GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): A cold storage facility for fruits and vegetables has been constructed and put into service at a cost of around 45 million afghanis in the capital of southern Ghazni province.
Haji Hamayoon, the facility’s manager, told Pajhwok that the facility was built in the Deh-e-Khudadad area of Ghazni city.
He said the facility has a storage capacity of 2,000 metric tonnes of fruits and vegetables and has created employment opportunities for around 350 people.
Trader Haji Talib said the livelihoods of many families in Ghazni depended on agriculture and livestock farming, but a lack of adequate facilities for storing agricultural produce remained one of the major challenges facing farmers.
He explained that the cold store would allow farmers and orchard owners to preserve their produce until the appropriate time, enabling them to sell it in line with market demand.
Local farmers and orchard owners also welcomed the construction of the facility, describing it as important for preserving their produce.
Two farmers, Mubarak Shah and Mohammad Amin, called on the government and aid organisations to provide more facilities for storing agricultural products.
Qari Zakaria Hotak, spokesman for the Ghazni Agriculture Department, told Pajhwok that although the cold store was not very large, it would prove useful in meeting the needs of the area.
He noted that Ghazni was an agricultural province that produced significant quantities of fruits and vegetables every year, but a shortage of cold storage facilities remained a serious problem.
Hotak urged traders to invest in cold storage facilities so that agricultural produce could be preserved beyond the harvest season and farmers could sell it when market conditions were more favourable.
Economic analyst Farooq Boya said the construction of cold storage facilities for agricultural produce helped prevent post-harvest losses and enabled farmers to preserve their products until they could be sold at a suitable time.
Five other cold storage facilities have previously been established by the private sector in Ghazni city and its districts.
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