Agriculture

The Agriculture Department of southeastern Paktia, in cooperation with aid organization, has started distributing improved wheat seeds and fertilizers to over 6,000 farmers across the province.

The Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock department in northern Faryab province reports an increase in saffron cultivation in the province.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in cooperation with the Afghanistan National Saffron Union has distributed saffron harvesting and processing equipment and machines to hundreds of farmers in western Herat province.

European Union (EU) Special Representative for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson has pledged 45 million euros to Afghan farmers in alternatives to poppy cultivation.

SAR-I-PUL (Pajhwok): Some farmers in northern Sar-i-Pul province have urged the caretaker government to provide them with alternative source of income to replace poppy cultivation.

A number of local gardeners and traders in northwestern Faryab say that this year the level of raisin production in the province has doubled, but the price of this product has dropped sharply.

More than 3,000 tonnes of sweet orange yield estimated in eastern Nangarhar province this season as the gardens conditions are satisfactory, an official said on Wednesday.

Thirty-one farmers have been arrested for cultivating opium poppies on their lands in northeastern Badakhshan province, security officials said on Sunday.

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Cultivated on 300 hectares of land, saffron yield has reached 1.5 metric tonnes in northern Balkh province this year, an . . .

Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Department officials say persimmon harvest is estimated to surpass 800 tons in the province this year, when more orchards were established on 195 acres of land.

As saffron harvesting season is approaching in western Herat province, officials say the precious herb’s yield will increase this season.

The Balkh Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock says 32 large dairy farms are operating in the northern province, producing 1,050 metric tons of milk annually.