The Taliban's Internet Blackouts Are Devastating Afghan Farmers

Iqbal Momand, a 35-year-old farmer from Goshta District in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, had harvested and crated about 7 tons of lemons, all set to be transported to Kabul — and then to Mazar-i-Sharif, Khost, and other places. 

On September 29^th, when he could not call his buyer and transporter through messaging apps and analogue phones, Momand thought it was a temporary problem or perhaps his phone was not working. But soon he realized that he could not call any of his contacts. He grew desperate as the lemons had to be transported.

Momand, a father of six, has been practicing agriculture for more than a decade. Surrounded by mountains, his fields in the plains have evenly spaced rows of lemon trees. Relying on traditional wisdom to anticipate weather patterns, he also grows wheat, corn, sugarcane, and other seasonal crops. The lemons are for the local market and those in other districts.

Momand relies heavily on mobile services and the internet to contact the markets and schedule the transportation of the produce. “100% of our communication is done through mobile phones,” he says. “When the blackout happened, everything came to a standstill. We could not contact the markets. Our harvested crops could not be transported.”

Though there are cold storage facilities in some localities, there is none in his part of the district. The quality of the packed lemons deteriorated.

Momand learned only two days later that it was a nationwide blackout. Momand and his family have lost approximately 350,000 Afghanis (around $5,340 USD) — one of their worst losses in more than a decade.

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In mid-September 2025, the Taliban authorities governing Afghanistan began to impose restrictions on internet access in many provinces, stating that the intention was to prevent “immorality.” 

The ban commenced on September 16^th in Balkh Province and was imposed in more provinces during the following days. On September 29^th, there was a near-total nationwide outage of both internet and mobile services, according to monitoring group NetBlocks. Connectivity dropped to less than 1% of normal levels. 

The shutdown lasted nearly 48 hours until services resumed on October 1^st.

Haji Mirwis Hajizada, a member of the Agriculture and Livestock Chamber — a private trade body registered with the government — believes that the government's decisions are for their benefit and well-being.

“Afghanistan is not alone in facing such issues; many countries around the world have experienced similar challenges,” he says.

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Around the world, farmers are increasingly adopting technology to do everything from monitoring irrigation, tracking weather, logistical planning, identifying prospective buyers, arranging transport, and keeping themselves updated on market prices.

A growing body of studies shows that, whether in developed or emerging economies, increased connectivity improves crop productivity and food security. In other words, access to connectivity can make — or break — sustainable agriculture. In 2019, during power shutoffs in California intended to reduce wildfire risk, farmers were unable to pump water, run their cold storage facility, and process milk, causing massive losses.

In Momand’s farm, workers are dispersing fertilizer on the crops to provide essential nutrients to plants and increase production.  (Courtesy of Iqbal Momand)

The key difference, however, is that in the U.S., such outages occur because of natural disasters or as preventive measures, rather than for political or ideological reasons. While there was much talk about the impact of the shutdown on businesses, banking, education, and media, not many people knew that agriculture in Afghanistan was also affected. 

According to Datareportal, an online reference portal, as of early 2025, there were 22.3 million mobile connections in Afghanistan, representing 51.6% of the population. With the existing issues of internet and mobile services in rural areas, this shutdown meant a complete disruption of communication between farmers and markets.

“The two-day internet shutdown has severely impacted Afghanistan’s agriculture sector,” says Atalluah Himat, a development professional.

Himat’s work with 298 farming families (78% being women-headed families) includes training farmers on technology use, sending short message alerts, and providing information related to farming.

The shutdown resulted in a complete loss of communication between the organization, its beneficiaries, and its field staff. “We lost all communication. Even our staff working in the field were cut off from the beneficiaries in their areas,” recalls Himat. 

Unaware of what was happening in their respective areas, the field staff could not make any plans. The long commute times made it impossible for them to visit the farmers. 

The government spokesperson for agriculture, when contacted, neither had data on the extent of loss during the shutdown nor shared any comments on the impact on agriculture.

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Muhammad Aziz Saeedi, a farmer from Farm-e-Hada, Jalalabad, says that the enormous damage caused by the recent internet shutdown would impact the agriculture sector even in the days to come.

“The internet shutdown has brought fear,” he says.

Saeedi runs Paiwand Agriculture Services Company, promoting drip and sprinkler irrigation systems to conserve water. In addition to using precision irrigation in his farm, he has been using innovative farming practices and weather monitoring apps. Since his production has improved, he has been encouraging other farmers to adopt technology to increase their yields. 

Muhammad Aziz Saeedi trains agriculture students from Nangarhar University at a citrus nursery in Jalalabad, Nangarhar, Afghanistan. (Courtesy of Muhammad Aziz Saeedi)

He has been creating awareness about these technologies through networking and video-sharing platforms, and messaging apps. And farmers were learning different skills. However, the recent blackout has had a negative impact on farmers' willingness to adopt new technologies, he says. They fear that they might encounter similar issues in the future, which could put them at risk.

“If it happens again, the agricultural gains we have made with the use of tech are at risk. We will be back to traditional farming practices, which won’t give the productivity we get with the use of technology.”

Muhammad Aziz Saeedi conducts citrus pruning training for growers in Jalalabad. (Courtesy of Muhammad Aziz Saeedi)

Resilience of women farmers

Under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, women are largely prohibited from all forms of public life, education, and formal employment, but they continue to participate actively in the agriculture sector.  Women’s employment in agriculture was reported as 47.42% in Afghanistan in 2023.

Mumtaz Yusufzai, founder of the Union of Female Farmers, has been working in agriculture since 2009. Obtaining a license in 2011, the union has grown to work in 18 provinces, with over 4,500 women members. 

Regarding the communication shutdown, Yusufzai says, “During the blackout, the good thing was that our focal person in every area handled the situation.”

In some areas where the internet connection is erratic, the focal persons use analog phones or send written messages through people visiting the area. So they followed the same method during the shutdown. 

Just like Momand, the women farmers too could not sell anything during the blackout. 

A view of Iqbal Momand’s farm, where he grows seasonal crops. (Courtesy of Iqbal Momand)

But the focal persons ensured that the women focused on the field work and other activities, including crafting, so that they could manage without the internet. 

Though Yusufzai is unsure of long-term implications, she is undeterred.

“People like us… Don't rely on the government,” she says. “Instead, when challenges arise, we try to find ways to solve them on our own.”

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