PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): Orchard owners in the Charkh district of central Logar province say buyers could not visit them due to insecurity and they themselves lack facilities to transport their harvests to the market.
The district is home to fruit gardens, including grapes, apples, peaches and plums. A resident of the Shash Qala area, Syed Ibrahim, who owns an orchard, told Pajhwok Afghan News fruit yields were satisfactory this season but lack of market remained a big problem.
“In the past, buyers would visit the orchards, but they have stopping arriving because of insecurity and we cannot afford transporting fruits to the district centre,” he said, adding his two acres of grapes garden had enough yield this year, but there were no buyers.
Another orchard owner Haji Abdullah said: “I own a three-acre orchard of grapes and a separate garden of apples. No one has so far visited me to buy the fruits because of security concerns.”
To a question, he said orchard owners could not afford transportation costs for the tonnes of fruits to the market. He said gardeners had invested a lot of money and would incur losses if they failed to find market for their fruits.
Agriculture department official Rafiullah confirmed insecurity kept buyers at bay to visit the Sarkh district, which had many fruit orchards.
The district administrative chief, Khalilullah Kamal, also admitted sway the Taliban held in various parts of the town, the scene of several clashes this year.
He said Taliban’s activities had reached the climax during the ongoing solar year, negatively impacting people’s lives and businesses.
He also acknowledged fruits in the district had ripened and buyers were reluctant to visit the orchards due to insecurity.
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