Herat rain-fed cropland harvests decline by 80 percent

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): The rain-fed crops’ harvest has decreased by 80 percent in western Herat province this year owing to acute drought conditions, an official said on Monday.

Maulvi Mohammad Nasim Sahar, acting director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the lack of rainfall this spring hugely affected rain-fed crops’ produce in the province.

According to him, farmers used to obtain good yield every year after tillage, but this year they suffered as a large part of their crops was lost due to the lack of rainfall.

Meanwhile, farmers in Herat ask the officials concerned to prevent drought effects in the province by releasing water from the Salma Dam.

Mohammad Eisa, a farmer in Guzara district, told Pajhwok that last year he cultivated 1.5 acres of rain-fed land, which yielded less than the previous years.

According to him, this year crops on the same piece of land dried up due to the lack of rain and dry winter.

sa/ma