Herat rice yield satisfactory this year

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Some rice growers in western Herat province have urged people and governmental institutions to consume local jasmine rice amid support from rice farmers.

Mohammad Omar, a farmer in the Gozara district has asked people to consume locally grown rice.

In comments with Pajhwok Afghan News, Mohammad Omar said the domestically produced jasmine rice was of the best quality and called on the government officials to support the product and farmers by consuming them.

But Abdul Wahab, another farmer has talked about a considerably higher yield of rice this year, he expected 2.4 tonnes of rice yield from each acre of land.

He has grown rice on over three acres of land, referring to the suitable climate condition for the rice crop in Herat and he urged the local government administration to further support the farmers by consuming their rice products, he also encouraged the propagation of rice by implementing more supporting projects in the agriculture sector.

Local officials of Afghanistan’s Chambers of Commerce and Livestock (ACCL) have also insisted on the support of domestic products.

Herat ACCL director Basheer Ahmad Bahaduri believed supporting farmers was essential, he told Pajhwok that more rice was produced in Herat this year urging the people to purchase this domestic product.

The officials of the Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Department also expected the production of about 9,447 tonnes of rice in Herat.

Agriculture director Maulvi Mohammad Naseem Sahar, said rice was grown on a total of 3,149 hectares of land in Herat this year which showed a 35 percent spike compared to the previous year.

About the marketing for domestic products, Sahar said the agriculture department had always tried to support the farmers in this regard.

He said most of the rice was cultivated in Gozara, Anjil and Pashton Zarghon, the districts that had plenty of water for the irrigation of land.

Aw/nh