FARAH CITY (SW) – A staggering decline in the prices of vegetables and fruits from greenhouses in Farah province has left farmers deeply concerned.
According to the farmers, the price for watermelon has dropped as low as AFN 1 per kilo while one kilo of aubergine and tomatoo are for AFN 2 and cucumber for as low as AFN 1.5. They said the prices have dropped so low that the farmers are finding it extremely hard to manage their own basic investment and expenses.
Many are blaming the government, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, in particular for this situation. They charged these products are still sold at decent prices of around AFN 40 per kilo in other provinces, but in Farah the situation is alarming.
Manan Mateen, head of the Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, has blamed the abundance of the yield from greenhouses coupled with extended Eid holidays for the drop in prices. He said the production of watermelon alone surged from 670,000 tons in the year 2018 to 790,000 tons this year.
Head of the Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock informed that work is in the procurement process for a cold storage with the capacity for 500 tons here.
Lack of enough cold storages have long been causing similar problems for farmers across the country.
ENDS
