“One in three people” suffers from food insecurity in Afghanistan due to several factors linked to the war in the country and the repercussions of climate warming, said the Representative of the World Food Program in Afghanistan, Marie-Ellen McGorty.

In addition to the conflict, Afghans suffer from an acute food crisis. The official said during a telephone conversation with AFP from Kabul that the year 2021 was "essentially a very difficult year."

In addition to the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, "the country is suffering from the second drought in three years. The population has not fully recovered from the consequences of the drought in 2017-2018," she added.

She explained, "Wheat yields declined by 40% due to the driest winter in 30 years. Little snow fell on Kabul this year," so the amount of water caused by the melting of these snows is very small, noting that this "had a devastating impact on livestock."

She said that the situation was exacerbated, of course, by the conflict in the country, with "farmers unable to harvest and fleeing from their homes" while fields and orchards were "destroyed."

The official in the World Food Program added that the destruction of infrastructure such as bridges, dams and roads, impedes the arrival of food.