2016 a bumper season for Afghan pomegranate farmers

Fruit production has been a bumper season for Afghan pomegranate farmers. Farmers in the Tagab district of central Kapisa province in Afghanistan are exultant over the extremely high pomegranate yield. And prices are higher too than last year.

Tagab district is known globally for high quality pomegranates. The Tagab farmers have seen a rise in prices, doubling last year’s prices. Orchard owners are quite content with their profits this season. The issue now is storage. They need cold storage facilities where pomegranates can be stored for a long time to retain their quality.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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