QALA-E-NAU (SW) – A number of gardeners in Samangan say that due to the extreme cold in last year’s winter, their almond yield has decreased by 80 to 90 percent this year.
Kamaluddin, one of the gardeners in Samangan, who has been gardening for several years, said that he has dedicated 10 acres of his land to planting several varieties of almonds, including satrbai almonds, khaharbai, shakurbai, satarbai mahmeli, etc., and the price of each of them is different. According to Kamaluddin, his income last year was about 500,000 afghani, but last year, the cold weather damaged his trees and the yield of his almond orchards decreased dramatically. He added: “The same 10 acres of land that I was a farmer of last year, I got almost 500,000 afghanis from this land. The winter that passed this year was very cold. It damaged our trees. When it cooled down, this year’s yield is very low compared to last year’s. Out of 100%, 20% of almonds have been harvested this year.”
Abdul Khalil, another gardener in Samangan, told Salam Watandar that gardening is his only way to earn, but this year, due to the extreme cold, the almond yield has decreased by 90%. According to him, the severe cold this year destroyed the buds and blossoms of almonds, and his almond trees yielded only 10%.
At the same time, the officials in the department of agriculture in Samangan also say that climatic changes and excessive cold weather have caused the almond yield of this province to decrease by more than 60%.
Abdul Khalil Karimi, the director of agriculture affairs in the Samangan department of agriculture, irrigation and livestock, said that more than six thousand hectares of agricultural land in this province have been allocated to almond orchards, but this year’s severe cold has had a negative impact on almond yields. He added: “In recent years, sometimes due to heat and sometimes cold, almonds suffered. Unfortunately, due to excessive cold this year, almonds have suffered a lot. About 60% or more of it has cooled our trees and is left unharvested. More than 5,000, 6,000 hectares of land, including the districts, are covered with almonds.”
It should be mentioned that Samangan is one of the agricultural provinces in the north of the country, where most of its residents are engaged in agriculture and livestock farming. A variety of fresh and dry fruits are produced in this province, but Samangani almonds have a special reputation.
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