Sar-i-Pul farmers decry cotton price decline

KABUL (Pajhwok): Farmers in northern Sar-i-Pul province say cotton prices have halved this year compared to the previous years.

However, agriculture officials say they are striving to find market for cotton produced in the province.

Dad Mohammad, a farmer in Khanaqa-i-Maliki area of Sar-i-Pul, said: “This year, I cultivated 30 acres of land with cotton, but the harvest did not even meet the cost of water, fertilizer and labor.”

A seven-kilogram of cotton was sold for 700 afghanis last year, but its price decreased to 350 afghanis this year, he said, urging the government to cooperate with farmers in selling their product.

Abdus Salam, another grower in Bakhtiari area, also said: “If the market of cotton is good one year, it is not good next year. We ask the Islamic Emirate to fix a stable price for agricultural products so that the farmers avoid losses.”

Basir, in farmer in Syed Abad district, said: “Every year we farm in the hope of finding a bite of halal bread. But at the end, the prices of our products decrease. If the Islamic Emirate does not pay attention to the issue, farmers will suffer losses instead of profit.”

On the other hand, Qari Abdul Qadir Wahdat, Head of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock department, told Pajhwok Afghan News that farmers’ complaints about the prices of their products were valid. “This issue has been shared with the Ministry of Agriculture which is also trying to find a suitable market for cotton”.

sa/ma

Views: 88