Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Kabul (BNA) The ministry of agriculture, irrigation and livestock expressed pleasure Monday over what it said an unprecedented growth in agriculture sector this year.
Lutfullah Rashid, spokesman of the ministry of agriculture, irrigation and livestock in an exclusive interview said that the ministry had done much to provide farmers with enough agricultural facilities in order to help develop agriculture system all over the country.
He said the ministry announced its first 100 days’ blueprint to the people, highly focusing on the fields of irrigation, food safety, horticulture and agricultural plants, animal husbandry and veterinary, promotion and researches, regulation of the natural resources, private sector support and basic reforms, statistic and human resources. “The ministry could in some extent, go ahead with the numerous related fields.”
On the ministry’s so far gained achievements, the spokesman detailed that the construction work over 23 irrigation networks had been completed and got operational in five zones of the country and three more similar networks were established and kicked off in the capital Kabul, eastern Nangarhar and northeastern Balkh provinces.
He noted that in the scope of selection, survey and design, identification on some 16 irrigation system had been completed in Kabul, Parwan and Logar provinces, and 200 irrigation water dam had been created in Herat, Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar and Kunduz with the capacity of 500 cubic meters for 10 acres of land.
According to him, 30 solar pumps used for irrigation had been installed in Herat, Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar and Kunduz, where could be counted of the praiseworthy achievements of the ministry, for its highly effectiveness and 170 percent development in easing the irrigation condition for the country’s farmers.
The ministry’s spokes went on as saying that the ministry had developed 200 percent in the field providing food safety, wheat supply and strategic stocks and the deserved families reaching to 3,600 have been surveyed in 10 provinces of the country and the application process was expected to be operated in the near future.
“Right now, our famers are in dire need of improved seeds and we should distribute a seed quantity of between 6,000 to 7,000 tons among them, while the ministry is moreover, making effort to draw donors’ countries’ attention to receive the assistances,” said Rashid who added 19,000 tons of improved wheat seed, chemical fertilizer and agricultural spices have been distributed among the farmers.
Lutfullah Rashid also noted that over 3,500 acres of new orchards had been created in 15 provinces of the country, where 165 acres of new grapevines, numerous types of apple and pear in seven provinces had gotten operational—something the ministry could try its best to further strengthen the country’s agriculture system.
Introduction of 170 greenhouses in eastern Nangarhar, northeastern Badakhshan, southern Helmand and northern Parwan provinces, continuation of work on two factories of cottonseed and vegetable ghee, with the capacity of 7,560 tons of refined cooking oil in northeastern province of Balkh, and finalization of horticulture policy in the initiation of the national horticulture and industrial development were among other accomplishments of the ministry showing 140 percent development, the spokesman added.
In the field of animal husbandry and veterinary the ministry had a development of up to 160 percent, in promotion and research, 170 percent, regulation of natural resources, 140 percent, in support to the private sector, 185 percent and in the basic reforms area, 190 percent, according to the spokesman.
He recalled the main challenges, the ministry was facing and said: “All parts in agriculture system were full of challenges—work on reconstruction and renovation on one hand and war and insecurity on the other had eliminated all having of the country, like what had been happed in Kunduz province, where the citizens and farmers would take long time to return and get busy working on their land, like they were in the past.”
“We wish we could work further than ever and hope to have the international community’s support in this respect,” he further said.
As a comparative development between what had been done in the past and what this year, the ministry’s spokesman briefed that the ministry had over 4.6 million metric tons of wheat’s harvest this year, while in the past 82, years , the country’s farmers had only 2. 5 million metric ton of the same yields.
“Meanwhile, in the irrigation of the recently created horticulture field, the saffron plan which has been produced from only one part of the western Herat province, with no familiarity among the people, 12 years ago, have won first position for the third time, in the world’s saffron show.
The ministry of agriculture, irrigation and livestock has since pledged to remove the major farmers’ challenges, mostly on lack of greenhouses and marketing for their products in the country.
Shukria Kohistani
