The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) said on Wednesday the European Union (EU) will inject $2.5 million USD into Afghanistan’s agriculture sector through a program

called Capacity Building of Institutions Assessing Agricultural Products.

MAIL officials said through this program they will identify agricultural zones in the country and will promote agricultural technology.

MAIL’s Deputy Minister Fahim Ziaye said the program will be implemented in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) and the European Union.

“Currently our farmers cultivate in traditional ways and doubtless climate change affects agricultural products. By implementing the new methods, farmers can forecast future climate changes and they will be able to protect their crops from negative effects,” said Ziaye.

“There are two main groups that will benefit from the project. One of them is the farmers who will benefit from the agriculture monitoring system and second, employees at the ministry will benefit as their capacity will be increased,” said Tomio Shichiri UNFAO Representative.

Meanwhile EU officials said they have injected $3 billion USD into Afghanistan in the past ten years, of which $500 million USD has gone into the agriculture sector.

“The EU is strongly committed to continue its work with Afghanistan’s ministry of agriculture for sustainable development in the agriculture sector in this country,” said Gabriel Leonte, EU’s head of agriculture for Afghanistan.

According to MAIL, 40 percent of the Afghan population is involved in the agriculture sector, but most face challenges including the lack of access to technology.