Every year, farmers in Nimruz province, despite drought and water scarcity, turn to cultivating melons, watermelons, and other fruits for their livelihood. This year, due to rainfall, farmers have harvested a substantial amount of melons and watermelons. However, they emphasize that there is no market to sell their produce, forcing them to sell a kilogram of melons for three Afghanis.
Several farmers in Nimruz province report that abundant rainfall this year has increased their melon and watermelon yields. These farmers complain about the unprecedented drop in the prices of their products in the markets.
Expressing concern over the low prices of their products, these farmers say that their only source of income is agriculture. However, due to the price drop, the payment to landowners, and the taxes imposed by the Taliban, they are left with no profit to sustain their livelihoods.
Abdul Raziq, a farmer in the Chakhansur district of Nimruz province, had rented several acres of land from a landowner to cultivate melons and watermelons, banking on the rainfall and subsequent floods. He says that now the harvest season has arrived, but there is no market to sell the produce.
Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, this farmer said, “It was a good year, and plenty of water reached Chakhansur. I took the land and cultivated it. Now that it has borne fruit, misfortune has befallen us farmers. There is no market to sell the fruit, and the prices are too low to earn a year’s wage.”
Abdul Raziq explains that he must find food for his seven-member family, but he hasn’t been able to recover the money he spent. He states that he paid between 600 and 1,000 Afghanis per hour for tractor use and 1,000 Afghanis for medicine, but a kilogram of melon sells for three Afghanis and a kilogram of watermelon for four Afghanis.
Khalil Ahmad, another farmer from this district, says that most people in Nimruz are engaged in agriculture, but due to the decline in crop prices, increased cultivation costs, and the obligation to pay taxes and alms to the Taliban, they incur losses.
Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, this farmer said, “It’s a great misfortune for us that instead of income, we suffer losses. A truckload from our district to Zaranj City, the center of the province weighs about 800 kilograms. The load sells there for approximately 2,300 Afghanis.”
This Nimruzi farmer added, “Out of 2,000 Afghanis, we pay between 1,100 and 1,300 Afghanis for truck rental, 250 Afghanis to the landowner, and 100 Afghanis to the Taliban as tax. We can’t even cover the labor and expenses we’ve incurred.”
Meanwhile, these farmers say that due to numerous economic problems, they cannot transport melons and watermelons to neighboring provinces. Additionally, economic difficulties have prevented traders from other provinces from traveling to Nimruz to buy melons and watermelons.
Nimruz farmers also highlight that the lack of export opportunities for these fruits abroad is one of the reasons for the price decline.
Hamidullah, another farmer from this province, says, “After years, this year was a good harvest, but misfortune has befallen the farmers. A kilogram of melon sells for two and a half to three Afghanis, and a kilogram of watermelon for four Afghanis, which is unfair to the farmers. The farmers are forced to sell, otherwise, the fruit will spoil in the intense heat.”
This farmer added, “We can’t transport to other provinces. For years, buyers came and took busloads of melons and watermelons to Herat province. But now they say people are not in a good economic situation and don’t buy fruits. We can’t export to Iran either. We’re left with this misfortune in this province.”
Nimruz farmers complain about the price decline and the lack of a market for their watermelon and melon harvests. Previously, farmers in Herat also complained about the lack of a market and low prices for these two products.
These concerns are raised as the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PAJCCI) stated that after Pakistan increased customs tariffs, fresh fruit exports to that country have been halted for the past two weeks.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
روزگار دشوار کشاورزان در نیمروز؛ یک کیلوگرام خربوزه سه افغانی به فروش میرسد | روزنامه ۸صبح
