Ayanangsha Maitra, PhD | ayan@TheNewsSite.in |
New Delhi | As Taliban-led Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Mawlawi Attaullah Omari, walked into the conference room of a chamber alongside Afghanistan’s Chargé d’Affaires Mufti Ahmed Noor, aide Shuaib Wakil Ahmad and a delegation of nearly a dozen men, ranging from energetic young technocrats in their thirties to seasoned men in their seventies – the atmosphere changed.
Surprising the assembly, dressed in his trademark traditional Afghan attire, in rimless spectacles and a striking red Yakut (ruby? ) ring on his finger, Minister Omari said “Our DNA is one.”
“The friendship between India and Afghanistan goes back centuries,” he went on saying ahead of Zuhr prayer.
Speaking in Dari, with a real-time English interpreter translating every dispatch, Omari projected the confidence of his government, the Emirate of Afghanistan eager to move beyond decades of conflict towards economic reconstruction. He also noted that members of there’s a Hindu community continue to live peacefully in his district. ( The minister hails from Paktika district, but Thenewssite.in couldn’t confirm whether he was referring to Kabul or Paktika).The delegation had come to India with mainly with the objective to explore how Indian technology can help modernise Afghanistan’s agriculture-driven economy. Indian officials from the PAI (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) division of Ministry of External Affairs were siting in the room alongside a few members of Indian businesses with presence in Afghanistan.
For Afghanistan, agriculture remains the backbone of the economy, the Talib fighter from Paktika to Agriculture minister said.About 70 to 80 percent of Afghans depend directly or indirectly on agriculture, irrigation, animal husbandry and forestry for their livelihood. Yet much of the sector continues to rely on labour-intensive traditional practices.India, Omari believes, possesses exactly the expertise Afghanistan now seeks.
“We need India’s cooperation in certified seeds, food processing, irrigation, horticulture, warehousing, cold-chain infrastructure and technology transfer,” he remarked.
Attaullah Omari’s emphasis was not merely on increasing production but on reducing post-harvest losses through modern logistics and value addition. Afghanistan has long been recognized for its horticultural sector and premium dry fruits, with the World Bank noting that its dried fruits remain “renowned in various parts of the world,” and FAO documenting that Afghan dried fruit once in the 1970s accounted for 60% of the world market. Yet much of the produce is lost due to inadequate storage and processing facilities.
“Every agricultural product floods the market during harvest season,” Omari explained. The government is working with the private sector to establish cold-chain infrastructure, food processing units and warehouses.Plans are also underway for a new agricultural university in Kabul’s New City and a food park in Kandahar to promote fruit processing, juice manufacturing and value-added exports, thenewssite.in learnt on Friday.
Reducing Chemical Dependence
The minister also expressed concern over excessive chemical usage in farming.
“War used to kill people. Today, chemicals can also become a threat if not managed properly,” he remarked, stressing the need for modern farming methods and sustainable agricultural practices.
“War used to kill people, and now fertilisers chemicals are doing the same. The danger is no less than war itself. It was 10 lakh tonnes fertilisers per year we were importing three years back, then reduced to 7 lakh tonnes a year ago. We now have reduced imports to 3 lakh tonnes, and the ideal is to reduce it further to 1 lakh tonne,” The Taliban authority told in the assembly, Thenewssite.in attended. Afghanistan will host an agricultural exhibition scheduled between August 11 and 16, where discussions with Indian companies and institutions are expected to focus on certified seeds, mechanisation, food processing, irrigation technology, renewable energy and cold-chain infrastructure. The ministerial delegation sat down with the Indian business owners in technology driven houses, agri tech and food processing industry.
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