Full Length Article

Assessing the impact of climate change on agricultural production in central Afghanistan

  • Homayoon RAOUFI ,
  • Hamidreza JAFARI ,
  • Wakil Ahmad SARHADI ,
  • Esmail SALEHI
Expand
  • aDepartment of Environmental Planning, Management and Health, Safety, and Environment, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, 14174-66191, Iran
    bFaculty of Agriculture, University of Kunduz, Kunduz, 3502, Afghanistan
    cFaculty of Agriculture, University of Kabul, Kabul, 1001, Afghanistan
* E-mail address: hjafari@ut.ac.ir (Hamidreza JAFARI).

Received date: 2023-11-08

  Revised date: 2024-05-01

  Accepted date: 2024-08-19

  Online published: 2024-09-25

Abstract

Afghanistan has faced extreme climatic crises such as drought, rising temperature, and scarce precipitation, and these crises will likely worsen in the future. Reduction in crop yield can affect food security in Afghanistan, where the majority of population and economy are completely dependent on agriculture. This study assessed the interaction between climate change and crop yield in Kabul of Afghanistan during the reference (1990-2020) and future (2025-2100) periods. Climate data (1990-2020) were collected from four meteorological stations and three local organizations, and wheat yield data (1990-2020) were acquired from the United States Agriculture Department. Data during the reference period (1990-2020) were used for the validation and calibration of the statistical downscaling models such as the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) and Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG). Furthermore, the auto-regression model was used for trend analysis. The results showed that an increase in the average annual temperature of 2.15°C, 2.89°C, and 4.13°C will lead to a reduction in the wheat yield of 9.14%, 10.20%, and 12.00% under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 during the future period (2025-2100), respectively. Moreover, an increase in the annual maximum temperature of 1.79°C, 2.48°C, and 3.74°C also causes a significant reduction in the wheat yield of 2.60%, 3.60%, and 10.50% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, respectively. Furthermore, an increase in the annual minimum temperature of 2.98°C, 2.23°C, and 4.30°C can result in an increase in the wheat yield of 6.50%, 4.80%, and 9.30% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, respectively. According to the SDSM, the decrease of the average monthly precipitation of 4.34%, 4.10%, and 5.13% results in a decrease in the wheat yield of 2.60%, 2.36%, and 3.18% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, respectively. This study suggests that adaptation strategies can be applied to minimize the consequences of climate change on agricultural production.

Cite this article

Homayoon RAOUFI , Hamidreza JAFARI , Wakil Ahmad SARHADI , Esmail SALEHI . Assessing the impact of climate change on agricultural production in central Afghanistan[J]. Regional Sustainability, 2024 , 5(3) : 100156 . DOI: 10.1016/j.regsus.2024.100156

