Afghanistan is facing a food crisis of unprecedented proportions. As of early 2025, nearly 15 million people, about 32 percent of the population, are experiencing food insecurity. Behind the statistics are families in crisis: skipping meals, selling assets, and pulling children from school as rural livelihoods collapse under the weight of climate shocks, economic stagnation, and systemic fragility.
Food security in Afghanistan is worsening as large numbers of people return from Pakistan and Iran, adding pressure to already fragile food and livelihood systems. Many returnees arrive with limited assets and depend on assistance, straining labor markets and household food stocks. In 2025 alone, about 2.1 million Afghans returned from both countries, intensifying demand for food aid amid shrinking humanitarian support
Climate shocks are further compounding Afghanistan’s food crisis. Afghanistan ranks fourth on the list of countries most at risk of climate-related crisis and is considered the seventh most vulnerable country with the least coping capacity. The frequency of droughts in the country has increased from an average of once every 3 years over 1986–2012, to once every other year over 2013–2023. A prolonged and intensifying drought now affecting at least 19 provinces has led to widespread crop failures and pasture losses, undermining livelihoods that depend heavily on rainfed agriculture. In parallel, devastating flash floods in provinces such as Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, and Ghor destroyed homes, farmlands, and livestock. These climate extremes have displaced over half a million people, forcing families to abandon their lands in search of food, water, and shelter, further deepening food insecurity across already vulnerable communities. Earthquakes such as those that occurred in August and September 2025 make food security worse by wiping out crops and food supplies, destroying livestock, damaging roads and markets, and blocking aid from reaching remote communities. They also add to other problems like drought and the return of refugees, leaving more people at risk of hunger and malnutrition across the country.
Afghanistan has long relied on emergency humanitarian aid to address hunger, and in the short term, such assistance is vital. But year after year, this approach fails to provide a lasting solution. Overdependence on short-term relief risks creating a cycle of dependency that erodes local resilience. Without shifting to long-term, systems-based investments in agriculture and rural development, the root causes of hunger—climate vulnerability, poor infrastructure, and underdeveloped markets—will persist and deepen.
Yet, amid these challenges lies an opportunity to act, not with more emergency relief, but with long-term, climate-smart investments that can help Afghanistan feed itself, grow its rural economy, and build lasting resilience. This is the promise of Afghanistan’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Action Plan (CSAAP).
The CSAAP offers a bold and forward-looking roadmap to transform Afghanistan’s agriculture and food systems. It focuses on practical, inclusive solutions that work in fragile contexts: drought-tolerant seeds, better irrigation, climate-resilient livestock systems, solar-powered cold storage, support for cooperatives and women producers, and improved access to local and regional markets. The plan recognizes that farmers, especially women and youth, are not just victims of climate change—they are agents of change when given the right tools and support.
One of the CSAAP’s most promising impacts over its 10-year implementation period is its potential to generate 7.4 million new jobs, a 65 percent increase through investments in farming, processing, and transport. Most of these jobs (6.9 million) will be created on farms, where income and resilience are most urgently needed. Crucially, job creation will be led by private-sector actors including agribusinesses, cooperatives, and small rural enterprises who are best positioned to deliver locally relevant solutions at scale. Additional jobs will arise in agro-processing and rural logistics, expanding opportunities across the supply chain. For women, the plan is transformative. Their participation in agriculture could rise from 5.5 million to 8.5 million, supported by gender-sensitive extension, access to inputs, and producer groups. For youth, the plan offers critical new roles in mechanized farming, digital agriculture technology, modern horticultural production, and animal services, projected to increase youth employment from 6.2 million to 10.8 million. These are not just jobs, they are dignified livelihoods that reduce marginalization and build hope.
The CSAAP also offers opportunities for climate finance by delivering powerful climate benefits. Through interventions such as improved land management, reforestation, and sustainable livestock practices, the plan could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 375 million tons over the implementation period. At the same time, activities like rangeland restoration, agroforestry, and replanting of degraded hillsides would capture and store substantial amounts of carbon. These efforts not only mitigate climate change but also improve soil health, protect water resources, and create co-benefits for biodiversity and local communities, making them attractive for results-based climate financing.
Equally important is the role of the private sector. In a context where public services are under strain and aid budgets are shrinking, local businesses from solar pump suppliers and postharvest service providers to fruit processors, cold storage operators, packaging firms, and distribution networks are emerging as key drivers of resilience. These enterprises are not only filling critical gaps across the agrologistics chain but also creating jobs, reducing losses, and helping farmers reach markets more efficiently. The CSAAP taps into this potential, enabling inclusive private-sector growth through public-private partnerships, blended finance, and targeted support for women- and youth-led enterprises. The plan encourages innovation and co-investment, not dependency—offering a fresh, sustainable model for development in fragile settings.
This isn’t just about food. It’s about stability, dignity, and hope. Investing in climate-smart agriculture is not a luxury, it is a necessity for Afghanistan’s future. It offers the chance to shift from crisis response to resilience building, from dependency to self-reliance. With the right support, Afghanistan will not only overcome its food crisis but also lay the foundation for a more just, sustainable, and resilient rural economy.
Now is the time to act. The tools, knowledge, and strategies are in place. What is needed is leadership, investment, and a collective commitment from Afghan communities, policymakers, and the international community to turn this vision into reality.
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