Nusratullah Tahirzai | Nangarhar
The date orchard established by the Wadi Agricultural Emirati Company in Nangarhar has shown a noticeable increase in yield this year compared to the previous season.
According to company officials, the orchard at Hada Farm spans 40 acres and contains 2,700 date palm trees. They estimate that more than 20 metric tons of dates will be harvested from the orchard this year.
Company spokesperson, Sayed Homayoun Gharibmal, stated:
“The Hada Farm orchard produces six varieties of dates. If no natural disasters occur, we expect to harvest between 19 to 21 metric tons this year.”
He added that in an effort to promote and expand date cultivation, the company has also developed another orchard on an additional 25 acres, planting 1,000 more date palms.
According to Gharibmal, saplings from their orchard have been used to establish new date farms not only in remote districts of Nangarhar but also in other provinces across the country, generating hundreds of thousands of Afghanis in revenue.
Farm workers at Hada Farm expressed satisfaction with the employment opportunities provided locally. Abdul Naeem, who works at the orchard, said:
“I’m very happy to have work in my own country and in these orchards. Thanks to this job, I can meet my family’s needs. When the dates are ready for harvest, short-term job opportunities also open up for other youth, allowing them to earn a living.”
Meanwhile, officials from the Chamber of Agriculture, Livestock, and Production say that thousands of metric tons of dates are imported into Afghanistan every year, and there is an urgent need to expand domestic date farming to reduce dependency on imports.
Ajmal Rahmani, head of the chamber, noted:
“Nangarhar has a favorable climate for date cultivation. We urge both the caretaker government and the private sector to invest in this area so that we can reduce date imports and create jobs through local orchards on barren lands.”
It is worth noting that last year, due to destructive storms, hail, and rainfall, about 90% of the Hada Farm’s date yield was destroyed, causing approximately 1.5 million Afghanis in financial losses to the company.