Investors say the saffron prices hall fallen by 50% in local markets over the last year, affecting businessmen and farmers’ interest in growing and selling the plant.
(Last Updated On: May 11, 2021)
Herat’s Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock says that due to favorable weather conditions and the interest of farmers, the cultivation of strawberries in this province has flourished and that currently over 100 hectares is being used to grow this popular fruit.
Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, acting head of Herat’s agriculture department, said that with the increase in cultivated areas, it is expected that the strawberry yield in the province will exceed 150 metric tons this year.
Ahmadi says that strawberries are grown in both greenhouses and outdoors, but many farmers are now growing them in greenhouses.
Salma Dam Underutilized Due to Lack of Irrigation Canals
Since the opening of Salma Dam in 2016, only 40% of the planned water canals connected to the dam have been completed, and water cannot flow to the eight western districts of Herat province, said local officials, citing figures provided by the Harirrud-Murghab River Basin Directorate.
“We have 118 water canals, for which we have made basins for only 40-50 percent,” said Sayed Omar Eshaq, head of the Harrirud-Murghab River Basin Directorate.
Some districts in Herat province including Kohsan, Ghoryan and ZindaJan lack irrigation for crops because approximately 60% of Salma Dam s basins have not been constructed yet.