References

[1] Adams R.M., Hurd B.H., Lenhart S., et al., 1998. Effects of global climate change on agriculture: An interpretative review. Clim. Res. 11(1), 19-30.
[2] Ahmed M., Hayat R., Ahmad M., et al., 2022. Impact of climate change on dryland agricultural systems: A review of current status, potentials, and further work need. Int. J. Plant Prod. 16(3), 341-363.
[3] Aich V., Akhundzadah N.A., Knuerr A., et al., 2017. Climate change in Afghanistan deduced from reanalysis and Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) South Asia simulations. Climate. 5(2), 38, doi: 10.3390/cli5020038.
[4] Ali S., Liu Y., Ishaq M., et al., 2017. Climate change and its impact on the yield of major food crops: Evidence from Pakistan. Foods. 6(6), 39, doi: 10.3390/foods6060039.
[5] Afghanistan Meteorological Department, 2022. Daily Climatic Data. [2023-05-02]. http://www.amd.gov.af/.
[6] Antoniuk V., Zhang X., Andersen M.N., et al., 2023. Spatiotemporal winter wheat water assessment improvement using a water deficit index derived from an Unmanned Aerial System in the North China Plain. Sensors. 23(4), 1903, doi: 10.3390/s23041903.
[7] Arunrat N., Sereenonchai S., Chaowiwat W., et al., 2022. Climate change impact on major crop yield and water footprint under CMIP 6 climate projections in repeated drought and flood areas in Thailand. Sci. Total Environ. 807(2), 150741, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150741.
[8] Ashfaq M., Zulfiqar F., Sarwar I., et al., 2011. Impact of climate change on wheat productivity in mixed cropping system of Punjab. Soil Environ. 30(2), 110-114.
[9] Baghanam A.H., Nourani V., Sheikhbabaei A., et al., 2020. Statistical downscaling and projection of future temperature change for Tabriz city, Iran. Earth Environ. Sci. 491, 012009, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/491/1/012009.
[10] Bello Z.A., van Rensburg L.D., Dlamini P., et al., 2022. Characterisation and effects of different levels of water stress at different growth stages in Malt barley under water limited conditions. Plants (Basel). 11(5), doi: 10.3390/plants11050578.
[11] Bouras E., Jarlan L., Khabba S., et al., 2019. Assessing the impact of global climate changes on irrigated wheat yields and water requirements in a semi-arid environment of Morocco. Sci Rep. 9(1), 19142, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55251-2.
[12] Daloz A.S., Rydsaa J.H., Hodnebrog O., et al., 2021. Direct and indirect impacts of climate change on wheat yield in the Indo-Gangetic plain in India. J. Agric. Food Res. 4, 100132, doi: 10.1016/j.jafr.2021.100132.
[13] FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2016. Climate Change in Afghanistan. What Does It Mean for Rural Livelihoods and Food Security? [2024-04-29]. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/climate-change-afghanistan-what-does-it-mean-rural-livelihoods-and-food-security.
[14] FAO, 2019. Afghanistan Droughts and Risk Management Strategies. [2023-04-29]. https://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/resources-details/en/c/1366257/.
[15] Farooq A., Farooq N., Akbar H., et al., 2023. A critical review of climate change impact at a global scale on cereal crop production. Agronomy-Basel. 13(1), 162, doi: 10.3390/agronomy13010162.
[16] Gay C., Estrada F., Conde C., et al., 2006. Potential impacts of climate change on agriculture: a case of study of coffee production in Veracruz, Mexico. Clim. Change. 79(3-4), 259-288.
[17] Gul A., Chandio A.A., Siyal S.A., et al., 2022. How climate change is impacting the major yield crops of Pakistan? An exploration from long- and short-run estimation. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29, 26660-26674.
[18] Gupta A.K., Nair S.S., 2012. Environmental Extremes Disaster Risk Management-Addressing Climate Change. New Delhi: National Institute of Disaster Management, 40.
[19] Gurara M.A., Jilo N.B., Tolche A.D., 2021. Impact of climate change on potential evapotranspiration and crop water requirement in Upper Wabe Bridge watershed, Wabe Shebele River Basin, Ethiopia. J. Afr. Earth Sci. 180, 1-15.
[20] Hanif U., Syed S.H., Ahmad R., et al., 2010. Economic impact of climate change on the agricultural sector of Punjab. Pak. Dev. Rev. 49, 771-798.
