KABUL (SW) – Attaullah Omari, Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, has said that people are facing it extremely hard to feed their families.
In a conversation with Salam Watandar, he said the role of agriculture in providing food for the citizens as an important sector and added that agriculture is the permanent and stable capital of the Afghan people and the government is committed to doing fundamental work for its growth.
Mr. Omari called the growth of agriculture important in the economic development of Afghanistan and emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock wants to speed up the process of agricultural growth in the country by forming specific boards consisting of experts.
He added that the restoration of water supply networks is one of the important programs for agricultural growth, and the Ministry of Agriculture is determined to build dams to control monsoon water in 45 thousand villages with its own budget or with the cooperation of partner institutions, and this program, in the future will be extended to all villages in the country.
The Acting Minister of Agriculture also said that the forests in Afghanistan have been taken out of the control of the powerful and tribal elders and are now under the control of the government, and a “green section” has been created to protect it.
Mr. Omari added that the Ministry supports farmers through the Agriculture Development Fund and they can receive loans by submitting a comprehensive proposal that is reviewed by the Ministry’s experts.
Under the previous government, besides the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, dozens of other international institutions were also operating, each of which had a decent amount of budget. But Afghanistan’s agriculture sector has not grown as expected and still remains in its traditional form.
After the return of the Islamic Emirate to power, the most important program that has been undertaken to strengthen agriculture is the construction of the Qosh Tapa Canal, which will bring thousands of hectares of land under cultivation in the north of the country.
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