The Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of Nangarhar has announced the establishment of citrus orchards for nearly 200 farmers on more than 400 jeribs of land.
Mohammad Wali Mohsin, the head of this department, said that to encourage farmers to cultivate alternative crops, gardening tools worth 100,000 Afghani have been distributed to each farmer.
According to him, farmers in the districts of Rodat, Surkh Rod, Khogyani, and Sherzad, who previously cultivated poppy, have benefited from this aid. He added: “These packages have been distributed to 195 farmers. These areas were previously dedicated to cannabis cultivation, and we are trying to change this trend.”
Farmers who have benefited from this aid have expressed satisfaction and called for the continuation of such support. They said that if there is cooperation in water storage, agricultural lands will expand.
Aseerullah, one of the farmers, said: “If there is cooperation in the area of water storage, we can prevent the land from drying up and continue our farming.”
Abdul Basir, another farmer, added: “There is no water in the Rodat district, but there is plenty of land for cultivation, and the only alternative to poppy cultivation is to start gardening.”
According to the Department of Agriculture of Nangarhar, in the last two years, and with the cooperation of some international organizations, around twelve thousand jeribs of land have been allocated to citrus, apple, guava, and plum orchards in several districts of this province.