HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Artificial pistachio orchards are being set up in western Herat province to preserve natural forests, officials of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Department say.
Pistachio forests -- a major source of income for the government and people -- stretch from Badakhshan, Laghman, Kunduz, Takhar, Balkh, Sar-i-Pul, Faryab and Badghis provinces to the Kashk-i-Kohna and Gulran districts of Herat.
But most of these forests have, over the decades, been destroyed by war and government neglect. Much of what remains is being controlled by militants and local strongmen.
Agriculture officials say there are more than 14,000 hectares . . .
