Of 50,000 tonnes of wheat pledged by the Indian government to the people of Afghanistan, Delhi is planning to send 8,000 tonnes this month to help counter the humanitarian crisis, Reuters reported. 

In total, India plans to send 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via a land route through Pakistan. 2,000 tonnes were already sent in February. 

The head of SILO markazi, a government organization that stores wheat aided by donors, Nasratullah Mansour, suggested that the aid was not sufficient to meet the needs of the poor.

“This wheat cannot solve the problems of all the people. It is currently being distributed due to high demand,” he said.  

The Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority said it has received assistance from more than six countries including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia, China and Pakistan. 

“As a result of efforts of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority, at least 63 wagons comprised of food and other commodities arrived from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Naseem Haqqani, a spokesman for the disaster management authority.  

Economists say that investment should be used for infrastructure in Afghanistan as the country currently faces a severe economic meltdown.  

“A donation of aid could be effective for now but to prevent poverty we need fundamental work on infrastructure—which is investment in agriculture and industry,” said Basheer Basheeri, an economist.  

Based on available numbers, Afghanistan needs around 600 million tonnes of wheat. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the wheat inside the country will increase to at least one million tonnes.