The problems of farmers in Kandahar provence.

Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan. Kandahar province is located in the south of Afghanistan. A large river passes near the city of Kandahar, this river is now known as the Arghandab River. Many battles have been fought in this city over the last several decades. Until the year 2000, the city was very small and backward. But for two decades after that, the US and its allies have played a very important role in the development of this city. Even during these two decades, the city was often in conflict. Despite all this, the efforts of the United States of America changed the map of this city. These two decades were perhaps the most golden part of the life of the common people in Kandahar. This was the period in which the people of Kandahar lived a prosperous life in a free democracy. From 2001 to 2021 when the US and its allies were in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, like other sectors, agriculture in Kandahar also made some progress. But still Kandahar agriculture faces many problems.

This province has been suffering from drought for many years.

The climate of the whole earth has changed over the past several years. Kandahar city has also been facing drought for many years. Due to which many gardens and farms have turned into barren lands۔ Many people of Kandahar province belonged to the agricultural sector. They have become unemployed due to this drought. Some landlords and farmers supply water to gardens and farms through tube wells and wells. These sources are expensive and provide very limited amounts of water. The water obtained from this source for agriculture. Lowers the groundwater table further. Apart from this, due to the rains, different types of plants grew in the hilly and plain areas. Which have been negligible for a few years now. Most of these plants were used in various medicines. Due to which thousands of people were employed. Those who were earning from these plants have now lost their income.

High prices of fertilizers.

There are very few fertilizer factories in Afghanistan. which can meet only a few percent of Afghanistan's fertilizer needs. That is why Afghanistan is forced to import fertilizer from foreign countries. Afghanistan often depends on its neighboring countries for fertilizer. When crops in Afghanistan need fertilizers. Afghanistan's neighboring countries cannot meet their fertilizer needs۔ When Afghanistan imports fertilizers from these countries۔ So, the price of fertilizers also increases in neighboring countries. For this reason, neighboring countries ban the export of fertilizers to Afghanistan. Hence, the cost of fertilizers is generally higher at the time of need. Due to the high cost of fertilizers, landlords and farmers cannot supply the quantity required by the crops. Due to which the yields of the crops are also adversely affected.

Lack of agricultural skills among farmers.

Afghanistan's literacy rate is extremely low. The literacy rate is around 37%. Most of the educated people of Afghanistan live in cities. It is clear from this that the literacy rate in Afghanistan will be between 15 to 20 percent in rural areas. Then there is barely one percent literacy rate among the farmers of Afghanistan. Apart from this, there is no agricultural university in Kandahar province. There is also no special arrangement for training farmers in rural areas. The minds of farmers in Kandahar province are limited to a few fruits and vegetables. There are also many crops that can be a cash earner for farmers in Kandahar province. Farmers in Kandahar province do not have any special training to grow such crops and there is no special arrangement for such training.

Irrigation problems.

Crops are irrigated in several ways in Kandahar province. Water pumps are also used in many places besides through rivers through canals. By placing water pumps on the banks of canals and streams, water is supplied to the farms. There is a dam in Kandahar province which is popularly known as Dallah Dam. About 40 to 50 percent of this dam is filled with mud. Apart from this, there is no other dam in the entire province. A river known as Arghandab River originates from this dam. Sometimes this river remains dry for eight months in a year. Arghandhab River remains empty throughout the year during drought. There are two other rivers in Kandahar province apart from Arghandhab river. One is known as Tarank and the other is known as Dori. Both these rivers have water only when it rains. Otherwise these two rivers are empty. This is the reason why all farmers and landowners in Kandahar province supply water to their lands through tube wells and wells. Getting water from these sources requires more energy. Which is costly for farmers and landlords. The irrigation system of this province is very old. For decades, no special attention has been paid to the irrigation system of Kandahar province.

Not having easy market access to neighboring countries.

Both Afghan traders and farmers have repeatedly mentioned that they do not have proper access to markets. The Afghan Ministry of Trade and Industry has not yet achieved any significant success. In finding markets internationally. Landlords and farmers also complain about high taxes from neighboring countries. They have to bear a lot of cost to gain access to the markets of the host countries. Then the farmers of Kandahar province do not have enough experience to know what is most needed in the markets of neighboring countries. Also, there are not enough greenhouses in Kandahar. That they have enough products for export at the time of need in the international market.

Lack of factories in the country for processing various agricultural products.

Most of the farmers in Provence Kandahar complain that the processing plants within the country are not sufficient for their production. Kandahar province has cotton production but there is no textile factory in the entire province. In the same province, farmers can cultivate rice, sugar, and wheat on a large scale. But there is no mill in the entire province that can make sugar, flour or process rice. Apart from this, many fruits are grown in this province which can be made into juice or jam. which can be easily exported to the international markets. Cold rooms for storing vegetables and fruits are non-existent. For this reason, landlords and farmers must sell their crops like vegetables and fruits within a day or two. Because both the fruits and the vegetables spoil very quickly. Therefore, farmers prefer to ignore the low price or high price and just sell in the first day or two. Due to which farmers often suffer huge losses.

Farmers and landlords face many difficulties in energy sources.

There is almost no electricity in the entire Kandahar province except Kandahar city. Electricity is considered to be the cheapest means of running tube wells or wells. Other important sources are using petroleum and using solar panels. Both these channels are also used to get water from below the surface of the earth. Diesel pumps are used to provide water to fields in Kandahar province. It is a very expensive source of water. Obtaining water for lands in such a way also causes serious damage to the environment. Because burning fuel also releases a lot of carbon dioxide. Running diesel also emits large amounts of carbon black into the air. High concentrations of carbon dioxide and carbon black in the air cause many diseases in humans. Many landlords and farmers use solar panels. In order to get water for the fields. Solar systems that capture energy from sunlight convert it into electrical energy. The water obtained by this method is for fields. Neither carbon black nor carbon dioxide is produced in this method. The method of solar system is environment friendly and very cost effective. But the initial cost of installing solar panels is very high. These methods are often beyond the reach of farmers. Because most of the farmers in Kandahar province are already suffering from financial problems. There is no such farmer or landlord in the entire province of Kandahar. which has an air-driven fan that generates electricity. However, there are many plains in Kandahar province where winds also blow. That's enough for wind turbines. Unlike farmers and landowners in Kandahar province, farmers and landowners in the rest of the world use different techniques to obtain electrical energy.

The use of technology in agriculture is negligible.

Most of the landlords and farmers of Kandahar province are illiterate. The percentage of literacy rate is also very low in Kandahar province. There is not a single agricultural university in almost the entire province. However, from 2001 to 2021, various international organizations had provided various trainings to the landowners and farmers of Kandahar. But this trend also stopped after the US and its allies left Afghanistan. Some farmers did not take the trainings seriously.

he groundwater level in Kandahar province has further decreased.

The irrigation system of Kandahar province has been badly affected due to drought. Due to which many garden trees were dried up. Also, many fields were turned into barren lands. Due to which the farmers have also suffered financial loss on a large scale. Farmers and landowners were then forced to supply water to their lands through tube wells. Tubewells and drought are both largely responsible for the decline in groundwater levels in Kandahar.

Poor economic conditions of farmers and landlords.

The financial situation of the people of Afghanistan is worse than that of the people of the whole world. The same is true of the financial condition of the people of Kandahar province. In Kandahar, most of the people living in poverty are farmers and laborers. This is the reason why many farmers leave their jobs and migrate to Kandahar city. Due to which not only the population of Kandahar city has increased but unemployment has also increased.