Farmers in Takhar Province allege that they are being forced to pay “ushr and zakat” under the guise of “one-tenth” to the head of the province’s agriculture, irrigation and livestock department. According to them, local Taliban officials are engaged in extortion and coercion. The farmers emphasize that when Taliban employees come to collect the “one-tenth,” they are compelled to comply out of fear of severe punishment and violence.
These farmers further state that due to Taliban threats, they are forced to sell their produce prematurely and at lower prices compared to previous years, just to pay the Taliban’s extortion demands. They claim that this year, the Taliban have collected Ushr or “one-tenth” from all of their harvests.
One farmer in the Chah Ab district of Takhar province, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban have taken “one-tenth” not only from flax, barley, melon and other fresh fruits but this year they have taken it double.
The farmer adds: “Last year, the Taliban took one-tenth of every ten seer (1 seer = 7 kilograms) of wheat and barley. This year, in addition to collecting ‘one-tenth’ from the fields and gardens, they have also taken one-tenth of every ten thousand Afghanis from the sales of our products.”
Ahmad Jawad, who owns a twe hectares fruit orchard in the Khatayan area of Taloqan, Takhar’s provincial capital, brought his produce to the local market but was again taxed by the Taliban.
Jawad says: “I paid the ‘one-tenth’ imposed on agricultural and gardening products. However, when I brought the same products to the market for sale, the Taliban again took cash from me under the pretext of ‘one-tenth.’ But the Taliban do nothing for the people.”
The farmers consider the collection of “one-tenth” and zakat by the Taliban as burdensome but feel they have no choice but to comply.
Hedayatullah, a landowner in the “Qabr-e Qazi” area of Taloqan, admits to not protesting against the agricultural, irrigation, and livestock department employees out of fear of being beaten or imprisoned by the Taliban.
Hedayatullah, who has harvested melons and brought them to Taloqan’s melon market, complains about the lack of buyers and markets. He says: “We bring our melons to the market after paying the ‘one-tenth,’ but see no buyers. This year, I sold a seer of melons for 50 Afghanis, which doesn’t cover even a year’s worth of expenses for my land, and the Taliban only know how to take money from us through force.”
Hedayatullah, who has spent his time tending his melon fields with his wife and two children, says that if the situation continues, he will consider abandoning farming due to the payment of ‘one-tenth’ and zakat to the Taliban and the lack of market for their produce.
On a corner of Taloqan city on the Saray Sang to Taloqan road, another farmer named Ibrahimbeg brought a load of melons for sale.
Ibrahimbeg also urges the Taliban to stop collecting “one-tenth” under various pretexts and allow the farmers with modest incomes to make use of their produce.
Ibrahim says: “This year alone, the Taliban collected 50,000 seers of wheat in ‘one-tenth’ and zakat from our village. But in the three years that the Taliban have been in our village, they have done nothing. Currently, we have no access to drinking water, no clinic, and we do not know if the Taliban are using the ‘one-tenth’ money they collect from us.”
Meanwhile, sources from the Taliban’s Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock Department in Takhar say that the personnel responsible for collecting “one-tenth” do not limit themselves to just collecting this tax but also monitor markets to collect additional money from farmers after their products are sold.
A source from the Taliban’s “Ushr” collection management in this province, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that there have been multiple complaints about repeated collection of “one-tenth” from farmers, but no action has been taken to address these complaints.
The source adds: “This year, a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock came to Takhar and instructed the provincial agriculture, irrigation, and livestock department to increase their revenue from Ushr or ‘one-tenth’ and zakat.”
The collection of “one-tenth” and zakat by the Taliban has been an ongoing issue over the past three years of their rule, especially in Takhar. However, farmers in Takhar now say that the various excuses for collecting “one-tenth” and cash, coupled with the lack of a market for their agricultural products, have placed a heavy burden on them.
Although the officials from the Taliban’s Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock Department in Takhar have not commented on the collection of “one-tenth” and farmers’ complaints, they report a 40% increase in agricultural products in the province this year.
Abdul Wakil, the Director of Promotion at the Taliban’s Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock Department in Takhar, states that due to increased and timely rainfall, agricultural produce has seen a 40% rise in the province this year.
He adds that the increase in produce levels is attributed to sampling from orchards and agricultural lands.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
طالبان در تخار از کشاورزان جبراً دو بار عشر و زکات میگیرند | روزنامه ۸صبح