[21] Haris A.V.A., Biswas S., Chhabra V., et al., 2013. Impact of climate change on wheat and winter maize over a sub-humid climatic environment. Curr. Sci. 104(2), 206-214.
[22] Hassan Z., Shamsudin S., Harun S., 2013. Application of SDSM and LARS-WG for simulating and downscaling of rainfall and temperature. Theor. Appl. Climatol. 116(1-2), 243-257.
[23] Hussain J., Khaliq T., Asseng S., et al., 2020. Climate change impacts and adaptations for wheat employing multiple climate and crop models in Pakistan. Clim. Change. 163(1), 253-266.
[24] ICMPD International Centre for Migration Policy Development, 2023. Migration Outlook Mediterranean. [2023-05-02]. https://www.icmpd.org/file/download/59113/file/ICMPD%2520Migration%2520Outlook%2520Mediterranean%25202023.pdf.
[25] IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014. Climate Change 2014:Synthesis Report. [2023-05-02]. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/.
[26] Jawid A., 2020. A Ricardian analysis of the economic impact of climate change on agriculture: Evidence from the farms in the central highlands of Afghanistan. J. Asian Econ. 67, 101177, doi: 10.1016/j.asieco.2020.101177.
[27] Jha R.K., Kalita P.K., Cooke R.A., 2021. Assessment of climatic parameters for future climate change in a major agricultural state in India. Climate. 9(7), 111, doi: 10.3390/cli9070111.
[28] Junjua P.Z., Samad G., Khan N.U., et al., 2010. Impact of climate change on wheat production: A case study of Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review. 49(4), 799-822.
[29] Kambale J.B., Barikara U., Hadimani D.K., 2023. Climate change and its impact on crop water requirement of mulberry (Morus spp., oraceae) crop in Yadgir District, Karnataka, India. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change. 13(8), 1969-1977.
[30] Khan M.J., Malik A., Rahman M., et al., 2021. Assessment of crop water requirement for various crops in Peshawar, Pakistan using the CROPWAT model. Irrigation and Drainage Systems Engineering. 10(9), 2-8.
[31] Khan N.A., Anwar M.S., Khan M.I., 1988. Relationship between rainfall, acreage and wheat production in the northern Punjab: A statistical analysis. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research. 9(3), 281-288.
[32] Liu B., Asseng S., Liu L.L., et al., 2016. Testing the responses of four wheat crop models to heat stress at anthesis and grain filling. Glob. Change Biol. 22(5), 1890-1903.
[33] Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, 2022. Daily Climatic Data. [2023-07-02]. https://mail.gov.af.
[34] Ministry of Energy and Water, 2022. Daily Climatic Data. [2023-07-02]. https://mew.gov.af.
[35] Morgounove A., Sonder K., Abugalieva A., et al., 2018. Effect of climate change on spring wheat yields in North America and Eurasia in 1981-2015 and implications for breeding. PLoS One. 13(10), e0204932, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204932.
[36] Mudelsee M., 2019. Trend analysis of climate time series: A review of methods. Earth-Sci. Rev. 190, 310-322.
[37] Munawar S., Rahman G., Moazzam M.F.U., et al., 2022. Future climate projections using SDSM and LARS-WG downscaling methods for CMIP 5 GCMs over the transboundary Jhelum River Basin of the Himalayas Region. Atmosphere. 13(6), 898, doi: 10.3390/atmos13060898.
[38] Naikwade P.V., 2022. Impact of climate change on wheat productivity in India. In: Proceedings of International Conference on Extreme Weather Events under Changing Climate in Indian Himalayan Region. Chandigarh: Mohindra Publishing House, 145-158.
[39] NEPA National Environmental Protection Agency, 2018. Second National Communication under UNFCCC, Kabul, Afghanistan. [2023-05-10]. https://www.nepa.gov.af/service3.
[40] Ortiz R., Sayre K.D., Govaerts B., et al., 2008. Climate change: Can wheat beat the heat? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 126(1-2), 46-58.
[41] Osman R., Ata-Ul-Karim S.T., Tahir M.N., et al., 2022. Multi-model ensembles for assessing the impact of future climate change on rainfed wheat productivity under various cultivars and nitrogen levels. Eur. J. Agron. 139, 126554, doi: 10.1016/j.eja.2022.126554.
[42] Paymard P., Yaghoubi F., Nouri M., et al., 2019. Projecting climate change impacts on rainfed wheat yield, water demand, and water use efficiency in northeast Iran. Theor. Appl. Climatol. 138(3-4), 1361-1373.
