Famine Feared as Drought Continues in Northern Provinces

In northern farming towns, people now point first to the wells before they point to the fields. Many are dry by midday, and families ration both drinking water and irrigation by the hour.

Local growers told PMN that wheat and barley output may fall below half of ordinary yield for a second year in a row. Livestock losses are accelerating because pasture and stored feed are both thinning at once.

"We can survive one bad season by borrowing and sharing," a farmer in Gozan said. "Two seasons means there is no cushion left in the village."

Governors have filed for emergency grain transfers and temporary levy relief. Until those decisions arrive, communities are improvising: rotating communal ovens, combining family rations, and prioritizing food for children and elders.

Healers report increasing weakness in younger children, and school instructors say attendance drops whenever food distribution lines open during lesson hours. Hunger is already reorganizing daily life before winter has begun.

Relief coordinators warn that timing now matters more than volume. Grain shipped late may still prevent total collapse, but only rapid deliveries can prevent families from selling land, tools, and livestock in irreversible distress sales.