Afghanistan’s wheat harvest will reach 5 million metric tons this year: ministry

Five million metric tons of wheat have been harvested so far this year, one million metric tons more than the last year’s harvest, officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock said. 

The ministry plans to cultivate wheat in fields that have not been cultivated before.

“According to the decree of Amir al-Momenin (IEA leaser) issued last year, poppy cultivation was stopped and the Ministry of Agriculture directed the farmers to plant wheat in order to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production. Therefore, more wheat was cultivated,” Misbahuddin Mustain, the spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, said.

Officials in the country’s Agriculture and Livestock Chamber say that Afghanistan needs 6.5 to 7.5 million metric tons of wheat annually.

They call on the government to produce wheat in the country by creating large, medium, and small water canals and managing the country’s waters.

“Afghanistan is an agricultural country. Unfortunately, we had more imports in Afghanistan because we had problems. Fortunately, with the construction of Kamal Khan Dam, Qosh Tepa Canal, Shah wa Arous Dam, and other dams, we can achieve self-sufficiency,” Mirwais Hajizada, deputy of the Agriculture and Livestock Chamber, said.