Herat gardeners seek support as fig yield jumps 10pc

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Some gardeners in western Herat province say figs, especially yellow variety, has yielded good harvests, showing a 10 percent increase, and asked the government to support them in expanding cultivation and exporting fruits.

Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, head of agricultural extension at the Agriculture and Livestock Department, explained this year, about 10,000 tons of figs would be harvested from a total of 620 hectares of orchards in the province.

According to him, last year, about 9,000 tons of figs were harvested from orchards, and this year, due to favorable weather and proper management by farmers, the yield has increased by more than 10 percent.

Recently, some gardeners cultivated figs, especially the yellow variety, harvesting satisfactory yield.

Three years ago, he established his first fig orchard in Herat and now exports his product to Pakistan, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Aminullah, a farmer, said.

Aminullah cultivated 15,000 fig trees on 35 acres of land in Pashton Zarghon and Guzra districts.

A number of gardeners are asking the government to provide them with agricultural land to expand the cultivation of common and yellow figs and to facilitate the export process of this fruit.

According to the agriculture department, most of the fig orchards are located in Zinda Jan, Injil, Pashton Zarghon, and Guzra districts. Among these, figs of Zinda Jan district have a large share in exports due to their high quality and marketability, and a large part of its harvest is exported to India, Pakistan, and the UAE  every year.

hz/ma