Changing with the weather: Afghan farmers adapt to drought.
Qurban Aliyar a, Neil Collins b*
a Forestry and Natural Resources Department, Bamyan University, Bamyan, 1601, Afghanistan
b Nazarbayev University, 53, Kabanbay batyr Ave., Nur-Sultan city, 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan
*Corresponding author: rneilcollins@gmail.com
Qurban Aliyar e-email: qurbanshamim@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJWR/2022-R1.v8-1/126-142.engResearch article
Abstract
Drought is one of the significant impacts of climate change affecting agricultural productivity and subsistence for Afghanistan’s farmers. Producers have applied various adaptation measures making use of their native resources in response to drought. Studying the cases of the Panjab and Waras districts in the south of Bamyan province of Afghanistan, this research aims to analyse Afghan farmers’ drought adaptation strategies. Farmers’ adaptation strategies to drought and the effectiveness of such actions to decrease the effects of this natural hazard were studied. The adaptive strategies were categorised into five groups, including: (i) cropping practices, (ii) soil and water conservation, (iii) animal husbandry management, (iv) wage labour use and (v) financial management. Major adaptive strategies for cropping practices include growing early maturing crops, drought-tolerant crops, inter-cultivation systems, changing cropping patterns, seed treatments, growing non-traditional crops and crop rotation. Soil and water conservation adaptive actions include bund construction, watering at night, levelling land, decreasing irrigated areas, reducing water wastage and small-scale watershed management. Drought responses for livestock included supplementary feed, increased rearing of small animals, fodder cultivation and storage. Non-farm adaptive strategies to augment income include production of handicrafts, additional unpaid family labour, borrowing money, reducing expenditures for non-food and costly food items, migration, selling assets and discontinuing agricultural activities due to drought. Data for this study was collected using a field survey with questionnaires and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 140 farmers from Panjab and Waras districts in the study area. One of the main issues was the necessity and importance of expanding the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) support programmes for the adaptation strategies.
Available in English
Download the article (eng)For citation: Aliyar, Q., & Collins, N. (2022). Changing with the weather : Afghan farmers adapt to drought. Central Asian Journal of Water Research, 8(1), 126–142. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJWR/2022-R1.v8-1/126-142.eng
References
Aliyar, Q. & Esmaeilnejad, M (2021). Identifying the Trend of Climate Change in the Mountainous Areas (Case study: Bamyan Province in Afghanistan). Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas, 2(6),17-29. Doi:10.29252/gsma.2.2.17
Aliyar, Q., Dhungana, S., & Shrestha, S. (2021). Spatio-temporal trend mapping of precipitation and its extremes across Afghanistan (1951–2010). Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 1-22.
Arab, S. T., Noguchi, R., & Tofael, A. (2021, May 22–23). Annual Meeting. Japanese Society of Agricultural Informatics.
Ashraf, M., & Routray, J. K. (2013). Perception and understanding of drought and coping strategies of farming households in north-west Balochistan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 5, 49–60.
Assil, A., & Dash, B. (2011). Drought impact emergency food security assessment in fourteen affected provinces of Afghanistan: Second phase report. World Food Programme. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/EFSA-2ND%20PHASE-9-NOV%20Final%20Report.pdf
Bhattacharya, K., Azizi, P. M., Shobair, S., & Mohsini, M. Y. (2004). Drought impacts and potential for their mitigation in southern and western Afghanistan (Working Paper 91 / Drought Series Paper 5). International Water Management Institute.
Cook, D. E. (2011). Bamiyan Province climatology and temperature extremes in Afghanistan. (DTA Report 343). Defence Technology Agency, New Zealand. https://paperzz.com/doc/8801593/bamiyan-province-climatology-and-temperature
D’Souza, A., & Jolliffe, D. (2014). Food insecurity in vulnerable populations: Coping with food price shocks in Afghanistan. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(3), 790–812.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). (2021). Afghanistan: Agricultural livelihoods and food security in the context of COVID-19. (Monitoring report – August 2021). Rome, Italy. https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb6398en
Goes, B. J. M., Parajuli, U. N., Haq, M., & Wardlaw, R. B. (2017). Karez (qanat) irrigation in the Helmand River Basin, Afghanistan: A vanishing indigenous legacy. Hydrogeology Journal, 25(2), 269–286.
Habib, H. (2014). Water related problems in Afghanistan. International Journal of Educational Studies, 1(3), 137–144.
Habiba, U., Shaw, R., & Takeuchi, Y. (2012). Farmer’s perception and adaptation practices to cope with drought: Perspectives from Northwestern Bangladesh. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 1, 72–84.
