Helmand farmers eye bumper crops this season

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): People and farmers in southern Helmand province have hoped to harvest bumper crops this season and erosion of drought due to recent immoderate rainfalls in the province.

Wali Jan, the resident of Nawa district told Pajhwok Afghan News, current rainfalls brought the message of prosperity for the coming seasons and the farmers are thrilled.

He urged the government to dig small reservoirs in the deserts and mountains which can further save the rains’ water and enrich the underground water sources.

Abdullah, a farmer and inhabitant of Shna village of Nad Ali district said, water was a necessity of the life, the recent rainfall can somehow erode the drought.

He said, the rainfall did not only benefit the crops, it also left positive impact on environment, so the people and the government must unite their hands and build small dams to control rain water.

He said: “Helmand has vast cultivation lands, the wheat may have been grown in all of the districts on thousands of hectares of lands, the recent rainfall benefit them a lot and it can increase the harvest as well”.

Saleh Mohammad, a resident of Bolakino area of Marja district said, Helmand was an agricultural province, the economy of the people is based on agriculture and on raising animals, the people suffered a lot of losses during the three year long drought.

The recent rainfalls have generated hopes for a prosperous year it has rained a lot during the beginning of the new solar year.

But Engineer Sayed Omar Wadan, the head of Helmand Water Resources Department said, it rained 71.6 millimeter in Helmand during this year, if the rain level reaches 200 millimeter, the season will be prosperous.

Wadan has also called the current rainfall important for the agriculture and said it will leave impact positive on the decline of drought.

Abdul Kafi Patmal, a senior official of Pastures Section in Agriculture Department has also called the recent rainfalls important to end the drought.

The Agriculture Department has launched its efforts to control the water of rains, he said.

He added, the Agriculture Department with the financial assistance of DACAAR organization has built two huge check dams in Registan area of Gereshk district, the work over two more check dams will be launched in near future in Registan and Shorki areas as well”.

Patmal added: “Each of the check dam will cost 2 million afs which will be paid by DACAAR organization as well, the dimensions of these check dams will be 249 meter long, 141 meters wide, 3 meters high and will have the capacity to store 64,000 cubic meter of water”.

It is worth mentioning that some people have been complaining since years about the underground water level falling down.

Aw/nh

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