KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): A farmer in the Taniayo district of southeastern Khost province has cultivated green tea for the first time and said the result was satisfactory.
Rahmatullah Wali told Pajhwok Afghan News that he experienced green tea cultivation some months ago and now the plant was growing each day.
He hoped that green tea cultivation in the country would play role in the economic development of farmers, people and country.
“I had ordered this from India, I have planted it now and it has been giving good results for two months. I have tried this myself. No one showed me, they just brought me the seeds and I planted them myself. I have planted two or three varieties, I have other plans for them too and I am seeing when they give good results.”
Rahmat Wali said that the relevant agencies should support farmers to expand green tea cultivation in Khost and also encourage other farmers to cultivate green tea on their lands.
He believed that if the relevant responsible agencies cooperate in this regard, this cultivation can be further expanded.
Mohammad Rasoul, another farmer, said Khost is a climate-friendly region for agriculture, so more facilities should be created for farmers.
He said: “Everything gives results in Khost, but there is no one here to bring anything and plant it. Whatever is under our control, we plant it and it gives good results and harvests. If something is experimented in this area, everything gives results, the weather is good.”
Meanwhile, Khost’s Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Director Sher Mohammad Zabih considers this effort to cultivate green tea a positive one and says that more research will be conducted in this area to identify different types of green tea for farmers.
He said: “Khost, thank God, has the right climate for growing green tea, it has temperatures of up to 40 degrees, it is humid, and it has a lot of rain. So we are hoping for good results, we are constantly asking about the tea that has been planted and giving advice.”
Experts believe that if the green tea cultivation effort is successful, it will open a new chapter in Afghanistan’s agricultural sector and play an important role in the country’s economic strength.
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