Hal, M. (2012). Drought and food insecurity in Afghanistan. NATO Civil-Military Fusion Centre. https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/drought-food-insecurity-afghanistan
Himat, A., & Dogan, S. (2019). Ancient karez system in Afghanistan: The perspective of construction and maintenance. Academic Platform Journal of Engineering and Science, 7(3), 347–354.
Iqbal, M. W., Donjedee, S., & Kwanyuen, B. (2016). Farmers’ perception of water management under drought conditions in Badakshan Province, Afghanistan. 2nd World Irrigation Forum (WIF2),Chiang Mai, Thailand, 6–8.
Iqbal, M. W., Donjadee, S., Kwanyuen, B., & Liu, S. Y. (2018). Farmers’ perceptions of and adaptations to drought in Herat Province, Afghanistan. Journal of Mountain Science, 15(8), 1741–1756.
IRIN News / The New Humanitarian. (2011, September 21). Afghan drought conditions could spell disaster. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2011/09/21/afghan-drought-conditions-could-spell-disaster
Jawid, A., & Khadjavi, M. (2019). Adaptation to climate change in Afghanistan: Evidence on the impact of external interventions. Economic Analysis and Policy, 64, 64–82.
Keshavarz, M., Karami, E., & Kamgare-Haghigi, A. A. (2010). A typology of farmers’ drought management. American-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Science, 7(4), 415–426.
Malik, S., & Haq, S. (2017). Modern agricultural food production and emerging threats on human health. Advances in Environmental Biology, 11(1), 56–60.
Mertz, O., Mbow, C., Reenberg, A., & Diouf, A. (2009). Farmers’ perceptions of climate change and agricultural adaptation strategies in rural Sahel. Environmental Management, 43(5), 804–816.
Mihran, R. (2011). Rural community vulnerability to food security impacts of climate change in Afghanistan: Evidence from Balkh, Hercoat, and Nangarhar provinces. Master’s thesis, University of Waterloo. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/5965
Miyan, M. A. (2015). Droughts in Asian least developed countries: Vulnerability and sustainability. Weather and Climate Extremes, 7, 8–23.
Omerkhil, N., Kumar, P., Mallick, M., Meru, L. B., Chand, T., Rawat, P. S., & Pandey, R. (2020). Micro-level adaptation strategies by smallholders to adapt climate change in the least developed countries (LDCs): Insights from Afghanistan. Ecological Indicators, 118, 106781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106781
Palau, R. G. (2012). The decision to plant poppies: Irrigation, profit & alternative crops in Afghanistan. Part 5 of a 5 Part series on Counter-Narcotics Issues in Afghanistan. Civil-Military Fusion Centre. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_4263.pdf
Poole, N., Amiri, H., Amiri, S. M., Farhank, I., & Zanello, G. (2019) Food production and consumption in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan: The challenges of sustainability and seasonality for dietary diversity. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 17(6), 413–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2019.1680229
Quraishi, R. (2018). Adaptation strategies for drought risk reduction in farmers’ livelihoods: A case study of Kabul, Afghanistan. Doctoral dissertation, Asian Institute of Technology].
Qureshi, A. S., & Akhtar, M. (2004). A survey of drought impacts and coping measures in Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan (IWMI Internal Report December 2004). International Water Management Institute.
Sarwary, M., Senthilnathan, S., Vidhyavathi, A., & Kokilavani, S. (2020). Socio-economic impact of climate change, adaptation and determinants of willingness to pay for crop insurance in central agro-climatic zone of Afghanistan. Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology 39(16), 83–92. https://doi.org/10.9734/cjast/2020/v39i1630739
Savage, M., Dougherty, B., Hamza, M., Butterfield, R., & Bharwani, S. (2009). Socio-economic impacts of climate change in Afghanistan. Stockholm Environment Institute, Oxford, UK.
Solidarités. (2002). Food security assessment in Afghan rural areas: District of Bamyan – Bamyan province – Central Afghanistan. ftp://ftp.fao.org/country/afghanistan/bamyan.pdf
Thomson, E., Barker, T., & Mueller, J. (2003). Drought, livestock losses and the potential for feed production from arable land in Afghanistan: A case study of 183 villages with mixed crop/livestock farming systems (Integrated Natural Resource Management Research Report Series No. 5). ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria.
Udmale, P., Ichikawa, Y., Manandhar, S., Ishidaira, H., & Kiem, A. S. (2014). Farmers’ perception of drought impacts, local adaptation and administrative mitigation measures in Maharashtra State, India. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 10, 250–269.
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). (2012). Bamyan socio-demographic and economic survey.ttps://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/bamyan-socio-demographic-and-economic-survey-highlights-results
UPI (United Press International). (2011, October 6). Severe drought hits Afghanistan. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/10/06/Severe-drought-hits-Afghanistan/18541317904385/
