Production of sugar surges in Baghlan

PUL-I-KHUMRI (Pajhwok): The production of brown sugar has doubled as farmers’ increased growing sugar beet in northern Bghlan province.

The factory had been activated with the support of Germany in Baghlan province in 1940. The factory had to halt production in 1991 due to insecurity, but resumed functioning back in 2006 after President Hamid Karzai’s government established.

Annually, about 5,000 acres of land is used for growing sugar beet in Baghlan, with the factory start functioning for one and a half month in the season of the crops.

Director of the factory, Ghulam Sakhi, said that they had more than 570 tons of sugar products during 20 days in 2013, while the production was only 254 tons of sugar in 2012 and 2011.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News: “If the sugar beets cultivation increased and farmers and government focus for the promotion of the sugar production, it will help multiply factory’s production.”

Sakhi added that they distributed sugar beet seeds along with two bags of fertilizers without any cost to farmers and they buy one ton of sugar beet at 2,000 Afghanis.

A farmer of the area, Fazal Haq who also grows sugar beet said: “I annually use my five acres of land for sugar beet cultivation, but we face many problems such as the corps is being bought on small amount by the factory and some plant diseases destroy our crops.

He said if the agriculture department did not address their legitimate problems they would start cultivating other plants instead.

The agriculture department head, Azizullah Emaq welcomed the increase of sugar products and said that a worm called Nematode was found in the farming land in Baghlan that infects the sugar beet crops.

Emaq added fighting this worm was very hard as the agriculture department had repeatedly used to eliminate it, but failed.

He said that German’s specialists were striving to eliminate the worm and distribute improved sugar seeds to Baghlan farmers for better crops.

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