60 thousand hectares of farmland to be put into operation in 30 provinces of Afghanistan

Almaty. August 12. Silkroadnews – Till the end of this year 60 thousand hectares of farmland to be put into operation in 30 provinces of Afghanistan (excluding provinces of Panjshir, Daykundi, Ghor and Nuristan), Afghan news agency (AfTAG) reported.

For these purposes the country’s ministry of agriculture allocates about 100 million Afghani out of its budget. Also it is planned to build five new irrigation networks in the provinces of Kabul and Parwan.

Agreement on implementation of these projects was signed in Kabul between Abdul Qadeer Jawad, Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration at Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, and representatives of contracting companies.

The implementation of the program in case shall reduce consumption of water and chemical fertilizers, prevent erosion and improve yields. According to the officials, such savings are particularly important under current conditions when provinces loose more than 50% of water due to agricultural lands problems.

With the launch of new irrigation networks another 1.5 hectares of farmlands will be irrigated, loss of 40% of water will be prevented while land productivity is expected to raise by 20%.

Up to three thousands of farmers shall get special trainings within the program implementation activities.

More than 7.2 thousand of families are expected to benefit from results of these projects in Kabul and Parwan, with more than 24 thousand people getting a job.