Kandahar nearly self-sufficient in chicken meat, egg production

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): The Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock says Kandahar province has nearly achieved self-sufficiency in chicken meat and egg production, with around 1,200 active poultry farms currently operating.

Mohammad Hanif Haqmal, spokesman for the department, said that approximately 1,200 large and small poultry farms were currently operational in the province, producing up to 400,000 eggs and 65,000 kilograms of chicken meat daily for the market.

He said: “Kandahar is almost self-sufficient in chicken meat and egg production with only a small number of eggs still imported from Iran. Production in the province is high and chickens and eggs are also sent to other provinces.”

He called on investors to take advantage of the existing opportunities and invest in poultry farms in the province to reduce dependence on foreign imports.

Bilal Ahmad, a representative of the “Dawi Zia Group” company in Kandahar, said the firm has established dozens of poultry farms in the province.

He added that these farms meet market demand, supplying up to 350,000 eggs daily from their farms, which house 400,000 chickens in Kandahar alone.

According to him, eggs and chicken meat are also transported from Kandahar to Kabul, Balkh, Ghazni, Herat and other provinces.

He noted: “We have invested over $150 million in modern poultry farms in the country. Every day, our farms in Kandahar alone produce up to 350,000 eggs. We aim to further increase investment in this sector so that Afghanistan becomes self-sufficient in chicken and egg production.”

He also stated that up to 3,000 people work directly across the farms and various branches of the company.

Company officials said that due to border closures with Pakistan, they are facing a shortage of poultry vaccines and have called on the Islamic Emirate to help address the problem.

The Kandahar Department of Agriculture and Livestock said it has shared the issue with the Ministry and is working to find a solution.

kk/ma