Efforts to Replace Poppy with Peaches in North Zone

Officials at agriculture, irrigation and livestock department of Nangarhar said that efforts are being made to improve peach orchards as a suitable substitute for imports from Pakistan. They hoped that their efforts would prove a good alternative to poppy cultivation in the province. Rafiullah Rahimzai, head of Nangarhar agriculture, irrigation and livestock department, said that they have jointly started the project in cooperation with national gardening programme of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). He asserted that over the past two years some 150 acres of land have been turned into peach orchards in the province. He added that they have developed three types of peach in their experimental farms. The provincial agriculture department said that they have drafted a plan to create peach orchards in north zone including Laghman and Kunar provinces within the next two years.