JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Officials of the Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock department of Nangarhar hope that the citrus fruit harvest will increase to 12,000 tonnes this year.
Citrus orchards have been grown on 3,872 hectares of land in the province and various types of citruses have been investigated in the research farm.
Ajmal Subhani, a spokesman for the agriculture department, told Pajhwok Afghan News that 3,876 hectares of land had been set up for different orchards in the province.
He said the orchards were planted with oranges, tangerine, lemons, grapefruits and other varieties, most of which had good yield and work was underway to expand the orchards.
The spokesman said more than 12,000 tonnes of such fruit would be harvested from the orchards this year, which would meet the needs of people in many provinces.
According to the officials of Nangarhar Research Farm (ARF), after thorough research and investigation, they found such varieties which have good result in agriculture and harvest.
Abdul Latif Barakzai, head of horticulture at the ARF, told Pajhwok that he had instructed gardeners to cultivate only a few of the seven varieties of the citrus.
But gardeners say in order to control the prices of their produce, foreign fruits should not be imported to Nangarhar and neighbouring provinces during the citrus season.
Qasimullah, a resident of Surkh Road district, who has an orchard on his three acres of land, said that whenever their fruits were harvested, fruits from abroad was imported to the country, affecting their product in the market.
“If foreign fruits are stopped from being imported, more farmers would be encouraged to plant orchards on their land.”
sa/ma
