Food in Afghanistan

Wheat is Afghanistan’s main staple, commonly eaten as nan or naan, while rice, maize, barley, vegetables, fruit, nuts, dairy, meat and eggs provide additional food. Common dishes include palau or qabili palau with rice, meat, carrots and raisins; qorma, a stew; mantu dumplings; ashak; bolani; kebab; shorwa soup; shola, a soft rice dish; firni; shir berenj; chai, including green or black tea; and dogh. Recipes and ingredients differ by region and season. Maize bread is especially associated with maize-producing parts of eastern and southern Afghanistan, while rice is particularly common in cities and households with greater purchasing power. Regions such as Herat, Baghlan, Kunduz, Nangarhar and Laghman are known for rice production, Bamyan for potato-based livelihoods, and Kandahar’s Arghandab area for pomegranates. These examples do not represent one uniform national cuisine. A typical family meal may combine wheat bread with soup or stew. Rice dishes often require more resources, while regional recipes change when ingredients become expensive or unavailable. Markets, bazaars, teahouses, restaurants and street vendors supply food outside the home, especially in urban areas. Prices and hygiene differ substantially between locations and providers, and no reliable nationwide restaurant price list applies to every place. Tea and shared food also form part of hospitality, but hospitality practices do not remove differences in affordability or access. The formal food system includes the Ministry of Public Health, the Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock and the National Codex Committee. Coordination and standards are still being developed. Consumers are entitled to food that is safe, clean, halal and of suitable quality. Imported food should enter through officially licensed channels; illegal imports can be seized or destroyed and may lead to legal sanctions. At home or in a food business, use clean hands and water, separate raw and cooked food, cook food thoroughly to at least 70°C, keep cold food below 5°C and hot food above 60°C. Raw milk, unrefrigerated ready-to-eat food and unsafe raw foods carry higher risks. Afghanistan’s food-based dietary guidelines recommend variety across seven food groups, including fruit and vegetables, lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy, while limiting excess sugar, soft drinks, salt, fat and highly processed food. Infants should receive exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months where possible, complementary food from six months and continued breastfeeding up to 24 months. Children aged 6 to 23 months need food from at least five of eight food groups each day for minimum dietary diversity. In 2025, around 90% of children under two were estimated to live in child food poverty, about half in severe food poverty, and roughly 3.5 million young children were affected by wasting. Food access depends on household income, distance to markets, season, security and shocks affecting imports, harvests or livestock. An IPC analysis estimated 17.4 million people faced acute food insecurity at Crisis level or worse from November 2025 to March 2026; the corresponding estimate for April to September 2026 was 13.8 million. Food assistance from United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organizations and local partners may provide food, cash, vouchers or nutrition support, but assistance depends on need, vulnerability, shocks, funding and local conditions rather than creating a general individual entitlement. The First Foods Afghanistan programme for 2025 to 2028 targets 1.7 million children in all 34 provinces through local, homegrown and fortified complementary foods, local production and micronutrient powders. WFP cash support works where markets function and households lack sufficient purchasing power. The 2025 wheat harvest was estimated at about 4.5 million tonnes, but cereal import needs for 2025/26 were estimated at about 3.7 million tonnes, mainly wheat flour. Wheat-flour retail prices were higher year on year up to November 2025, with substantial regional, monthly and seasonal variation. Winter wheat is generally planted by November, while spring and summer crops begin from around March or May depending on the crop and location. Drought, low precipitation, declining snowmelt, heat, groundwater pressure, desertification and irrigation losses affect both crops and livestock. North, northwest and northeast areas are particularly sensitive to drought and irrigation conditions. Canal rehabilitation, water harvesting, check dams, climate-smart seeds and irrigation, livestock protection, crop diversification and better storage can strengthen food security. Traditional post-harvest losses remain high; one policy estimate put cereal losses after harvest at about 15%.