KUNDUZ (Pajhwok): A rice process factory costing $2.5 million has started functioning in northern Kunduz province, encouraging farmers to grow the cash crop.
The factory has the capacity of processing 300 tons of rice in 24 hours, said Sayed Ahmad, owner of the plant. He told Pajhwok Afghan News the factory had been operationalized in 1398 solar year.
He said nearly 1,000 people directly and indirectly got job opportunities from the factory.
On the other hand, farmers said they were also happy with the functioning of the factory.
Jan Mohammad, a representative of farmers in Imam Sahib district, said the rice would previously get decayed because they were unable sell it in the market.
“I brought rice from Imam Sahib district to this factory, in the past rice would get spoiled from us. No one would buy the unprocessed rice, but now we have a contract with the factory, we always bring rice here and the factory buys it from us,” he added.
Habibullah, a farmer from ChaharDara district, said the establishment of the factory had encouraged farmers to cultivate rice on their land.
He added: "In the past, Kunduz people used to grow a lot of rice, but recently due to lack of a market, no one cultivated much rice.”
On the other hand, MajidNafez, head of agriculture department in Kunduz, told Pajhwok the establishment of the factory was good news for farmers and provided employment to hundreds of people.
Sa/ma
