INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nangarhar officials said Friday that strawberry harvests in the eastern Afghan province have increased to 170 metric tonnes this
year.According to the Nangarhar agriculture department, 300 acres of land is now used for the cultivation of strawberries in the
province.Local farmers meanwhile said they could increase their crops if government helps establish greenhouses.We have not received any
support from the agriculture department over the past six years,& said Rahim Gul, a farmer in Nangarhar.They should provide insecticides,
and they should help us in setting up greenhouses
If we have greenhouses, we could produce strawberries during all four seasons.Strawberry-sellers have said that there is a big demand for
the fruit in the province.People like strawberries
They prefer to buy domestically produced strawberries,& said Syed Ali Shah, a strawberry seller.Zmarai Khan, a strawberry field worker,
said: &We could take our strawberries to faraway areas if they (government) support us with the marketing,The popular fruit is cultivated in
Khogyani, Surkhrod, Dara-e Noor, Pachiragam, Goshta, Kama and Kuz Kunar districts of Nangarhar province, said Ajmal Subhani, a spokesman for
provincial agriculture department.According to him, strawberries could be a good replacement for poppy farmers, which authorities are
working to facilitate.The post Strawberry harvests increase in Nangarhar first appeared on Ariana News.