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Bamiyan potato farmers appeal for help to store and sell their produce
Bamiyan potato farmers have called on the government to help develop and secure a stable market for their produce and to build more cold storage facilities for them.
According to the farmers, a shortage of cold storage units and the lack of a stable market has had a negative impact on them financially.
“We want markets, we want peace and we want employment,” a farmer said.
“People buy [potatoes] for 120 AFN ($1.34) to 150 AFN ($1.68) [per 7kg] in Mazar-e-Sharif; here it is available at 100 AFN ($1.1) or 90 AFN ($1),” another farmer added.
Bamiyan is Afghanistan’s largest potato-growing province, and produces around 300,000 tons of potatoes each year.
About 2,000 small and large storage facilities have been built to store potatoes over the past few years and these farmers supply about 50 percent of Afghanistan’s domestic demand.
About 80 percent of the people in Bamiyan are farmers, who mainly grow potatoes – which also make up a large part of Bamiyan residents’ diet.