seed and fertilizer, improving their food security once they harvest in May.’’

 One way Korea has long been aiding the Afghan people is through their vocational training center, which increases human resilience by providing job training on a variety of topics. It is hoped that in the near future, FAO will be able to strengthen its’ partnership with Korea by both using this center, and perhaps by developing more agriculture-based programs for it.  And, wherever possible, FAO will continue to work with other UN partners to solidify the OneUN approach that UN partners in Afghanistan are committed to achieving.