2.8 million trees to be planted in Afghanistan

Department of agriculture officials have announced that 2.8 million trees are to be planted in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.

The spring tree plantation drive was announced on Monday 16 January 2016. The agriculture director, Rafiullah Rahimzai, said that his department in Nangarhar province has prepared 450,000 seedlings this year, ready for planting in the eastern section of the province. He said the seedlings, including fruit trees and ornamental trees, were sown at government departments.

The 2.8 million trees will be planted with the assistance of the private sector. The government commenced the initiative and will hand over the planting of the seedlings to other departments.

The provincial capital of Nangarhar is Jalalabad. Residents of Jalalabad praised the tree planting initiative, but complained about the lack of will to preserve the trees after they are planted.

However, the agriculture department director said that they had formed a joint committee, representing the municipality, and the departments of canalization, information and culture, education, hajj and auqaf to preserve the trees.

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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