Herat officials said Monday that in the wake of proper water management this year, Salma Dam has successfully stored 180 million cubic meters of water, which was also delivered to eight districts and more than 120 water canals.

The Director General of the Harirod-Murghab River Basin, Abdul Salam Mustawafi Agha, said that about 85 dams will be built across the country in the next five years, and that some economic problems will be eased with proper management of dams.

“If we have money in our development budget, it should be spent on building dams because our country is agricultural. If our water is controlled and is used safely, our many economic problems will be solved,” he said.

In the meantime, Herat officials said local farmers have welcomed the improved water management of Salma Dam as they have been able to irrigate their crops.

“The water management has been very good this year and most of the farmers are happy because they irrigated their crops … they benefited from this water, and are now harvesting,” said Ghulam Farooq, one farmer.

Experts have also said that the country’s river systems need to be better managed so as to strengthen the agriculture sector in the country. They have urged the IEA to invest more in this area.

“There needs to be an agreement between us and the neighboring countries that the dams should be built in the right way to control the water. We don’t say that water should be cut off to the neighboring countries, the Islamic Emirate should have an agreement with the neighboring countries so that when a dam is built, it will not be destroyed by the destructive reaction of neighboring countries,” said Ghulam Habib Hashimi, chief of the Water Users Association in Herat.