Afghanistan: Percent Of Normal Rain (Image From USDA)From Washington Times:
7 arid years causing hope to evaporate
A seven-year drought has devastated farmland and livestock, especially in this corner of northern Afghanistan, compounding the travails of a nation at war for more than three decades.
Officials in the Agriculture Ministry said lack of water has ruined up to 80 percent of agricultural land, affecting 19 of the republic's 34 provinces and the livelihood of more than 1 million Afghans.
About 10 percent of the country's livestock - at least 1.5 million animals - have died from water and food shortages, according to aid-agency workers.
The drought and failure to develop a modern irrigation system highlight the struggles facing Afghanistan's rural communities, where a little more than half of the population already lives in poverty.
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My Comment: A perfect storm in which everything that can go wrong is going wrong.