Helmand produces 24,000 tons of pomegranates

The southern Helmand province has produced 24,000 tons of pomegranates this year, the Agriculture Department said on Tuesday.
But farmers complain the government has not provided them with any kind of cooperation in looking after their orchards or enhancing the fruit yield.
Gulab Shah, a resident of Nad Ali district, told Pajhwok Afghan News he had planted pomegranate saplings on 10 acres of land.
“The yield is good but we don’t have a gainful market for the fruit. The government has granted us no facilities,” he grumbled.
Ahmad Shah, head of the orchard owners’ union, said around 30 types of pomegranate plants were experienced, with giving good yields.
He believed Helmand, Afghanistan’s largest opium-producing province, could be transformed into a pomegranate-producing province if the government cooperated with farmers.
Agriculture Director Zalmay Aloko said pomegranate orchards had been established on 1,156 hectares of land, which produced 24,465 tons of the fresh juicy fruit this year.
He informed efforts were underway to find a good market for the fruit in other provinces. Helmand produced 21,000 tons pomegranate last year.