190 onion cold storages established in Laghman

MEHTARLAM (Pajhwok): The Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Department on Monday said 190 cold storages for onion have been built in eastern Laghman province under the Agricultural Products’ Management project.

Mohammad Jamil Khushal, Laghman agriculture department head, told Pajhwok Afghan News the storages were built in the capital city Mehtarlam, Qarghayi, Alishing and Alinigar districts.

He added construction of the storages cost 72 million afghanis.

On the other hand, farmers praised the development and said they would store thousands of metric tons of onion in these storages and deliver them to the market at a convenient time.

Abdul Qayoom, a resident of Shamti district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that they would also store potatoes in the storages.

“I hope onion storages will solve economic problems of the farmers,” he added.

Wahedullah Niazi, a farmer in Mehtarlam, said they would be able to store their products for a long time in these storages. The cold warehouses would result in a 10pc increase in onion cultivation.

Enayatullah Faryad, an economist, called establishment of storages as important and efficient because they resulted in an increased cash income.

“Farmers will be able to receive up to 75pc revenue every season,” he said.

“The longer products stay in storages means more prices,” he added.

Laghman exports thousands of tons of onions to capital Kabul and other provinces.

Hr/ma

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