Live from Kabul, FAO Director of Emergencies and Resilience briefs on situation in Afghanistan

Tuesday, 14 September

12:00 p.m. (EDT)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has called for urgent assistance to help save Afghanistan's next wheat harvest, keep life-sustaining farm animals alive, and avoid a deterioration of the country's already severe humanitarian crises. FAO is seeking $36 million to speed up its support to Afghan farmers and ensure they will not miss the upcoming winter wheat planting season, and to assist the agriculture-based livelihoods of 3.5 million vulnerable Afghans until the end of the year.

Some 70 percent of Afghans live in rural areas, with millions depending on agriculture for their livelihood. Over half of an average Afghan's daily caloric intake comes from wheat, most of which is domestically grown. What's more, the political turmoil in the country comes on top of a severe drought and the lingering economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning one in three Afghans, or 14 million people, are already experiencing high acute food insecurity.

Despite the current political turmoil, FAO has been able to continue operations in 28 out of the 31 provinces where it operates and aims to provide support to more than one million people in farming and livestock-owning families during the coming weeks.

Connecting live from Kabul, FAO Director of Emergencies and Resilience, Mr. Rein Paulsen, will participate at the UN Secretary General Spokesperson's noon briefing to speak on FAO's work and leading priorities in the country, calling urgent funding support to safeguard livelihoods and food security for millions of vulnerable Afghan families.

Follow the UN press briefing live here.

Read more about FAO's work in Afghanistan and the latest appeal for funding.