A group of farmers who attended a two-day agricultural expo in Herat said that the lack of market and the absence of air corridor services have hampered their products this year.
They displayed their products in nearly 40 booths which included grapes, figs, honey and others.
“We collect our products, but we sell them at a low price due to lack of market, said Abdul Mannan, a farmer. “We need support to send our products abroad.”
Lack of storage facilities is another issue for Herat farmers that has remained unsolved for years.
Herat is famous for its grapes due to their high quality and uniqueness. Farmers said they expect to collect at least 150,000 tons of grapes this year, which is nearly 20 percent higher than the last year.
Herat produces 70 types of grapes and 60 percent of the grapes are processed for producing raisins.
Meanwhile, farmers said they expect to collect 7,000 tons of figs this year, which is nearly 20 percent more than the last year. The fig farms encompass 448 hectares of land in the province.
Honey is another famous product in Herat. Farmers said Herat has at least 1,000 beekeeping farms that have provided jobs for 3,000 people.
The farmers said that they expect to collect at least 200 tons of honey this year.
