Food assistance to ensure the resilience of farmers with fragile livelihood
status and to support vulnerable IDPs and recent returnees affected by COVID-19 Afghanistan faced alarmingly high levels of food insecurity even before the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 36 percent of the population facing severe acute food security and in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned from a public health emergency into a food and livelihoods crisis. Following the imposition of lockdowns in March-April 2020 and resulting reduction in economic activities, food assistance needs are particularly acute in urban areas where vulnerable households are increasingly impacted by a lack of livelihood opportunities, reduced purchasing power and increasing food prices. Households living in informal settlements and displacement sites, who have recently experienced additional shocks such as displacement and who lack employment are especially vulnerable, including IDPs and vulnerable returnees from neighbouring Iran. In rural areas, farmers and agricultural seasonal workers unable to cultivate and harvest have seen their livelihoods plummet and are in urgent need of food assistance during the current lean season.

In response to these needs, WFP plans to use this funding to provide unconditional, nutrition-sensitive emergency assistance to vulnerable households impacted by COVID-19 through two activities:

1. Food assistance for smallholder farmers during the lean season
WFP will provide emergency food assistance to seasonally food-insecure smallholder farmers in 10 targeted districts of Herat, Nimroz and Farah provinces. The selected households were intended to receive agricultural assistance for cultivation from another partner (FAO). However, as this assistance could not be provided as planned, households depleted their existing food stocks to meet their basic food needs and thus require urgent assistance during the lean season. Households’ vulnerability has been compounded by the economic consequences of COVID-19 which have been particularly severe in the western regions of the country, including substantial rises in staple food items since mid-March 2020 (national average of wheat has increased by 15 percent, wheat flour by 15 to 21 percent, rice by 4 to 7 percent, cooking oil by 22 percent, pulses by 14 percent compared to 14 March 2020, according to WFP market price monitoring data as of 5 May 2020).

With this contribution, WFP will support smallholder farming households to meet their basic food and nutrition needs during the current lean season when food stocks and employment opportunities are reduced. WFP will purchase 654.8 mt of mixed fortified food to provide a one-off half-ration food distribution to 76,468 beneficiaries (10,924 households) in the targeted districts. Each household will receive a food basket comprised of wheat flour, vegetable oil, pulses and salt designed to partially meet their food needs for one month.

2. Cash-based transfers for IDPs and vulnerable recent returnees from Iran affected by COVID-19
WFP will provide cash-based transfers to 49,000 vulnerable IDPs and recent returnees (7,000 households) in IDP sites in Herat city who are in urgent need of assistance given the ongoing lockdown and resulting disruption to livelihood opportunities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Targeted beneficiaries are located in the IDP sites of Shahrak Sabz, Shaidayee and Kahdistan. These already-vulnerable households face rapidly deteriorating food security as a result of the lockdown and resulting loss of livelihoods. With this contribution, WFP will specifically target households that have not yet received assistance from WFP or other partners to meet their basic food needs. 

Each household will receive one transfer of 6,000 AFN (approximately US$78.43). This value has been endorsed by FSAC for COVID-affected households. Providing AFN 3,000 per month, this is equivalent to approximately half the FSAC-recommended basic food basket for a family of seven, and is designed to complement household resources to meet their food needs for two months