JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The Canal Department of Nangarhar province plans to make functional two modern and well-equipped livestock farms after four decades.
The modern farms related to the second and third farms of the Nangarhar Canal department once supplied fresh milk and other products to capital Kabul in addition to Jalalabad, but the farms were destroyed in the past conflict and the civil war.
Maulvi Ghulam Rahman, director of Nangarhar Canal Department, told Pajhwok Afghan News they planned to reactivate the livestock farms which were operational four decades ago. He said the structures of these farms had been completely destroyed by the recent conflict and civil wars.
In the past, he said, there were about 1,500 cows in the two farms and fresh dairy products such as milk, yogurt were sent to Kabul every morning. Hundreds of people would work in these farms and they had developed a lot of agricultural land.
The director of the canal department said now they had prepared a plan to reactivate the mentioned farms to increase dairy products and also provide employment to people.
According to him, he has shared the matter with the Ministry of Agriculture and practical work on restoring these farms will be launched soon.
Syed Humayun Gharibmal, the spokesperson of Nangarhar Canal Department, said the department had currently one livestock farm that supplied up to 500 liters of fresh milk to the market every day.
He told Pajhwok that there were 280 cows in the farm, out of which the milk of 51 cows was offered to the market every day.
He said another benefit of the farm was that tens of tons of animal manure as fertilizer was taken to the canal gardens every month.
The residents of Nangarhar province are also happy with the plan and request that these farms should be restored at the earliest.
Abdul Saboor, a resident of Jalalabad city, said during the rule of former king Zahir Shah and Dawood Khan, he would get fresh products from the canal department's livestock farms in front of his house.
Besides livestock farms, Nangarhar Canal Department has large farms of olives, strawberries, dates and fresh vegetables, providing employment to thousands of people.
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