Wheat Products Decreased By 16% Last Year: Official

The Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) said that at least one million hectares of land which was cultivated with wheat was damaged due to draught. 
Akbar Rustami, a spokesman for MAIL, said that at least 3.6 million tons of wheat was harvested last year, while it was 4.5 million tons a year before.
Rustami said efforts are underway to improve wheat products this year. 
“The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock will provide all facilities, including machineries, to farmers in order to increase wheat production this year,” Rustami said. “At the same time, distribution of 10,000 tons of fertilized seeds to farmers is part of the plan to increase wheat production in solar year 1398.” 
Experts said that lack of machinery and lack of water irrigation of agricultural lands are main problems for wheat cultivation. 
“Afghanistan’s exports are dependent on agricultural products and the increase in agricultural products are dependent on irrigation water which is created by snow and rainfalls,” said Shabir Bashiri, an economic affairs analyst. 
The CSO statistics show that besides 3.6 million tons of wheat, 350,000 tons of rice, 6,000 tons of barley and 110,000 million tons of corn were harvested in the country during last year. 
According to Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, 21 provinces faced severe drought due to a 45 percent drop in rainfalls last year.