At the same time, the agriculture officials of this province say that they promise to help Afghan farmers in planting pistachios, dates, and other fruitful trees and plants.
Although the Islamic Emirate has banned the cultivation of poppy and other narcotics throughout the country, farmers in Helmand want the government to come up with an alternative to poppy cultivation.
Dost Mohammad, a resident of the Marjah district of this province, told Radio Killid that if poppy is banned and not replaced, people will face severe hunger.
We are asking the government for improved fertilizers and seeds, people are in a bad situation now because poppy has been banned and there is no alternative.
The residents of the Kalabast area near the center of Lashkargah also point to the same problem.
Haji Dastgir, one of the residents of the mentioned area, told Radio Killid that there is no alternative for poppy cultivation and people are worried about it.
He added that people used to earn a lot of money from poppy cultivation, and their economic situation was good, but now that poppy cultivation is banned, the government should help the people.
Cotton, corn, and wheat are not very useful for us. A package of fertilizer costs 18,000 AFN, but he still cannot support himself.
A resident of the Sangin district of Helmand considers the construction of gardens useful.
And he says that (the government should help us build a garden, give us the date and pistachio trees).
Abdul Wali Wafa, the expert engineer of Lashkargah Agriculture Department, welcomes the decree of the Islamic Emirate, but at the same time expresses concern about the drought and the poor economic situation of the people there.
He told Radio Killid that if the farmers are not given alternative seeds or other assistance, they will face a difficult disaster.
He said: alternative payment is very important, and the government should make serious efforts in this field and improve people’s lives, alternative ways to consider”
The officials of the Department of Agriculture of Helmand province insist on building a garden instead of poppy.
Maulavi Abdul Bari Shahab, the head of the mentioned department, told Killid that this province has a lot of water and plans to help people in the field of gardening.
According to him, these orchards include pistachio and date orchards, which can be a good substitute for poppy. He said: “With the cooperation of the ministry, we help people to build pistachio and date orchards because dates and pistachio are a good substitute for poppy.”
Apart from Helmand, poppy cultivation has been banned in other provinces of the country and people are demanding alternative seeds from the government.
Officials of the Islamic Emirate have also said in international meetings that poppy cultivation has stopped in Afghanistan and the international community should help Afghan farmers with alternative seeds.
Translated by: Shir Ali Jafari
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