Faryab livestock owners in need of financial support

MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Livestock owners in northwestern Faryab province say that 60 percent of their livestock faced hunger and infertility due to drought, asking the government to compensate their losses.

They say that lack of pastures and malnutrition caused their animals not remain thin and infertile as 60 out of 100 of their sheep were infertile this year.

Sharafuddin, a livestock owner in Almar district of Faryab, told Pajhwok Afghan News that he has 50 sheep, but they were weak and 41 of them were infertile due to lack of grass.

He said last year was full of problems and this year there was enough rainfall, but there was need for a permanent solution to water scarcity by building dams.

Sadiq, a resident of Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province and a pastoralist, said that last year there was no grass pasture and half of his 80 sheep did not become pregnant.

Sadiq said shortage of feed obliged him and other livestock owners to purchase the feed on higher rates.

This year, there was enough rainfall, but farmers are in need of government’s support to buy more sheep for reproduction to compensate their losses, he said.

Abdul Basir, a resident of KhwajaSabzposh district who is also a shepherd, said that around 30 to 40 of his sheep remained infertile this year.

“We use milk, yoghurt and butter, we slaughter sheep for meat if we need it. We sell it if we need money. We also sell wool in the market,” he said.

Another shepherd, Muazullah, said that he had been a shepherd since last 20 years and graze 700 animals against 10,000 afghanis a month to provide his family of eight with financial support.

Shepherding is a hard and low-income job and a shepherd spends his days and nights in hot and cold deserts, but draught and shortage of pasture added to their problems, he said.

Abdul JabbarRahimi, veterinary in charge at Faryab agriculture department, said that animal feed played an important role in their pregnancy. Drought, shortage of pasture and malnutrition caused 50 percent of livestock not to get pregnancy this year, he said.

He said that livestock infertility led to poor economy in the society besides increasing meat prices in the market.

Faryab agriculture director, DamlaEzatullahNoorani, confirmed people’s complains and said that 85 percent people of the province were busy in livestock and farming, but recent drought had affected both the sectors.

He said that 50 percent of livestock were infertile last year due to shortage of pasture and malnutrition.

Noorani said that the matter would also lead to increasing prices of dairy products and meat in the market.

He added that a number of organizations had distributed animal feed and cotton cake to livestock owners in the province, but he said that organizations should provide livestock owners with financial support so they compensate their losses.

Noorani asked the Ministry of Agriculture and international organizations to support Faryab farmers.

Livestock makes a major industry in Afghanistan, with about 80 percent of the population are engaged in agriculture and livestock, most of them in the north, particularly in Faryab province.

mds/ma

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