As drought conditions worsen across Afghanistan, agricultural and economic experts are calling for a nationwide shift to modern irrigation. They argue that advanced irrigation systems could dramatically cut water consumption while boosting crop yields. The most viable options for Afghanistan, they say, are drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. The provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Farah, and Nimroz, they add, are in the most urgent need of investment in modern irrigation infrastructure.
Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, the experts stressed that continued dependence on traditional irrigation practices deepens the risk of water shortages and falling agricultural output. They pointed to a lack of resources, the high cost of equipment, and low public awareness as the main barriers to modernizing irrigation across the country.
Investing in water management, the experts argue, is critical to averting a food crisis in Afghanistan. Without irrigation reform, they warn, the country’s farming sector will grow increasingly exposed to drought. They cautioned that failure to invest in modern systems will accelerate food insecurity nationwide. Scarce capital, weak infrastructure, and prohibitive equipment costs were also cited as major obstacles to scaling up modern irrigation.
Qutbuddin Yaqubi, an agricultural expert, described modern irrigation systems as methods that deliver water directly to plant roots in a controlled, targeted way, sharply reducing consumption compared to traditional practices. Afghanistan, he noted, is an arid, landlocked country facing acute water scarcity and is in greater need of these systems than ever before. Modern irrigation, he said, can cut water use by 40 to 70 percent and play a central role in raising agricultural output.
“Modern irrigation systems deliver water directly and precisely to plant roots, significantly reducing consumption compared to traditional methods,” Yaqubi said. “They minimize waste and prevent unnecessary water loss. In Afghanistan, a landlocked country with a serious water deficit, this approach can save between 40 and 70 percent of water usage and make a fundamental difference in agricultural productivity.”
Yaqubi stressed that most farmers in Afghanistan have yet to access these systems because of financial hardship, limited resources, and steep installation costs. Power shortages and weak technical infrastructure, he added, compound the problem. Without a broad transition to modern irrigation, he warned, prolonged drought could drain water sources, shrink agricultural output, deepen poverty, and increase the country’s dependence on food imports.
“Despite the clear benefits of modern irrigation, farmers in Afghanistan simply cannot afford these systems,” Yaqubi said. “Initial installation costs are high, and electricity shortages and technical failures often make them impractical. If the core infrastructure challenges are resolved, however, these systems could deliver tremendous results across Afghanistan.”
Seyar Qurayshi, an economic analyst, said consecutive droughts in recent years have dealt severe blows to Afghanistan’s agricultural sector. Many farmers have lost entire harvests, he noted, and household incomes have fallen sharply. Modern irrigation systems can reduce water use and increase yields, he added, but most farmers lack the financial means to adopt them and need support from the government, banks, and international organizations to make the transition. The provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Farah, and Herat are among those most in need of modern irrigation investment, Qurayshi said, given the severity of water scarcity there and the degree to which local economies depend on farming.
“Provinces like Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Farah, and Herat face more acute water scarcity than other regions, and their populations rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods,” Qurayshi said. “More than 70 percent of the people of Afghanistan are directly or indirectly engaged in the agricultural sector. Without investment in water management and modern irrigation, the country will face widening economic hardship, rising unemployment, and growing dependence on food imports.”
Qurayshi cautioned that without such investment, Afghanistan’s economic challenges will deepen, unemployment will climb, and reliance on imported food will grow in the years ahead.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had previously warned that Afghanistan is facing a severe drought. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) similarly announced that the country is confronting a complex, multi-layered drought crisis that has disrupted the livelihoods of farmers and herders in half of Afghanistan’s provinces.
Reports indicate that Afghanistan’s climate is shifting rapidly. Rising global temperatures have driven drought in some regions while triggering storms, intense rainfall, and destructive flooding in others.
Afghanistan is ranked fourth among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, despite accounting for just 0.19 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change has taken a heavy toll on Afghanistan’s agricultural sector in recent years, even though it remains the primary source of income for nearly 80 percent of the population. Erratic rains and flash floods have damaged and destroyed crops, and large parts of the country continue to struggle with drought.
Yet the vast majority of agricultural land in Afghanistan is still farmed using traditional irrigation methods, and only a small fraction of farmers have adopted modern alternatives such as drip irrigation.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
خشکسالی و زراعت سنتی؛ کارشناسان: افغانستان به سیستمهای آبیاری مدرن نیاز دارد
