Early Ripening Apricot Caused Pride for Bahruddin

Bahruddin, in the midst of freshly harvested apricots, is busy filling the crates apricots collected from his garden.
He has a smile full of success on his lips, and says, "The field which gives such apricots, why to cultivate it poppy? The yields are abundant and legitimate (Halal) and I am conformable with my conscience, with good reputation; what else do I want?”

As we said, Bahruddin is humble and friendly man. He used to cultivate grain but did not earn the needed and desired income.

But everything has now changed and with the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Bahruddin’s early ripening apricots has replaced grain fields.

He now has reached the income he wanted.

He calls on other residents of Balkh province and other provinces to replace their cultivated fields with fruit trees instead of cultivating illegal (Haram) poppy and raising their name and country by exporting the best fruits out of the country.

Bahruddin is resident of Keshkak village of Balkh district of Balkh province.

After visiting the National Horticulture and Livestock Program (NHLP) office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL), he stopped cultivation of grain and turned half an acres of his land to garden with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Six years ago, Tawfiq Rasouli, a staff of NHLP, mapped Bahruddin’s apricot garden and planted seedlings for the garden. The garden’s harvest has begun for several years now, but this year it has risen to its peak.

Over the past six years, Rasouli has provided any technical services needed for the garden.

Bahruddin, who harvested his yields last week, said, “Following the cooperation of the NHLP of the Ministry of Agriculture, I was able to sell each crate of my early ripening apricot at a price of 800 AFN; so far I have sold 600 crates, generating 480,000 AFN income for myself.”

He says, “I was cultivating grain, but this income is never comparable with other cultivators.”

He says he can pay well for his living with the money he has gained from the selling of the early ripening apricots.     Bahruddin’s life has now flourished.

Balkh is one of the districts of Balkh province which has favorable climate. Bahruddin is not the only gardener who earns a good amount of income by harvesting and selling of his apricots.

The National Horticulture and Livestock Program (NHLP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) has turned over 500 acres of land to standard gardens in the district, most of which are apricots gardens.

Early ripening gardens of apricots, peaches, and grapes are among the most effective and high-income generating activities of the Ministry of Agriculture for the growing of gardening industry.  

A large number of gardeners of Balkh district now earns millions of Afghanis annually from gardening, and they no longer cultivate grain or poppy.