[43] Radhakrishnan K., Sivaraman I., Jena S.K., et al., 2017. A climate trend analysis of temperature and rainfall in India. Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. 5(2), 146-153.
[44] Rezaei E.E., Siebert S., Hunging H., et al., 2018. Climate change effect on wheat phenology depends on cultivar change. Sci. Rep. 8, 4891, doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23101-2.
[45] Saei M., Mohammadi H., Ziaee S., et al., 2019. The impact of climate change on grain yield and yield variability in Iran. Iranian Economic Review. 23(2), 509-531.
[46] Sarwary M., Samiappan S., Khan G.D., et al., 2023. Climate change and cereal crop productivity in Afghanistan: Evidence based on panel regression model. Sustainability. 15(14), 10963, doi: 10.3390/su151410963.
[47] Semenov M.A., Barrow M.E., 2002. LARS-WG A Stochastic Weather Generator for Use in Climate Impact Studies. [2023-06-10]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268304865_LARS-WG_A_Stochastic_Weather_Generator_for_Use_in_Climate_Impact_Studies.
[48] Shafiq M.N., Gillani S., Shafiq S., 2021. Climate change and agricultural production in Pakistan. Journal of Energy & Environment. 2(2), 47-54.
[49] Shakoor U., Rashid M., Iftikhar-ul-Hussnian M., et al., 2018. Time series evaluation of climate change on wheat crop production of Pakistan. Int. J. Mod. Agric. 7(3), 27-36.
[50] Sharma R., Sonder K., Sika G., 2015. Potential impact of climate change trends on wheat production and mitigation strategies in Afghanistan. J. Agric. Sci. 7(4), 40-47.
[51] Sonkar G., Mall R.K., Banerjee T., et al., 2019. Vulnerability of Indian wheat against rising temperature and aerosols. Environ. Pollut. 254(A), 112946, doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.114.
[52] Subedi A., Raut N., Gurung S., 2023. How Himalayan communities are changing cultivation practices in the context of climate change. Reg. Sustain. 4(4), 378-389.
[53] Tiwari V., Matin M.A., Qamer F.M., et al., 2020. Wheat area mapping in Afghanistan based on optical and SAR time-series images in google earth engine cloud environment. Front. Environ. Sci. 8, 77, doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00077.
[54] UNDP United Nations Development Programm, 2019. Climate Change Scenarios for Agriculture of Afghanistan. [2023-05-02]. https://www.undp.org/afghanistan/publications/climate-change-scenarios-agriculture-afghanistan.
[55] United States Department of Agriculture, 2023. Foreign Agricultural Service: Country Summary, Afghanistan. [2023-05-02]. https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/countrysummary/default.aspx?id=AF.
[56] Wang B., Liu D.L., Asseng S., et al., 2015. Impact of climate change on wheat flowering time in eastern Australia. Agric. For. Meteorol. 209, 11-21.
[57] World Bank, 2014. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Agricultural Sector Review [2023-05-02]. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/245541467973233146/pdf/AUS9779-REVISED-WP-PUBLIC-Box391431B-Final-Afghanistan-ASR-web-October-31-2014.pdf.
[58] World Bank, 2021. Climate Risk Country Profile: Afghanistan. Washington: World Bank Group. [2023-05-12]. https://www.adb.org/publications/climate-risk-country-profile-afghanistan
[59] You L.Z., Rosegrant M.W., Wood S., et al., 2009. Impact of growing season temperature on wheat productivity in China. Agric. For. Meteorol. 149(6-7), 1009-1014.
[60] Zeb A., Khattak I., Naveed S., et al., 2013. Analysis of climatic change and its negative impact on agriculture. Scholarly Journal of Agricultural Science. 3(6), 233-237.
[61] Zhao C., Liu B., Piao S.L., et al., 2017. Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in four independent estimates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 114(35), 9326-9331.
[62] Zhong Y.Q.W., Shangguan Z.P., 2014. Water consumption characteristics and water use efficiency of winter wheat under long-term nitrogen fertilization regimes in northwest China. PLoS One. 9(6), doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098850.
[63] Zhou T.W., Wu P.T., Sun S.K., et al., 2017. Impact of future climate change on regional crop water requirement-A case study of Hetao Irrigation District, China. Water. 9(6), 429, doi: 10.3390/w9060429.
Outlines

/