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Afghanistan is likely to be self-sufficient in wheat this year, according to Tekeste Tekie, country representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“The estimated yield will be 40-50 per cent higher than last year,” Tekie told the media in Kabul on 4 May.
“In 2007 the country produced about 92 percent of its needs [but] this year it is looking much better than 2007,” Tekie said.
Provided farmers use certified seeds and fertilizers and the government is able to assist with locust control measures, the propects for achieving food security will be much greater, Tekie said.
Some 12-15 percent of land in Afghanistan is arable, and there is increasing competition for land for cultivation and pasture, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
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