Courtesy of Earth Observatory

In 2008, drought struck Afghanistan and nearly destroyed the country’s winter grain crop. Combined with trade disruptions and transport-corridor conflicts, the poor harvest caused local grain prices to skyrocket. Authorities worried that 2009 would repeat the difficulties of 2008, and dry weather lasting from late 2008 through early 2009 increased concern. Beginning in March 2009, however, rain began to fall. Afghanistan’s rainfall and subsequent crop growth left the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service projecting a 2009-2010 wheat crop exceeding the 2008-2009 crop by 127 percent.

The above image shows vegetation conditions in northern Afghanistan from April 23 to May 8, 2009, measured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite. MODIS can assess vegetation growth by measuring the amount of light absorbed or reflected in different parts of the light spectrum. Healthy vegetation absorbs most of the visible light and reflects much of the near-infrared light that reaches it. Green shows where vegetation growth during that period was above the average for 2000–2008. Reddish-brown indicates below-average growth. Blue indicates water, and gray indicates no data due to snow and/or ice cover—common in the rugged, glacier-capped Hindu Kush.

Afghanistan’s dry climate and rugged topography restrict its arable land. The country’s most important food crop—wheat—is grown mostly in the northern part of the country, at the foothills of the rugged central mountains. Agriculture throughout northern Afghanistan is primarily rainfed, and 75 percent of the wheat crop depends on rain falling at the right time. In spring 2009, rainfed wheat was more lush than average. Good growing conditions also occurred in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The Applied Sciences funded partnership with USAID called FEWS NET monitors food security in 20 African countries, Guatemala, Haiti and Afghanistan. NASA and its partners provide accurate and timely data products into FEWS NET. NASA's data on long-term changes in rainfall, vegetation, reservoir height and other climate factors significantly enhance USAID's ability to accurately predict food shortages and disseminate these findings to a broad audience around the world in a timely manner.

Related links: www.fews.net/

http://science.larc.nasa.gov/AppliedSciencesFeatures/