A prolonged lack of rain and dissipating groundwater destroyed his fields and killed his livestock, prompting Qayoom to move with his wife and their eight children to the western city of Herat from their village in neighboring Badghis Province.
Speaking with Radio Free Afghanistan from his temporary home in Dasht-e Shaidayee on the outskirts of Herat, he described how the drought disrupted their lives and eventually forced them to leave their village, Sharshar.
“We could not farm our lands because of the lack of rain.
I had cows and sheep, but they died because there was no grass or pasture.” When the cattle began to die, the price per cow dropped from $1,400 to just under $300, and it was difficult to find a buyer for a sheep for under $30.
Just recently a UN office warned that this year’s drought has affected Afghanistan’s 20 provinces including Badghis, Uruzgan, and Jawzjan.
Janan Kochi is a nomad and a livestock herder in Charchino district of southern Uruzgan Province.
“We spent the winter and spring without rain.
“Thirteen million Afghans in 20 provinces [out of a total 34] are affected by drought,” he told journalists on June 3.
Despite these pledges, Qayoom says his family has received little assistance.
“All I need is food and a shelter to live my life.