JALALABAD (SW): Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhaar province once had a thriving olive industry but now as SWRN explores the area the industry is fighting hard for its survival.
Olive’s products have significant market in the country and the region. Oil made of olives and olive pickle remains high in demand throughout the year.
Ezzatullah Miakhal is the Director Olive Industries in the Nangarhar Canal Project that spans over an area of 11,000 hectares of government-owned land — including four huge orchard of citrus and olive — and 14,000 hectares of privately-owned land in Surkhrod, Behsud, Batikot, Ghanikhel and Momand Dara districts.
“The first olive processing unit was installed in the year 1357 S.H.C (1979) that started its production in the year 1363 S.H.C (1984)”, he said. Miakhail added that the facility has Russian, Italian and Pakistan made machinery in it.
“We make pickles from immature olives and oil out of ripe olives”, he mentioned.
The olive processing unit once employed hundreds of workers but now only around 40 people i.e. six women and some thirty plus men are work there. Naseem Khan is one of the male workers who has been here for over a decade now.
“I am happy to be working in our very own national factory”, he said.
As Miakhail explained, the factory was still unable to meet the growing local market demand. He asked for the government and foreign aid to improve the processing units. “We cannot process rest of the olive yield with the current machinery but if we get modern equipments”, the NCP director said.
Olives have gradually replaced poppy cultivation in this eastern province. A part from the growers and processors, local traders too are happy with it. In the provincial capital Jalalabad, Fawad has a grocery store. “The local olive oil has many customers but the supply often remains short”, he complained.
In eyes of the experts, the crop has a potential to lift the local and national economy. University Professor Dodyal believes Nangarhar has the ideal climate to produce good quality olives. He too stressed for the need to pay more attention towards this rewarding crop.
ENDS
