KABUL (SW) – The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock opened the 28th exhibition of agricultural products on Wednesday in Badam Bagh, Kabul, which will continue for four days.
In this exhibition, agricultural products, handicrafts, agricultural machinery, plants and medicinal plants will be displayed in 263 booths, 56 of which are reserved for women.
Officials say that the purpose of this exhibition is to strengthen the agricultural sector, market agricultural products and encourage farmers.
Superintendent of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Attaullah Omari said: “This exhibition is to showcase the achievements of farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, so that domestic and foreign businessmen know what we have achieved in the field of agriculture.”
At the same time, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Baz Mohammad Faizan, in the opening ceremony of this exhibition, requested that dams be built for water conservation and special attention should be paid to agriculture. “If attention is paid to the country’s agriculture, we will have many achievements in the coming years.”
The exhibition of agricultural products is being held at a time when Afghanistan is facing a drought this year and devastating floods in different provinces, which caused heavy losses to the farmers.
Humayun, a participant of the exhibition, said: “The past years were good, many people used to come to the exhibition and there was money and people used to buy things. But now there is nothing, because the people’s economy is weak.”
With this, the women participating in this exhibition requested to have more land in order to contribute more to the economic growth of the country.
Najiya, a trader who has provided employment to around 50 other women, called for more attention to women’s activities in agriculture. She said: “Women should be encouraged in such programs so that women can become self-sufficient, because most women need to work and earn food for their families.”
It is worth noting that in addition to the investment in the agriculture sector in Afghanistan in the past years, most of the work in this sector is carried out in a traditional way and no enough steps have been taken to modernize it.
Farmers and participants of the exhibition of agricultural products emphasized upon the industrialization of agriculture and asked for support from the farmers.
Abdul Rahman Nasiri, the deputy of the Fruit Producers’ Association in Kabul, said: “Agricultural associations have been established in many provinces of Afghanistan, but they are not cooperating with them. We hope that standard packaging and processing centers will be established for agricultural products, so that our products can be improved and prevented from being lost.”
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