Cold wave destroys crops on thousands of acres in Farah

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): The severe cold wave has destroyed wheat and barely crops on thousands of acres of land in western Farah province, the agriculture department said on Sunday.

Maulvi Abdul Momeen Faisal, director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, told Pajhwok Afghan News the cold wave wiped out wheat and barely crops on 37,000 acres of land.

Without elaborating, he said, based on their information, farmers incurred $57 million losses.

He said he had shared the issue with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) to compensate the farmers, but received no response as yet.

Sultan, a resident of Toeesk area, said: “My wheat crop on 20 acres was ruined by the recent cold wave, its cultivation cost 80,000 afghanis.” He urged the government to assist affected farmers.

Mahmood, another farmer, also said the recent cold snap had damaged wheat crops and all their efforts went up in smoke.

He said: “Whatever money I had, I spent on planting wheat. Now I don’t have money to plant anything else. We hope that the government and aid agencies will help us.”

hz/sa/ma

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